John Baptist Ashe (1748November 27, 1802) was a slave owner, U.S. Congressman, and Continental Army officer from

Halifax, North Carolina Halifax is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 234 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Halifax County. It is known as "The Birthplace of Freedom" for being the location for the April 12, 1776, adopt ...

Biography

He was born in the Rocky Point District of the

Province of North Carolina Province of North Carolina was a province of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern Colonies, Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies, thir ...

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. He owned at least 63 slaves as of the 1790 census.

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 The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, he served as a

minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

in the

Salisbury District Salisbury was a local government district in Wiltshire, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of Salisbury. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 and the pursuant The English Non- ...

, and the

6th North Carolina Regiment The 6th North Carolina Regiment was one of ten regiments of the North Carolina Line of the Continental Army that fought in the American Revolution. History The 6th North Carolina Regiment existed as a Continental Army unit from North Carolina f ...

of the

North Carolina Line The North Carolina Line refers to North Carolina units within the Continental Army. The term "North Carolina Line" referred to the quota of infantry regiments assigned to North Carolina at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together ...

(

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

), leading the "Majors" company. He fought at the

Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge was a minor conflict of the American Revolutionary War fought near Wilmington (present-day Pender County), North Carolina, on February 27, 1776. The victory of the North Carolina Provincial Congress' militia ...

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 Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...

and fought at the

Battle of Brandywine Creek The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

in Pennsylvania on September 11, 1777;

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

in Pennsylvania on October 4, 1777; and

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

in New Jersey on June 28, 1778.

Political career

He served in the

House of Burgesses in 1775. Ashe was elected to the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

(17841786) and served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of that body in 1786. He was a delegate to the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

in 1787. In 1789, Ashe was a delegate and Chairman of the

Committee of the whole A committee of the whole is a meeting of a legislative or deliberative assembly using procedural rules that are based on those of a committee, except that in this case the committee includes all members of the assembly. As with other (standing) c ...

of the

Fayetteville Convention The Fayetteville Convention was a meeting by 271 delegates from North Carolina to ratify the US Constitution. Governor Samuel Johnston presided over the convention, which met in Fayetteville, North Carolina, from November 16 to 23, 1789 to debate o ...

that ratified the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. That same year, he served in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

.Congressional Biography Ashe was elected to the

1st United States Congress The 1st United States Congress, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency, first at Federal Hall in ...

and the

2nd United States Congress The 2nd United States Congress, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 4, 1791, to March 4, 1793, during the third and fourth years ...

as an "Anti-Administration" (what became

Anti-Federalist Anti-Federalism was a late-18th century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed History of the United States Constitution#1788 ratification, the ratification of the 1787 United St ...

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

) candidate, serving from 1790 to 1793. In 1802, the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

elected Ashe

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, but he died before he could take office. He is buried in Halifax.

Family

On October 7, 1779, he married Elizabeth Montfort. They lived on the outskirts of

. They had one child, Samuel Porter Ashe, born on July 17, 1791. His namesake and nephew,

John Baptista Ashe John Ashe may refer to: * John Ashe (minister) (1671–1735), English dissenting minister *John Ashe (of Freshford) (1597–1658), MP for Westbury * John Ashe (priest) (born 1953), Church of England priest and Archdeacon of Lynn * John Ashe (genera ...

, served in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

as a Representative from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

References

External links

Ashe's Congressional biography
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashe, John Baptista 1748 births 1802 deaths 18th-century American politicians American planters American slave owners Anti-Federalists Ashe family Burials in North Carolina Elected officials who died without taking their seats Continental Army officers from North Carolina Continental Congressmen from North Carolina Members of the North Carolina House of Burgesses Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Members of the North Carolina Provincial Congresses Members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina People from Pender County, North Carolina People of colonial North Carolina