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Template:Articleissues Thomas Henry Carter (June 13, 1831 – June 2, 1908) was an artillery officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. His battalion played an important role in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Early life[]

Carter was born in King William County, Virginia, the third of five children of Thomas Nelson Carter and Juliet Gaines Carter. His father was a first cousin to Robert E. Lee. Carter was a member of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Class of 1849. He became a doctor, as well as a farmer when he inherited his father's plantation.

Civil War[]

He entered what became the Army of Northern Virginia in the late spring of 1861 as captain of the King William Artillery,. An older brother, Julian Carter of the 4th Virginia Cavalry, was killed in 1862 at a minor skirmish near Malvern Hill. Carter was wounded at Sharpsburg. By the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863, as a lieutenant colonel Carter commanded a battalion of artillery in Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps. His guns unlimbered on Oak Hill northwest of Gettysburg and contributed to the eventual withdrawal of the Union First Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Carter's guns later supported Pickett's Charge on July 3. Later promoted to colonel, he served as Chief of Artillery for Major General D. H. Hill and Major General Jubal Anderson Early. He commanded the artillery of the Army of the Valley during Early's Raid on Washington and the Valley Campaigns of 1864, fighting in several important battles, including the Battle of Cedar Creek. Carter substituted in these cases for Brigadier General Armistead Lindsay Long, the commander of Early's artillery.

Post War career[]

Following the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Carter returned to his ancestral family plantation, "Pampatike," which was located near the Pamunkey River in eastern Virginia, where he lived with his wife Susan Elizabeth and three small children. Carter later served as proctor and superintendent of grounds and buildings for the University of Virginia. He also served for several years as a member of the board of arbitration of the Southern Railway and Steamship Association.

Death[]

Carter died in 1908. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

References[]

  • Files of the Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, VA)


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