On June 20, 1862, R. R. Cuylers Captain reported that Carpenter's good work "justifies the suggestion that he should endeavor to obtain admission to the U.S. Naval Academy".
Carpenter was one of the cadets who sailed on Santee on August 2, 1865, to return to the USNA at Annapolis, Maryland, where the strict pre-war discipline and decorum of spit and polish was reinstituted.