# Robert Randolph Carter

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**Robert Randolph Carter** (September 15, 1825 – March 8, 1888) was an American naval officer that would later come to be known for a journal he kept while unsuccessfully searching for the [Franklin expedition](/source/Franklin_expedition). This journal was later posthumously published by the [Naval Institute Press](/source/Naval_Institute_Press) as *Searching for the Franklin Expedition: The Arctic Journal of Robert Randolph Carter* in May 1998 and won the 1998 [John Lyman Book Award](/source/John_Lyman_Book_Awards) for Primary Source Materials, Reference Works, and Guide Books.[1] He was a member of the [Carter family of Virginia](/source/Carter_family_of_Virginia), which was descended from Robert "King" Carter.[2] Carter married Louise Humphreys on January 6, 1852, and had two children with her.

## Biography

Carter was born on September 15, 1825, at [Shirley Plantation](/source/Shirley_Plantation) to Hill Carter and Mary Braxton Randolph Carter. Carter would later assume control of Shirley Plantation in 1866, after the death of his father.[3] He attended school in [Alexandria, Virginia](/source/Alexandria,_Virginia), and in 1842 joined the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy), during which time he took part in the [Mexican–American War](/source/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War). Carter went on to attend the [United States Naval Academy](/source/United_States_Naval_Academy), where he graduated in 1849 as a passed [midshipman](/source/Midshipman).[4] He took part in several scientific exploration and surveying expeditions and in May 1850 he also took part in an attempt to locate [Sir John Franklin](/source/Sir_John_Franklin)'s missing expedition to locate the [Northwest Passage](/source/Northwest_Passage). During this time Carter kept a journal in which he kept a daily, detailed account of the rescue attempt.[4] He went on to serve as the junior lieutenant and navigator on the *Vincennes* and in 1858, served on the steamer *Argentina*.

Carter resigned from the Navy on April 2, 1861, and months later joined the [Confederate States Navy](/source/Confederate_States_Navy). During his time with the Confederate States Navy he was promoted to [first lieutenant](/source/First_lieutenant) and was one of many Southern soldiers that received a presidential pardon for serving with the Confederate armed forces.[4] Carter died on March 8, 1888, as a result of injuries sustained from a fall from a granary loft and was buried at Shirley Plantation. Shirley Plantation was inherited by his daughter Marion and her husband [James Harrison Oliver](/source/James_Harrison_Oliver).

## Bibliography

- *The Carter Tree* (1951)
- *Searching for the Franklin Expedition: The Arctic Journal of Robert Randolph Carter* (1998)[5][6][7][8]

## References

1. ["Searching for the Franklin expedition : the Arctic journal of Robert Randolph Carter"](http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/7531173?selectedversion=NBD13667244). National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 August 2015.

1. [*American Homes and Gardens, Volume 4*](https://books.google.com/books?id=DFIiAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Robert+Randolph+Carter%22&pg=PA375). American Homes and Gardens. 1907. p. 375. Retrieved 17 August 2015.

1. Roberts, Bruce & Kedash, Elizabeth (1990). [*Plantation Homes of the James River*](https://archive.org/details/plantationhomeso00robe). UNC Press. pp. [22](https://archive.org/details/plantationhomeso00robe/page/22), 24. ISBN 978-0-8078-4278-2. Retrieved 17 August 2015. Robert Randolph Carter.

1. Gill, Harold B. ["Robert Randolph Carter (1825–1888)"](http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Carter_Robert_Randolph_1825-1888). Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 17 August 2015.

1. Owen, David. ["Searching for the Franklin Expedition: The Arctic Journal of Robert Randolph Carter. (review)"](http://www.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/carter.html). [Rhode Island College](/source/Rhode_Island_College). Retrieved 17 August 2015.

1. "Searching for the Franklin expedition: the Arctic journal of Robert Randolph Carter (review)". *Choice Reviews Online*. **36** (5): 36-2949-36-2949. 1999. [doi:10.5860/CHOICE.36-2949](https://doi.org/10.5860/CHOICE.36-2949)

1. Trask, Benjamin H. (1 April 1999). "Searching for the Franklin Expedition: The Arctic Journal of Robert Randolph Carter (Book Review)". *The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography*. **107** (2): 229–230.

1. Loomis, Chauncey C. (1 March 1999). "Searching for the Franklin Expedition: The Arctic Journal of Robert Randolph Carter (Book Review)". *Arctic*. **52** (1): 95–96. [doi:10.14430/arctic963](https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic963)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert Randolph Carter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Randolph_Carter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Randolph_Carter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.