A Young Gun: Brig. Gen. Jon Carpenter Carter

[jkBluesman]

Brig. Gen. John Carpenter Carter (b. 1837, d. 1864). Carpenter rose to the rank of brigadier general at the age of 26 only to be killed in the Battle of Franklin four months later. Born in Waynesboro, Georgia he attended Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and for a short time also University of Virginia. He graduated from Cumberland and was admitted to the bar in Memphis, Tennessee where he worked as a lawyer prior to the Civil War. When the sectional crisis of 1861 turned to an armed conflict Carter volunteered to the army. He was elected captain of the 38th Tennessee Infantry and led that unit in its first major battle. At Shiloh on April 6 and 7, 1862 Carter and his men witnessed a Confederate victory on the first day that turned into a major defeat on the second. Carter’s performance brought him promotion and in fall when the Southerners invaded Kentucky he was already colonel. The Confederates were stopped at Perryville on October 8, but only a few weeks later the next battle was on. At Stone’s River at the end of the year, Carter – as part of Gen. Benjamin Cheatham’s division – conducted a successful attack against the Federal right. Yet the Union army did not break and the Southerners retreated. On September 19-20, 1863 Carter led his regiment in the brigade of Gen. Marcus Wright but did not see much action. On guard duty at Charleston, Tennessee Carter and his men missed the defeat at Missionary Ridge. When Wright was sent to Atlanta to command the city’s district in 1864, Carter became brigadier commander. His promotion to brigadier general came during the Atlanta campaign and dated from July 7, 1864. However it seems that it was never confirmed by the Confederate senate. This did not stop Carter from commanding even a division at Jonesboro on September 1. Gen. John B. Hood’s invasion of Tennessee culminated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Carter was wounded in the abdomen at the former and died five days prior the latter on December 10 at the Harrisson House south of Franklin, where Gen. John Kelly had died in September. Carter was one of six Southern generals to die Franklin.

Ldr: 4
Tact: 3
Init: 3
Cmd: 3
Cav: 0

Teaches: Flankers, Oblique Fire

[Gil R.]

Copied, thanks.

[Gil R.]

Here’s Carter, one of those bios I choose to edit because of its shortness. No major changes, other than rearranging the middle part. One possible problem is my change to the last sentence: I’m assuming that the point was that five generals died because of the battle, as opposed to dying in the area of Franklin.

By the way, today is the anniversary of Carter’s death, I noticed. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Walter Johnson’s, too, for that matter.[/b]

Brig. Gen. John Carpenter Carter (b. 1837, d. 1864). Carpenter rose to the rank of brigadier general at the age of 26, only to be killed in the Battle of Franklin four months later. Born in Waynesboro, Georgia, he attended Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and for a short time also University of Virginia. He graduated from Cumberland and was admitted to the bar in Memphis, where he worked as a lawyer prior to the Civil War. When the sectional crisis of 1861 turned into an armed conflict Carter volunteered to join the army. He was elected a captain in the 38th Tennessee Infantry and led that unit in its first major battle. At Shiloh on April 6 and 7, 1862 Carter and his men witnessed a Confederate victory on the first day that turned into a major defeat on the second. Carter’s performance brought him promotion, and that fall, when Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee invaded Kentucky, he was already colonel. The Confederates were stopped at Perryville on October 8, and in the Battle of Stone’s River (or Battle of Murfreesboro) at the end of the year the Bragg’s army failed to break the Union army and the Southerners were forced to retreat from central Tennessee. During this battle Carter – as part of Gen. Benjamin Cheatham’s division – conducted a successful attack against the Federal right. In the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19-20, 1863 Carter led his regiment in the brigade of Gen. Marcus Wright but did not see much action. Stationed on guard duty at Charleston, Tennessee two months later, Carter and his men missed the Confederate defeat at Missionary Ridge. When Wright was sent to Atlanta to command the city’s district in 1864, Carter became brigadier commander. His promotion to brigadier general came during the Atlanta Campaign and dated from July 7, 1864; however, it seems never to have been confirmed by the Confederate senate. This lack of formal recognition did not stop Carter from commanding a division at Jonesboro on September 1, just before the abandonment of Atlanta by Southern forces. Trying to regain the initiative, the new army commander Gen. John B. Hood invaded Tennessee that fall, culminating in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Carter was wounded in the abdomen at the former and died on December 10, five days prior to the latter, at the Harrisson House south of Franklin, where Gen. John Kelly had died in September. Carter was one of six Southern generals to die at or following the Battle of Franklin. (Bio by Joern Kaesebier)

Ldr: 4
Tact: 3
Init: 3
Cmd: 3
Cav: 0

Teaches: Flankers (11), Oblique Fire (6)

Start date: 84
Death date: 94

[jkBluesman]

Well done, you assumed the right thing. Thanks.