William Giles Harding Carter | |
|---|---|
 William Harding Carter | |
| Born | November 19, 1851 Nashville, Tennessee, US |
| Died | May 24, 1925 (aged 73) Washington, D.C., US |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1873–1915, 1917–1918 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Commands | Hawaiian Department |
| Battles / wars | American Civil War Indian Wars Spanish–American War World War I |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Medal |
| Other work | Writer |
William Giles Harding Carter (November 19, 1851 – May 24, 1925) was a US Cavalry officer who served during the American Civil War, Spanish–American War and World War I. He also took part in the Indian Wars seeing extensive service against the Apache and Comanche in Arizona being awarded the Medal of Honor against the Apache during the Comanche Campaign on August 30, 1881.[1][2]
A strong advocate of reform in the United States Army during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Carter and Secretary of War Elihu Root are credited with the creation of the U.S. Army War College and helped pass the General Staff Act of 1903 through the United States Congress, replacing the office of commanding general with a chief of staff and a more efficient reorganization of military staff structure. He was also an active supporter of the Militia Act of 1903 which proposed to replace the obsolete state militia system with the National Guard Bureau.[2]
A later historian and military biographer, Carter wrote several books including From Yorktown to Santiago with the 6th Cavalry (1900), Old Army Sketches (1906) and The Life of Lieutenant General Chaffee (1917) as well as a number articles and academic papers for professional and learned journals.
- ^ "Medal of Honor recipients Indian Wars Period". Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
- ^ a b "William Giles Harding Carter". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved April 12, 2009.