William Harwar Parker (October 8, 1826 – December 30, 1896) was an officer in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy. His autobiography, entitled Recollections of a Naval Officer 1841–1865, provides a unique insight into the United States Navy of the mid-19th century during an era when the Age of Sail was coming to an end and the advent of steam power and ironclads was beginning. Early life and entrance to the Navy He was born in New York City, the son of Commodore Foxhall A. Parker, Sr. and Sarah Jay Bogardus (b. 1794), daughter of Robert Bogardus (1771–1841). Commodore Foxhall A. Parker, Jr., was his brother. William H. Parker became a United States Navy midshipman at the early age of 15, recalling in his biography that he had held his father's hand while being escorted to his first ship. Parker's appointment date as a midshipman was on October 19, 1841, just after his 15th birthday. His first assignment was to the receiving ship USS North Carolina, and he reported on board October 27 when the ship was moored at New York City. Midshipman cruises In April 1842, Parker was issued his first sea orders and reported to . 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, Columbus sailed to the port of Mahón 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, Columbus made for Rio de Janeiro. 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, 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 moored at Philadelphia. 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