Dec 31

Dec 31 Governor John Houstoun Argues About Invading Florida

John Houstoun was the second Governor of Georgia.

John Houstoun

John Houstoun was a young Georgia lawyer when he joined his colony’s Committee of Safety.

Houstoun was elected to attend the First Continental Congress but did not go because less than half of Georgia’s counties were represented. This lack of support left that colony without any Delegates.

After the Battle of Lexington and Concord, however, Georgia changed its mind and sent three men to Philadelphia.

Continental Congress

John Houstoun arrived at the Second Continental Congress in September 1775 alongside Archibald Bulloch and John Joachim Zubly.

Bullock and Houstoun would become longtime allies, but Zubly was a different story. In fact, Zubly would soon get kicked out of the Continental Congress and eventually turn Loyalist.

Houstoun, for his part, was a firm Patriot and returned home the following year to help organize Georgia’s first independent government.

Governor

Although Houstoun’s date of birth is uncertain, he was still most likely under 30-years-old when he was elected the second Governor of Georgia in 1778.

That summer, he led the State Militia to join Robert Howe (Continental Army) and Andrew Williamson (South Carolina Militia) in an invasion of Florida.

This group scared off some Loyalists but were unable to accomplish much due to Houstoun’s squabbling with Howe.

The two continued to disagree, which partially led to Britain’s ability to capture Savannah later that year.

Governor Again

While this unfortunate turn of events might implicate that the public was dissatisfied with Houstoun’s performance, that was not the case.

John was quickly elected to the Georgia Assembly, spending time as its Speaker.

Then, in 1784, he was again chosen to serve a one-year term as Governor. The second term was far less controversial than the first.

Houstoun would go on to serve as Mayor of Savannah and a Justice on the State Supreme Court before spending his later years overseeing a school for boys.

Do you want to learn about other Georgia Founders?

Great! Enjoy these articles:

The Death of a Loyalist Father - James Habersham’s Revolutionary Sons

John Adam Treutlen - From Indentured Servant to Governor

The Yazoo Land Fraud - Fletcher v. Peck

Want to read more about Florida during the Founding Period?

Here’s something you might like:

‘Spain, Britain, and the American Revolution in Florida’ should suit your needs just fine.

Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).