Louis Henry Carpenter (February 11, 1839 – January 21, 1916) was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars.
He dropped out of his junior year at Dickinson College to enlist in the Union Army at the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. First serving as a private, he was commissioned as an officer the following year. During the American Civil War, he participated in at least fourteen campaigns, primarily with the 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiment and as regimental commander of the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry Regiment. By the end of the Civil War, Carpenter held the rank of brevet lieutenant colonel, colonel of volunteers, and also received a commission as first lieutenant in the Regular United States Army.
Carpenter received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Indian Wars while serving with the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th U.S. Cavalry. He was noted several times for gallantry in official dispatches.
After the Civil War and until his transfer back East in 1887, he served primarily on the western frontier. He engaged in warfare with many Native American tribes, dealt with many types of renegades, and explored vast areas of uncharted territory from Texas to Arizona. During the Spanish–American War, he commanded an occupation force. He was appointed as the first military governor of Puerto Principe, Cuba. After 38 continuous years of service to his country, he retired from the Army on October 19, 1899, as a brigadier general. After his retirement, he became a speaker and a writer.
Early life and family Louis H. Carpenter was a direct descendant (great-great-great-grandson) of immigrant Samuel Carpenter (November 4, 1649 Horsham, Sussex, England–April 10, 1714 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). He came to the British colonies in North America in early 1683 by way of Barbados.Note: Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2009 (DVD format) has updates and corrections to the 1912 book. Subject is RIN 4066.
The eldest son of eight children born to Edward Carpenter 2nd and Anna Maria (Mary) Howey, Carpenter was born in Glassboro, New Jersey. In 1843, his family moved to Philadelphia, where they attended Trinity Episcopal Church in West Philadelphia.Rivera, Edwin. "Then and Now Trinity Episcopal Church". This site was redeveloped as the Mario Lanza Park. The Church once stood west of Second Street, between Catharine and Queen streets. This Church was consecrated in 1822, and closed in 1908 as the neighborhood demographics changed. It was razed by 1917 and the site redeveloped as the new "Queen Park", which opened in late 1918. The park was renamed on September 29, 1967, in memory of Mario Lanza (1921–1959) one of Philadelphia's most beloved singers and film stars. L. Henry Carpenter attended A. B. Central High School in Philadelphia in 1856 and started attending the Student University of Pennsylvania in 1859.
His younger brother, James Edward Carpenter, served in the Union army as a private in the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry and later was commissioned a second lieutenant. He later became a first lieutenant, captain then a brevet major of volunteers.
Military service
American Civil War
In July 1861, during his junior year, Carpenter dropped out of Dickinson College and joined the "Fighting Sixth" Cavalry Regiment. He became a private in the Union Army, which later became known as the Army of the Potomac. Carpenter was trained as an infantry soldier, who was also capable of riding a horse to the battlefield, and as a mounted scout. As a "horse soldier", Carpenter and others like him had a steep learning curve; it proved difficult and frustrating during the first year of the conflict. He participated in the Peninsula Campaign and chased Jeb Stuart's cavalry, which went completely around the Union Army (June 13–15, 1862). The Union cavalry commanders and men were nonplussed by the Confederates, who mounted a superior cavalry in the early days of the war.
Rapid expansion of the Union cavalry in the East was chaotic. At the beginning of the Civil War, officers were elected by the men or appointed politically; they also earned office by paying for and supplying units. This resulted in many misguided and inept commanders. The tools and techniques of pre-war cavalry often seemed inadequate, resulting in a steep learning curve that was costly in men and supplies. Slowly out of the chaos came the tactics and leaders who proved worthy of the challenge. Union "horse soldiers" became cavalry troopers under this tough regimen and proven adept, dismounted and mounted on horseback, with their carbines, pistols, sabers and confident under their battle-proven leaders.
After the Seven Days Battles (June 25 to July 1, 1862), Carpenter was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army, 6th U. S. Cavalry, on July 17, 1862, for meritorious actions and leadership.
Gettysburg campaign The Gettysburg campaign was a series of engagements before and after the Battle of Gettysburg. To better understand Carpenter's role within the military organization, the following brief is provided. For more details, see Gettysburg Union order of battle. The Army of the Potomac was initially under Major General Joseph Hooker then under Major General George G. Meade on June 28, 1863. The Cavalry Corps was commanded by Major General Alfred Pleasonton, with divisions commanded by Brigadier Generals John Buford, David McM. Gregg, and H. Judson Kilpatrick.
DivisionBrigade Regiments and OthersFirst Division:
BG John Buford (2,748)Reserve Brigade:
BG Wesley Merritt6th Pennsylvania Cavalry: Maj James H. Haseltine
1st US: Capt Richard S. C. Lord
2nd US: Capt Theophilus F. Rodenbough
5th US: Capt Julius W. Mason
6th US: Maj Samuel H. Starr, Lt Louis H. Carpenter, Lt Nicholas Nolan, Capt Ira W. Claflin
The following list is the 6th US Cavalry Regiment's documented battles and engagements of June and July 1863 which Carpenter participated. These battle were pivotal for Carpenter. He was a company commander until July 3 then acting executive officer of his regiment after that.This is part of the United States Army Center of Military History online.
Beverly Ford, Virginia, June 9, at the Battle of Brandy Station. The 6th was under Buford's right wing. Benton's Mill, Virginia, June 17, an engagement near Middleburg. Middleburg, Virginia, June 21, at the Battle of Middleburg. Upperville, Virginia, June 21, at the Battle of Upperville. Fairfield, Pennsylvania, July 3, at the Battle of Fairfield. Williamsport, Maryland, July 6, an engagement. Funkstown, Maryland, July 7, a small engagement. Boonesboro, Maryland, July 8 and 9, at the Battle of Boonesboro. Funkstown, Maryland, July 10, at the Battle of Funkstown.
Battle of Brandy Station
On June 9, 1863, opposing cavalry forces met at Brandy Station, near Culpeper, Virginia. The 9,500 Confederate cavalrymen under Major General J.E.B. Stuart were surprised at dawn by Major General Alfred Pleasonton's combined arms force of two cavalry divisions of some 8,000 cavalry troops (including the 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiment and Carpenter with his Company H) and 3,000 infantry. Stuart barely repulsed the Union attack and required more time to reorganize and rearm. This inconclusive battle was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the Civil War to that time. This battle proved for the first time that the Union horse soldiers, like Carpenter, were equal to their Southern counterparts.
Battle of Fairfield On July 3, 1863, reports of a slow moving Confederate wagon train in the vicinity of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, attracted the attention of newly commissioned Union Brigadier General Wesley Merritt of the Reserve Brigade, First Division, Cavalry Corps. He ordered the 6th U.S. Cavalry under Major Samuel H. Starr to scout Fairfield and locate the wagons, resulting in the Battle of Fairfield.
Carpenter's next action was with Major Starr on July 3, 1863. Starr had his 400 troopers dismount in a field and an orchard on both sides of the road near Fairfield. Union troopers directed by their officers took up hasty defensive positions on this slight ridge. Carpenter's troops and others threw back a mounted charge of the 7th Virginia Cavalry, just as the Confederate Chew's Battery unlimbered and opened fire on the Federal cavalrymen. Supported by the 6th Virginia Cavalry, the 7th Virginia charged again,Longacre, p. 236, indicates that the 6th Virginia conducted the second charge alone. clearing Starr's force off the ridge and inflicting heavy losses. General "Grumble" Jones, outnumbering the Union forces by more than 2 to 1, pursued the retreating Federals for three miles to the Fairfield Gap, but was unable to eliminate his quarry. Major Starr who was wounded in the first attack was unable to escape and was captured. Small groups of the 6th Cavalry," ... reformed several miles from the field of action by Lt. Louis H. Carpenter," harassed the Virginia troopers giving the impression of the vanguard of a much larger force. Carpenter became then became the acting executive officer of the Regiment.
Carpenter, in this fight with others of his small regiment at Fairfield, stood against two of the crack brigades of Stuart's cavalry. The 6th Cavalry's stand was considered one of the most gallant in its history and helped influence the outcome the battles being fought around Gettysburg. While the 6th Cavalry regiment was cut to pieces, it fought so well that its squadrons were regarded as the advance of a large body of troops. The senior officer of those brigades was later criticized severely for being delayed by such an inferior force. Had the 6th Cavalry regiment not made their stand, the two brigades of Virginians could have caused serious problems to the Union rear areas.*Note: Lt. Col. Carter, who wrote this book in 1900, was commissioned a second lieutenant at West Point (Class of 1873) and served with the Sixth from 1874 until his retirement as a Major General in 1915. The 1989 book is a reprint. See item 3.
Lieutenant Carpenter, of Troop H, was one of only three officers of the 6th U.S. Cavalry to escape from the deadly melee at Fairfield on July 3, 1863. Private George Crawford Platt, later Sergeant, an Irish immigrant serving in Carpenter's Troop H, received the Medal of Honor on July 12, 1895, for his actions that day at Fairfield. His citation reads, "Seized the regimental flag upon the death of the standard bearer in a hand-to-hand fight and prevented it from falling into the hands of the enemy." His "commander", as an eyewitness, documented Private Platt's "beyond the call of duty" behavior that day. Carpenter was brevetted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant for his gallant and meritorious conduct for his actions at Fairfield. During this time period, he was mentioned in official reports and dispatches.
Overland Campaign
On April 5, 1864, Major General Philip Sheridan was appointed to command the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac under the newly promoted general-in-chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Carpenter became his Aide-de-camp similar to today's executive assistant known then as a Field & Staff (F&S) officer to the Cavalry Corps. It is unknown how much of an influence Carpenter had on Sheridan on the concept of deploying Union cavalry to become more effective and independent in roles such as long-range raids. Carpenter's treatise on "The Battle of Yellow Tavern" suggests that he had some influence on what was later called the Richmond or Sheridan's Raid. Mircrofilm reel number M 969 & M970 for additional articles by Louis H. Carpenter from June 30, 1894 to July 17, 1896.