Chandler Burnell Chapman was born in Middlebury, Vermont, July 7, 1815; he died in Madison, Wisconsin, May 8, 1877. His early life was occupied largely by his preparation for a medical education and after completing his studies he decided to move West. In June of 1846, he settled in Madison and immediately began to practice medicine. He was a thoroughly trained physician and practical surgeon as well. His professional activities included professorships at medical colleges in Rock Island, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Chapman was a consistent and prominent member of the Presbyterian Church and throughout his life and travels he was constantly engaged in work to found new congregations or to strengthen old ones. In addition to the church, his interests extended to Freemasonry and he was an active participant in various lodges in the Middle West. Travelling as a necessity became a great part of Dr. Chapman's life, as his business interests transcended his medical, religious, and philanthropic interests. Much of his time in the later 1860s and the 1870s was spent in Emporia, Kansas where he freely speculated with lands and merchandise.
Prior to this time, he served in the Union Army. Through the Civil War years he was a brigade surgeon to companies “F” and “S” of the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. When the war ended, he quickly returned to his business interests. He even went so far as to gain permission to practice before the bar in both Wisconsin and Kansas. For a while in 1875-1876 he was dabbling in elections in Kansas. He was also an inventor and a world traveller, In 1868 he secured a patent for a windmill and in 1857-1858 he took the first of two trips to Europe and the Near East. Shortly before his death, Dr. Chapman took his second trip to Europe and the Near East (1874-1875). He died the following year at the age of 62, leaving a wife (Mary Eugenia Chapman) and two children (Mrs. E. C. Gillett of Emporia, Kansas and Chandler Pease Chapman of Madison, Wisconsin).
Chandler Pease Chapman came to Madison, Wisconsin as an infant of two years. He was born in 1844 and died on May 12, 1897. In his mature life he was a prominent Madison realtor, assisting and associating closely with his father on technical problems regarding titles, deeds, and abstracts. Chandler P. Chapman's greatest achievement, however, won him the designation of “Father” of the Wisconsin National Guard.
The Wisconsin National Guard was largely organized on the strength of his efforts. His term of service dated from July 29, 1871, when he was commissioned Captain of the Lake City Guards of Madison. On May 19, 1881, he was promoted to Assistant Inspector General with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Finally on January 2, 1882, he was elevated to the rank of Brigadier General and appointed Adjutant and Inspector General of the State of Wisconsin. General Chapman served in this capacity until January 7, 1889, when he resigned and was placed on the retired list because of ill health.
General Chapman had begun his military career as a volunteer during the Civil War. On July 16, 1861, at the age of 18, he enlisted in Company “D”, Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, for three years, but he was subsequently discharged on March 21, 1862, for disability. He came to father the Wisconsin National Guard through his efforts of organizing the Guards into companies, battalions, and regiments. In addition, the complete uniforming and equipping of the Guard was accomplished due to his work. General Chapman's first project as Commander of the Guard was to initiate a system of record-keeping and to sponsor a program of maintenance and upkeep for state military property. The fruits of his ability and training established in the Guard a system of rigid discipline which resulted in producing a military organization of effective force. One of his final contributions was to secure for the Guard a permanent campground (Camp Douglas). General Chapman died in 1897 at 53 years of age.
