User:Dellant/John Henry Parker (General)

General John Henry Parker (9 September 1866 – 14 October 1942) was a brigadier general in the United States Army. He is best known for his role as commander of the Gatling Gun Detachment of the U.S. Army's V Corps in Cuba during the Santiago campaign in the Spanish-American War.

Parker graduated from the U.S. Army military academy at West Point in 1889, and was assigned as a 2nd Lieutenant to the 13th Infantry Regiment. During his service, he was placed in charge of training soldiers of the machine gun detachment in the use of their weapons.

At the time, the Army's artillery and ammunition supplies were transported by horse-drawn vehicles, and experience showed that the animals were vulnerable to enemy artillery fire at ranges up to 1,500 yards. Parker developed a theory of using machine guns to provide covering fire for the artillery trains until they could get within effective range of the enemy lines.

Spanish-American War
At the outbreak of war, Lt. Parker approached General Rufus Shafter, commander of the U.S. expeditionary campaign being readied for the assault on Santiago, Cuba, and requested permission to form a Gatling Gun Detachment. Shafter approved the request, and Parker was given 4 of a consignment of 15 new model Gatling guns from a recent Army contract in .30 Army caliber. Parker received permission to select his own men from the infantry regiments assigned to the invasion.

During the assault on San Juan Heights, Lt. Parker and his men used three operational Gatling guns to cover the assault on the heights by U.S. forces. Equipped with swivel mountings that enabled the gunners to rake Spanish positions, the three Gatlings fired approximately 18,0000 cal. .30 rounds into the Spanish defensive lines atop the heights, forcing some defenders to flee and demoralizing the others. The Gatlings continued to fire until the American assault broke into a charge about 150 yards from the crest of the hill, when the guns ceased firing to avoid causing friendly fire injuries. Parker's employment of machine guns to support and cover infantry in the offense marked the first use by the U.S. Army of such weapons in that role. Lt. Parker's Gatling Gun Detachment was praised by none other than Col. Theodore Roosevelt, who stated: "'I think Parker deserved rather more credit than any other one man in the entire campaign...he had the rare good judgment and foresight to see the possibilities of the machine-guns..He then, by his own exertions, got it to the front and proved that it could do invaluable work on the field of battle, as much in attack as in defence.'"

On July 2 and 3, 1898, Parker's guns were placed in reserve atop San Juan, which the Detachment renamed "Fort Roosevelt". On the 4th, Parker ordered the three operational Gatlings moved into the battle line. The wheels of the gun carriages were removed, and the Gatlings, along with two M1895 Colt-Browning machine guns (a gift from Col. Roosevelt) were placed in breastworks where they could command various sectors of fire. The fourth Gatling was repaired and placed in reserve behind the others. However, it was soon moved to Fort Canosa, where it was used to fire 6,000 to 7,000 rounds into the city of Santiago to help force a surrender. After Parker's exploits became known by the press, he would forever after be referred to as "Gatling Gun" Parker.

Later Career
As an Army officer, Parker continued to expound his theories on the tactical employment of machine guns, particularly in the offense. He was a prolific writer, and contributed numerous articles and treatises to the Infantry Journal and other Army publications. Parker was promoted in rank to Captain in 1900 and was transferred to the 28th Infantry Regiment. In January 1908 he was assigned the task of developing organizational schedules and training regulations for the U.S. Army's dismounted machine gun companies.

During World War I, Parker by now a Colonel in the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Division, A.E.F., saw combat on numerous occasions. In 1918 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross four times for valor displayed on four separate occasions.

Parker eventually retired from the army at the rank of Brigadier General. He died on October 13, 1942, and is buried at Section OS, Row 36, Site 8 at the Presidio in San Francisco, California.