Peter Parker, 2nd Baronet

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Sir Peter Parker, 2nd Baronet (born April 18, 1786 in England , † August 14, 1814 in Fairlee (Maryland) ), was a British naval officer.

Peter Parker, around 1810, by John Hoppner

Life

He was the son of Vice Admiral Christopher Parker, who in turn was the son of Admiral Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet , and the daughter of Vice Admiral John Byron, Augusta Byron . The poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron , was his cousin.

Parker attended Westminster School and was in the Royal Navy from 1798 , where he served under his grandfather, the Viscount St. Vincent and under Lord Nelson . In 1804 he became commander and commanded the brig Weazel . She was the first to watch the Franco-Spanish fleet leaving Cádiz ahead of the Battle of Trafalgar , for which Parker was promoted to captain .

In 1810/11 he was a member of the House of Commons as MP for Wexford . On the death of his grandfather in 1811 he inherited the title of baronet , of Bassingbourn in the County of Essex.

In 1810 he was given a command on the frigate Menelaus . He was involved in the suppression of a mutiny on the Africaine and in the conquest of Mauritius at the end of 1810. In 1812, the Menelaus was part of France's sea blockade in the Mediterranean, in particular off Toulon, and from 1812 he was used in the British-American War against the USA, where he pounded ships on the Maryland coast and attacked coastal towns. In 1814 he operated against the French in the Atlantic and captured a valuable Spanish merchant ship as a prize in January. After the French surrender in 1814, he was sent to Bermuda and from there to the Chesapeake Bay , where he blocked Baltimore under Admiral George Cockburn and stopped American trade. He also ruthlessly destroyed farms and American properties along the coast. He was after the destruction of Washington, DC been recalled by the British from the Chesapeake Bay, but wanted to go to a supper with his officers once in a commando a unit of militia of Maryland, the camp in Chestertown (Maryland) had pitched to attack. An hour-long night hand-to-hand combat developed in which the British were repulsed and he was hit in the leg and bled to death before he was back on his ship. He lies in the family grave in St Margaret's Church in London .

His cousin Lord Byron wrote a poem on his death in 1814 and Henry Newbolt dedicated a poem to him.

He was married to Marianne Dallas, daughter of Sir George Dallas, 1st Baronet, since 1809 and had three sons. His son Peter Parker (1809–1834), the 3rd Baronet, was the commander of the HMS Vernon.

His brother John, an artillery captain, was the 4th baronet after the death of his son and then another brother Charles (1792–1862), the 5th baronet. He was also a naval officer, served under his brother on the Weazel and Menelaus and later became an admiral. After his death the baronet lapsed because he had no children.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Byron Elegiac Stanzas On The Death Of Sir Peter Parker, Bart.
predecessor title successor
Peter Parker Baronet, of Bassingbourne
1811-1814 		Peter Parker
personal data
SURNAME Parker, Peter, 2nd Baronet
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Parker, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British naval officer
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1786
PLACE OF BIRTH England
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 1814
Place of death Fairlee (Maryland)