Information AboutJohn Chandler |
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John Chandler ( February 1 , 1762 — September 25 , 1841 ) was an American Politician and Soldier of Maine . The political career of Chandler, a Democratic-Republican , was interspersed with his involvement in the state Militia during both the American Revolutionary War and War Of 1812 . Chandler was born in Epping , New Hampshire , the brother of Thomas Chandler. His father was a Captain in the French And Indian War and the Revolutionary War, and had died in 1776 . Chandler was self-educated and enlisted in the Continental Army at age 15. After the end of the war, he settled on a farm near Monmouth , then a part of Massachusetts . At the time, Chandler was both illiterate and without money. However, he had become the protégé of General Henry Dearborn , the future Secretary Of War . Dearborn borrowed $400 from the Dearborns and bought 200 acres (0.8 km&2) of land. He became wealthy as a Blacksmith . From 1803 to 1805 , Chandler served in the State Senate ; he later was elected to the U.S. House Of Representatives as a Republican, serving from March 4 , 1805 to March 3 , 1809 . Chandler was not a candidate for renomination in 1808 and was appointed Sheriff of Kennebec County the same year. During the War of 1812, Chandler served in the Maine Militia ( 1812 - 1815 ). On July 8 , 1812, he was Commissioned as a Brigadier General . Chandler was wounded and captured during the Niagara Campaign at the Battle Of Stoney Creek in Canada , when he wandered into the British line, thinking it was his own. After the war ended, Chandler returned to politics as a member of the Massachusetts General Court in 1819 . Chandler was the first president of the Maine senate and a member of the Maine Constitutional Convention. Upon the admission of Maine to the Union, Chandler was elected to the U.S. Senate . Chandler began his term on June 14 , 1820 , and was reelected in 1823 . During his time in the Senate, Chandler was the Chairman of the Committee on Militia during the 18th through 20th Congresses and played a key role in establishing the arsenal at Augusta , as well as the construction of the military road from Bangor to Houlton . He resigned on March 3, 1829 , to become the customs collector of Portland , a post he held until 1837 . Chandler died in Augusta at age 79 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Chandler was a trustee of Bowdoin College . He was the uncle of Zachariah Chandler . SOURCES
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