outlawry statutes, requiring all magistrates to issue a proclamation of outlawry against any accused felon if an affidavit presented to them demonstrated that the accused had evaded arrest. The statute allowed any citizen to kill the accused felon if the individual refused to surrender after being so ordered. Attempted truce Following the passage of federal Reconstruction Acts in 1867, nonwhites in the South, both black freedmen and Robeson's Indians, were re-enfranchised. The following year the Republican Party won a majority of the vote in elections in Robeson, displacing Conservative planter families who had dominated county affairs. The party relied on the electoral support of black freedmen, Indians, and poor "Buckskin" whites. Republicans generally favored equal citizenship and civil rights for all persons regardless of race. The opposing Conservative faction encompassed a range of opinion but generally advocated for the withholding of certain rights from nonwhites and forcing blacks to work menial jobs. The renewal of democratic institutions coincided with a relaxation of violence in the county, as many impoverished people hoped that their interests could be addressed through them. No armed robberies were reported in the county for nearly six months, and the members of the Lowry Gang kept a low profile. John Dial found work in a blacksmith shop while most others lived off of resources provided to them by family and friends. Henry Berry Lowry was reported to have shown some public support for the Republican Party. Republican officials were reluctant to take any action concerning the previous lawlessness in Robeson, since prosecuting former Home Guardsmen would harm their law and order campaign, while targeting the Lowry Gang would split their local base of support. In October 1868, a group of about 30 armed men robbed a company store and several plantations in South Carolina. Several days later, the group robbed three plantations in Robeson County. These men were never positively identified, though historian William McKee Evans wrote, "it appears they were led by Henry Berry's men, who had grown restive at the ambiguous attitude of the government and the uncertainty of their own position." Soon thereafter, the new Republican Governor of North Carolina, William Woods Holden, received a written petition from over 50 Robesonians asking for him to declare Henry Berry Lowry and his gang outlaws. Holden issued a declaration of outlawry against Lowry and some of his associates on November 30. The proclamation divided the local