During the late 1880s, Carter was an instructor at the Hebrew Technical Institute and also worked as an engineer; he designed a parachute and a model of a plan for the Nicaragua Canal, both of which attracted media attention.

During the 1920s, he lived with his sister Laura on a farm in upstate New York, managing her accounts and occasionally contributing articles to a magazine she edited.

[6][8] He was raised there for the early part of his life, but was orphaned along with two of his siblings following his father's death in March 1873 and his mother's the next year.

The siblings remained without a guardian until February 1875, when they were adopted by a family member and spent the rest of their childhood in Pennsylvania.

[12] Following his freshman year at Swarthmore, in September 1880, Carter passed the entrance examinations for the United States Naval Academy.

[5][13] In his second year at the school, Carter excelled in English and drawing, but had poor discipline and received 109 demerits; using a point evaluation system, the Naval Academy gave Carter fifty-three out of a possible seventy-six points for his conduct during the year.

[21] He scheduled a single game for the season, which was played on Thanksgiving Day against the Baltimore-based Clifton Football Club.

The Clifton team was made up of players from Johns Hopkins University, who were unable to play for their school due to the administrator's negative views towards the sport.

[20][22] Carter designed a maroon and white uniform for the squad and a strip of leather which was nailed to the bottom of their shoes to prevent slipping.

[1] Carter's single win gives him the second fewest in Navy football history, behind interim coach Rick Lantz.