There is some confusion over his first & middle names. His daughter (my great-grandmother) Lottie Carpenter called him "William Walter" in her hand-typed biography and genealogy which is in my posession. She says he had a son, William Walter Junior by Mary Ann Penfield. Mary Ann died shortly after WW Jr was born. William Walter married Mary's sister, Sarah Florine Penfield who bore Lottie. William Walter left Lottie's mother, Sarah Florine and re-married Lovina S. in Vermont.
Lottie mentions her father's civil war career in the 1st Iowa Cavalry, and I have a book containing a biography of him (see Sources). The biography and his tombstone both name him as "Walter William". My belief is that he enlisted under his middle name for some unknown reason. I have very good reason to believe that William Walter Carpenter Sr., the civil war Lieutenant in the 1st Iowa Cavalry is the same person as Walter William Carpenter, the civil war Lieutenant in the 1st Iowa Cavalry. He is buried next to his third wife Lovina S. in Ashland, Oregon.
