Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet
Royal Navy officer
Years: 1721 - 1811
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet (1721 – December 21, 1811) is a Royal Navy officer.
As a junior officer, he is deployed with a squadron under Admiral Edward Vernon to the West Indies at the start of the War of Jenkins' Ear.
He sees action again at the Battle of Toulon during the War of the Austrian Succession.
As captain of the fourth-rate HMS Bristol he takes part in the Invasion of Guadeloupe during the Seven Years' War.
As a commodore, he is 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 leads 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 is forced to call off the attack, having sustained heavy casualties, including the loss of a ship.
Parker goes on to be Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica, before being returned as Member of Parliament for Seaford and then as member for Maldon.
He later becomes Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
