Midshipman Cruises
In April 1842, Parker was issued his first sea orders and reported to the USS Columbus. The Columbus set sail on August 29, 1842 and proceeded to Gibraltar, arriving in the fall and spending the winter in that port. In the spring of 1842, the Columbus sailed to the port of Mahon with a port call to Toulon. The ship then returned to Gibraltar and, in June 1843, set sail for Madeira and then on to Gata, Cape Verde. At the start of July 1843, the Columbus made for Rio de Janeiro.
The Columbus arrived at Rio de Janeiro on July 29, 1843 and spent two months in port before proceeding to Buenos Aires. It was in Buenos Aires that Parker personally met Juan Manuel de Rosas and quickly recognized him as a "cruel ruthless dictator".
In February 1844, the Columbus returned to Rio de Janeiro and in March set sail for a return to the United States. The ship arrived in New York City in 1844 and put in lay-up. Parker was granted a three month leave and then, in September 1844, reported to the USS Potomac moored at Philadelphia.
The Potomac set sail in November 1844 for Norfolk and then onward to Port-au-Prince in Haiti. Arriving in December 1944, the ship then proceeded to Port Royal, Jamaica and then on to Havana. It was in Havana that Parker recalls his ship almost running aground due to heavy winds off of Morro Castle.
After spending the winter in Havana, the Potomac set sail for the United States and arrived in Pensacola in February 1845. The United States was by this time preparing for the Mexican War, which, although yet undeclared, was already causing both the US and Mexico to mobilize troops. Parker states in his biography that he recalls seeing the 7th Infantry Regiment beginning to mass in Florida for the coming invasion of Mexico.
In February 1845, the Potomac sailed for Veracruz and for the rest of the summer practiced gunnery exercises off the coast of Mexico. In August 1845, the ship returned to Pensacola and then was sent north to Norfolk for major structural repairs. The ship arrived in Norfolk on December 20, 1845 and was put in lay-up with the bulk of the crew reassigned.
During his Midshipman years, Parker also contracted Yellow Fever on two separate occasions. The first time was in the summer of 1846, and the second infection was in 1847. Parker's private observations of the disease, in that the sickness did not seem to spread from man to man, but rather by some other unknown element, was confirmed by Walter Reed some 50 years later when it was proven that Yellow Fever was caused by the mosquito.
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