John Chandler

John Chandler

John Chandler (born February 1, 1762 in Epping , New Hampshire Colony , † September 25, 1841 in Augusta , Maine ) was an American politician . Coming from a long-established New England family, he was a veteran of the American War of Independence and the British-American War , was active in the politics of the state of Massachusetts and was involved in the founding of the state of Maine.

biography

Family background

John Chandler came from a broad family whose first parents were his great, great, great grandparents William and Annis Chandler. They had settled in Roxbury , Massachusetts in 1637 and were parents to three sons and two daughters. John Chandler, like the politicians David and Willard H. Chandler , descended from their son Thomas . The politicians Thomas Chandler and Zachariah Chandler descended from their son William. From the third son, John, descended the politicians LC Chandler , William Henry Chandler , John A. Chandler .

John Chandler was one of ten children and the third eldest son of Joseph Chandler (1725–1776) and his wife Lydia (nee Eastman; 1726–1820). He grew up with three brothers and six sisters. His father had fought in the Seven Years' War in North America , was now a blacksmith and had a farm about a mile north of central Epping. After the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War he fought in the Continental Army with the rank of captain and fell in September 1776 in Mount Independence .

Youth and American Revolutionary War

For his part, John Chandler took part in the American War of Independence after the death of his father, also on the side of the Continental Army. In 1777 he committed himself for three months, although he would hardly have been patterned because of his size, which was considered too small. In the same year he was captured by the British at the Battle of Saratoga , from which he soon managed to escape. After spending the year 1778 on his family's farm, he set off for Newburyport , Massachusetts in January 1779 without the knowledge of his family and friends and hired General Arnold on the privateer . The General Arnold was under the command of Captain Moses Brown , had 18 6-pounder cannons and a crew of 120. After several successful skirmishes, the General Arnold was brought up in early June 1779 by the British warship Experiment under the command of James Wallace . Chandler was captured again and was imprisoned on a prison ship on the Savannah River . He was able to flee in September of the same year. After a long, arduous journey, he returned to Epping in February 1780 and re-enlisted in the Continental Army.

Building a new existence and political activity in Massachusetts

On August 27, 1783, he married Mary Whittier. The marriage resulted in seven children, three sons and four daughters. Two daughters and his youngest son died in childhood. His youngest daughter Clarissa Augusta married the doctor and later US Senator Amos Nourse in June 1821 .

In 1784 he moved to the District of Maine , Massachusetts, and settled in Kennebec County on a farm near Monmouth . Originally living there in poor conditions and working as a wandering blacksmith, with diligence and perseverance he achieved some prosperity and became a respected member of his community. In addition, Chandler made up for the lack of school education of his childhood with the help of the local schoolmaster.

From 1803 to 1805 he was a member of the Massachusetts Senate . He then represented from March 4, 1805 to March 3, 1809 for the Democratic Republican Party, the state of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives of the United States . In 1808 he decided not to run again. Instead, he was named Sheriff of Kennebec County by Massachusetts Governor James Sullivan that same year . On February 27, 1812, he was elected major general of the 17th Division of the Massachusetts Militia , an office of primarily symbolic character.

British-American War

After the outbreak of the British-American War in June 1812, he became a Brigadier General in the United States Army in July of the same year . In September 1812 he joined army units near Albany and took command of them. In October he received orders to march to Plattsburgh . Brigadier General Joseph Bloomfield was already there with some troops and took over command after Chandler's arrival. On November 18, Major General Henry Dearborn reached the troops and took over command in turn. He put Chandler in command of his own brigade , consisting of three infantry regiments that had taken winter quarters near Burlington . In March 1813, Chandler received orders to march to Sackets Harbor . At the beginning of April he reached his destination and replaced Zebulon Pike , who had previously commanded the troops there. In May, several infantry regiments and the were artillery regiment of Alexander Macomb from Ships, Commodore Isaac Chauncey near Fort Niagara laid. During the capture of Fort George on May 27, 1813, Chandler commanded the reserve, consisting of his brigade and the artillery regiment of Alexander Macomb.

In early June, Chandler received orders to join William H. Winder's brigade with a brigade . Together they then marched west to prevent a merger of the troops under John Vincent with the British garrison of Detroit. In the following Battle of Stoney Creek on June 5, 1813, Chandler was injured by falling from his horse and was captured with Winder. Due to poor visibility and the general chaos on the battlefield, both of them had accidentally joined the ranks of the British independently of one another. Chandler received medical attention and was taken to Quebec with Winder and other prisoners . In April 1814 he was released on a prisoner exchange and reached his home in Massachusetts in May.

He did not return to the front during the rest of the war. Instead, he was given command of local militias in and around Portland , Massachusetts to plan the defense of the city and its coastline. However, his sudden transfer to Portsmouth , New Hampshire prevented an effective implementation and created tension between the militia and the army. After the end of the war, he left the army.

Political activity in the new state of Maine

In 1819 he became a member of the Massachusetts General Court . He was also one of the 274 delegates to the Constituent Assembly of Maine and was a member of the 33-member committee that was entrusted with drafting the constitution. When Maine joined the Union in 1820, Chandler was elected to the Maine Senate for Kennebec County . There he was elected first President of the Senate by the other senators. However, since he was shortly thereafter elected by the Maine Legislature , the State Legislature Maines, to the Senate of the United States to represent the new state there, he resigned as Senate President on June 20, 1820. William Moody , who represented York County in the Maine Senate, succeeded him.

Chandler took up his seat in the US Senate on June 14, 1820. After a successful re-election, he remained a senator until March 3, 1829. He was a member of the Committee on Military Affairs during the 18th through 20th Congresses . He was then appointed by President Andrew Jackson to the tax collector of Portland and Falmouth and as such oversaw the collection of customs duties in their districts from 1829 to 1837. Chandler now settled in Augusta, Maine. In 1838 he resigned as a trustee of Bowdoin College . William King , the governor of Maine, had appointed twelve additional trustees in 1821, one of whom was a Chandler. Chandler died on September 25, 1841 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery .

literature

• George Chandler: The Chandler family. The descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637. Press of Charles Hamilton, Worcester MA 1883.
• George Foster Talbot: General John Chandler, of Monmouth, Me., With Extracts from his Autobiography. In: Collections of the Maine Historical Society. Vol. 9, 1887, pp. 167-205, ( digitized version ).

Web links

• John Chandler in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} George Chandler: The Chandler family. The descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637. 1883.
2. ^ ^{A b} John A. Ruddiman: Becoming Men of Some Consequence. Youth and Military Service in the Revolutionary War. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville VA et al. 2014, ISBN 978-0-8139-3617-8 .
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Spencer C. Tucker (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812. A Political, Social, and Military History. Volume 1: A-K. ABC-Clio Inc., Santa Barbara CA et al. 2012, ISBN 978-1-85109-956-6 , p. 118.
4. ^ ^{A b c} Edgar Stanton Maclay: Moses Brown, captain USN Baker & Taylor Co., New York NY 1904, ( digitized ).
5. ^ ^{A b c d e} George Foster Talbot: General John Chandler, of Monmouth, Me., With Extracts from his Autobiography. In: Collections of the Maine Historical Society. Vol. 9, 1887, pp. 167-205.
6. ↑ George Chandler: The Chandler family. The descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637. 1883, p. 184.
7. ^ ^{A b c} George Chandler: The Chandler family. The descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637. 1883, p. 404.
8. ↑ George Chandler: The Chandler family. The descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637. 1883, p. 403.
9. ^ ^{A b} David S. Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler (Eds.): Encyclopedia of the War of 1812. 1st Naval Institute Press paperback edition. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 2004, ISBN 1-59114-362-4 .
10. ^ Report on the Merits of the Claim of the State of Massachusetts, on the National Government. For Expenses of the Militia, During the Late War, to the Governor and Council of the Commonwealth, January, 1821. sn, Boston MA 1822, ( digitized ).
11. ^ Marshall J. Tinkle: The Maine State Constitution. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, New York NY et al. 2013, ISBN 978-0-19-986057-9 .
12. ^ ^{A b c} William D. Williamson : The history of the state of Maine; From its first discovery, AD 1602, to the separation, AD 1820, inclusive. Volume 2. A new impression. Glazier, Masters & Smith, Hallowell ME 1839, ( digitized ).
13. ↑ Resolves of the Legislature of the State of Maine, passed at its Session, which commenced on the thirty-first Day of May, and ended on the twenty-eighth Day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty. sn, Portland ME 1820, ( digitized ).
14. ↑ ^{a b} The Granite Monthly. A New Hampshire magazine, devoted to literature, history, and state progress. Vol. 7, 1884, ZDB -ID 2512371-3 , p. 10 .