In 1798, Alston was elected as a Federalist to the U.S. House, defeating incumbent Thomas Blount and two other candidates.
Alston and John Randolph of Roanoke had an intense dislike for each other, and once had a pitched fight in a Washington boarding house,[4] where heated words led to them throwing tableware at each other.
[5] Six years later, they fought again in a stairwell at the House after Alston loudly referred to Randolph as a "puppy".
[6] Alston died on April 10, 1837, in Halifax and is buried at his plantation home of Butterwood, near Littleton.
His granddaughter, Missouri Alston Pleasants, established the Alston-Pleasants scholarship fund in his memory.