political image that would accompany the movement of troops through the area, but Holden was not dissuaded. Most of Kirk's recruits were young men averaging 21 years in age, though a few were older and nine had served under his command during the war. Most were North Carolinians, but 18 came from Tennessee and other states, in violation of the militia law. Command of the eastern and Piedmont militia was given to William J. Clarke of New Bern, and Holden dispatched him to Washington D.C. to obtain federal materiel assistance from Grant and the Secretary of War, which he secured. Grant also promised to send additional federal troops to the state. Clarke was initially given overall command of both militias before it was transferred to Kirk. By early July, Kirk had organized nine companies of militiamen and rode to the Piedmont via rail. His men were issued uniforms and Springfield rifles and officially committed to service at Company Shops in Alamance. This unit was formally known as the 2nd North Carolina State Troops. Kirk left 200 men there under his second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel George B. Bergen, and hastened to Raleigh to meet Holden. Holden supplied him with a list of suspects to arrest—created with information given by Republicans in Caswell and Alamance—and ordered Kirk to personally assume command in Caswell County. Holden also made plans to convene a military tribunal—composed of men selected by him and Kirk—to try those arrested later in the month. On July 8 he declared Caswell to be in a state of insurrection. Clarke's militia of segregated white and black companies became the 1st North Carolina State Troops. It arrived in Raleigh on July 19, and made camp at Old Baptist Grove, several blocks from the North Carolina State Capitol. These troops played a minimal role in the ensuing anti-Klan action. Clarke ordered some of his men to guard strategic locations in Raleigh, while one contingent was dispatched to bring supplies to Kirk's force in Alamance. In addition to Republican and Unionist sympathies, historian Samuel B. McGuire speculated that the men that enlisted in the militias probably hoped to benefit from the pay offered. Meanwhile, two companies of the 4th Regiment United States Artillery arrived in Yanceyville, while another went to Roxboro in Person County. At the same time, a United States marshal requested the assistance of troops in Chatham County to apprehend Klansmen suspected of