A Republican, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 4th congressional district in 1872, but he died from complications caused by yellow fever shortly before he was due to take office.
If Peters had lived long enough to have taken office officially, he would have been the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana.
In March 1872, Governor P. B. S. Pinchback appointed Peters to the additional office of Shreveport division superintendent of education.
This delay compelled Peters to remain in Shreveport in the meantime to continue working at the Freedman's Bank.
Less than a month and a half before he was set to be sworn in for the 43rd Congress, Peters contracted yellow fever, which had spread through Shreveport, and he died on October 1, 1873.