The 1850s
In the summer of 1851, Parker spent three months on leave and then reported to the USS Washington, which was then assigned to perform coastal survey duties. For the remainder of the summer, Parker sailed with the Washington along the Nantucket Shoals, surveying such areas as Block Island and the so called "No man's land". The cruise of the Washington ended in October 1851 when the ship sailed to New York City for a lay-up. The crew was discharged and reassigned, and Parker reported to the Washington Navy Yard for administrative duties.
In the spring of 1852, Parker was ordered to proceed to Boston, where he had orders to report aboard the USS Princeton, which was the first propeller-driven ship in the United States Navy. Reporting to the vessel, and foreseeing it as a "dismal failure", Parker applied for a transfer to a regular sail ship. Parker's feelings were somewhat prophetic, since the Princeton would in fact suffer a major accident several months later when one of its guns exploded and killed several high-ranking dignitaries who were then on board.
Parker reported aboard the USS Cyane in July 1852, the ship then being under the command of George N. Hollins. In the weeks leading up to vessel making sail, Parker lived in Boston and had the chance to meet one of the leading mystics of the time, Margaret Fox. Fox attempted to talk Parker into giving up the Navy for a career as a psychic, but Parker amusingly declined the offer.
In August 1852, the Cyane sailed for Havana and nearly went aground near the Abaco Islands due to, what Parker believed, was incompetence on the part of the ship's sailing master. The ship then made port in Havana before sailing for Pensacola for supplies and provisions. In Pensacola, the ship found orders to return to Havana and, on this trip, the vessel was not as lucky and did ground itself near to Bahia Honda. As a result, the sailing master was transferred and Parker become Acting Master of the Cyane. When the ship transferred one of its Lieutenants only a few days later, Parker was appointed an Acting Lieutenant. During this same period, Parker met the Vice President of the United States (William R. King), who was then traveling aboard the USS Fulton.
The Cyane next sailed for Key West, where it put in for "decontamination" due to a major rat infestation. Spending the winter in Key West, the ship sailed for Greytown, on the Mosquito Coast, in the spring of 1853. Here, the Cyane spent 70 days safeguarding American steamer companies who were operating in an area frequented by pirates as well as hostile townspeople living in Greystown (this town would be bombarded and destroyed in 1854 after holding the United States Ambassador to Nicaragua hostage for several days).
Towards the end of the summer, the Cyane departed Greytown and proceeded to Pensacola for supplies then headed north to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The vessel was placed under the overall command of Commodore W. B. Shubrick and was then assigned to fishery guarding duties. To this end, the ship sailed for Eastport, Maine and then on to Saint John, New Brunswick. By the fall of 1853, the Cyane had made a tour of the Bay of Fundy, the Straights of Canso and had made its way into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Ending its tour in September, the Cyane returned to New Hampshire and then proceeded to Philadelphia for layup and refit. In October 1853, Parker was detached and proceeded to the Naval Academy for duty as an instructor.
Parker served as an instructor at the United States Naval Academy from October 1853 until the fall of 1857. From 1853 to 1855 he was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and in 1855 become a Professor of Navigation and Astronomy. In December 1853, Parker married Margaret Griffin, and the two would remain married until Parker's death, but the couple never had any children.
During the summer of 1855, Parker participated as an instructor on a Midshipman training cruise as part of his duties as a Naval Academy instructor. The ship, the USS Preble, visited the ports of Eastport, Cape Cod, Portland, and Boston before returning to Annapolis in the fall. In September 1855, Parker was also promoted to the permanent rank of Lieutenant in the United States Navy.
In the fall of 1857, Parker was detached from the Naval Academy and reported aboard the USS Merrimack, which was then under the command of Commander Robert B. Hitchcock. On October 17, 1857, the Merrimack sailed from Boston on a mission to the United States Minister to Brazil (Richard Kidder Meade) to his new assignment. The ship made port in Rio de Janeiro in December 1957 and then proceeded to round Cape Horn to enter the Pacific Ocean at the start of the new year.
In February 1858, the Merrimac made port in Talcahuano, Chile, and from there sailed to the Chincha Islands. At the end of February, the ship put into port in the small coastal town of Callao with shore leave authorized for the crew. Parker took the opportunity to travel to Lima, where he witnessed "some type of revolution" which was underway under the leadership of Lizardo Montero Flores.
In March 1858, the Merrimac sailed for Panama, where Parker had the foresight to predict that a Panama Canal would one day be constructed. After a layover at Perico Island, the Merrimac headed into the open Pacific Ocean, reaching the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii) in September 1858. The ship remained in Honolulu until October and then set course for a return to Central America.
In December 1858, the Merrimac arrived at El Realejo, Nicaragua, and remained in this port for a total of three months, during which time Parker met the President of Nicaragua. In March, the ship then returned from Panama, where it was placed under a new squadron commander, Commodore John B. Montgomery; the ship then headed to Valparaiso, arriving in June 1859, and remained at this station until October when the Merrimac was relieved by the USS Lancaster. The ship then set a return course for the United States, stopping in Rio de Janeiro in November. It was at this time that the crew was informed of the John Brown Raid and, according to Parker's biography, he had already come to the conclusion that civil war between the North and South was inevitable.
In December 1859, the Merrimac reached Norfolk, and the vessel was laid up for an overhaul and the crew discharged. During the voyage, Parker had written a naval guide entitled Instructions for Naval Light Artillery (New York, 1862) and had translated a French instruction, entitled Tactique Navale, into English.
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