Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Hyde Parker (1739 – 16 March 1807) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who served in the

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...

Biography

He was born in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

shire,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the second son of Admiral

Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet Vice-Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet (1 February 1714 – 1782) was a Royal Navy officer. Parker was born at Tredington, Warwickshire, Tredington in Worcestershire. His father, a clergyman, was a son of Sir Henry Parker. His paternal gran ...

(1714–1782). He entered the Royal Navy at an early age, and became

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 25 January 1758, having passed most of his early service in his father's ships. On 16 December 1762 was promoted to command ''Manila'', from which, on 18 July 1763, he was posted to .DNB From 1766 onwards for many years he served in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and in North American waters, particularly distinguishing himself in breaking the defences of the North River at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1776 as captain of . His services on this occasion earned him a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1779. In 1778 he was engaged in the

Savannah expedition The Capture of Savannah (also known as the First Battle of Savannah and the Battle of Brewton HillHeitman, pp. 670 and 681) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on December 29, 1778. It pitted an American garrison of Continent ...

, and in the following year his ship was wrecked on the hostile

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n coast. His men, however, entrenched themselves, and were in the end brought off safely. He became commander-in-chief of the

Leeward Islands Station The Leeward Islands Station originally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, ...

in 1779. Parker was with his father at the Battle of Dogger Bank, and with

Richard Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving in the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations agai ...

in the two actions in the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

. He reached

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

on 1 February 1793, the same day that war was declared against the new French Republic. As

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, he served under Samuel Hood at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

and in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. He was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 4 July 1794 and took part, under The Lord Hotham, in the indecisive fleet actions on 13 March 1795 and 13 July 1795. From 1796 to 1800 he was in command at the Jamaica StationCundall, p. xx and ably conducted the operations in the

. These included the tracking down and execution of a number of crewmen involved in the mutiny on board HMS ''Hermione'' in 1797. In 1801 he was appointed to command the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

destined to break up the northern armed neutrality, with Vice-Admiral

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

as his second-in-command.

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, the first objective of the expedition, fell in the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801 to the fierce attack of Nelson's squadron – Parker, with the heavier ships, taking little part due to the shallowness of the channel. At the height of the battle Parker, who was loath to infringe the customary rules of naval warfare, raised the flag to disengage. Famously, Nelson ignored the order from his commander by raising his telescope to his blind eye and exclaiming "''I really do not see the signal''" (although this is generally accepted to be a myth). Nelson pressed on with the action and ultimately compelled the Danish forces to capitulate. Parker's hesitation to advance up the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

after his victory was later severely criticised. Soon afterwards he was recalled and Nelson succeeded him. He died on 16 March 1807.

Character assessment

In Parker's entry in the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

his biographer Clive Wilkinson writes that until the Copenhagen affair he had "a good professional reputation" but after Copenhagen he was "considered irresolute and dilatory. In Wilson's opinion "As an officer, Parker was an able administrator rather than a great leader and this was to prove a weakness when it came to having both St Vincent as his chief and Nelson as a subordinate"; and that "He was evidently a popular man for as Nelson wrote after Copenhagen:"

Family

Parker was twice married: first, to Anne, daughter of John Palmer Boteler, and by her had three sons; second, in 1800, he married Frances, a daughter of Admiral Sir Richard Onslow, and made their home at the manor house in

Benhall Benhall is a civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Lying to the south of Saxmundham, its population at the 2021 census was 569. The main settlement is Benhall Green, while the hamlet of Benhall St ...

on the

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

coast. His first son – the third Hyde Parker (1786–1854) – became a rear admiral in turn on 23 November 1841 and vice admiral on 4 June 1852. From 1853 he served as

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

of the

, and died on 25 May 1854. His son Hyde, a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the navy, commanded '' Firebrand'' in the Black Sea, and was killed on 8 July 1854 when storming a Russian fort at the mouth of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. Two other notable family members who fought in the Napoleonic wars are Parker's second son,

John Boteler Parker Major-General John Boteler Parker (29 May 1786 – 25 March 1851) was a notable British Army general of the early 19th century. He saw action at the Battle of Waterloo, and later became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Career ...

, who died a major general and C.B. in 1851, and the youngest, Harry, a lieutenant in the guards, who fell at the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * Attribution: * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Hyde 1739 births 1807 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Hyde Sea captains Younger sons of baronets Knights Bachelor British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War Military personnel from Devon