 Nyora kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Chambers akaberekerwa muCattaraugus, New York. Akapedza kudzidza kuWest Point nekirasi ya1853 iyo yaisanganisirawo John Schofield naPhilip Sheridan, uye akagadzwa wechipiri lieutenant. Akarwa muHondo yeSeminole kubva muna 1855, uye akasimudzirwa kuva lieutenant wekutanga muna 1859. Muna May 1861, nokukurumidza pashure pokunge hondo yatanga, akasimudzirwa kuva kaputeni, uye akaita basa rokutsvaka muIowa. Akasimudzirwa kuva colonel muna March 1862, akatora mutungamiri we16th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment, achitungamirira muhondo yeShiloh uye muhondo yeIuka, vachikuvadzwa pazviitiko zvose zviri zviviri. Achidzokera kubasa, akatungamirira boka muVicksburg Campaign. Muna August 1863, akagadzwa kuva brigadier general wevazvipiri uye akatungamira chikamu muXVII Corps, asi kugadzwa kwake kwakabviswa neU.S. Senate muna April 1864. Musi waDecember 8, 1868, Mutungamiri Andrew Johnson vakasarudza Chambers kuti vasarudzwe kuti vagadzire brevet grade ye brigadier general of volunteers, kuti vave kubva musi waMarch 13, 1865, nokuda kweHondo yeChampions Hill, uye Senate yeUnited States yakasimbisa kusarudzwa musi waFebruary 16, 1869. 