American Medical Biographies/Chapman, Chandler Burnell
Chapman, Chandler Burnell (1815–1877)
Chandler Burnell Chapman was born in Middlebury, Vermont, July 7, 1815, and graduated from a college of medicine in the City of New York, in which city he was married to Mary Eugenia Pease, June, 1837. The young couple settled in Trumbull County, Ohio, where Dr. Chapman practised until May, 1846, when he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, then a settlement of less than four hundred persons. He accomplished the journey in one week's time by means of private conveyance, steamboat and stage. In addition to his practice, in the early fifties he conducted a school of medicine. Later Dr. Chapman devoted a part of his time to his duties as professor of chemistry and other studies at Miami and Cincinnati Colleges of Medicine. Among his published works is an "Agricultural Chemistry." At the outbreak of the Civil War he accompanied the sixth Wisconsin Regiment as surgeon and later was appointed surgeon of the famous "Iron Brigade." During the later years of the war Dr. Chapman served as medical director of the Army of the Rio Grande under Gen. Herron, his entire service covering the period between June, 1861 and August, 1864. Not infrequently he did operations which would be considered difficult at this time and to be undertaken only by the foremost surgeons. He was one of the organizers of the Dane County Medical Society.
Chapman made two journeys to the old world, spending a year and more each time, observing with great interest a number of the earliest operations performed under anesthetics, and spent much of his time visiting the hospitals of Great Britain and the Continent.
During the later years of his life he became deeply interested in the development of the state of Kansas.
He died at his home in Madisons, May 18, 1877, leaving a widow, a daughter, Eugenia Gillette, and a son. Chandler Pease.