Thomas Henry Carter (June 13, 1831 – June 2, 1908) was an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

officer in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. His

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

played an important role in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

Early life

Carter was born in

King William County, Virginia King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater ...

, the third of five children and the second son of Thomas Nelson Carter and Juliet Gaines Carter. His father was a first cousin to General Robert E. Lee. Carter was a member of the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

(VMI) Class of 1849. He graduated with medical degrees from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

(1851) and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

(1852). Carter did not engage in the practice of medicine. Instead, he returned to manage his father's plantation, Pampatike, after the overseer died.

Civil War

He entered what became the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...

in June 1861 as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the King William Artillery. His younger brother, Julian Carter of the

4th Virginia Cavalry The 4th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. History The Virginia 4th Cavalry comp ...

, was killed in late July 1862 at a minor skirmish near

Malvern Hill Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, USA, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond. On 1 July 1862, it was the scene of the Battle of Malvern Hill, one of the Seven Days Battles of the Americ ...

. Tom Carter was wounded in the foot at Sharpsburg. In December he was promoted to major, a rank he held until he became a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in April 1863. By the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863, Carter commanded a battalion of artillery in Lt. Gen.

Richard S. Ewell Richard Stoddert Ewell (February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872) was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. L ...

's Second Corps. His guns unlimbered on Oak Hill northwest of Gettysburg and contributed to the eventual withdrawal of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

First Corps of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

. Carter's guns later supported

Pickett's Charge Pickett's Charge (July 3, 1863), also known as the Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Major General George G. Meade's Union positions on the last day of the B ...

on July 3. Promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in March 1864, he remained with the Army of Northern Virginia during the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union ...

until September when he left to temporarily replace Brig. Gen. Armistead L. Long as chief of artillery for Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early during the second half of Early's Valley Campaigns of 1864. Carter fought in several important battles, including the

Battle of Cedar Creek The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. Du ...

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 The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York Rive ...

in eastern Virginia, where he lived with his wife Susan (Roy) Carter and their three small children. Carter continued to farm the property, and his wife operated a school at the house. In the late 1870s Carter was appointed the first railroad commissioner in the state of Virginia. He held the position for a handful of years. In the late 1880s, he served for several years as a member of the board of arbitration of the Southern Railway and Steamship Association. Carter spent his final years as

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

and superintendent of grounds and buildings for the

Death

Carter died in 1908. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

References

* Files of the Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, Virginia)

External links

Antietam on the Web - Thomas Henry Carter
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Thomas H. Confederate States Army officers People from King William County, Virginia 1831 births 1908 deaths People of Virginia in the American Civil War Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) Thomas H. Virginia Military Institute alumni University of Virginia people Physicians from Virginia American planters