Rise to governor Alston won election to the
South Carolina House of Representatives for an 1802–1803 term and later for a more extended period, 1805 to 1812. In 1805, the House of Representatives chose Alston to be the
Speaker, and he pushed the legislature to adopt a more equitable basis of representation. Alston was implicated in the
Burr conspiracy by Burr's correspondence (which is considered unreliable since had been altered by
James Wilkinson), a journal entry of
Harman Blannerhasset, and testimony of
William Eaton, and others. In 1812, the
General Assembly elected Alston to be the
Governor of South Carolina for a two-year term, after the removal of
Thomas Sumter and
Andrew Pickens as candidates. Alston's private life suffered tragedy by the loss of his wife and only child and the disappearance of a ship headed towards
New York City which his wife had boarded. His troubles continued as his tenure got off to a rocky start and his popularity plummeted.
War of 1812 With the
War of 1812 raging, Governor Alston called the state
militia into service in 1813, to protect military
magazines from the
British. Some soldiers of the militia refused to serve, and Alston issued a statement that the refusal of service would result in a
death sentence. However, a court issued a writ of
habeas corpus, and the men who had been charged with
courts-martial were released. Subsequently, Alston dismissed the entire militia from service; but the residents were in shock that their state was then completely defenseless from
British attack. The Governor was forced to recall the militia into service after British forces landed on
St. Helena Island, and the
South Carolina General Assembly correspondingly increased the powers of the
governor for the use of the militia in wartime. ==Later life==