Admiral and General

Although Tennessee voted to secede from the Union in June 1861, East Tennessee remained staunchly loyal. The residents of Carter County voted against secession, 1,343 to 86.
One of those residents, Admiral and General Samuel P. Carter (born August 6, 1819), lived here in Elizabethton. He was the only officer in American history to wear two stars in both the navy and the army. He served in the navy as a midshipman beginning in 1840, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1846, and was at sea when the Civil War began. Then-Senator Andrew Johnson had Carter detailed to Tennessee for "special duty" to recruit soldiers for the U.S. Army, and he received a general's commission. Before the end of 1861, Carter led a cavalry raid across the mountains to destroy bridges on the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad. His raid gave hope to East Tennessee Unionists and disheartened Confederate supporters.
In the summer of 1863, Carter commanded the Union army's XXIII Corps cavalry during the Knoxville Campaign. His October victory at the Battle of Blue Springs contributed to the success of the Union advance in the region. He was brevetted to the rank of major general in May 1865.
After the war, Carter left the army and resumed his naval career, commanding USS Monocacy. Before he retired in 1882, he was promoted to rear



admiral. He died in Washington, D.C., on May 26, 1891.

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Watauga Old Fields
Carter County Veterans Monument
Samuel Powhatan Carter
Covered Bridge
Carter County's Train History
Duffield Academy
The Mansion
Green Hill Cemetery
Bemberg Water Tower
Bemberg Station / Port Rayon

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