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, at the request of George Washington,[1] as a second lieutenant in the Ninth Infantry in July 1799.

Peter was elected as a Federalist to the Fourteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Alexander C. Hanson.

His son George Peter stepped in his footsteps and became a member and president of the Maryland State Senate.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress