Mediterranean, more especially against the Barbary corsairs, till she was paid off 24 Oct. 1681. In August 1688 he was appointed to the Plymouth, a third-rate, continued in her during and after the revolution, and commanded her in the unfortunate battle of Beachy Head, 30 June 1690. During the summer of 1691 he commanded the Vanguard, a ship of the second rate, and early in the following year was promoted to be rear-admiral of the blue squadron. In April he was sent with a few ships to scour the coast of France, and returned to the fleet in time to take part in the battle of Barfleur on 19 May. At the beginning of the action the blue squadron was some distance to leeward, and hopelessly out of the fight; but towards the afternoon a shift of wind permitted it to lay up to the enemy, and eventually to get to windward of them, thus placing them between two fires. But in doing this there was for a short time some sharp fighting, in which Carter was killed. It was freely said by many, both before and after the battle, that Carter was in the interest of King James, that his taking service under William was a base pretence, and that he had received 10,000l. to take his division over to the French. In support of this statement not one single piece of evidence has ever been adduced. In the Macpherson State Papers there is no mention of it. In life Carter was a poor man, and he died poor; so far from attempting to hand his division over to the enemy, he fell while executing the manœuvre which insured their ruin, and as he died his last words were an exhortation to his men to fight bravely, fight to the last. The story may be pronounced a libel on a brave man. The body of the admiral was buried at Portsmouth with ceremonial honour. He had been lieutenant-governor of Southsea Castle since 1682.
[Charnock's Biog. Navalis, i. 389; Macaulay's Hist. iv. 222, 236, 242.]
CARTER, THOMAS (d. 1795), sculptor, worked at Knightsbridge, and there attracted the attention of the painter Jervas, who gave him some money and a breakfast, procured him patronage, and so helped him to fortune. In 1755, when a committee was first formed to consider the founding of a Royal Academy, Carter was a member of it. He was Roubilliac's first employer in England. He appears to have been a man of great industry, if of inconspicuous merit. He worked chiefly upon tombstones, memorial tablets, &c. The bas-relief on Lord Townshend's monument in Westminster Abbey is by him. His name occurs once as the exhibitor of an architectural subject (presumably a drawing) at the Royal Academy in 1787. He died 5 Jan. 1795.
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Graves's Dict. of Artists.]
CARTER, THOMAS (or C. T. Carter, as he is called on the title-page to ‘The Milesian’) (1735?–1804), musical composer, was born in Dublin about 1735. He was the elder son of Timothy Carter, who became a member of the choir of Christ Church Cathedral in March 1740. According to O'Keefe (Recollections, ii. 36–7), Thomas Carter received his musical education as a chorister in Christ Church Cathedral. In December 1751 he was appointed organist of St. Werburgh's, a post he held until September 1769, when he was sent by the Earl of Inchiquin to study music in Italy. Soon afterwards Carter went to India, where for a short time he was musical director of the Calcutta Theatre. On his return to Great Britain he settled in London, where he set music to Bate's ‘Rival Candidates,’ which was produced at Drury Lane on 1 Feb. 1775. This was followed on 20 March 1777 by ‘The Milesian,’ a two-act opera written by Isaac Jackman. In 1782 Carter wrote music for Pilon's ‘Fair American,’ which was played at Drury Lane on 18 May; for this work Baker (Biographia Dramatica, ii. 210) says that Carter received no payment, and that Pilon had to abscond to avoid the consequences. For Palmer's Royalty Theatre, in Goodman's Fields, Carter wrote an incidental pastoral, ‘The Birth Day, or Arcadian Contest,’ and ‘The Constant Maid,’ besides several songs and glees. His last operatic work was ‘Just in Time,’ the book of which was by Thomas Hurlstone, Carter himself contributing some verses for a song in the last act. This work was produced at Covent Garden for Munden's benefit on 10 May 1792, with Incledon in the principal character. Besides these works Carter wrote a song, ‘When we're married,’ for Lord Barrymore's theatre at Wargrave, which was introduced by Mrs. Bland in ‘The Surrender of Calais’ (1791); in 1783 he contributed an epilogue song to Mrs. Cowley's ‘Bold Stroke for a Husband,’ and at various times published several collections of glees, catches, and songs, in one of which his best-known composition, ‘O Nanny, wilt thou gang wi' me,’ appeared. Carter died in London on Friday, 12 Oct. 1804. He was undoubtedly a clever musician, but his improvidence and carelessness were such that he was in perpetual difficulties. An improbable story of his having forged a Handel manuscript and sold it for twenty guineas appeared in the ‘Gentleman's Magazine’ after
