John Houstoun
1744 - 1796
John Houstoun, one of Georgia's foremost patriots, was born on August 31, 1744 in St.
George's Parish, near what is now Waynesboro, Georgia. He was the son of Sir Patrick
Houstoun, Baronet, Registrar of Grants and Receiver of Quit Rents, and Priscilla Dunbar
Houstoun. He was educated in Savannah and became a lawyer. He married a daughter of Jonathan Bryan, a wealthy influential Savannah merchant and a member of Governor Wright's Council. They had no children.
Despite his father's standing in the royal government, Houstoun became a zealous advocate of the patriot cause. Along with Noble W. Jones (who was also the son of a prestigious member of Wright's government), Archibald Bulloch, and George Walton, he issued the public call for a meeting at Tondee's Tavern on July 27, 1774, for the citizens to consider their rights as American subjects. Governor Wright objected to that meeting as well as the next one scheduled for August 10, but the patriots attended in spite of his decrees and passed a series of resolutions protesting the Intolerable Acts. Houstoun was appointed to a committee to provide relief for Boston, a town whose port had been closed by the Intolerable Acts in retaliation for the famous Tea Party. With Bulloch and Jones, he was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress, but since the body that appointed them was represented by less than half of the colony's parishes, they declined to go. Shortly afterwards, all of the parishes were represented at the Provincial Congress which met in Savannah on July 4, 1775, and Houstoun was again picked as a representative to the Continental Congress. With fellow delegates Archibald Bulloch and Reverend John J. Zubly, he traveled to Philadelphia and participated in the Session of September 1775. He was appointed again by the Provincial Congress which met in January of 1776. Had he not been called back to Georgia to counteract the influence of Zubly, who had decided against independence, he would have signed the Declaration of Independence. On May 8, 1777, Houstoun became a member of the Executive Council, and on January 8, 1778, he was elected governor, serving from 1778 to 1779.
Early in his term Georgia's third annual military expedition against St. Augustine was planned, and by April around 2,000 troops had been assembled. Governor Houstoun, who had no military experience, took the field determined to lead Georgia troops to victory. He had been granted full executive power by the Executive Council which realized that in battle quick decisions would be necessary. In addition to the Georgia militia under Houstoun, the expedition consisted of the Georgia and Carolina Continental troops commanded by General Robert Howe, the South Carolina militia under Colonel Andrew Williamson, and naval units under Commodore Oliver Bowen. Howe, the Continental commander of the Southern Department, claimed the right of command, but Houstoun refused to take orders from him, and Bowen refused to take orders from either of them. Although the Whigs had twice as many troops as the British, the invasion got no farther than the Georgia-Florida border. After not meeting any serious opposition and accomplishing practically nothing, the invasion was canceled because of internal dissension.
Personality differences and lack of coordination soon contributed to more disastrous defeats. After General John Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777, the British focused their attention on the South. A large British expedition commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell arrived at Tybee Island on December 23, 1778, and landed unopposed below Savannah a week later. Savannah was poorly defended. Since Governor Houstoun and Colonel George Walton, commander of the Georgia militia, did not get along with each other, there was little cooperation between the commanders, nor did they cooperate with the Continental commander, General Robert Howe, who attempted to defend the main road to the city. The British easily got around his forces with the help of an old Negro who showed them a path through the swamps. Walton later said that he told Howe about the unguarded passes through the swamps, but Howe did not defend them properly, and his failure to block or even delay the British proved disastrous. Taking full advantage of American mistakes, the British completely routed the disorganized Americans and captured Georgia's capital and most important town. Campbell reported that he captured 450 Americans and that about 100 others were killed, while the British losses were 7 killed and 19 wounded. Seven days after the fall of Savannah, Houstoun's term ended.
Houstoun was again elected governor (1784-1785). Much of his second term was spent granting land to Georgia soldiers who had fought in the Revolutionary War. During that time, the Legislature set aside 40,000 acres of land for the support of a state college, and Houstoun was named as one of the trustees. In 1786 he was appointed chief justice by Governor Telfair but declined to serve. He subsequently served as justice for Chatham County, mayor of Savannah, and judge of the Superior Court of the Eastern Circuit.
Houstoun died at White Bluff, the family home, nine miles from Savannah on July 20, 1796. Houstoun County, in middle Georgia, is named for him.
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