His younger brother, Julian Carter of the 4th Virginia Cavalry, was killed in late July 1862 at a minor skirmish near Malvern Hill.

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.

Promoted to colonel in March 1864, he remained with the Army of Northern Virginia during the Overland Campaign until September when he left to temporarily replace Brig.

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 (Roy) Carter and their three small children.

In the late 1880s, he served for several years as a member of the board of arbitration of the Southern Railway and Steamship Association.