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
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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