Overview
John Ashe (1720-1781) was a leader of the Patriot Cause in North Carolina and a prominent leader during the Revolutionary War. He rose to prominence in 1764 as an opponent of the Stamp Act and a member of the Sons of Liberty in Wilmington. He led an attack on Fort Johnston in 1775, joined the North Carolina Council of Safety, and commanded the North Carolina Militia at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge in 1776. In 1779, he coordinated with General Benjamin Lincoln to attack British forces but lost the Battle of Briar Creek. The loss damaged his reputation as a military leader, and he returned home. Soon after, the British took control of Wilmington, and he was captured. While he was held in prison, he contracted smallpox and died on October 24, 1781.
Essential Facts
- Born: John Ashe was born around 1720 in Grovely in New Hanover, now Brunswick County, North Carolina.
- Parents: John Baptista Ashe and Elizabeth Swann.
- Spouse: Rebecca Moore.
- Died: October 24, 1781.
Key Details
- Ashe had four sons and three daughters with Rebecca Moore. None of his sons survived childhood, but his daughter Mary married an Alston.
- Mary’s son, and Ashe’s grandson, Joseph Alston, was the Governor of South Carolina from 1812 to 1814.
- Joseph Alston married Theodosia Burr, the daughter of Aaron Burr. Theodosia was the widow of Mark Prevost, who defeated Ashe at the Battle of Briar Creek.
Significance
John Ashe is important to American History for his political and military roles in the American Revolution and War for Independence. Ashe contributed to the American victory at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, maintaining Patriot control of North Carolina.
History
John Ashe was a prominent Patriot leader from North Carolina whose career was overshadowed by his defeat at the Battle of Briar Creek in 1779.
Early Life
John Ashe was born near Albemarle Sound in North Carolina around 1720. His father was John Baptista Ashe, a successful politician who died in 1734. In his will, he left provisions for his son’s education, which allowed him to enroll at Harvard (1746).
- His father, John Baptista Ashe, was a native of England and a lawyer who settled in the Cape Fear region and provided for his son’s education in his will, including Latin, Greek, and French.
- Ashe dropped out of Harvard because he found the disciplinary requirements too restrictive.
War of Jenkins’ Ear
Returning to his home colony, Ashe held minor civil posts and served as the Captain of a militia company during the War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739–1748).
- Privateers from Spain carried out raids on the North Carolina Coast during the war.
- In 1747, they attacked Ocracoke, Core Sound, Bear Inlet, and Cape Fear.
- In the fall of 1748, they attacked and briefly occupied Brunswick but were eventually forced to withdraw.
Political Career and Opposition to British Policies
- In 1752, he replaced his uncle, John Swann, in the colonial legislature and emerged as one of the colony’s leading politicians.
- He campaigned for free public schools and opposed violations of colonial rights over Taxation Without Representation.
- Ashe served as Speaker of the Assembly from 1762 to 1765 and has been described as an eloquent public speaker.
- Ashe protested against the Stamp Act but remained a member of the legislature.
- Ashe served in the legislature until 1775.
Regulator War
After serving as an officer during the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Ashe helped bring an end to the Regulator Movement in the Backcountry.
- Regulator Movement — An organized uprising in the Carolinas, particularly in the Backcountry, was driven by the settlers’ dissatisfaction with corrupt local officials, unfair taxation, and lack of government representation. In the 1760s and 1770s, the Regulators sought law and order, leading to violent confrontations with colonial authorities. The movement ended with the defeat at Alamance. Afterward, many Regulators emigrated westward, contributing to the settlement of Tennessee.
On November 8, 1768, Governor Tryon made him the first Major General in the North Carolina Militia, giving him command of all provincial forces. This was done in response to the Backcountry’s opposition to Royal officials, an incident called the Regulator War. Ashe supported the Governor and also helped finance the successful campaign against the Regulators.
- Ashe served in Governor Tryon’s army, which defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance (May 16, 1771).
- Governor Tryon and his troops confronted 2,000 farmers near Alamance Creek, 20 miles from Hillsborough.
- The battle lasted 2 hours, with the Regulators initially gaining the upper hand.
Some historians consider the Battle of Alamance to be the first battle of the American Revolution. However, the Regulators were fighting against oppressive local and colonial authorities, not for independence from Britain.
- The Governor’s forces eventually won the battle.
- Approximately 20 Regulators and nine militia men were killed.
- Over 150 men were wounded, many seriously.
- The day after the battle, an outlawed Regulator was executed without trial.
- Tryon led his troops on a destructive campaign through the Piedmont Region.
- In mid-June, six Regulators were hanged after a quick trial.
American Revolutionary War
By 1775, Ashe was a prominent figure among the political and military leaders in North Carolina’s Patriot movement.
- Ashe organized and trained the Patriot militia in New Hanover County.
- He helped enforce the boycott of British goods, as required by the Continental Association.
In July, Josiah Martin, the Governor of North Carolina, found out the Patriots were planning to attack Fort Johnston and take him prisoner.
- Martin fled to the HMS Cruizer on the Cape Fear River.
- On July 18, militia forces led by Colonel Robert Howe, Ashe, and Cornelius Harnett burned Fort Johnston to the ground.
- They were unable to seize Martin.
Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge
Ashe commanded Patriot forces at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge (February 27, 1776). This was the first battle of the war in North Carolina and is called the “Lexington and Concord of North Carolina.”
- Loyalist forces in North Carolina assembled and marched to the coast to join with British forces that were on their way from England.
- The Loyalists were led by General Donald MacDonald.
- The Patriots engaged the Loyalists at Moore’s Creek Bridge and quickly overwhelmed them.
- The victory allowed the Patriots to maintain control of North Carolina, and the British forces were forced to sail south to Charleston, South Carolina.
British Southern Campaign
Afterward, Ashe commanded 200 Continentals and 1,000 militia men. Governor Richard Caswell ordered him to join American forces led by Benjamin Lincoln in Charleston, South Carolina. Although they were poorly armed and supplied, he achieved success in moving most of his troops to Charleston by January 1, 1779.
Meanwhile, British forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell captured Savannah, Georgia. After he received reinforcements from East Florida, Campbell led a detachment into the Georgia backcountry and captured Augusta, Georgia, by the end of January.
Battle of Briar Creek
Lincoln sent Ashe to block the British from moving into South Carolina. Ashe took his North Carolina troops to Purysburg, South Carolina, and then Fort Moore Bluff, across the Savannah River from Augusta.
However, he started to have trouble with his men. The enlistments for many of them were about to expire, and South Carolina military leaders were trying to lure them away to join their forces.
The Battle of Briar Creek, which took place on March 3, 1779, was a calculated gamble by Lieutenant Colonel Campbell. With 900 of the best troops in the British command, Colonel Mark James Prevost made a 50-mile march up the west side of the creek and across the creek at Paris’ Mills to attack Ashe’s command from the rear. The surprise was so complete that the Americans were unaware of the British presence until they formed for battle only 450 feet from Ashe’s camp.
Both sides had roughly 900 to 1,000 men, but Prevost’s men were more experienced, while Ashe commanded primarily inexperienced militiamen. The battle was over in little more than five minutes. The American line broke, most of the troops fled, and Ashe chased after them.
Samuel Elbert, the commander of the Georgia Continentals and Brigadier General of the Georgia Militia, held his ground until he and his men were overwhelmed. Most of them, including Elbert, were captured.
Ashe was criticized for his leadership on the battlefield. He demanded and received a court-martial and was acquitted of any wrongdoing. However, his military career was over, and he returned to North Carolina.
Death
In 1781, British forces under the command of General Charles Cornwallis captured Wilmington, North Carolina. Ashe was briefly taken as a prisoner. Soon after, he contracted smallpox and died on October 24, 1781.
Biography
AHC Note — This biography of John Ashe is from the Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. I, edited by Allen Johnson and published by the American Council of Learned Societies in 1945. Minor text corrections have been made.
ASHE, JOHN (c. 1720-October 1781), soldier and politician of North Carolina, was the son of Elizabeth (Swann) and John Baptista Ashe, an Englishman of good family who settled in the eastern part of the colony and became a member of His Majesty’s Council of North Carolina in 1733. The son was probably born at Grovely, Brunswick County, N. C, in 1720, although John H. Wheeler claims that he was born in England in 1721.
He was well educated, perhaps in England, and had a good library. Early in life, he married his cousin, Rebecca Moore, the sister of Judge Maurice Moore and Gen. James Moore. He was an officer of the militia in the French War and became a popular leader against the Crown.
He was speaker of the Colonial Assembly 1762–1765 and a leader in the Stamp Act agitation. Either he or his nephew, John Baptista Ashe, siding against the anti-government Regulators in 1771, was taken prisoner by them, tied to a tree, and whipped.
John Ashe was, however, a strong Whig, was a member of the Committee of Correspondence, and of the Provincial Congress, and of the Committee of Safety, and led the successful attack on Fort Johnston near Wilmington in the opening year of the Revolution. He was made a colonel in 1775 and brigadier-general of North Carolina troops in 1776. He was a good public speaker, graceful in appearance, with “popular manners.”
Highly regarded for character and patriotism, Ashe was nevertheless an unskilled and inexperienced commander, as was shown too clearly in the unfortunate affair with which his name is chiefly connected. He had been sent by Gov. Richard Caswell of North Carolina in 1778 to reinforce Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, who commanded in Charleston, and he led a regiment recruited from the eastern counties of his state.
Detached by Lincoln to pursue the English leader, Col. Archibald Campbell, he crossed the Savannah River with about 1,200 militia and some Georgia Continentals, inadequately armed. Lincoln’s plan involved an attack by his whole army, and Ashe’s cooperation was essential.
Descending the river, Ashe occupied a strong position at Briar Creek but neglected to defend an exposed flank and was lacking in vigilance. Col. Mark Prevost, brother of the English general, by a circuitous march, gained the rear of the American army and took it by surprise; Samuel Elbert, a subordinate officer, and some of the troops fought well, but the bulk of the army gave way, and Prevost won a complete victory.
Ashe was unable to rally the fugitives, many of whom perished in their flight to the swamps and the Savannah River. The loss was estimated at about 150 or 200, that of the enemy being trifling; many officers were among the prisoners, and a large part of the arms, ammunition, colors, and baggage fell to the English. The defeat was decisive, securing Georgia to the enemy, opening communications between that state, the Carolinas, and the Indians, and protracting the war.
Ashe was apparently inactive during the battle. It has been asserted that he neglected to supply the troops with cartridges, and he was even charged with cowardice. He was brought before a court of inquiry over which Gen. William Moultrie presided.
Acquitted of cowardice, he was censured “for want of sufficient vigilance,” “having,” in the words of one historian, “neither judgment, skill, foresight, nor self-reliance” (William B. Stevens, History of Georgia, 1859). The language of the court of inquiry was that he “did not take all the necessary precautions which he ought to have done” (William Moultrie, Memoirs of the American Revolution, 1802).
He was greatly depressed by these events and was soon after in hiding during the occupation of the eastern part of the state by the English. Betrayed to the enemy in 1781, he was freed on parole but died of smallpox in Sampson County, N. C.
