Foxhall Alexander Parker Sr. (1788 – 23 November 1857) was an officer in the United States Navy. He was Commander-in-Chief of the East India Squadron (ie. U.S. Navy forces in the Far East), commanded the Home Squadron, and was commander of the .
Biography
Parker was born in Rock Spring, Westmoreland County, Virginia.
In 1814, he married Sarah Jay Bogardus (born 1794), daughter of Robert Bogardus (1771–1841).
Following his assignment with Cushing, he was sent to Europe in 1848 He was sent on the recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy, John T. Mason. While there, he was offered Supreme Command of the German Navy (Reichsflotte). He declined, his son later presumed, because he didn't want to leave the US Navy and was concerned about the unsettled state of Europe at the time.
In 1851, Parker was appointed "special Commissioner" to Havana, Cuba, to meet with Spanish General Captain Concha, who held 156 American prisoners who were sentenced to work in prison mines as punishment for their involvement in a failed insurrection. Parker's negotiations with Concha were made in parallel with other American diplomats, but Parker's contributions 'did no harm' in Concha's later decision to release the prisoners.
Later that year, Parker was involved in an incident in Nicaragua which involved a British ship firing on an American ship and had the potential to escalate into a war between the two countries. Business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt arrived by ship in the Nicaraguan port of Greytown (a British port), but refused to pay port fees and steamed away. The British fired upon Vanderbilt's ship and escorted it back to harbor where the angered Vanderbilt paid the fee. Parker with two warships was dispatched to Greytown where he informed the British the United States would not tolerate the collection of port duties by the British Navy. The British officer commanding the Royal Navy in the Caribbean (Vice-Admiral George F. Seymour) took immediate steps to defuse the crisis by admonishing the captain who had fired the shots, and sent one of his captains to meet with Parker and assure him "the interception of Vanderbilt's ship was completely unauthorized."
In 1853, Parker was relieved of his duties as commodore of the Home Squadron.