Foxhall Alexander Parker (5 August 1821 – 10 June 1879) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
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He was born in New York, the son of Foxhall A. Parker, Sr. and Sarah Jay Bogardus (b. 1794), daughter of Robert Bogardus (1771-1841).
Parker was appointed a midshipman 11 March 1837. In 1842, he served under his father, Foxhall A. Parker, Sr., in Constitution. He also served under his father in Brandywine.
During the Civil War he cooperated with the Army of the Potomac, protecting Alexandria, Virginia, after the Battle of Bull Run. In addition to being in active service off Charleston, South Carolina, he commanded a naval battery at the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and was also in command of the Potomac Flotilla. In 1872, as Commodore and Chief of Staff of the North Atlantic Fleet, he drew up a code of signals for steam tactics.
He was author of Fleet Tactics Under Steam, The Naval Howitzer Afloat, and other valuable works. He became Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in 1878 and was one of the founders of the United States Naval Institute.
Parker died at Annapolis, Maryland.
William Harwar Parker was his brother.
Two ships have been named USS Parker for him.
List of Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy
Academic offices | ||
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Preceded by Christopher R.P. Rodgers |
Superintendent of United States Naval Academy 1878-1879 |
Succeeded by George B. Balch |