George Peter (September 28, 1779 – June 22, 1861) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Biography

Born in Georgetown, Maryland, (now in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

) and the son of Mayor of Georgetown

Robert Peter Robert Peter (July 22, 1726 – November 15, 1806) was an American politician, merchant, and landowner who served as the first mayor of Georgetown, Maryland. Early life and family Robert Peter was born on July 22, 1726, in East Kilbride, Sout ...

, Peter pursued classical studies and graduated from

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...

. At the age of fifteen, Peter joined the Maryland troops in the campaign against the Whisky Insurrectionists in 1794, but at the request of his parents, was sent home. Peter was commissioned in the United States Army by President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

, at the request of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, as a second lieutenant in the Ninth Infantry in July 1799. He was transferred to the artillery in February 1801. In 1806 he was in command of

Fort Bellefontaine Fort Belle Fontaine (formerly known as Cantonment Belle Fontaine) is a former U.S. military base located in St. Louis County, Missouri, across the Mississippi and Missouri rivers from Alton, Illinois. The fort was the first U.S. military install ...

when the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition returned. In May 1808, Peter was promoted to captain and organized and commanded the first company of light artillery in the country. He resigned from the Army on June 11, 1809, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He later served as a major of volunteers in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. Peter was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

to the Fourteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Alexander C. Hanson. He was reelected as a

to the

Fifteenth In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

Congress and served from October 7, 1816, to March 3, 1819. Afterwards, Peter served in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

from 1819 to 1823. Peter was elected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress, and served from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1826 to the

Twentieth 20 (twenty) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units is sometimes referred to as a score. In mathematics Twenty is a composite number. It is also the smallest primitive abundant number. The Happy Family of ...

Congress, and resumed agricultural activities. He served as commissioner of public works of Maryland in 1855, and later retired to his plantation. He died near

Darnestown, Maryland Darnestown is a United States census-designated place (CDP) and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. The CDP is with the Potomac River as its southern border and the Muddy Branch as much of its eastern border. Seneca Creek ...

, and is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. Peter was married a total of three times. His son George Peter stepped in his footsteps and became a member and president of the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, George 1779 births 1861 deaths Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Georgetown University alumni United States Army officers Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly