Samuel P. Carter

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Samuel Powhatan Carter
August 6, 1819(1819-08-06) – May 26, 1891 (aged 71)

Samuel P. Carter
Place of birth Elizabethton, Tennessee
Place of death Washington, D.C.
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy and United States Army
Years of service 1840-1881
Rank Major General, USA
Rear Admiral (USN)
Battles/wars Mexican-American War
American Civil War
Other work Asst. Professor of Mathematics, USNA

Samuel Powhatan Carter (August 6, 1819 – May 26, 1891) was a United States naval officer who served in the Union Army as a major general during the American Civil War and became a rear admiral in the postbellum U.S. Navy. He was the first American officer to be awarded both the rank of rear admiral and major general.

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[edit] Early life and career

Carter was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee, a direct descendant of the early settlers for whom Carter County is named. He attended Washington College and Princeton University before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in February 1840. Serving as a midshipman, Carter's five years of service included duty in the Pacific and Great Lakes region before transferring to the United States Naval Academy. He graduated in the class of 1846, later seeing action during the Mexican-American War aboard the USS Ohio at the Battle of Veracruz.

Stationed at the United States Naval Observatory for several years following the war, Carter became an assistant professor of mathematics at the United States Naval Academy for three years, from 1850 to 1853. After another tour of duty with the Pacific and Brazil Squadrons, he served in various duties before winning promotion to lieutenant in April 1855. The following year, Carter was present aboard the USS San Jacinto during the bombardment of Chinese coastal fortifications before returning to the United States to be appointed to the staff at the U.S. Naval Academy, remaining at this tour of duty until 1860.

[edit] Civil War

A foggy morning at the Pinnacle at Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.
A foggy morning at the Pinnacle at Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.

In early 1861, after receiving a letter from Carter assuring his loyalty to the Union should a civil war break out, Tennessee Governor Andrew Johnson used his influence in the War Department for Carter to organize and train militia within East Tennessee. After leading successful cavalry operations at the Battle of Mill Springs on January 19, 1862, Carter accepted a commission as brigadier general of volunteers in May and later continued leading operations at the Battle of Cumberland Gap in June as well as raids against Holston, Carter's Station, and Jonesville in December, in support of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans in the Battle of Stones River.

In July 1863, Carter was placed in command of the XXIII Corps cavalry division and continued campaigning across Tennessee throughout the year, engaging Confederate forces during the Battle of Blue Springs of the Knoxville Campaign.

By 1865, Carter was in North Carolina and commanding the left wing of the Union forces at the Battle of Kingston. He was promoted to brevet major general of volunteers, briefly commanding the XXIII Corps before being mustered out of volunteer service in January 1866.

While Carter was serving in the Union Army, the U.S. Navy promoted him to lieutenant commander in 1863, then to commander in 1865.

[edit] Postbellum career

USS Monocacy (1864)
USS Monocacy (1864)

Returning to naval service, Carter was appointed a commander due to his military record during the Civil War. Rejoining the Pacific Squadron, he commanded the USS Monocacy. He was promoted to captain in October 1870, served as commandant of midshipman in the Naval Academy until 1873, and returned to sea duty in Europe before being named a member of the Lighthouse Board in 1877.

In 1877, Carter married Martha Custis Williams (1827-1899), a descendant of Martha Custis Washington. Promoted to commodore in November 1878, Carter retired in August 1881, shortly before being promoted to rear admiral in May 1882. He lived in retirement until his death in Washington, D.C.

Fellow officers remembered Carter as "tall, handsome and dignified, graceful in carriage and very affable ... of sincere piety and undoubted courage."

A Tennessee Historical Marker located on West Elk Avenue in front of the S.P. Carter Mansion in downtown Elizabethton, Tennessee, commemorates his life and naval career.

[edit] References

  • McHenry, Robert. Webster's American Military Biographies, Springfield, Mass.: G & C. Merriam Co., 1978.
  • "A Sketch of the Military Services of Sam. P. Carter, Brig. Genl. & Brevt. Maj. Genl. of U.S. Vols. during the Rebellion of the Southern States, 1861-5." S.P. Carter Papers, 1882, MS 16,791, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. (1st Tenn. Inf. US, pp. 26-31)

[edit] External links

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