John Baptista Ashe (Continental Congress)
John Baptista Ashe | |
---|---|
Born | 1748 Rocky Point District, New Hanover County, Province of North Carolina |
Died | November 27, 1802 New Hanover County, North Carolina |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service | North Carolina militia |
Rank | Lieutentant Colonel |
Unit | New Hanover County Militia, Salisbury District Minuteman, 6th North Carolina Regiment, 1st North Carolina Regiment |
Commands | Majors Company, 6th North Carolina Regiment |
Battles / wars | Battle of Brandywine Creek, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Montfort |
Children | Samuel Porter Ashe |
Relations | brother General John Ashe |
Other work | elected Governor of North Carolina but died before he could serve |
John Baptist Ashe (1748 – November 27, 1802) was a U.S. Congressman, Continental Army officer, and tobacco grower from Halifax, North Carolina.
Biography
He was born in the Rocky Point District of New Hanover County, North Carolina in 1748. He was the son of Samuel Ashe and Mary Porter Ashe (cousin to her husband and first wife). His father's residence was called the Neck and was on the northeast Cape Fear River. His father was to be governor of the state and also brother of North Carolina militia General John Ashe.He dropped the "a" from his middle name and was known as John Baptist Ashe.[1]
Military Service
He served as a lieutenant in the Province of North Carolina New Hanover County militia during the time of the Regulator uprising in 1771. Later, during the American Revolutionary War, he served in the Salisbury District Minutemen and the 6th North Carolina Regiment of the North Carolina Line (Continental Army), leading the "Majors" company. He fought at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776, after which the minutemen battalions were disbanded in favor of local militia and the Continental Army. He joined the 6th North Carolina Regiment as a captain and later promoted to major and then lieutenant colonel. He was at Valley Forge and fought at the Battle of Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania on September 11, 1777; Battle of Germantown in Pennsylvania on October 4, 1777; and Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey on June 28, 1778.[2][1]
Political career
Ashe was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons (1784–1786) and served as Speaker of that body in 1786. He was a delegate to the Confederation Congress in 1787. In 1789, Ashe was a delegate and Chairman of the Committee of the Whole of the state convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution. That same year, he served in the North Carolina Senate.[1][3]
Ashe was elected to the First United States Congress and the Second United States Congress as an "Anti-Administration" (what became Anti-Federalist or Democratic-Republican) candidate, serving from 1790 to 1793.[1][3]
In 1802, the North Carolina General Assembly elected Ashe Governor, but he died before he could take office. He is buried in Halifax.[3][1]
Family
On October 7, 1779, he married Elizabeth Montfort. They lived on the outskirts of Halifax, North Carolina. They had one child, Samuel Porter Ashe, born on July 17, 1791.[1]
His namesake and nephew, John Baptista Ashe, served in Congress as a Representative from Tennessee.
References
External links
- 1748 births
- 1802 deaths
- Ashe family
- Continental Army officers from North Carolina
- Continental Congressmen from North Carolina
- 18th-century American politicians
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina
- Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
- American planters
- Anti-Federalists
- People from Pender County, North Carolina
- Burials in North Carolina