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. In 1811, Chastain moved to
Milledgeville, Georgia. Elected to represent
Georgia's 5th congressional district in the
United States House of Representatives as a Unionist during the
32nd United States Congress, Chastain won reelection as a
Democrat to an additional term in the
33rd Congress 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. 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. ==See also==