2/10/2019 Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet - Wikipedia

Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet
Admiral of the Fleet Sir  Peter  Parker,  1st  Baronet (1721 – 21 December 1811) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior
Sir Peter Parker, Bt
officer, he was deployed with a squadron under Admiral Edward Vernon to the West Indies at the start of the War of
Jenkins' Ear. He saw action again at the Battle of Toulon during the War of the Austrian Succession. As captain of the
fourth-rate HMS Bristol he took part in the Invasion of Guadeloupe during the Seven Years' War.

As a commodore, he was deployed to the North American Station, to provide naval support for an expedition led by General
Sir Henry Clinton reinforcing loyalists in the Southern Colonies at an early stage of the American Revolutionary War. He
led a naval attack against the fortifications on Sullivan's Island (later called Fort Moultrie after their commander),
protecting Charleston, South Carolina. However, after a long and hard-fought battle, Parker was forced
Admiral to callVernon
Edward  off the was a
attack, having sustained heavy casualties, including the loss of a ship. He subsequently served under Lord Howe in had
British naval officer. He the a long
invasion and capture of New York City and commanded the squadron that captured Long Island and Rhode Island.
and distinguished career, rising to
the rank of admiral after 46 years
Parker went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica, before being returned as Member of Parliament for Seaford and then
service. As a vice admiral during the
as member for Maldon. He later became Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
War of Jenkins' Ear, in 1739 he was
responsible for the capture of Porto
Bello, seen as expunging the failure
Contents of Admiral Hosier there in a

Early career
American War of Independence
Portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott, c.
Senior command
1799
Family
Born 1721
Notes
Kingdom of Ireland
References
Died 21 December 1811
External links
(aged 89-90)
Weymouth Street,

Early career London
Buried St Margaret's,
Born the third son of Rear-Admiral Christopher Parker, Parker joined the Royal Navy at an early age.[1] Promoted to Westminster
commander on 17 March 1735, he was deployed with a squadron under Admiral Edward Vernon to the West Indies in 1739
Allegiance  Great Britain
at the start of the War of Jenkins' Ear.[2]
 United
Parker transferred to the second-rate HMS Russell and then to the bomb vessel Kingdom
HMS Firedrake in the Mediterranean Fleet and saw action again during the Service/  Royal Navy
War of the Austrian Succession.[2] He was moved to the second-rate HMS branch
Barfleur, flagship of Rear-Admiral William Rowley, in January 1744 and took
Years of 1743–1763, 1773–
part in the Battle of Toulon in February 1744, before transferring to the second-
service 1811
rate HMS Neptune, flagship of Vice-Admiral Richard Lestock, in March 1744
Rank Admiral of the Fleet
and returning to England.[2] Promoted to captain on 6 May 1747, he became
commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS Margate later that month and was Commands HMS Margate
deployed protecting commercial shipping, first in the Channel and then in the held HMS Woolwich
The Battle of Toulon at which Parker HMS Bristol
Mediterranean.[2]
was present as a junior officer HMS Buckingham
Parker became commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Woolwich in 1757 and HMS Terrible
then transferred to the fourth-rate HMS Bristol in January 1759. In HMS HMS Barfleur
Bristol he took part in the Invasion of Guadeloupe in May 1759 during the Seven Years' War.[2] He was given command of Jamaica Station
the third-rate HMS Buckingham in 1760 and took part in the capture of Belle Île in Spring 1761.[2] He transferred to the Portsmouth
command of the third-rate HMS Terrible in 1762 and then retired from active service in 1763 at the end of the War.[2] Command
Battles/wars War of Jenkins' Ear
American War of Independence War of the Austrian
Succession
Knighted in 1772, Parker was given command of the second-rate HMS Barfleur when he rejoined the service in 1773.
Seven Years' War
Promoted to commodore, he was deployed to the North American Station, with his broad pennant in the fourth-rate HMS
American
Bristol, in October 1775 to provide naval support for an expedition led by General Sir Henry Clinton reinforcing loyalists in
Revolutionary War
the Southern Colonies at an early stage of the American Revolutionary War.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Peter_Parker,_1st_Baronet 1/3
2/10/2019
The Battle of Sullivan's Island:
Parker's fleet (in the background) is
shown attacking the American
fortifications
Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet - Wikipedia
In June 1776, Parker led a naval attack against the fortifications on Sullivan's Island (later called Fort Moultrie after their
commander), protecting Charleston, South Carolina.[2] At the fort, the American Colonel William Moultrie ordered his men
to concentrate their fire on the two large man-of-war ships, HMS Bristol and HMS Experiment, which took hit after hit
from the fort's guns. Chain-shot fired at HMS Bristol eventually destroyed much of her rigging and severely damaged both
the main- and mizzenmasts.[3] After a long and hard-fought battle, Parker was forced to call off the attack, having sustained
heavy casualties, including the loss of the sixth-rate HMS Actaeon, grounded and abandoned.[2] Lord William Campbell,
the last British Governor of the Province of South Carolina, was mortally wounded aboard HMS Bristol. Parker was himself
wounded by a flying splinter which injured his leg and tore off his breeches, an incident that occasioned much mirth in the
newspapers.[2]
Parker subsequently served under Lord Howe in the invasion and capture of New York City and, with his broad pennant in
the fourth-rate HMS Chatham, he commanded the squadron that captured Long Island in August 1776 and Rhode Island in
December 1776.[2]

Senior command
Promoted to rear admiral on 20 May 1777, Parker became Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station, with his flag in HMS
Bristol, in December 1777.[4] At this time, Parker acted as a patron and friend of Horatio Nelson, then serving aboard the
Bristol, an attachment which would endure for the remainder of Nelson's life.[5] Promoted to vice admiral on 29 March
1779,[6] he returned to England in the second-rate HMS Sandwich, accompanied by various prisoners including Admiral
De Grasse captured at the Battle of the Saintes, in August 1782.[7]

Parker commanded the squadron Created a baronet on 28 December 1782,[8] Parker was, unwillingly, returned as Member of Parliament for Seaford in May
that captured Long Island
1784,[9] and then as member for Maldon in 1786.[7] Promoted to full admiral on 24 September 1787,[10] he became
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1793.[11] He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 16 September 1799 and was
Chief Mourner at Nelson's funeral in January 1806.[12] He died at his home at Weymouth Street in London on 21 December 1811 and was buried at St Margaret's,
Westminster.[1] Parker also owned the Manor of Bassingbourne at Takeley in Essex: in accordance with his wishes the manor was demolished in 1813.[13]

Family
In around 1761 Parker married Margaret Nugent; they had several children (including Vice-Admiral Christopher Parker).[1]
He was succeeded in the baronetcy by Christopher's son Peter.[1]

Notes
1. "Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet" (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21329?docPos=1). Oxford Dictionary of
National Biography. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
2. Heathcote, p. 205
3. Russell, p. 222
4. Cundall, p. xx
5. Sugden 2004, p. 128
St Margaret's, Westminster where
6. "No. 11962" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/11962/page/2). The London Gazette. 16 March 1779. p. 2.
Parker was buried
7. Heathcote, p. 206
8. "No. 12400" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/12400/page/1). The London Gazette. 24 December 1782.
p. 1.
9. "No. 12542" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/12542/page/2). The London Gazette. 11 May 1784. p. 2.
10. "No. 12924" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/12924/page/446). The London Gazette. 25 September 1787.
p. 446.
11. "Commanders-in-Chief, Portsmouth" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150627145452/http://www.history.inportsmouth.c
o.uk/people/cinc-portsmouth.htm). History in Portsmouth. Archived from the original (http://www.history.inportsmouth.c
o.uk/people/cinc-portsmouth.htm) on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
12. "No. 15881" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/15881/page/54). The London Gazette. 14 January 1806.
p. 54.
13. "Manor of Bassingbourne at Takeley, Essex" (http://tlhs.org.uk/Bassingbourne%20Hall%20Book.htm). Takeley Local
History Society. Retrieved 12 April 2015.

References
Cundall, Frank (1915). Historic Jamaica (https://archive.org/stream/cu31924020417527#page/n27/mode/2up). West India Committee.
Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
Russell, David Lee (2002). Victory on Sullivan's Island: the British Cape Fear/Charles Town Expedition of 1776. Haverford, PA: Infinity. ISBN 978-0-7414-1243-0.
Sugden, John (2004). Nelson: A Dream of Glory. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06097-X.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Peter_Parker,_1st_Baronet 2/3
2/10/2019 Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet - Wikipedia

External links
 "Parker, Sir Peter, bart., British naval officer"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Appletons%27_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_of_American_Biography/Parker,_Peter_(office
r)). Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
 "Parker, Peter. A British naval officer"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_International_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/Parker,_Peter_(officer)). New International
Encyclopedia. 1905.

Parliament of Great Britain

Member of Parliament for Seaford
Preceded by Succeeded by
1784–1786
Christopher D'Oyly and Sir Godfrey Webster and
With: Henry Nevill to 1785
John Durand Henry Flood
Sir John Henderson, Bt from 1785

Preceded by Member of Parliament for Maldon Succeeded by

The Lord Waltham 1787–1790 Charles Western
John Strutt With: John Strutt Joseph Holden Strutt

Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station Succeeded by
Clark Gayton 1778–1782 Joshua Rowley
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Succeeded by
Viscount Hood 1793–1799 Mark Milbanke
Succeeded by
Preceded by Admiral of the Fleet
The Duke of Clarence and St
Earl Howe 1799–1811
Andrews

Baronetage of Great Britain

Baronet
Preceded by Succeeded by
(of Bassingbourne, Essex)
New Creation Peter Parker
1783–1811

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sir_Peter_Parker,_1st_Baronet&oldid=843036837"

This page was last edited on 26 May 2018, at 12:43 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Peter_Parker,_1st_Baronet 3/3