Josiah Martin


Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Martin was a British Army officer and colonial official who served as the ninth and last governor of North Carolina from 1771 to 1776, and in exile until 1783.

Early life and career

Josiah Martin was born in Dublin, Ireland on 23 April 1737. He was the son of Samuel Martin, a planter who owned plantations on the British colony of Antigua. He was the third son of his father's second marriage. His elder half-brother Samuel Martin was Secretary to the Treasury at London. Another brother, Sir Henry Martin, was naval commissioner at Portsmouth and Comptroller of the Navy.
Commissioned an ensign in the British Army in 1756, Martin had risen to the rank of lieutenant-colonel by 1769. He participated in the siege of Louisbourg, Battle of the Plains of Abraham, invasion of Martinique and siege of Havana. In 1761, he married his first cousin, Miss Elizabeth Martin of Far Rockaway, New York, the daughter of Josiah Martin. On 29 December 1758, Martin was appointed to the provincial council of New York. Frequent business trips to London and Antigua resulted in the council temporarily replacing him in November 1762 with Lawrence Read, superseded in turn by Lawrence's father Joseph Read, to sit in Martin's place until he returned. Martin was given "a full year to determine whether he will return to the council from the West Indies."

Governor of North Carolina

On 1 March 1771, George III appointed Martin provincial governor of North Carolina, succeeding James Hasell. Handicapped by illness, Martin remained at home in New York until 12 August 1771. Martin tried to give the North Carolinians useful and fair provincial government, but was hampered by instructions from Lord Hillsborough, and later by Lord Lewisham. In addition, former governor William Tryon left a political legacy of five major problems that plagued North Carolina. These problems were:
  • the fiscal and psychological effects of the War of the Regulation;
  • the unsettled and expensive dispute between the Carolinas about their mutual boundary line;
  • the struggle over the court law bills and the judiciary, especially the attachment of the property of debtors who had never lived in the province;
  • the old quorum trouble in the House of Commons that caused conflict between the House and the governor; and
  • the conflict over the selection of the chief personnel of the provincial government by the crown rather than through the assembly.
After Governor's Palace, Newbern was attacked by Whigs on 24 April 1775, he sent his family to his in-laws' home in New York and took refuge on board the sloop-of-war HMS Cruizer, transferring his headquarters to Fort Johnston on the Cape Fear River. When the Mecklenburg Resolves were published in May 1775, Martin transmitted a copy to England, which he described as "setting up a system of rule and regulation subversive of his majesty's government." Martin then requested a supply of arms and ammunition from General Thomas Gage in Boston. In July 1775, a plot instigated by Martin to arm the slaves was discovered. In retaliation, John Ashe led a group of colonists against Fort Johnston on 20 July. Martin was forced to flee aboard the Cruizer while the colonists destroyed the fort. Martin remained off the coast of North Carolina, directing the rising of the Loyalists, whom he supplied with weapons brought from England.

Later life

After two attempts during the Carolina campaign to re-establish his administration were turned back, Martin, who was then in ill health due to fatigue, left for Long Island and then England. He died in London on 13 April 1786 and was buried at St George's, Hanover Square, London.

Honors

Martin County, North Carolina, is named after him.