Colonel Thomas Jefferson Parker

Colonel Thomas Jefferson Parker. . Thomas Jefferson Parker came from a long military tradition His father, Henry, was a captain of Dragoons in the War of 18 12, and his grandfather, Jonathan, was Quartermaster of a Connecticut cavalry troop in the American Revolution. He was regarded as the foremost military figure in Cattaraugus County in the 19th Century., Thomas was born in Junius, Seneca County, in 1813. He moved with his parents to Hamburg when he was 10 and came to Gowanda, then called Lodi, in 1830 to join his brother, Francis, in the tailoring business. After three years he took over the trade and also made harnesses and saddles. He lost his shop in the great fire of April 10, 1856, that destroyed most of downtown Gowanda and in 1861 a disastrous flood swept away his shop that stood near this spot., He joined the state militia in the 1830s and organized the 64th New York State Militia unit in 1853. When the Civil War began in 1861, he tendered the services of his regiment to Gov. Edwin D. Morgan and took it to Elmira where he received his commission as colonel. The 64th New York became known as “The Cattaraugus Regiment.”, In December 1861, the regiment left Elmira for the battle front and went into winter camp at Alexandria, Virginia. During this time Colonel Parker visited the White House and met President and Mrs. Lincoln in the spring, the regiment joined the Army of the Potomac and took part in Gen. George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. Their first major battle, and costliest, was June 1, 1862, at Fair Oaks, on the outskirts of Richmond, where the 64th suffered 173 casualties. Col. Parker's horse was shot out from under him. He assumed command of a brigade when its commander, Gen Oliver Otis Howard, suffered a severe wound that cost him an arm. The next day Parker described the battle in a letter to his wife:, "We made a most determined stand, turned the tide and held our ground against a whole Brigade of Mississippi and Alabama Troops, took a number of prisoners and saved the day. We were hotly engaged for two hours. In front of our line the enemy lay in heaps. They charged on us twice and then fell back gave the order to fire and they fell like grass before the scythe. My Regiment suffered severely, the balls come like hail into our ranks and about 150 are killed, wounded and missing. It is almost a miracle that I escaped without a wound, men were killed all around me. If I should stay in the service 10 years, I never could do myself more honor in one day than I did yesterday.", The Olean Advertiser of June 19, 1863, wrote about the battle of Fair Oaks: “Colonel Parker has shown himself to be a brave intrepid commander, and abilities were acknowledged m field of battle by being assigned to the command of the first brigade of General Richardson's division, Captain Remick is hearty and emphatic in his praises of Colonel Parker for coolness, courage and military skill upon the battle field. The men of the 64th will do their duty. All honor to its commanding office Colonel Parker!”, After the battle, Confederate General Robert E. Lee seized the offensive, forcing McClellan to retreat back down the peninsula in a series of battles known as the Seven Days. The 64th New York fought rear-guard actions at Gaines Mills, Peach Orchard, Savage's Station, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, and Malvern Hill before retiring to the cover of Union gunboats on the James River at Harrison's Landing. Shortly thereafter, Parker resigned his commission and returned to Gowanda, having suffered permanent hearing loss from heavy cannonading., Thomas Parker was solidly built; he stood 6'1½" tall and weighed 198 pounds. In civilian life he held many offices of public trust. He was Persia town justice from 1852 to 1882, deputy county clerk from 1871 to 1874, and deputy clerk of the Stare Assembly in 1872–73. He married Lavina Hooker in Perrysburg in 1841, and had six children. Some of their descendants still reside in Gowanda., The 1893 history of Cattaraugus County says, "No man now living in Cattaraugus County has been longer or more prominently identified with military affairs than has Colonel Parker. From the interesting period of general training to long after the Rebellion he was active in almost every movement.", Thomas Parker died at his home at 102 Walnut Street on May 26, 1908, at the age of 94. He rests in peace at Pine Hill Cemetery., (captions) , Lavina and Thomas Parker , 64th New York Volunteer Infantry at Elmira, 1861