Elijah Webb Chastain (September 25, 1813 – April 9, 1874) was an American politician, soldier and lawyer.

Biography

Chastain was born near Pickens, South Carolina, in 1813. His family moved to Habersham, Georgia, in 1821. During the Seminole Wars, he served as a captain and a colonel. After receiving admission to the state bar in 1849, Chastain began practice in

Blairsville, Georgia Blairsville is a city and the county seat of Union County, Georgia, Union County, on the northern border of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It was founded near the Nottely River, which was dammed in 1942 as part of the Tennessee Valle ...

. In 1811, Chastain moved to

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the river here made this an attractive location to buil ...

. Elected to represent

Georgia's 5th congressional district Georgia's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The district was represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat John Lewis from January 3, 1987 until his death on J ...

in the United States House of Representatives as a Unionist during the

32nd United States Congress The 32nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1851, ...

, Chastain won reelection as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to an additional term in the

33rd Congress The 33rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853, ...

and served in Congress from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1855. Chastain was delegate to the Georgia secession convention in Milledgeville in 1861 which passed the

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

. He served as lieutenant colonel in the Confederate States Army as part of the First Georgia Regiment during the American Civil War. During that time he was also Georgia's attorney for the Western and Atlantic Railroad in 1860 and 1861. Chastain died near Dalton, Georgia, on April 9, 1874, and was buried in his family cemetery near

Morganton, Georgia Morganton is a city in Fannin County, Georgia, Fannin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 303 at the 2010 census. History Prior to European colonization, the area that is now Morganton was inhabited by the Che ...

References

Retrieved on 2008-10-12

Notes

1813 births 1874 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers American people of the Seminole Wars Confederate States Army officers People from Pickens, South Carolina Georgia (U.S. state) Unionists Signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Milledgeville, Georgia People from Blairsville, Georgia 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References

Notes