John Adair John Adair ( January 9 , 1757 – May 19 , 1840 ) was an American pioneer , soldier and statesman . He was the eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the U . S . House and Senate . A native of South Carolina , Adair enlisted in the state militia and served in the Revolutionary War , during which he was twice captured and held as a prisoner of war by the British . Following the war , he was elected as a delegate to South Carolina ' s convention to ratify the United States Constitution . After moving to Kentucky in 1786 , Adair participated in the Northwest Indian War , including a skirmish with the Miami chief Little Turtle near Fort St . Clair in 1792 . Popular for his service in two wars , he entered politics in 1792 as a delegate to Kentucky ' s constitutional convention . After Kentucky ' s separation from Virginia , Adair was elected to a total of eight terms in the state House of Representatives between 1793 and 1803 . He served as Speaker of the Kentucky House in 1802 and 1803 , and was a delegate to the state ' s second constitutional convention in 1799 . He ascended to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated when John Breckinridge resigned to become Attorney General of the United States , but failed to win a full term in the subsequent election due to his implication in the Burr conspiracy . After a long legal battle , he was acquitted of any wrongdoing , and his accuser , General James Wilkinson , was ordered to issue an apology , but the negative publicity kept him out of politics for more than a decade . Adair ' s participation in the War of 1812 , and a subsequent protracted defense of Kentucky ' s soldiers against Andrew Jackson ' s charges that they showed cowardice at the Battle of New Orleans , restored his reputation . He returned to the state House in 1817 , and Isaac Shelby , his commanding officer in the war who was serving a second term as governor , appointed him adjutant general of the state militia . In 1820 , Adair was elected governor on a platform of financial relief for Kentuckians hit hard by the Panic of 1819 . His primary effort toward this end was the creation of the Bank of the Commonwealth , but many of his other financial reforms were deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Court of Appeals , touching off the Old Court – New Court controversy . Following his term as governor , Adair served one undistinguished term in the United States House of Representatives , and did not run for re - election . He died May 19 , 1840 , at his farm in Harrodsburg . Three counties named " Adair " are named for him ( in Kentucky , Missouri and Iowa ) , as are the cities of Adairville , Kentucky , and Adair , Iowa . Early life . John Adair was born January 9 , 1757 , in Chester County , South Carolina , a son of Scottish immigrants Baron William and Mary ( Moore ) Adair . He was educated at schools in Charlotte , North Carolina , and enlisted in the South Carolina militia at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War . He was assigned to the regiment of his friend , Edward Lacey , under the command of Colonel Thomas Sumter and participated in the failed colonial assault on a Loyalist outpost at Rocky Mount and the subsequent colonial victory at the Battle of Hanging Rock . During the British victory over the colonists at the August 16 , 1780 , Battle of Camden , Adair was taken as a prisoner of war . He contracted smallpox and was treated harshly by his captors during his months - long imprisonment . Although he eventually escaped , Adair was unable to reach safety due to difficulties related to his smallpox infection and was recaptured by British Colonel Banastre Tarleton after only three days . Subsequently , he was released via a prisoner exchange . In 1781 , he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the South Carolina militia , and fought in the drawn Battle of Eutaw Springs , the war ' s last major battle in the Carolinas . Edward Lacey was elected sheriff of Chester County after the war , and Adair replaced him in his former capacity as the county ' s justice of the peace . He was chosen as a delegate to the South Carolina convention to ratify the U . S . Constitution . In 1784 , Adair married Katherine Palmer . They had twelve children , ten of them daughters . One married Thomas Bell Monroe , who later served as Adair ' s Secretary of State and was appointed to a federal judgeship . In 1786 , the Adairs migrated westward to Kentucky , settling in Mercer County . Service in the Northwest Indian War . Enlisting for service as a captain in the Northwest Indian War in 1791 , Adair was soon promoted to major and assigned to the brigade of James Wilkinson . On November 6 , 1792 , a band of Miamis under the command of Little Turtle encountered Adair and about 100 men serving under him on a scouting mission near Fort St . Clair in Ohio . When the Miami attacked , Adair ordered Lieutenant ( and afterward governor of Kentucky ) George Madison to attack their right flank while Adair led 25 men to attack the left flank . ( Adair had intended for a subordinate to lead the charge , but the officer was killed before Adair could give the order . ) The maneuver forced the Miamis to fall back and allowed Adair ' s men to escape . They retreated to their camp and made a stand , forcing the Miamis to withdraw . Six of Adair ' s men were killed ; another four went missing and five were wounded . Among the wounded were Madison and Richard Taylor , father of future U . S . President Zachary Taylor . Recognizing his bravery and fighting skill , Adair ' s superiors promoted him to lieutenant colonel . He was assigned to the command of Charles Scott , who would eventually serve as Kentucky ' s fourth governor . He assisted in the construction of Fort Greeneville in 1794 , forwarding supplies to Anthony Wayne during his operations which ended in a decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers . Early political career . Popular for his military service , Adair was chosen as a delegate to the Kentucky constitutional convention in 1792 . Upon the state ' s admission to the Union , he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives , serving from 1793 to 1795 . He also remained active in the Kentucky militia . On February 25 , 1797 , he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the 2nd Brigade of the Kentucky Militia . He was promoted to major general and given command of the 2nd Division of the Kentucky Militia on December 16 , 1799 . Adair returned to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1798 . When Kentuckians voted to hold another constitutional convention in 1799 to correct weaknesses in their first constitution , Adair was chosen as a delegate . At the convention , he was the leader of a group of politically ambitious delegates who opposed most limits on the powers and terms of office of elected officials , particularly on legislators . He was elected to the Kentucky House again from 1800 to 1803 . A candidate for a seat in the U . S . Senate in 1800 , he was defeated by an overwhelming 68 – 13 vote of the legislature by John Breckinridge , who had been the acknowledged leader of the just - concluded constitutional convention . In 1802 , Adair succeeded Breckinridge as Speaker of the House by a vote of 30 – 14 over Elder David Purviance , the candidate preferred by Governor James Garrard . He continued to serve as Speaker for the duration of his tenure in the House . Also in 1802 , the legislature formed Adair County , Kentucky , naming it after the popular Speaker . In January 1804 , Garrard nominated Adair to the position of registrar of the state land office . Adair ' s was the seventh name submitted by Garrard to the state Senate for the position ; his approval by the Senate marked the end of a two - month imbroglio between Garrard and the legislature over the appointment . Later that year , he was a candidate for the U . S . Senate seat then occupied by John Brown . Although Henry Clay supported Brown ' s re - election , Adair had the support of Felix Grundy . Grundy accused Brown of involvement in a conspiracy to make Kentucky a province of the Spanish government , damaging his popularity . Adair won a plurality , but not a majority , of the votes cast in six consecutive ballots . Clay then threw his support to Buckner Thruston , a more palatable candidate who defeated Adair on the seventh ballot . Grundy ' s influence in the legislature continued to grow , and when John Breckinridge resigned to accept President Thomas Jefferson ' s appointment as U . S . Attorney General in August 1805 , the Senate chose Adair to fill the vacancy . Charged with disloyalty . Former Vice - President Aaron Burr visited Kentucky in 1805 , reaching the city of Frankfort , Kentucky , on May 25 and lodging with former Senator John Brown . During the trip , he consulted with many prominent politicians , Adair among them , about the possibility of wresting Mexico from Spain . Most of those he spoke with believed he was acting on behalf of the federal government and intended to expand U . S . holdings in Mexico . Adair believed this too , having received letters from his former commander , James Wilkinson , that appeared to confirm it . In 1806 , however , Burr was arrested in Frankfort on charges of treason ; officials claimed he in fact intended to create a new , independent nation in Spanish lands . Convinced of his innocence , Henry Clay represented Burr , while Joseph Hamilton Daveiss acted as prosecutor . Harry Innes presided over the trial , which commenced November 11 . Daveiss had to ask for a postponement because Davis Floyd , one of his key witnesses , was then serving in the Indiana legislature and could not be present in court . The court next convened on December 2 , and Daveiss again had to ask for a postponement , this time because Adair , another witness , was not present . Adair had traveled to Louisiana to inspect a tract of land he had recently purchased there . On his arrival in New Orleans , he was arrested on the order of his former commander , James Wilkinson , then serving as governor of the Louisiana Territory . Clay had insisted that the trial proceed in Adair ' s absence , and , the next day , Daveiss presented indictments against Burr for treason and against Adair as a co - conspirator . After hearing testimony , the grand jury rejected the indictment against Adair as " not a true bill " and similarly dismissed the charges against Burr two days later . After his vindication by the grand jury , Adair counter - sued Wilkinson in federal court . Although the legal battle between the two spanned several years , the court found that Wilkinson had no solid evidence against Adair and ordered Wilkinson to issue a public apology and pay Adair $ 2 , 500 in damages . Adair ' s acquittal and successful countersuit came too late to prevent damage to his political career . Because of his association with Burr ' s scheme , he lost the election for a full term in the Senate in November 1806 . Rather than wait for his partial term to expire , he resigned on November 18 , 1806 . Service in the War of 1812 . Adair rejoined the Kentucky militia at the outset of the War of 1812 . After Oliver Hazard Perry ' s victory in the September 10 , 1813 , Battle of Lake Erie , William Henry Harrison called on Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby , a popular Revolutionary War hero , to recruit troops in Kentucky and join him in his invasion of Canada . Shelby asked Adair to serve as his first aide - de - camp . Future Kentucky governor and U . S . Senator John J . Crittenden was Shelby ' s second aide and future U . S . Senator and Postmaster General William T . Barry was his secretary . Adair rendered commendable service in the campaign , most notably at the American victory in the Battle of the Thames on October 5 , 1813 . Shelby praised Adair ' s service and in 1814 , made him adjutant general of Kentucky and brevetted him to the rank of brigadier general . In late 1814 , Andrew Jackson requested reinforcements from Kentucky for his defense of the Gulf of Mexico . Adair quickly raised three regiments , but the federal government provided them no weapons and no means of transportation . James Taylor , Jr . , then serving as quartermaster general of the state militia , took out a $ 6 , 000 mortgage on his personal land to purchase boats to transport Adair ' s men . The number of men with Adair was later disputed ; sources variously give numbers between 700 and 1 , 500 . Many did not have weapons , and the ones who did were primarily armed with their civilian rifles . John Thomas , to whom Adair was an adjunct , fell ill just before the battle commenced , leaving Adair responsible for all the Kentuckians present at the battle . On January 7 , 1815 , Adair traveled to New Orleans and requested that the city ' s leaders lend him several stands of arms from the city armory to arm his militiamen . The officials agreed under the condition that the removal of the arms from the armory be kept secret from the citizenry . The weapons were placed in boxes and delivered to Adair ' s camp on the night of January 7 . At Adair ' s suggestion , his men were placed in reserve and located centrally behind the Tennessee militiamen under William Carroll . From there , they could quickly move to reinforce whichever portion of the American line received the heaviest attack from the British . Apparently unaware of Adair ' s request , that evening , Jackson ordered 400 unarmed Kentucky militiamen under Colonel John Davis to march to New Orleans to obtain arms , then reinforce the 450 Louisiana militiamen under David B . Morgan on the west bank of the Mississippi River . When they arrived in New Orleans , they were told that the city ' s arms had already been shipped to Adair . The citizens collected what weapons they had – mostly old muskets in various states of disrepair – and gave them to Davis ' s men . About 200 men were thus armed and reported to Morgan as ordered , just hours before the start of the Battle of New Orleans . The remainder of Davis ' s men returned to the main camp , still without weapons . As the British approached on the morning of January 8 , it became evident that they would try to break the American line through Carroll ' s Tennesseans , and Adair advanced his men to support them . The main American line held and repulsed the British attack ; in total , only six Americans were killed and seven wounded . Meanwhile , Davis ' s Kentuckians on the west bank had , upon their arrival in Morgan ' s camp , been sent to meet the advance of a secondary British force . Outnumbered , poorly armed , and without the benefit of breastworks or artillery support , they were quickly outflanked and forced to retreat . Seeing the retreat of the Kentuckians , Morgan ' s militiamen abandoned their breastworks ; Adair would later claim they had never even fired a shot . The British quickly abandoned the position they had just captured , but Jackson resented the setback in an otherwise spectacular victory . Controversy with Andrew Jackson . Jackson ' s official report blamed the Kentuckians ' retreat for the collapse of the west bank defenses , and many Kentuckians felt it downplayed the importance of Adair ' s militiamen on the east bank in preserving the American line and securing the victory . Davis ' s men insisted the report was based on Jackson ' s misunderstanding of the facts and asked that Adair request a court of inquiry , which convened in February 1815 with Major General Carroll of Tennessee presiding . The court ' s report found that " [ t ] he retreat of the Kentucky militia , which , considering their position , the deficiency of their arms , and other causes , may be excusable , " and that the formation of the troops on the west bank was " exceptional " , noting that 500 Louisiana troops supported by three artillery pieces and protected by a strong breastwork were charged with defending a line that stretched only while Davis ' s 170 Kentuckians , poorly armed and protected only by a small ditch , were expected to defend a line over long . On February 10 , 1816 , the Kentucky General Assembly passed a resolution thanking Adair for his service at the Battle of New Orleans and for his defense of the soldiers accused by Jackson . Jackson approved the court ' s findings , but they were not the full refutation of Jackson ' s report that many Kentuckians – including Adair – had wanted . In a letter that was quickly made public , Adair – formerly one of Jackson ' s close friends – insisted that Jackson withdraw or modify his official report , but Jackson refused . This ended the matter until June 1815 when H . P . Helm , secretary to John Thomas , forwarded to a Frankfort newspaper remarks from " the general " that had been annexed to the official report . The remarks stated that the general was now convinced that the initial reports of cowardice by Davis ' s men " had been misrepresented " and that their retreat had been " not only excusable , but absolutely justifiable " . The remarks – believed to be from Jackson in response to Adair ' s letter – were subsequently reprinted across Kentucky . " The general " referenced was General John Thomas , however ; Jackson had never seen them . Helm claimed he sent a correction to the newspaper that published the remarks , but it was not printed . Jackson did not discover the remarks until they were published again in January 1817 in response to a Boston newspaper ' s criticism of Kentucky militiamen . He then wrote to the " Kentucky Reporter " , denouncing the remarks as a forgery . The " Reporter " investigated and published an explanation of how Thomas ' s remarks had been attributed to Jackson . They did not reprint Jackson ' s letter because they felt his claim that the remarks had been intentionally forged – a charge which was now found to be false – was too inflammatory . The editors promised that if their retraction did not satisfy Jackson , they would fully publish any of his additional remarks on the subject . In Jackson ' s April 1817 response , he implied that Adair had intentionally misrepresented the remarks , and reasserted that they had been forged , possibly by Adair himself . Adair believed Jackson ' s references to the remarks as a " forged dish , dressed in the true Spanish style " was a thinly veiled reference to Adair ' s alleged participation in the Burr conspiracy . As ostensible proof that he was not predisposed against Kentuckians , Jackson also implied that he had not reported additional dishonorable behavior by Kentucky militiamen during the battle . This letter thrust the dispute into the national spotlight and prompted Adair to resume correspondence with him both to defend Davis ' s men and refute Jackson ' s charges of conspiracy . In his May 1817 response , he reasserted his defense of the Kentucky militiamen at New Orleans and dismissed many of Jackson ' s allegations as unimportant and untrue . He flatly denied the existence of a conspiracy , and chastised Jackson for making charges without supporting evidence . Responding to Jackson ' s allusion to Spain , Adair recalled that Jackson had also been implicated with Burr . Unable to provide tangible evidence of Adair ' s alleged misdeeds , Jackson provided indirect evidence that a conspiracy was possible . His response , delayed by his treaty negotiations with the Cherokee , was printed September 3 , 1817 , and used complicated calculations based on spacing and distance , to argue that Adair had only half the number of men he claimed to have commanded at the Battle of New Orleans . Further , he claimed that Adair had ordered Davis to New Orleans to obtain weapons knowing that the arms had already been taken by other brigades under Adair ' s command . Either Adair had given a foolish order , or he did not have as many men in his main force as he claimed . He closed by promising that this would be his last statement on the matter . Adair ' s October 29 , 1817 , response was delayed , he said , because he was awaiting documents from New Orleans that never came . In it , he quoted from a letter to Jackson ' s aide - de - camp – cited by Jackson himself in previous correspondence – showing that Jackson had been made aware of both the existence and the authorship of Thomas ' s remarks in 1815 but declined the opportunity to refute them . He also defended his account of the number of troops under his command , which he had consistently reported as being near 1 , 000 , and asked why Jackson had not challenged it until now . Finally , he claimed that not only did he retrieve the weapons from New Orleans under Jackson ' s orders , but he rode Jackson ' s horse to New Orleans to effect the transaction . Tradition holds that this letter prompted either Adair or Jackson to challenge the other to a duel , but friends of both men averted the conflict after assembling to watch ; no written evidence of the event exists . Tensions between the two eventually eased , and Adair came to comfort Jackson after his wife Rachel ' s death in 1828 . Adair also campaigned for Jackson during his presidential campaigns in 1824 , 1828 , and 1832 . Jackson ' s opponents compiled copies of his letters into campaign pamphlets to use against him in Kentucky during these elections . Governor of Kentucky . Adair ' s participation in the War of 1812 and subsequent correspondence with Jackson restored his reputation . He continued to serve as adjutant general until 1817 , when the voters returned him to the state House of Representatives . He was nominated for Speaker of the House during that term , and , although he was not elected , he drew support from members of both parties , largely because of his correspondence with Jackson . In the aftermath of the Panic of 1819 – the first major financial crisis in United States history – the primary political issue of the day was debt relief . The federal government had created the Second Bank of the United States in 1817 , and its strict credit policy hit Kentucky ' s large debtor class hard . Sitting governor Gabriel Slaughter had lobbied for some measures favored by the state ' s debtors , particularly punitive taxes against the branches of the Bank of the United States in Louisville and Lexington . The Second Party System had not yet developed , but there were nonetheless two opposing factions that arose around the debt relief issue . The first – primarily composed of land speculators who had bought large land parcels on credit and were unable to repay their debts due to the financial crisis – was dubbed the Relief Party or faction and favored more legislation favorable to debtors . Opposed to them was the Anti - Relief Party or faction ; it was composed primarily of the state ' s aristocracy , many of whom were creditors to the land speculators and demanded that their contracts be adhered to without interference from the government . They claimed that no government intervention could effectively aid the debtors and that attempts to do so would only prolong the economic depression . Adair was the clear leader of the Relief faction , and his popularity had been enhanced thanks to his lengthy and public dispute with Jackson . In the 1820 gubernatorial election , he was elected as Kentucky ' s chief executive over three fellow Democratic - Republicans . Adair garnered 20 , 493 votes ; U . S . Senator William Logan finished second with 19 , 497 , fellow veteran Joseph Desha received 12 , 419 , and Colonel Anthony Butler mustered only 9 , 567 votes . Proponents of debt relief measures also won majorities in both houses of the General Assembly . Debt relief . Kentucky historian Lowell H . Harrison opined that the most important measure implemented during Adair ' s administration was the creation of the Bank of the Commonwealth in 1820 . The bank made generous loans and liberally issued paper money . Although bank notes issued by the Bank of the Commonwealth quickly fell well below par , creditors who refused to accept these devalued notes had to wait two years before seeking replevin . To inspire confidence in the devalued notes , Adair mandated that all officers of the state receive their salaries in notes issued by the Bank of the Commonwealth . The state ' s other bank , the Bank of Kentucky , adhered to more conservative banking practices . While this held the value of its notes closer to par , it also rendered loans less available , which angered relief - minded legislators ; consequently , they revoked the bank ' s charter in December 1822 . Adair oversaw the abolition of the practice of debt incarceration , and sanctioned rigorous anti - gambling legislation . Legislators also exempted from forced sale the items then considered necessary for making a living – a horse , a plow , a hoe , and an ax . The Kentucky Court of Appeals , then the state ' s court of last resort , struck down the law ordering a two - year stay of replevin because it impaired the obligation of contracts . At about the same time , the U . S . Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of " Green v . Biddle " , holding that land claims granted by Virginia in the District of Kentucky before Kentucky became a separate state took precedence over those later granted by the state of Kentucky if the two were in conflict . Adair denounced this decision in an 1823 message to the legislature , warning against federal and judicial interference in the will of the people , expressed through the legislature . Emboldened by Adair ' s message , Relief partisans sought to remove the three justices of the state Court of Appeals , as well as James Clark , a lower court judge who had issued a similar ruling , from the bench . The judges were spared when their opponents failed to obtain the two - thirds majority required for removal . Other matters of Adair ' s term . Adair urged legislators to create a public school system . In response , the General Assembly passed an act creating a state " Literary Fund " which received half of the clear profits accrued by the Bank of the Commonwealth . The fund was to be available , proportionally , to each of the state ' s counties for the establishment of " a system of general education " . In the tumultuous economic environment , however , legislators routinely voted to borrow from the Literary Fund to pay for other priorities , chiefly the construction of internal improvements . Adair ' s lieutenant governor , William T . Barry , and John Pope , Secretary of State under Adair ' s predecessor , headed a six - man committee authorized by the act to study the creation of a system of common schools . The Barry Report , delivered to the legislature in December 1822 , was lauded by such luminaries as John Adams , Thomas Jefferson , and James Madison . Authored by committee member Amos Kendall , it criticized the idea of land grant academies then prevalent in the state as unworkable outside affluent towns . It also concluded that the Literary Fund alone was insufficient for funding a system of common schools . The report recommended that funds only be made available to counties that imposed a county tax for the benefit of the public school system . Legislators largely ignored the report , a decision Kentucky historian Thomas D . Clark called " one of the most egregious blunders in American educational history " . Adair ' s endorsement of the Missouri Compromise was instrumental in securing its passage by Kentucky legislators . He advocated prison reform and better treatment of the insane . He also oversaw the enactment of a plan for internal improvements , including improved navigation on the Ohio River . Later life and death . Barred from seeking immediate re - election by the state constitution , Adair retired to his farm in Mercer County at the expiration of his term as governor . Shortly after returning to private life , he began to complain about the low value of Bank of the Commonwealth notes – then worth about half of par – and petitioned the legislature to remedy the situation . The complaint of a former Relief Party governor over the ill effects of pro - relief legislation prompted wry celebration among members of the Anti - Relief faction . Adair made one final appearance in public life when he was elected to the U . S . House of Representatives as a Jackson Democrat in 1831 . During the 22nd Congress ( 1831 – 1833 ) , he served on the Committee on Military Affairs . During his term , he made only one speech , and it was so inaudible that no one knew what position he was advocating . The House reporter speculated that it concerned mounting federal troops on horseback . He did not run for re - election in 1833 and left public life for good . He died at home in Harrodsburg on May 19 , 1840 , and was buried on the grounds of his estate , White Hall . In 1872 , his remains were moved to the Frankfort Cemetery , and the state erected a marker over his grave there . In addition to Adair County in Kentucky , Adair County , Missouri , Adair County , Iowa , and the cities of Adairville , Kentucky , and Adair , Iowa , were named in his honor .