Samuel P. Carter

Samuel Powhatan Carter (born August 6, 1819 , † May 26, 1891 ) was a US Navy officer who served in the Union Army as a major general during the American Civil War and was Rear Admiral of the US Navy after the Civil War . He was the first US officer to be awarded the rank of Rear Admiral and Major General.

Early years and careers

Carter was born in Elizabethton , Tennessee . He was a direct descendant of the early settlers. He studied at Washington College and Princeton University before joining the US Navy in February 1840. He initially served as a midshipman . Carter's service included five years in the Pacific and Great Lakes region before joining the United States Naval School. He graduated in the class of 1846. He served aboard the USS Ohio during the Mexican-American War and took part in the Battle of Veracruz.

He then served on the number of years US - Marine Observatory stationed. He then became Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the United States Naval School from 1850 to 1853. From 1853 to 1856 he served in various positions in the Pacific before being promoted to Lieutenant at Sea. The following year he was present aboard the USS San Jacinto during the bombing of the Chinese coastal reinforcements before returning to the Naval School, where he stayed until 1960.

Civil war

In the spring of 1861, after receiving a letter from Carter affirming his loyalty to the Union if civil war breaks out, Tennessee Governor Andrew Johnson used his influence at the War Department on Carter's behalf to put him in the position of militia Organize and train Eastern Tennessees.

After successfully leading several cavalry attacks at the Battle of Mill Springs in 1862, Carter accepted the leadership of a volunteer brigade with the rank of brigadier general of the volunteer army. He had other successes in the Battle of Cumberland Gap in June and in the attack on Holston, Carters Station and Jonesville in December, and as a support for Maj . General William S. Rosecransin in the Battle of Stones River.

In July 1863 Carter was given command of the XXIII. Corps of the US Cavalry and the Confederate fighters continued in Tennessee , he took part in the Battle of Blue Springs and the Knoxville Campaign.

In 1865, Carter was in North Carolina in command of the left wing of the Union forces at the Battle of Kingston. He was then promoted to the rank of major general of the volunteer army and briefly commanded the XXIII. Corps before the voluntary organizations were dissolved after the civil war.

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

Post-Civil War career

USS Monocacy (1864) in Tientsin, China

Returning to the Navy, Carter was named commander based on his military record during the Civil War. Bringing the Pacific Squadron back together, he commanded the USS Monocacy. He was promoted to captain in October 1870 and served as the midshipman in command of the Naval Academy until 1873. He then returned to service at sea and served intermittently in Europe. In 1877 he became a member of the lighthouse commission.

In 1877 Carter married Martha Custis Williams (1827–1899), a descendant of Martha Custis Washington. Promoted to Flotilla Admiral in November 1878, Carter briefly retired in August 1881 before being promoted to Rear Admiral in May 1882. He lived in Washington, DC in retirement until his death.

literature

• 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 US Vols. During the Rebellion of the Southern States, 1861-5." SP Carter Papers, 1882, MS 16,791, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. (1st Tenn. Inf. US, pp. 26–31)

Web links

• Samuel P. Carter in the database of Find a Grave (English)