He attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, from 1855 to 1856 and, upon completing his studies, was promoted to passed midshipman on June 20, 1856.

After another short assignment at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in 1871, he returned to sea as commanding officer of the screw steamer USS Nantasket in the North Atlantic Squadron from 1871 to 1872.

[1][2][3] Carpenter was commanding officer of the gunboat USS Huron in the North Atlantic Squadron from 1875 to 1876, before another tour at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in 1878.

Promoted to captain on March 25, 1880, Carpenter was on equipment duty at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1880 to 1882, then returned to USS Hartford as her commanding officer from 1882 to 1884; during his tour, Hartford carried a team of American and British scientists from Callao, Peru, to the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean to observe the total solar eclipse of May 6, 1883.

Carpenter was recalled to active duty during the Spanish–American War of 1898, returning to the Portsmouth Navy Yard to serve as its commandant from April to August 1898.

[3][6] Carpenter had begun to suffer from severe nervous disorders during the final years of his naval career and sought medical treatment soon after his retirement.

His condition improved, but around mid-February 1899 his health went into decline again, and he spent six weeks in the Adams Nervine Asylum in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, for treatment.