The Biographical Dictionary of America/Ashburn, George W.

ASHBURN, George W., soldier, was born in Georgia. He was a prominent unionist in the midst of secessionists, and when the civil war broke out he raised a regiment of southern men, loyal to the union, and entered the Federal army with the rank of colonel. After the close of the war he went back to Georgia, was a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1867, and was active in forming the new constitution. He greatly incensed the opposition by expressing his approval of the terms of reconstruction which Congress proposed. His political enemies endeavored to lead him into a controversy that would endanger his personal safety, but he preserved his equanimity and was finally murdered through the instigation of the men whose opinions he had opposed. General Meade, the U. S. military commander of the department of the South, investigated the affair and traced the murder to its instigators. Colonel Ashburn was killed April 1, 1868.