WILLIAM HARDING CARTER
CARTER, WILLIAM HARDING, U. S. A., has been on staff duty since 1897, and as assistant adjutant-general has performed an immense amount of hard work. He is a man of superior intelligence and excellent judgment, and his services were invaluable during the Spanish-American war, when under sudden and severe test the war department showed such resourcefulness and energy. Equipment has been his especial study, and through his determination and ability he has become an authority on everything connected with cavalry. His book, "Horses, Saddles and Bridles," is read in foreign armies, and is used as a text-book in our cavalry schools. The organization of a general staff, so needful for the greatest efficiency of our army, is largely due to General Carter's insight and labor. In his last annual report as secretary of war, Elihu Root said: "Special credit is due to Brigadier-General Carter for the exceptional ability and untiring industry which he has contributed to the work of devising, bringing about and putting into operation the general staff law. He brought thorough and patient historical research and wide experience, both in the line and in the staff, to the aid of long-continued, anxious and concentrated thought upon the problem of improving military administration, and if the new system shall prove to be an improvement, the gain to the country will have been largely due to him." He was selected by the president as one of the three general officers in the first organization of the general staff corps, and was sent abroad to study modern military systems. His long cavalry service fitted him for this duty. He was then assigned to command the Department of the Visayas in the Philippine Islands, which position he holds in 1904.
He was born near Nashville, Tennessee, November 19, 1851. His knowledge of horses began at an early age, for his father, Samuel Jefferson Carter, was a breeder of blood-horses. His father's intense loyalty to the Union, too, at a time and place when it meant sacrifice of family, friends, and often even life itself, no doubt left a strong impress on his boyish mind. His father was a member of the state
