Caswell courthouses. The militiamen at times showed poor discipline and used foul language. Conservatives complained about militiamen stealing from local gardens and one stripping naked in public view to bathe, but they did not otherwise bother local residents. Bergen exceeded his orders by stringing up three suspects to extract confessions. The Conservative press eagerly characterized the intervention as a "reign of terror" and widely circulated a report of a stringing incident in Yanceyville. After hearing of it, Holden wrote to Kirk to remind him that, "All prisoners, no matter how guilty they may be supposed to be, should be treated humanely." Fearing that the Klansmen might try to free captives in Yanceyville, Holden wrote to Grant to ask for federal reinforcements. Grant responded by dispatching six companies. On July 27, Major General George Meade established the temporary military District of North Carolina and placed it under the command of Colonel Henry Jackson Hunt. By the time Hunt assumed his post on 1 August, there were about 700 federal soldiers in the state, stationed in Raleigh, Yanceyville, Graham, Roxboro, and Ruffin. Officers reported that the army presence boosted a sense of security in the insurrectionary counties, but did not apprehend suspected Klansmen themselves. Kirk became increasingly fearful of Klan attack in Caswell and asked for artillery, but the local army commander, Captain George Rodney, thought these concerns were unfounded and dismissed the request. Tensions remained high between militiamen and federal soldiers in the county, with the two forces hurling insults and occasional stones at one another. Rodney dismissed the militia as "nothing more than an armed mob". On July 22, unknown assailants opened fire on the colored troops of Company H of the 1st North Carolina State Troops encamped at Old Baptist Grove in Raleigh. Sentries returned fire, but no one was hurt. The Conservative and Democratic press in Raleigh used the episode to attack the colored troops, alleging that they had not been attacked and either fired at nothing or shot at another militia company. On August 5, Bergen ordered his men to cross into Orange County and arrest Josiah Turner. He was apprehended at his home and brought to Company Shops before being moved to the Caswell County Courthouse. Turner was the editor of the Raleigh Sentinel and a frequent critic of Holden and his use of the militias. Many Republicans thought he was a Klansmen, though there was