John Milledge (1757February 9, 1818) was an American politician. He fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

and later served as

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, 26th Governor of Georgia, and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

. Milledge was a founder of

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, and the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. From January to May 1809, Milledge served briefly as

President pro tempore of the United States Senate The president pro tempore of the United States Senate (often shortened to president pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate, after the Vice President of the United States, vice president. According to Articl ...

Revolutionary War

John Milledge was born in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, the grandson of an original settler of Georgia. He was tutored privately and studied law. After being admitted to the bar, he opened a

law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

in Savannah. He owned slaves. At the onset of the Revolutionary War, Milledge was part of a group that took colonial governor Sir James Wright as a prisoner in 1775. He also took part in a raid of Savannah's royal

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

to procure gunpowder for the revolutionary cause. When the British captured Savannah, Milledge escaped to

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, where American patriots nearly hanged him as a spy. He participated in the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenan ...

in an attempt to drive the British forces out. In 1778, he served as an aide to Governor

John Houstoun John Houstoun ( ; August 31, 1744 – July 20, 1796) was an American lawyer and statesman from Savannah, Georgia, Savannah, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. He was one of the original Sons of Liberty and also a delegate for Georgia in the Second ...

in an abortive campaign against the British in

East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...

. In 1781, as a colonel in the Georgia militia, he helped to recapture Augusta.

Political career

State legislature and U.S. Congress

Milledge's political career began in 1779, when he was elected to the patriot general assembly. After serving as the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of Georgia, Milledge was a member of the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

. While in the General Assembly, he spoke out forcefully against the Yazoo Land Acts. In 1792, the House of Representatives declared the seat of

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

vacant due to disputes over his residency. Milledge was elected to the Second Congress to fill this vacancy and served from November 22, 1792, to March 3, 1793. Later, Milledge would be elected to the Fourth and Fifth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1795, to March 3, 1799. In 1801, he was again elected to Congress, this time as a

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 ...

, and served from March 4, 1801, until he resigned in May 1802 to become

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

Governor of Georgia

Milledge was

from 1802 to 1806. As governor, he created Georgia's first

land lottery A land lottery is a method of allocating land ownership or the right to occupy land by lot. Some examples are: * Moses' allocation of Promised Land territory to the Israelite tribes by lot, as mandated in Numbers 26:55 and 33:54 and effected by h ...

to combat corruption in the distribution of former Creek lands to settlers. He also reorganized the state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, and built a road from Georgia to

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 ...

passing through

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

lands. In 1803,

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the river here made this an attractive location to buil ...

, state

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

from 1804 to 1868, was named in his honor.

U.S. Senate

In 1806, he was elected as a

to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Jackson. He was a loyal and enthusiastic supporter of the policies of President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. In the

10th United States Congress The 10th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1807, to March 4, 1809, during ...

, he was named

President pro tempore of the Senate A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

. He served as a Senator from June 19, 1806, until November 14, 1809, when he resigned.

Foreign Policy

With regards to the Napoleonic Wars, Milledge was outspokenly pro-British. Milledge remained very hostile to the French Revolution and believed that a close relationship with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

was in the interest of the United States. Milledge said he saw "no value" in attempting to maintain relations with revolutionary France.

The University of Georgia

While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Milledge was named to a commission to establish a site for the state

(incorporated January 27, 1785). On July 25, 1801, Milledge bought with his own money some land on the

Oconee River The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it joins ...

for the school, and named the surrounding area

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, in honor of the city of Plato's

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. John Milledge Hall (circa 1921 as a male dormitory) at the University of Georgia, now houses the Division of Academic Enhancement and the Regents' Center for Learning Disorders.

Death and legacy

After retiring from the United States Senate, Milledge returned home, to live out his final years at his

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

near

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

. He died there, February 9, 1818, and was buried in Summerville Cemetery in that same city. Milledge Avenue in downtown Athens is named for him. Milledge Road in Augusta is also named for him. John Milledge Academy in Milledgeville is named for John Milledge.

References

Power of Attorney. Thomas Stephens, William Ewen & John Milledge
April 25, 1761. From Telamon Cuyler collection, ms 1170, series 1. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries. Web. Retrieved May 20, 2016.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milledge, John 1757 births 1818 deaths Politicians from Savannah, Georgia American people of English descent Anti-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state) Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Attorneys General Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers American slave owners Politicians from Athens, Georgia 19th-century American lawyers University of Georgia American militia officers Georgia (U.S. state) militiamen in the American Revolution United States senators who owned slaves