John Ashe
John Ashe was born at Grovely, New Hanover County, North Carolina (now Brunswick County, North Carolina) on March 24, 1725. His parents were Elizabeth Swann and John Baptista Ashe. His father, born in England and settled in the Cape Fear region of the Province of North Carolina, was a member of the Governor's Council and died in 1734. John Ashe built a plantation on the Cape Fear River, where he built a plantation called Green Hill.Colonel Ashe first served in the French and Indian War (1754 to 1763). He made his fame in his opposition to the Stamp Act, when he resigned his Royal commission as a Colonel in the British Militia. In January of 1776 he was commissioned Colonel over the Volunteer Independent Rangers, and destroyed the British garrison of Fort Johnson near Wilmiington, North Carolina. After raising and equipping a unit at his own expense, on February 27, 1776, he led his regiment to victory at the Battle of Moore's Creek.
On November 8, 1778, he was commissioned as the first Major-General of North Carolina and was placed in command of all North Carolina's militia by Governor Richard Caswell. After the British captured Savannah, he was with the forces protecting Augusta, Georgia until General Campbell abandoned the area. Colonel Ashe followed Lieutent-Colonel Campbell into Georgia, just above Brier Creek. Meanwhile, most of the British forces embarked on a lengthy detour to flank the Ashe camp, while a diversionary force demonstrated on the far side of a burned-out bridge.
The British approached his camp from the rear on March 3. The result was that the poorly trained and supplied regiment of Colonel Ashe were routed, with casualties.
Colonel John Ashe and the Fate of the ship Diligence by Jeannette Holland Austin published on medium.com