Holden, asking him to accede to the writ issued by Brooks. Holden subsequently ordered Kirk to abide to the writ. The detainees were split into two groups, with the first sent to be heard by Pearson in Raleigh and the second—including Turner, to be seen by Brooks in Salisbury. The state's prosecutorial team in Salisbury did not realize that Brooks would require them to provide evidence of the accused men's possible wrongdoing, and thus Brooks ordered the men released. In Raleigh the prosecutors procured such evidence, resulting in Pearson indicting 49 men and ordering them to be tried in Alamance and Caswell superior courts. None of them were convicted in the ensuing proceedings. Elections monitoring In the week before the elections on August 4, Kirk sent a detachment to monitor the polls in Shelby in Cleveland County. Clarke sent a portion of Company B to Carthage in Moore County, men from Company D to Chapel Hill in Orange County, and a detachment of Company D to Goldsboro in Wayne County. The state elections were conducted peacefully and without incident. The militiamen also allowed the imprisoned Klansmen to cast their ballots. The Democrats scored a major victory, winning back the majority of seats in the General Assembly, while the Republicans garnered 13,000 fewer votes than they had in 1868. Historians have concluded that this was due to Klan intimidation, accusations of financial corruption levied at Republicans, and the view that Holden's deployment of the militias was tyrannical. Republicans were shocked by their loss. The Republicans' defeat greatly dispirited the militiamen in Raleigh. Early on the morning of August 8, a drunken United States Army soldier stumbled towards the camp at Old Baptist Grove. The militia sentry on duty ordered him to stop and identify himself, and when the soldier failed to heed his warnings, the sentry shot him in the legs. Army officials were infuriated by the incident, but the Raleigh mayor hosted a special hearing and acquitted the sentry of any wrongdoing. Afterwards, the militia camp was moved several blocks. The courts in Alamance and Caswell counties released the last accused Klansmen in late August, effectively ending the campaign. Major General Meade dissolved the District of North Carolina on September 13, and federal forces were gradually dispatched elsewhere. Holden ordered the militias to disband on September 21, but retained a portion of Company H to act as bodyguards for two