Josiah Martin (23 April 1737 – 13 April 1786) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and colonial official who served as the ninth and last British governor of North Carolina from 1771 to 1776.

Early life and career

Martin was born in

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, Ireland, of the son of Samuel Martin, a planter well established on the Caribbean island of Antigua, third son of his father's second marriage. His elder half-brother Samuel Martin (1714–1788) was secretary to the Treasury in London. Another brother Sir Henry Martin (1735–1794) was for many years naval commissioner at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and Comptroller of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. Sir Henry was father of

Thomas Byam Martin Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Byam Martin, (25 July 1773 – 25 October 1854) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of fifth-rate HMS ''Fisgard'' he took part in a duel with the French ship ''Immortalité'' and captured her at the Battl ...

. This Josiah Martin's uncle, also Josiah Martin (1699–1778) but born in Antigua, left Antigua after 1750 and settled at Far Rockaway, Long Island. He was a member of the first board of trustees for King's College (now

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

) in 1754 and a member of the royal council of New York in 1754–1755. From 1759 to 1764, he was on the council of the governor of the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...

. Josiah Martin, the younger, married his first cousin Elizabeth Martin, daughter of the elder Josiah Martin of Long Island, in 1761. At first undecided, he became an

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in the

in 1756, rising to the rank of

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 colo ...

in 1769. On 29 December 1758, Josiah was appointed to the New York Council, a position once held by his uncle. Because of his trips to London and Antigua, the council, in November 1762, temporarily replaced him with Lawrence Read, superseded in turn by Lawrence's father Joseph Read, to sit in Martin's place until he returned. He was given "a full year to determine whether he will return to the council from the West Indies."

Governor of North Carolina

On 1 March 1771, Martin received his appointment from

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

as Governor of the Province of North Carolina, succeeding James Hasell. Handicapped by illness, he remained in New York and was unable to present himself in the governor's palace at

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

until Monday, 12 August 1771. Governor Martin tried to give the North Carolinians useful and fair government, but he was hampered by his instructions from Lord Hillsborough, and later by Lord Dartmouth. Tryon left a legacy to Martin of five major problems that plagued North Carolina. These problems were * the fiscal and psychological effects of the

War of the Regulation The Regulator Movement, also known as the Regulator Insurrection, War of Regulation, and War of the Regulation, was an uprising in Provincial North Carolina from 1766 to 1771 in which citizens took up arms against colonial officials, whom they v ...

; * the unsettled and expensive dispute between the Carolinas about their mutual boundary line; * the struggle over the court law bills and the judiciary, especially the attachment of the property of debtors who had never lived in the province; * the old quorum trouble in the House of Commons that caused conflict between the House and the governor; and * the conflict over the selection of the chief personnel of the provincial government by the crown rather than through the assembly. After his home was attacked by Whigs on 24 April 1775, he sent his family to his in-laws' home in New York and took refuge on board the sloop-of-war HMS ''Cruizer'', transferring his headquarters to Fort Johnston on the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

. When the Mecklenburg Resolves were published in May 1775, Martin transmitted a copy to England, which he described as "setting up a system of rule and regulation subversive of his majesty's government." Martin then requested a supply of arms and ammunition from

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of th ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In July 1775, a plot instigated by Martin to arm the slaves was discovered. In retaliation, John Ashe led a group of colonists against Fort Johnston on 20 July. Martin was forced to flee aboard the ''Cruizer'' while the colonists destroyed the fort. Martin remained off the coast of North Carolina, directing the rising of the

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

, whom he supplied with weapons brought from England.

Later life

After two attempts during the

Carolina campaign The campaign of the Carolinas (January 1 – April 26, 1865), also known as the Carolinas campaign, was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army (Union Army) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater. On January ...

to re-establish his administration were turned back, Martin, who was then in ill health due to fatigue, left for Long Island and then England. He died in

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in April 1786 and was buried at St George's Hanover Square Church, City of Westminster,

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Honors

Martin County, North Carolina Martin County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,031. Its county seat is Williamston. History The county was formed in 1774 from the southeastern part of Halifax County and t ...

, is named after him.

References

External links

Josiah Martin
at the North Carolina History Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Josiah 1737 births 1786 deaths 68th Regiment of Foot officers British Anglicans British Army personnel of the French and Indian War British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British officials in the American Revolution Burials at St George's, Hanover Square Cheshire Regiment officers Governors of North-Carolina (1712–1776) Military personnel from Dublin (city)