George Washington Ashburn (April 13, 1814 – March 31, 1868) was a Radical Republican US Senate candidate and judge assassinated by the Ku Klux Klan in Columbus, Georgia, for his pro-African-American actions.

[3] Ashburn called to order the Georgia Constitutional Convention of 1867–1868, held in Atlanta, which also aimed at removing the obstructions placed on African Americans rights after the end of slavery.

[6] Considered a scalawag by his white Columbus neighbors, he worked with the Freedmens Bureau and alongside African American leaders such as Henry McNeal Turner.

Ashburn lived amongst the African American population and garnered attention from the Ku Klux Klan, which established their Columbus chapter on March 21, 1868, after a visit from Nathan Bedford Forrest.

As soon as he heard of the murder, Meade implemented martial law in Columbus, removing the mayor from office, and ordering the immediate arrest of all suspects.

The pro-Klan forces in the South capitalized upon the events, publishing a full-length book on the trial titled Radical Rule: Military Outrage in Georgia.