 Samuel's father, William Shepperd Ashe (1814–1862), served in the North Carolina state senate and as a United States Congressman.The United Confederate Veterans conferred the title of Brigadier General upon Samuel A. Ashe in 1936 in New Orleans, Louisiana.Ashe is also noted for his booklet on the war titled "A Southern View of the Invasion of the Southern States and War of 1861-65."