 He was, however, successful in 1872 where he was elected as an Independent Republican to the Forty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Stewart L. Woodford; he was reelected as an Independent Republican to the Forty-fourth Congress and as a Republican to the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses and served from November 3, 1874 to March 3, 1881.He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1880 to the Forty-seventh Congress and retired from public life.On May 10, 1837, Chittenden was married to Mary Elizabeth Hartwell (1815–1852), the daughter of Sherman Hartwell and Sophia Todd.