William Harwar Parker - Naval Academy and Africa Service

Naval Academy and Africa Service

In August 1847, Parker was detached from the USS Raritan and placed on leave; he spent the time visiting his father in Boston before reporting to the United States Naval Academy in September. The school then being just a few years old, and most of the students coming from at-sea assignments, Parker was placed in an advanced curriculum with graduation scheduled for the next summer.

The Superintendent of the Naval Academy was in those days Commander George P. Upshur, and Parker's primary instructor in naval warfare was Lieutenant John A. Dahlgren (who would later become a Rear Admiral). During Parker's few months at the Academy, he also witnessed two duels, one of which was fought on the traditional dueling ground of Bladensburg and the other which was fought on the Academy grounds itself. Dueling was by then illegal, and those involved were dismissed from the Academy by direct order of President James Polk; Zachary Taylor overturned two of the dismissals three years later.

On July 1, 1848, Parker was declared a graduate of the Naval Academy after passing a board of examination and declared a Passed Midshipman. In August 1848, Parker received orders to the USS Constitution but requested a change of orders to the sloop of war USS Yorktown, which was then slated to perform anti-slave trade duties in African waters.

Parker reported to the Yorktown in September, and the ship set sail for Africa on November 22, 1848. Parker recalls in his biography that the voyage was over some very rough seas and, for one of the few times in his entire naval career, Parker became violently seasick.

In December 1848, the Yorktown arrived at Madeira and then sailed on the Cape Verde. The rest of the month was spent at the cape, and then, in January 1849, the Yorktown sailed to Porto Praya. It was here that several of the Yorktown officers rotated off the ship and Parker was made Acting Master.

The Yorktown then sailed to Bathurst, off the Gambia River, where the ship put in for repairs to her rudder. In February 1849, the Yorktown sailed to Liberia, where she participated as an observer in a Liberian attack against several native tribes living in the interior jungle. It was here that Parker met the President of Liberia (Joseph Jenkins Roberts) who traveled as a guest of honor on board the Yorktown.

The Yorktown moored at Monrovia in November 1849 and spent the winter in this port. In January 1850, the Yorktown sailed for Cape Palmas and then on to several port calls in the Gulf of Guinea. These included the ports of Accra, Elmina, and Cape Coast Castle. In February 1850, the Yorktown headed for Ouidah, which was then in the Kingdom of Dahomey. Along the way, the Yorktown met up with both the British brig HMS Contest under the command of Archibald McMurdo and the USS Perry, which was then under the command of Captain Andrew H. Foote.

In June 1850, the Yorktown made ready for its return to Porto Praya. The ship moored at Funchal on July 1, and it was here that the ship celebrated Independence Day. The ship then continued to Porto Praya and then, on August 1, sailed for the Canary Islands. Parker remarks in his biography that the ship's crew was in very high spirits at this point, having completed a deployment to Africa with only two deaths, both to a sickness which Parker called "African fever".

On August 30, 1850, the Yorktown moored at Las Palmas then continued on towards the port of Boa Vista and the island of St. Jago. On September 4, the ship sailed toward Mayo Island and, on September 6, 1850, struck a reef. Over the course of two days, the ship capsized and was lost, but the crew was able to offload most of the supplies and suffered no casualties.

The crew of the USS Yorktown lived on Mayo Island for over a month, during which time Parker recalls that relaxation was the norm, and the crew did little more than "relax and play in donkey races". On October 8, the USS Dale arrived to pick up the crew, and they were transferred to the USS Portsmouth, which sailed for Norfolk, arriving in December 1850.