John Ashe, Sr. (ca. 1720 – October 24, 1781) was Speaker of the House of Burgesses in the Province of North Carolina. He was Harvard educated and fought in the North Carolina militia during the French and Indian War. During the American Revolution, he attained the rank of major general and was in charge of North Carolina militia and state troops from 1776 to 1779. He resigned from military service after the Patriot defeat at the Battle of Brier Creek in 1779. Early life 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 was a member of Harvard University class of 1746 but did not graduate. He settled on the northeast Cape Fear River, where he built a plantation called Green Hill. Ashe served as a colonel in the Province of North Carolina militia during the French and Indian War (17541763). In 1752, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Burgesses and served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses from 1762 to 1765 (his father, John Baptista Ashe, had served as speaker in 1726–27). He was known for his eloquence and strong will. An outspoken opponent of the Stamp Act and eventually a supporter of independence from Great Britain, Ashe served in the North Carolina Provincial Congress and on both the committees of correspondence and safety as hostilities between the colonies and Great Britain began to rise. Revolutionary War As a result of his opposition to the Stamp Act, he resigned his royal commission as a colonel in the militia and was elected colonel in the patriot militia by the people of New Hanover County in 1775. In January 1776, he was commissioned as the commandant with a rank of colonel over the Volunteer Independent Rangers. Leading a force of 500 men, Ashe destroyed the British garrison of Fort Johnston (near present-day Wilmington, North Carolina) in 1775. Raising and equipping this unit at his own expense, Ashe led his regiment in the American victory at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776. The unit was disbanded after this battle. On May 4, 1776,