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Lieutenant William H. Parker |
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Lt. William Harwar Parker of Portsmouth,
Virginia, was appointed commander of the CSS Beaufort after the fall of Fort
Hatteras. He served in the United States Navy prior to the Civil War, where
he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1855. Parker was ordered to New
Bern to take command of the Beaufort on 2 September 1861. He commanded the
CSS Beaufort in the battles of Roanoke Island (7-8 Feb 1862) and Elizabeth
City (10 Feb 1862). Ordered ashore with his men to man the
battery at Fort Cobb during the Elizabeth City battle, Parker sent the
Beaufort to safety in Norfolk via the Dismal Swamp Canal. After the “mosquito
fleet” was destroyed at Elizabeth City, he rounded up the surviving sailors and
marched them to Norfolk. Reunited with the Beaufort, he participated in the
battle of Hampton Roads. Parker later served as Superintendent of the
Confederate Naval Academy. |
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