Author: Carlton McCarthy

Carlton McCarthy (1847-1936) was born in Richmond and joined the Second Company of the Richmond Howitzers in October 1864, at seventeen, serving through the siege of Petersburg and the retreat to Appomattox; an older brother who had commanded the unit was killed at Cold Harbor. After the war he worked his way from farm labor and clerking into bookselling, publishing, and stationery, and he later served as a city and state accountant. He was elected mayor of Richmond and held the office from 1904 to 1908, staying active in Confederate commemoration and speaking at the 1894 dedication of the city's Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument.