200 Years Ago: Battle of Caulk's Field, Maryland

AUGUST 30, 1814:  Captain Sir Peter Parker is killed leading a British naval landing party near Chestertown, Maryland.  They are repulsed and the event will become known as "The Battle of Caulk's Field."

I have written a lot about OPeter parker and this battle.  Click on the labels.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Menelaus and Nisus-- Lively-Class Frigates-- Part 7

I have already written a lot about the HMS Menelaus which entered service in 1810 under the command of Captain Peter Parker. The ship lasted a long time before being broken up in 1897.

HMS NISUS Entered service 1810 and used in the Napoleonic Wars. Laid up 1815 and broken up 1822.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Menelaus

From Wikipedia.

Built at Plymouth Dockyard and completed 21 June 1810. Sold for breaking up in 1897 (a long time for a ship). Lively-class 38-gun frigate. 154 feet long, 284 crew.

Original commander Captain Peter Parker whose father was son of Admiral Peter Parker and mother was daughter of Vice Admiral John Bryon. Killed at the battle of Caulk's Field.

This started sounding familiar and I looked the ship and Peter Parker up in my labels. I've written a lot about them. See HMS Menelaus, Parker Peter and Battle of Caulk's Field.

--Brock-Perry

Peter Parker's HMS Weazel

From Wikipedia.  The final Peter Parker instalment.  For someone who had never heard of Peter Parker, I sure know a lot about him now.  He sure came from a Royal Naval family and I would have to compare him to the Civil War's William Cushing as far as courage, bravery and willingness to take chances.

The HMS Weazel is also found spelled Weazle and Weasel and was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer Class brig-sloop launched in 1805 at Topsham, Devon.  It saw active service in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars.  Decommissioned in 1815 and broken up in 1825, 

Entered service in 1805 under Commander Peter Parker and in August sailed to Cadiz and joined the British fleet under Lord Nelson and was assigned to carefully watch the port exit of Cadiz for movement of the Franco-Spanish fleet and when they did, signalled Nelson.

Parker was angry when he was dispatched to go after five British ships-of-the-line that Nelson had sent to the Strait of Gibraltar, hoping to lure the enemy out.  As such, the Weazel missed the Battle of Trafalgar.

Afterwards, continued operations in the Mediterranean against the French.

Another Ship, Another Story.  --Brock-Perry

Peter Parker's Father, Vice Admiral Christopher Parker

From Wikipedia and other sources.  It was quite difficult to find out about him.

Christopher Parker (1761-1794?, another source said he died in 1804)  He became a captain in 1779 and Rear Admiral in 1795 and Vice Admiral in 1801.  He commanded the frigate HMS Lowestoff "t"? a 32-gun fifth rate in 1780 and was involved in the capture of Omoa.

Lord Horatio Nelson was on the Lowestoff at one time.  It was wrecked August 10, 1801 at Caicos Passage in the Caribbean Sea.

Brock-Perry

Sir Peter Parker, 2nd Baronet, Killed at Caulk's Field

That newspaper article awhile back has sure led to a lot of different areas.

From Wikipedia about his early life.

Sir Peter Parker (1785-1814) was the son of Vice Admiral Christopher Parker and Augusta Byron, the daughter of Admiral John Byron.  His father was the son of Admiral Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet.

He entered the Royal Navy in 1798 and served under his grandfather and his grandfather's friend, Lord Horatio Nelson on the Victory.  He rapidly rose through the ranks.

In May 1804, he was promoted to commander and 1805, was given the brig HMS Weazel.  This was the first ship to spot the Franco-Spanish fleet leaving Cadiz, which preceded the Battle of Trafalgar.  Parker was promoted to captain after the battle and in 1810, give command of the new HMS Menelaus.

Brock-Perry

Sir Peter Parker, 2nd Baronet (1785-1814)

Since there were so many Baronets in Peter Parker's family, I'll tell what a Baronet is and list them for his branch of the family.

A baronet is an English hereditary title than enables the owner to be referred to as Sir.

There were several Parker Baronet groups, but Peter's was called the Parker Baronets of Bassingbourn and given by the crown in 1783.

The five Peter Parker baronets:

Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet (1721-1811)*
Sir Peter Parker, 2nd Baronet (1785-1814)*
Sir Peter Parker, 3rd Baronet (1804-1835)
Sir Edmund George Parker, 4th Baronet (1788-1835)
Sir Charles Christopher Parker, 5th Baronet (1792-1864)*

* Wrote about in last two days.

Brock-Perry

Back to Peter Parker: His Family-- Part 2

From Wikipedia.

Peter Parker's, the hero of the HMS Menelaus and died at the the Battle of Slippery Hill in Maryland, mother was the daughter of John Byron (1723-1786), a vice admiral.  He was the father of Peter Parker's mother, who married Peter Parker's son, Christopher Parker, also a vice admiral.

Known as "Foul-weather Jack" for his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea.

He fought in the Seven years War (French and Indian War in North America) and during the American Revolution was commander of the British West Indies fleet which unsuccessfully attacked the French fleet under Comte d'Estrang at the Battle of Grenada.

Brock-Perry

Back to Peter Parker: His Family

From Wikipedia.

Peter Parker's grandfather (father's father) was Sir Peter Parker, 1st baronet, a British Naval admiral (1721-1811)  He was probably born in Ireland and made a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1743 and captain by 1747.  In 1761, he commanded the HMS Buckingham.

During the American Revolution he was sent to South Carolina to aide the loyalists and while commanding the HMS Bristol, June 28, 1776, led the naval attack on what later became Fort Moultrie at Charleston, SC.

Later he was involved in the capture of New York City and Newport, Rhode Island

While commanding the Bristol he acted as patron on friend of Horatio Nelson and was Chief Mouner at Nelson's funeral in 1806.

That's British Navy Royalty.  --Brock-Perry

Fort Madison in Annapolis, Maryland-- Part 1

On February 8th, I wrote about Captain Peter Parker having two officers go ashore from his HMS Menelaus and reconnoiter Annapolis, Maryland.  It sounded like they essentially just walked around the town and even American Fort Madison guarding the town.  This would lead me to believe that it wasn't garrisoned at the time; well, hopefully.

I'd never heard of Fort Madison, so that meant a little research on it.  And, there is not much on the fort, which doesn't even exist now.  But, it was definitely there, on the grounds of the present day U.S. Naval Academy.

From the North American Forts Site:

1808-1873/1896.  Was a 13-gun elliptical fort located at Carr Point in Annapolis.  Rebuilt in the early 1850s and abandoned after the Civil War.  Transferred to the Navy in 1873 for the Naval Experimental Battery for training USNA midshipmen.

The Coast Guard acquired the site in 1896 for the Annapolis Lighthouse Depot.  The fort's remains were evident until World War II construction eradicated them.

Where Is the Fort?  --Brock-Perry

Why It Takes So Long to Do These Darn Blog Entries

This all started with a article about the Battle of Caulk's Field in Maryland.  Then, it led to his ship, the HMS Menelaus and then on his various raids and expeditions in Maryland.  Then to the ship's commander, Captain Peter Parker. 

I found more information about his pre-Menelaus life as well as his family which consisted of several Royal Navy officers.  Then, at one point, I found that he had sent two men to walk around American Annapolis and they evidently walked right through Fort Madison there.

This fort will be the subject of the next several entries.

One Thing Leads to Another.  --Brock-Perry

Sir Captain Peter Parker-- Part 2

Lt. Henry Crease reported that Captain Parker had been wounded while leading his men and carried off the field where he died in a few minutes.  Back at the Menelaus, the body was placed in a coffin filled with whiskey.  The next morning, his right show was found with a great deal of blood inside it. (So, was he placed in a coffin or a barrel?)

On September 3rd, the Menelaus carried off another raid, this time at the home of Thomas Mitchell, Commissary of Supplies for the Kent County Militia.

On September 7th, the HMS Menelaus sailed down the Chesapeake Bay with its pennant at half-mast in honor of its fallen commander.

It anchored with other British ships in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore. (Wonder if this is the ship where Francis Scott Key was held?) 

Parker's remains were transferred to the frigate HMS Hebrus and taken to Bermuda and buried at St. George's Church.  In the spring of 1815, the body was exhumed and taken to St. Margaret Church at Westminster, London, and buried again.

Quite the Hero.  --Brock-Perry

Sir Captain Peter Parker-- Part 1

From the Maryland In the War of 1812 Blog.

This all started out as a newspaper article about the Battle of Caulk's Field, but has expanded a bit.

Sir Captain Peter Parker (1785-1814) was the descendant of several Royal Navy flag officers and received the command of the HMS Menelaus when it was launched in 1810.

The story is often told that when Parker was mortally wounded that he was carried to the Thomas Mitchell home (on the Maryland Parkway, off Route 21) and that he died in the kitchen and his men "got a blanket and sheet to wrap Sir Peter in."

Today, the house is a popular Bed and Breakfast, but Parker was never there, but taken directly back to the Menelaus, which was laying off today's Parker Point (named after him?).

Lt. Henry Crease assumed command of the ship after Parker died.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

A Congreve Rocket Burns Henry Waller's Farmhouse

From the Maryland in the War of 1812 Blog.

This took place August 28, 1814, two days before the Battle of Caulk's Field.

On this date, Royal Marines and sailors from the HMS Menelaus, under Captain Peter Parker, landed at Fairlee Creek, in Kent County, Maryland.  At 10:30 AM, they encountered militia cavalry near the bayside home of Henry Waller's 308 acre farm.

The British officer, Lt. Henry Crease, aboard the Menelaus, ordered Congreve rockets and an 18-pdr carronade fired at them.  One rocket failed to launch and burned furiously on the deck before they were able to throw it overboard.

Later that afternoon, there was a second British landing made.  The farmhouse was set afire as were the corn fields and musket volleys exchanged with the American militia  It is a bit confusing as to whether the British set fire to the house on land or whether a Concreve rocket hit it, causing the flames.

In 1829, Henry Waller made a claim to the federal government and retained a Georgetown attorney by the name of Francis Scott Key (wonder where we've heard that name before?)  He received his compensation.

One of the Congreve rockets that set fire to his house is at the Fort McHenry National Monument. (I would think it would have burned up had it hit Waller's house.)  If Crease was on the Menelaus and I believe he was second in command, was Peter Parker leading the landing party?

Just Some More Raiding.  --Brock-Perry

Digging for Answers at the Battle of Caulk's Field-- Part 5

Sure is a lot about a battle I'd never heard of before.

Three cadaver dogs zeroed in on three sites that most likely were used to bury the British dead, except for Parker whose body was returned to England.  Those sites will not be touched.

Julie Schablitsky's next step is to put together the story of the battle.  They will continue to work with the property owners, Tulip Forest Farming Corporation, to insure that the battlefield will continue to be an untouched resource.

And, there are not too many War of 1812 battlefields preserved as well as this.

Brock-Perry

British Spies in Annapolis

From the Maryland in the War of 1812 Blog.

Before the Battle of Caulk's Field, Captain Parker had anchored his HMS Menelaus undetected near Annapolis, Maryland.  Two of his officers rowed a boat six miles to the city and reconnoitered it.

They even walked around the American Fort Madison without even a challenge.

This led Captain Peter Parker to report to his superiors that Annapolis could easily be taken by even a token force.

This Peter Parker kind of reminds me of William Cushing of the US Navy during the Civil War.  Obviously, he was afraid to take chances and led by example and without fear for his life.  Also reminds me of British General Isaac Brock.

A Hero.  --Brock-Perry

HMS Menelaus: Peter Parker's Ship

From Wikipedia.

The HMS Menelaus was a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate of 1,071 tons, 154 feet long, 39.5 foot beam with 285 crew carrying twenty-eight 18-pdr, four 9-pdr and fourteen 32-pdr carronade guns.

It was built at Plymouth Dockyard and launched in 1810, entering service under Captain Peter Parker who commanded it until his death in battle at Caulk's Field on August 30, 1814.  With the article, I was under the impression that Parker was the commander of the Marines on the ship, not the whole ship.

Within a week of being commissioned, it was involved in the suppression of a mutiny on the HMS Africaine, then later in 1810 was stationed in the Indian Ocean.  In 1812, it was blockading the French port of Toulon in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars.  It cruised the south France coast keeping an eye out for privateers.

In 1813, it started escorting convoys across the Atlantic to Canada during the War of 1812.  Later that year, it raided positions along the Maryland coast and destroyed an American convoy.

In 1814, it was ordered to operate against French ships in the Atlantic.  After the French surrender, it returned to the U.S., where the captain was killed in Maryland and just after that, the ship took part in the Battle of Baltimore (Fort McHenry).

Edward Dix took command of the Menelaus and continued in that position until the ship was laid up in 1818.  In 1832, it became a hospital ship and later a quarantine ship.  It was finally scrapped in 1897, 87 years after its launch.

The Story of a Ship and a Busy One at That.  --Brock-Perry

Some More Information On the Battle of Caulk's Field

I'd never heard of it the engagement, small as it was, before so did some Wiki-ing and found out these items:

**  Caulk's house still stands on the battlefield.

**  A monument was erected to the battle in 1902.

**  Captain Parker's body was preserved in a barrel of whiskey and sent back to England.  (Talk about your pickling.)

**  The British suffered 14 Marines killed and 27 wounded.

**  One of the Kent County American militia men was Ezekial Foreman Chambers who was later a judge and a U.S. senator.

Brock-Perry