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George W. Ashburn

George W. Ashburn was born in born in North Carolina in 1814. He moved to Georgia around 1830 and began to speak out against Secession, eventually becoming a Colonel in the Union army. At the end of the war he returned to Columbus, Georgia and became a judge. In this capacity he worked to remove the political disabilities of all disenfranchised Georgians. Ashburn called to order the Georgia constitutional convention of 1867, held in Atlanta, which also aimed at removing the disabilities placed on African Americans through the institution of slavery. Considered a scalawag, he worked with the Freedmens Bureau and alongside African American leaders such as Henry McNeal Turner. His actions quickly created several enemies across the South. Ashburn lived amongst the African American population and garnished attention from the Ku Klux Klan, which established their Columbus chapter on March 21, 1868. On March 28, Ashburn was murdered by a group of five well dressed men wearing masks.

While Georgia remained under federal military rule for resisting ratification of the 14th Amendment, Ashburn’s murder investigation was led by George Meade, govenor of the Third Military District. The trial, beginning on June 29th gained national attention as over twenty persons were arrested and held in Fort McPherson. The prisoners consisted mostly of prominent white residents of Columbus. On July 21st, as the trial progressed, Georgia ratified the 14thAmendment and three days later General Meade dissolved the commission into the murder. All prisoners would make bail and return to Columbus the next day.

References

Rose, David. The Big Eddy Club THE STOCKING STRANGLINGS AND SOUTHERN JUSTICE. New York: The New Press, 2007 (65-72).

RADICAL RULE: MILITARY OUTRAGE IN GEORGIA. ARREST OF COLUMBUS PRISONERS: WITH FACTS CONNECTED WITH THEIR IMPRISONMENT AND RELEASE,Printed By John P. Morton and Company, 150 Main Street, Louisville, KY: 1868

External links

George W. Ashburn murder [1]
Radical Rule: Ashburn murder trial[2]

Georgia Constitution Convention of 1867

[3]

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-George W. Ashburn was born in born in North Carolina in 1814. He moved to Georgia around 1830 and began to speak out against [[Secession]], eventually becoming a Colonel in the Union army. At the end of the war he returned to [[Columbus, Georgia]] and became a judge. In this capacity he worked to remove the political disabilities of all disenfranchised Georgians. Ashburn called to order the Georgia constitutional convention of 1867, held in Atlanta, which also aimed at removing the disabilities placed on African Americans through the institution of slavery.  Considered a scalawag, he worked with the [[Freedmens Bureau]] and alongside African American leaders such as [[Henry_McNeal_Turner|Henry McNeal Turner]]. His actions quickly created several enemies across the South. Ashburn lived amongst the African American population and garnished attention from the Ku Klux Klan, which established their Columbus chapter on March 21, 1868. On March 28, Ashburn was murdered by a group of five well dressed men wearing masks.
+George W. Ashburn was born in born in North Carolina in 1814. He moved to Georgia around 1830 and began to speak out against [[Secession_in_the_United_States|Secession]], eventually becoming a Colonel in the Union army. At the end of the war he returned to [[Columbus, Georgia]] and became a judge. In this capacity he worked to remove the political disabilities of all disenfranchised Georgians. Ashburn called to order the Georgia constitutional convention of 1867, held in Atlanta, which also aimed at removing the disabilities placed on African Americans through the institution of slavery.  Considered a scalawag, he worked with the [[Freedmens Bureau]] and alongside African American leaders such as [[Henry_McNeal_Turner|Henry McNeal Turner]]. His actions quickly created several enemies across the South. Ashburn lived amongst the African American population and garnished attention from the Ku Klux Klan, which established their Columbus chapter on March 21, 1868. On March 28, Ashburn was murdered by a group of five well dressed men wearing masks.
 While Georgia remained under federal military rule for resisting ratification of the 14th Amendment, Ashburn’s murder investigation was led by [[George Meade]], govenor of the [[Third Military District]]. The trial, beginning on June 29th gained national attention as over twenty persons were arrested and held in Fort McPherson. The prisoners consisted mostly of prominent white residents of Columbus. On July 21st, as the trial progressed, Georgia ratified the 14thAmendment and three days later General Meade dissolved the commission into the murder. All prisoners would make bail and return to Columbus the next day.