HON. JOHN CHANDLER.
��IJo.s'jON. Jini. 17. 1817. Dkak Sik: Vour letter of the 11th was received yestercUij-. I think that (Jeueral Lewi.-i ou<>;lit not to be allowed to pass unnoticed. His jjeneral charac- ter atlords iiiin very little shelter, and his military fame is too notorious to re- quire any specilication. it would be quite suiiicient to allude generally to his total inefficiency in eveij' situation lie held during the war. notwithstand- ing his show and pagentry on all occa- sions ; in short, his conduct at Foit George. Niagara. * * was so consijicu- ous and so well known to evci-y one as to render him absolutely ridiculous, and lie, above all men, should have been very cautious how be gave any occasion to others for attacking his military glass house. His ponii)ous parade on setting out from Albany for Niagara, and while on the journey (when he ought to have set otf" many days earlier and have made as rapid progress as possible), and his total inattention to the impor- tant duties confided to liim after his ar- rival, were sufficent to damn any officer. I And I have been unintentionally run- ning into details, to which there would be no end. Esijccially if 1 were to enu- merate his unmilitaiy delaj-s and mis- conduct — partit'ularly in the attack on Fort George, where" the whole British force might have been captured, but for his total negligence and inefficiein'y. my state of health being such as rendered my personal exertions on shore inijjrac- ticable, and I must acknowledge that I was extremely unwilling to believe him incapable of any useful service until I was again and again disappointed in my hopes and expectations, and ultimately compelled, against my inclinations, to give up all hojjes of his evei- making an officer of any worth or use to the ar.uy. 1 believe that almost evei-y officer of the army who became acquainted with him held him in lower estimation than I did. For some time 1 thought it impossible for a man of his pride, ambition and information to be so totally destitute of any practical qualifications necessary' for an officer of his rank. Gen. Chan- dler was as much his superior in every l)ractical (juality as an efficient man is to an inefficient one ; and, from the best information, 1 am fully satislied that any misfortune which occurred at Stony Creek, where Chandler was captured, were the effects of unavoidable accident, and in no degree chargeable to his want of judgment in the disposition of the troops, or to any neglect of dutv on his part. I am, dear sir,
Henry Deaubokn. Joseph F. Wingate. Esq.
��The opinion of such a man as Gen- eral Dearborn, given nearly four years after the affair occurred, supporting the record of General Chandler's whole life, is sufficient evidence to settle any question as to his ability or courage as a military man.
The question of separation contin- ued to be discussed during the year 1 817, and many of the Federal party supported the movement. General Chandler continued as active as be- fore to promote the movement. He was chairman of a committee in 1818 which issued a circular to the voters of Kennebec county. The commit- tee consisted of the following gentle- men : John Chandler, James Bridge, Ebenezer T. Warren, Timothy Bou- telle, Nathan Cutler, and Reuel Wil- liams. No better proof is needed to establish his high standing in society, and his ability as a civilian, than the fact that he was at the head of a com- mittee of men of their character and position in the district. When the convention met in Portland, Oct. 11, 1S19, he was one of the committee of thirty-three to whom was assigned the duty of preparing a constitution. The document this committee pre- sented is a model for any common- wealth. In the debates in that con- vention he took a prominent part. NVhen Maine was admitted as a state, in 1820, he was chosen to the state senate from Kennebec county. The questions that had divided parties had ])assed away. Monroe was re-elected that year, receiving every electoral vote save one. William King was elected governor by nearly a unani- mous vote. The legislature was chos- en without regard to former party divisions. It was a body of able men. Both branches had on their rolls men that had served in the Revolution, and in what was then known as " the last war." Benjamin Ames v/as chosen speaker of the house, and John Chan- dler president of the senate. In a few weeks after he and Hon. John Holmes were chosen our first senators in congress. Resigning the position
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