Major-General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
John Boteler Parker (29 May 1786 – 25 March 1851) was a notable
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
general of the early 19th century. He saw action at the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, and later became Commandant of the
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
Career
Parker was the second son of Admiral Sir
Hyde Parker and Anne Boteler.
Joining the army, Parker served in the
Walcheren Campaign
The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...
in 1809,
[The Annual Register of World Events]
Accessed 25 May 2014 and in operations up to and including the siege
of Flushing in the same year. In February 1812, he embarked for Lisbon with the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...
's army till the conclusion of the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
in 1814, taking part in the
Battle of Vitoria
At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...
, the
Siege of San Sebastián
In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...
, the
Battle of Orthez
The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...
, the action at
Tarbes
Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba ...
, and the
Battle of Toulouse.
As a second captain in Captain
Hew Ross'
Royal Horse Artillery
The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link r ...
Troop, Parker fought at Waterloo, being (
brevet
Brevet may refer to:
Military
* Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay
* Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college
* Aircre ...
) promoted to major on 18 June 1814, wounded and having his left leg amputated.
[ London Gazette]
22 June 1814, p.1216
/ref> For his services at the battle, he was nominated to be appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, upon the recommendation of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington.Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
, commissioning architect John Douglas Hopkins to enhance the building in 1840. He was Lieutenant-Governor (Commandant) of the Royal Military Academy from 1 April 1846, until his death, aged 66, at Woolwich Common on 25 March 1851. His remains were interred in a vault at St Luke's Church in nearby Charlton.
Family
Parker married Mary Popham, daughter of Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham
Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy commander who saw service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishment ...
, on 3 November 1814. They had at least eight children: Mary Elizabeth (born 25 August 1815), Hyde Popham (born 1818), Home John (2 June 1819 - 15 October 1881), Harry Richard (8 May 1821 - 16 August 1907), Arthur Charles (born 26 May 1822), Caroline (born 26 Apr 1824), Emily Fanny Eliza (born 26 September 1826) and Matilda Anne (died 26 February 1904).The Peerage
- cites: Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.
Parker's elder brother,
Hyde Parker III, like their father, became a notable English naval officer.
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, John Boteler
1786 births
1851 deaths
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Companions of the Order of the Bath
British Army personnel of the Peninsular War
Commandants of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
Onslow family
British Army generals
Royal Horse Artillery officers