Chatham, New Hampshire Chatham, New Hampshire Chatham is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 337 at the 2010 census. It is located in the White Mountains, and except for the southeast corner, all of Chatham is in the White Mountain National Forest. The town is home to the Cold River national forest campgrounds. Chatham was granted to Peter Livins and others, 7 February 1767, by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. The town was named in honor of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and Prime Minister of Great Britain, who had recently led Britain to victory in the Seven
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham Chatham soon acquired a reputation for disorganisation and laziness. Contemporaries noted 'the inconvenience attending his laying in bed till the day is advanced, as officers &c were kept waiting'. During the first major campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars Chatham's Admiralty was blamed in part for the failure of the 1793 siege of Dunkirk. Due to miscommunication between the Board of Ordnance and the Admiralty, the ships carrying siege weaponry and supplies for the besieging forces arrived two weeks late. Although in this instance Chatham does not seem to have been guilty of any neglect, his reputation was fatally compromised.