[BITList] Squirrel, then Panther

Sat Feb 1 11:43:10 GMT 2014

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Parker, Sir  Hyde, fifth baronet  (1714-1782/3), naval officer, younger son of Hyde Parker (d. 1726), rector of Tredington in Worcestershire, and his wife, Mary, daughter of John Reeves, was born at Tredington on 1 February 1714. His grandfather, Sir Henry Parker, alderman of London, created a baronet in 1681, married Margaret, daughter of Alexander Hyde, bishop of Salisbury, and first cousin of the first earl of Clarendon. In 1734 Hyde Parker married Sarah, daughter of Hugh Smithson; they had two sons: Harry (1735-1812), who succeeded to the baronetcy, and Sir Hyde Parker  (1739-1807), admiral.

Parker served for several years in the merchant service before entering the navy at the comparatively ripe age of twenty-four. He then served in the Antelope as able seaman, in the Swift and Pearl, with Captain Matthew Michell, and in the Centurion, with Commodore George Anson. He passed his examination on 16 January 1745, and on the same day was promoted lieutenant of the Harwich, in which he went out to the East Indies; he was moved by Commodore Barnett to the Preston, and in 1747 to the Princess Mary by Commodore Griffin, who on 24 March 1748 promoted him captain of the Lively, which he brought home in 1749. In November 1751 he was appointed to the Vanguard for harbour duty, and in February 1753 to the sloop Cruiser engaged in the protection of the North Sea fisheries and the prevention of smuggling. In October 1755 he commissioned the Squirrel, and in 1756 was sent out on a special mission to negotiate a treaty with the ruler of Morocco, and to obtain the release of European slaves. During 1757 the Squirrel was employed in the North Sea, and in October Parker was appointed to the Brilliant, which in the following year formed part of the squadron on the coast of France under Richard, Earl Howe.

In November 1759 Parker commissioned the Norfolk, which in January 1760 sailed for the East Indies. On his arrival on the station he was moved by the commander-in-chief, Rear-Admiral Charles Steevens, into the Grafton, in which he took part in the operations against Pondicherry, ending in its surrender on 15 January 1761, and against Manila in 1762. He was then moved by Vice-Admiral Samuel Cornish to the Panther, and sent out, with the frigate Argo in company, to look out for the yearly ship from Acapulco. On 31 October 1762, after very slight resistance, they captured what they took to be that vessel, but it proved to be the return ship from Manila to Acapulco, the Santissima Trinidad, which had been compelled to turn back in consequence of damage sustained in a storm. Although not so valuable as the Acapulco ship she was still very rich, and yielded about £30,000 to each of the two captains. Parker returned to England in 1764 in the Norfolk and had no employment for the next twelve years. In November 1776 he was appointed to the Invincible in the channel. On 23 January 1778 he was promoted rear-admiral; shortly afterwards he hoisted his flag on the Royal Oak, as second in command in the squadron going out to North America with Vice-Admiral John Byron. With six of the squadron in a shattered and disabled state, Parker arrived at New York on 29 August, d'Estaing having fortunately withdrawn the French squadron just before. In December Parker went with Byron to the West Indies, and on 6 July 1779 he commanded the rear division in the battle off Grenada, but he saw little action.

In August, after d'Estaing's fleet had departed, Byron and Samuel Barrington sailed for England, leaving Parker to command the British fleet on the Leeward Islands station. Parker, now in the Princess Royal, declined to follow d'Estaing or to attempt the recapture of the British islands which had been lost to the French. Instead he kept his fleet at St Lucia to watch the French at Martinique. Parker's ships captured most of two convoys arriving at Martinique from France in September and December 1779 and at the end of the year he captured a force of three French frigates trying to reach the island. However, he could not prevent small French squadrons under de Grasse and La Motte Piquet from reaching Martinique.

In expectation of the arrival of troops from England under General Vaughan, Parker began preparations in early 1780 for an attack on Puerto Rico. However, when Vaughan arrived he preferred to postpone that operation until Admiral Rodney arrived with naval reinforcements. In the meantime Parker and Vaughan planned to recapture St Vincent, but on 21 March the Comte de Guichen's fleet reached Martinique, giving the French naval superiority, and they prepared to attack St Lucia. When they appeared off Gros Islet Bay on 26 March they found Parker's fleet within, anchored in line of battle. Guichen decided not to attack, and on hearing that Rodney had arrived at Barbados with naval reinforcements the French withdrew to Martinique.

Rodney took over command of the British fleet, with Parker as second in command. In April 1780 Guichen's fleet put to sea and Rodney pursued them. In the battle off Martinique on 17 April Parker commanded the van division, which failed to carry out Rodney's plan to produce a decisive action. The blame lay with Rodney for failing to explain his plans adequately to his subordinate commanders, and no disciplinary action was taken against Parker. Nevertheless in July Rodney sent Parker back to England with the trade convoy.

On 26 September 1780 Parker was promoted vice-admiral, and in March 1781 he was appointed to command a squadron in the North Sea. He had escorted the trade for the Baltic, and was coming south with a convoy of some 200 merchantmen, when, on the Dogger Bank on 5 August, he met a Dutch squadron convoying their trade to the north. The Dutch force, under Rear-Admiral Johan Arnold Zoutman, had six ships of the line, while Parker, in the Fortitude, had a similar force, although several of his ships were in poor condition. After forming line of battle, the two squadrons engaged, but the action proved indecisive. When the Dutch withdrew-later one of their ships, the Holland, sank-Parker's ships were too damaged to pursue. Parker thought his squadron could have been strengthened before the battle had the Admiralty willed it, and he made no secret of his belief that such neglect had prevented his obtaining a decisive victory. George III went down to the Nore in an attempt to placate the admiral. However, Parker insisted on resigning his command and told the king that his navy needed younger commanders and newer ships.

On 10 July 1782, after the death of his elder brother, Sir Harry Parker DD, Hyde Parker succeeded to the baronetcy. Shortly before this, under the new Rockingham administration, he had been appointed commander-in-chief in the East Indies. With his flag in the Cato he sailed in October 1782, and, after leaving Rio de Janeiro on 12 December, was not heard of again. Later accounts variously reported the Cato as having been wrecked on Madagascar, the Maldives, or the Malabar coast, with the survivors killed by natives. However, there was no hard evidence for any of these stories, and it seems more likely the ship caught fire accidentally at sea and blew up.

J. K. Laughton 

Alan G. Jamieson 

Sources  J. Charnock, ed., Biographia navalis, 6 vols. (1794-8) + A. G. Jamieson, 'War in the Leeward Islands, 1775-1783', DPhil diss., U. Oxf., 1981 + W. L. Clowes, The Royal Navy: a history from the earliest times to the present, 7 vols. (1897-1903) + J. R. Bruijn, The Dutch navy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (1993) + N. Tracy, Manila ransomed: the British assault on Manila in the seven years' war (1995) + P. Mackesy, The war for America, 1775-1783 (1964)
Archives BL, descriptions of the Philippines, Add. MSS 19295-19296 | corresp. with Admiral Rodney and Admiralty letters to him, PRO 30/20
Likenesses  J. Northcote, oils, 1781, Saltram, Devon · G. Romney, oils, in or before 1782-1783, Melford Hall, Suffolk; version, NMM · G. Romney, oils, second version, in or before 1782-1783, NMM [see illus.] · attrib. J. Reynolds, oils, Melford Hall, Suffolk · line engraving (after unknown artist), NPG; repro. in London Magazine (Sept 1781)

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