Volney Vallencourt "V.V." Ashford (1844 – 21 March 1900) was an American soldier and involved in 19th-century rebellion in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Military career

Ashford joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in 1863 after leaving his home in Port Hope,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He was a

British citizen British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

since Canada was a territory of 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 ...

. He became a

Quartermaster Sergeant Quartermaster sergeant (QMS) is a class of rank or appointment in some armed forces, especially those of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and formerly also in the United States. Ireland Quartermaster sergeant () appointments in the Iri ...

in the Grizwold Light Cavalry during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. After the Civil War, Ashford, became a surveyor for the Beaverton railway and joined the Prince of Wales' Canadian Dragoons where he made

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was

widowed A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

twice in addition to the death of his daughter. In 1884 his brother and future

Attorney General of Hawaii The Attorney General of Hawaii ( haw, Loio Kuhina) is the chief legal officer and chief law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, the Attorney General is appointed by the elected governor with the approv ...

, Clarence W. Ashford, invited him to visit Honolulu. After moving to Hawaii he joined the

Honolulu Rifles The Honolulu Rifles were the name of two volunteer military companies of the Hawaiian Kingdom. First company In 1857, the First Hawaiian Cavalry, an artillery and infantry company which was originally established in 1852, was renamed the Honolulu ...

, a

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 ...

. Ashford became responsible for the Rifles' growth from 100 men in 1886 to a battalion of three companies in 1887 and recognition as a

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

force. He rapidly moved up the ranks entering with his Canadian rank of

, he rose through

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

becoming

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1887, the highest rank and commander of the Rifles itself.

Ashford and Annexation of Hawaii

Shortly after becoming Colonel, a group of conspirators within the Missionary Party wanted to annex Hawaii to the United States. Ashford believed the monarchy was corrupt and was recruited to what would be known as the

Hawaiian League The Committee of Safety, formally the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, was a 13-member group of the Annexation Club. The group was composed of mostly Hawaiian subjects of American descent and American citizens who were members of the '' Mi ...

. The Hawaiian League used the Rifles in the Rebellion of 1887 a

bloodless revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

to enact the Bayonet Constitution. In 1889 the Rifles did battle with forces of Robert Wilcox in the Wilcox Rebellion. Upon Wilcox's surrender, he offered Ashford his

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

, he accepted the surrender but turned down the sabre. Ashford began to regret his support for the Hawaiian League. He came to believe that the League was more corrupt than the monarchy at advancing their own interests rather than improving Hawaii. He joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, a third party that supported neither the Monarchy nor the Missionaries. Ashford was arrested in a plot to overthrown both the Monarchy and Bayonet Constitution known as the Burlesque Conspiracy and went into exile. His brother took his place in his absence as commander of the Honolulu Rifles. After the

Overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety (Hawaii), Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign ...

, Ashford returned to Hawaii and retired from his position as commander of the Rifles. He was a strong supporter of annexation, but with the establishment of the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

he gave little support for the new government which he believed was corrupt and later revealed at his military tribunal, disapproved of the mistreatment of

Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

by the government. Ashford was approached by

counter-revolutionaries A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

as a consultant to restore the monarchy.

Exile and illness

The

counter-revolution A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

ended in failure in 1895 and Ashford was charged with

misprision of treason Misprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a p ...

and received one year in prison and a $1000 fine. Due to his ill health he was given the option of the one-year sentence or become

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d (if he returned he would receive his original sentence). After accepting exile he moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, his brother moved in with him under similar circumstances of exile. Ashford died on March 21, 1900, in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

References

''On a Bayonet Throne'' by Neil B. Dukas {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashford, Volney People associated with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom Prisoners and detainees of the Republic of Hawaii People from Northumberland County, Ontario Hawaiian insurgents and supporters 1844 births 1900 deaths National Liberal Party (Hawaii) politicians Exiles from Hawaii Hawaiian Kingdom military officers Union Army soldiers Canadian Militia officers Canadian emigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom Canadian expatriates in the United States