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Born in Bridgton, Maine, Carter moved to Portland with his family in 1847, and again in 1857, to Massachusetts. He was preparing to enter Phillips Academy when Carter enlisted as a private in the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry at the start of the American Civil War and remained with the Army of the Potomac from August 5, 1862 until October 4, 1864. During the war, he took part in the Battle of Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and the Siege of Petersburg as well as other minor engagements.

In July 1865, he began attending West Point and was eventually commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 4th U.S. Cavalry on June 15, 1870. During the next several years, Carter would participate in a number of expeditions against the Comanche and other tribes in the Texas-area.

It was during one of these campaigns that he was brevetted first lieutenant and awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his "most distinguished gallantry" against the Comanche in Blanco Canyon on a tributary of the Brazos River on October 10, 1871. Carter would suffer a severe injury during the battle, his left leg being shattered as his horse fell against a rock, which would eventually result in his early retirement. He would officially receive the medal on January 23, 1900.

Returning to active duty, he joined Colonel Ranald Mackenzie in several campaigns including against the Kickapoo of northern Mexico in May 1873 and awarded a brevet to captain. He did win promotion to first lieutenant on February 21, 1875 although his leg injury disqualified him from active field duty and forced him to retire on June 28, 1876.

Although he eventually recovered from his leg injury after proper treatment, his requests to return were denied by the US Army. He taught school and later headed the Washington-bureau of the Public Service Publishing Company in New York City. He would also write a number of booklets and books including Four Brothers in Blue (1913) and The Old Sergeant's Story (1926). However, the most successful was his memoir On the Border With Mackenzie (1935) which was published as the age of 90. He died at Washington, D.C. on January 4, 1936 and buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, 4th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: On Brazos, River, Tex., 10 October 1871. Entered service at: Bradford, Mass. Birth: Bridgeport, Maine. Date of issue: 27 February 1900.

Citation:

Held the left of the line with a few men during the charge of a large body of Indians, after the right of the line had retreated, and by delivering a rapid fire succeeded in checking the enemy until other troops came to the rescue.

Books

• The Boy Soldier at Gettysburg (1977)
• Four Brothers in Blue (1913)
• The Old Sergeant's Story (1926)
• On the Border With Mackenzie (1935)

Pamphlets

• Records of the Military Service of First Lieutenant and Brevet Captain Robert Goldthwaite Carter, U.S. Army. (1904)
• Tragedies of Canon Blanco: A Story of the Texas Panhandle (1919)
• The Mackenzie Raid into Mexico (1919)
• Massacre of Salt Creek Prairie and the Cowboys' Verdict. (1919)
• On the Trail of Deserters: a Phenomenal Capture by Captain Robert Goldthwaite Carter. (1920)
• Pursuit of Kicking Bird: a Campaign in Texas 'Bad Lands'. (1920)