John Parker Popular Books
John Parker Biography & Facts
John Parker (July 13, 1729 – September 17, 1775) was a New England colonial farmer, smith, soldier, and colonial militia officer who commanded the Lexington, Patriot, colonial militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. Early life John Parker was born in Lexington, Massachusetts Bay to Josiah Parker and Anna Stone. He was a descendant of Deacon Thomas Parker, founder of Reading, Massachusetts. John Parker was also the grandfather of reformer and abolitionist Theodore Parker. John Parker's experience as a soldier in the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), at the Siege of Louisbourg and the conquest of Quebec, most likely led to his election as militia captain by the men of the town. He was dying from consumption (tuberculosis), on the morning of April 19, 1775, and had not quite five months left to live. Battle of Lexington On April 19, 1775, the British commander in Boston Thomas Gage dispatched an expedition of approximately 700 army regulars under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith to search the town of Concord for hidden rebel supplies and weapons caches. Lexington lay directly on the road that Smith's men took to reach Concord. When reports of the approaching British force reached Lexington overnight, men from the town and the surrounding area began to rally on the Common. Parker's Lexington company were not minutemen, as sometimes stated, but from the main body of Massachusetts Militia. Parker was initially uncertain as to exactly what was happening. Conflicting stories arrived and as the British regulars had spent much of the winter engaged in harmless route marches through the Massachusetts countryside their exact intention was far from certain. When Smith became aware that the countryside had been alarmed and that resistance might be encountered, he sent a detachment of light infantry under Major John Pitcairn ahead of the main column. Pitcairn's advance guard reached Lexington first and drew up on the Common opposite Parker's men. Parker ordered his men to disperse to avoid a confrontation, but they either failed to hear him or ignored his instructions. Shortly afterwards firing broke out despite the fact that both sides had orders not to shoot. In the following fight eight militia were killed and ten wounded while one British soldier was wounded. The lopsided casualty list led to initial reports of a massacre, stories of which spread rapidly around the colony further inflaming the situation. There remains considerable doubt as to exactly what occurred during the fight at Lexington, and a variety of different accounts emerged as to what had taken place and who had fired first. By the time Smith arrived with his main body of troops ten minutes later, he had trouble restoring order amongst his troops, who had chased fleeing militiamen into the fields around the town. Smith then decided, in spite of the fighting, to continue the march to Concord. One of Parker's company, many years later, recalled Parker's order at Lexington Green to have been, "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." During the skirmish, Parker witnessed his cousin Jonas Parker killed during a British bayonet charge. Later that day he rallied his men to attack the regulars returning to Boston in an ambush known as "Parker's Revenge". Siege of Boston and death Parker and his men participated in the subsequent Siege of Boston. He was unable to serve in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, and died of tuberculosis on September 17, 1775, aged 46. Legacy Parker and his wife, Lydia (Moore) Parker had seven children: Lydia, Anna, John, Isaac, Ruth, Rebecca and Robert. The Parker homestead formerly stood on Spring Street in Lexington. A tablet marks the spot as the birthplace of a grandson, Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister, transcendentalist and abolitionist who also donated two of Captain Parker's muskets to the state of Massachusetts; one the light fowling-piece which he carried at Quebec and Lexington and one that he captured. They hung in the Senate Chamber of the Massachusetts State House until a 2018 renovation. The statue known as The Lexington Minuteman (1900) was originally meant to represent the common Minuteman, but has now commonly become accepted as symbolizing Parker. It is by Henry Hudson Kitson and it stands at the town green of Lexington, Massachusetts. It was not based on Parker's appearance, as no known likenesses of him survive today and the figure is of a younger, healthy man which Parker at that point was not. One description of Parker was "a stout, large framed man, of medium height, somewhat like his illustrious grandson, Theodore Parker, in personal appearance, but had a much longer face." The United States Army Reserve (USAR), which consists primarily of part-time duty personnel, adopted John Parker as a symbol of their motto, "Twice the Citizen". Though no image of Parker exists, the 'only official logo of the United States Army Reserve" is referred to as "The John Parker". References Bibliography Coburn, Frank Warren (1922). The Battle of April 19, 1775 in Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville and Charlestown, Massachusetts. Lexington, MA: Lexington Historical Society. Commager, Henry Steele (1947). Theodore Parker. Boston, Massachusetts: The Beacon Press. Crowder, Jack Darrell (2017). Chaplains of the Revolutionary War: Black Robed American Warriors. McFarland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4766-7209-0. Fischer, David Hackett (1994). Paul Revere's Ride. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508847-6. Galvin, Gen. John R. (1989). The Minutemen - The First Fight: Myths & Realities of the American Revolution. Washington, D.C.: Pergamon-Brassey's International Defense Publishers, Inc. Proceedings of Lexington Historical Society and Papers Relating to the History of the Town Read by Some of the Members. Lexington, MA: Lexington Historical Society. 1890. Parker, Theodore (1893). Genealogy and Biographical Notes of John Parker of Lexington and his Descendants. Worcester, MA: Press of C. Hamilton. OL 23301064M. Tourtellot, Arthur Bernon (2000) [1959]. Lexington and Concord : the beginning of the War of the American Revolution (2000 re-issue, originally published in 1959 as William Diamond's Drum ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-32056-1. OCLC 45157933. External links John Parker at Find a Grave Battle at Lexington Green eyewitness account The Lexington Historical Society Minuteman National Historic Park. Discover the John Parker popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Parker books.
Best Seller John Parker Books of 2024
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The Best Pirate Stories Ever Told
Stephen BrennanOver the years, thousands of tales both true and fantastic have been told about the dastardly thievery of pirates, and their rumdrunk exploits and highseas violence never fail to d...
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The Whisperers
John Connolly“‘Oh, little one,’ he whispered, as he gently stroked her cheek, the first time he had touched her in fifteen years. ‘What have they done to you? What have they done to us all?’ ”I...
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The Wrath of Angels
John ConnollyIn the depths of the Maine woods, the wreckage of a plane is discovered. There are no bodies, and no such plane has ever been reported missing, but men both good and evil have been...
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The Reapers
John ConnollyDarkly brilliant and intuitive private detective Charlie Parker returns in the next thrilling installment of the New York Times bestselling series by John Connolly about an elite g...
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The Furies
John ConnollyChaos and murder arrive in Charlie Parker’s hometown of Portland, Maine, with two connected crimes in the latest novel in #1 nationally bestselling author John Connolly’s “flawless...
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The Wolf in Winter
John ConnollyNew York Times bestselling author John Connolly is a master of the supernatural thriller“a genre of one” (Bookreporter)whose eerie and electrifying Charlie Parker mystery turns a s...
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The Black Angel
John ConnollyTo those who have been forsaken, hell has no geography. The Black Angel begins with the disappearance of a young prostitute from one of New York City's seamiest neighborhoods. Lik...
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The Woman in the Woods
John Connolly“With its singular characters, eerie subject matter, and socko style” (The New York Times), this gripping thriller from the internationally bestselling author John Connolly follows...
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Dark Hollow
John ConnollyWhen John Connolly burst upon the literary suspense scene in 1999, he was an immediate international sensation. His Every Dead Thing became an instantaneous bestseller in England, ...
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The Nameless Ones
John Connolly“One of the best thriller writers we have.” Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling authorFrom the international and instant New York Times bestselling author of The Dirty Sout...
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Silent Hunt
John Lescroart & T. Jefferson ParkerIn this short story from the thrilling anthology FaceOff, John Lescroart and T. Jefferson Parker team up for the first time ever, along with their charactersWyatt Hunt, hero of thr...
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The White Road
John ConnollyInternationally bestselling author John Connolly takes readers into the dark world of private detective Charlie Parker, whose deadly fight against evil begins when the daughter of ...
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A Book of Bones
John ConnollyPrivate Investigator Charlie Parker returns in this heartpounding thriller as he seeks revenge against the darkest forces in the world, from “one of the best thriller writers we ha...
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She Walks in Beauty
Caroline KennedyIn She Walks in Beauty, Caroline Kennedy has once again marshaled the gifts of our greatest poets to pay a very personal tribute to the human experience, this time to the complex a...
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The Killing Kind
John ConnollyTroubled excop turned private investigator Charlie Parker returns in the latest “compulsively readable” (Publishers Weekly) thriller from #1 internationally bestselling author John...
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A Game of Ghosts
John Connolly“An epic supernatural suspense that will forever reset your standards for summer thrillers. From secret realms and horrific homicides to hauntings and criminal empires, there isn’t...
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Nocturnes
John ConnollyFrom #1 internationally bestselling author John Connolly comes Nocturnes, a dark, daring, utterly haunting shot story anthology of lost lovers and missing children, predatory demon...
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How Toddlers Thrive
Tovah P KleinFrom child development psychologist and parenting expert Dr. Tovah Kleincalled “the toddler whisperer” by Good Morning Americacomes a lively and revelatory book that will teach par...
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Poems of Thomas Hardy
Claire Tomalin & Thomas HardyThomas Hardy wrote some of the most moving and personal poems in his era and this collection brings together the best of his verse on life and love.Hardy's poems are by turn haunti...
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If a Pirate I Must Be
Richard SandersIn a pageturning tale brimming with adventure, author Richard Sanders tells of the remarkable exploits of Bartholomew Roberts (better known as Black Bart), the greatest of the Cari...
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Every Dead Thing
John ConnollyTortured and brilliant private detective Charlie Parker stars in this thriller by New York Times bestselling author John Connolly.Former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker is on ...
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The Burning Soul
John ConnollyWhat’s the worst thing you’ve ever done? “There are some truths so terrible that they should not be spoken aloud, so appalling that even to acknowledge them is to risk sacrificing ...
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Paideia Program
Mortimer J. AdlerPaideia is a holistic approach to lifelong learning with roots in ancient Greece.The Paideia Program is based on the belief that the human species is defined by its capacity and de...
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One Bad Turn
Sinéad CrowleyHow could your good friend become your worst enemy? I lost my child because of you, my only child. Eileen and Heather have always looked out for each other. But two years ago Eilee...
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Paideia Proposal
Mortimer J. AdlerThe Paideia Proposal is a system of liberal education intended for all children. It was a response to what Adler characterized as the United States' antidemocratic or undemocratic ...
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The Dirty South
John Connolly“Mr. Connolly’s slambang thriller is studded with memorable characters and boasts cliffhangers within cliffhangers.” The Wall Street Journal“Brilliant...Connolly is writing at the ...
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Corrupt Practices
Robert RotsteinA Los Angeles church, considered by some to be a powerful cult, charges Rich Baxter with embezzling millions. Rich reaches out to former colleague and star trial attorney Parker St...
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The Lovers
John ConnollyNew York Times bestselling author John Connolly writes an “unfailingly compelling” (New Orleans TimesPicayune) and lyrical tale that forces Private Investigator Charlie Parker to e...
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The Book of Lost Things
John ConnollyNew York Times bestselling author John Connolly's unique imagination takes readers through the end of innocence into adulthood and beyond in this dark and triumphantly creative nov...
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The Creeps
John ConnollyIn this delightfully imaginative novel, once again, hell threatens to break loose as Samuel Johnson and his ragtag group of friends must defend their town from shadowy forces more ...
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A Song of Shadows
John ConnollyStill recovering from his lifethreatening wounds, private detective Charlie Parker investigates a case that has its origins in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II in this...
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Bad Men
John ConnollyNew York Times bestselling author John Connolly masterfully intertwines mystery, emotion, violence, and the supernatural in this raw and gripping thriller.He has been told the girl...
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Bonnie and Clyde
James BuckleyGet a behindthescenes glimpse of what it takes to be considered two of the worst figures in history, with the third book in this nonfiction series that focuses on the most despicab...
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The Gates
John ConnollyBursting with imagination and impossible to put down, this “wholly original” (People) and “refreshing” (San Francisco Chronicle) novel from New York Times bestselling author John C...
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Red Sparrow
Jason MatthewsNow a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton! From the New York Times bestselling author and veteran CIA officer Jason Matthews comes the electrifying mo...
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Empire of the Summer Moon
S. C. GwynneFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award A New York Times Notable Book Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book AwardThis New York Tim...
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Rest in Pieces
Bess LovejoyA “marvelously macabre” (Kirkus Reviews) history of the bizarre afterlives of corpses of the celebrated and notorious dead.For some of the most influential figures in history, deat...
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Good Neighbors
Sarah LanganCeleste Ng and Liane Moriarty’s enthralling dissection of suburbia meets Shirley Jackson’s creeping dread in this “wickedly funny, unnerving puzzle box of a novel” (Dan Chaon, auth...
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Near-Death Experiences . . . and Others
Robert GottliebA new collection of immersive essays from the most acclaimed editor of the second half of the twentieth centuryThis new collection from the legendary editor Robert Gottlieb feature...
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A Time of Torment
John Connolly#1 internationally bestselling author John Connolly delivers a masterful combination of “the hardboiled with the supernatural” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) with this return ...
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The Unquiet
John ConnollyHaunted private detective Charlie Parker returns in this “not to be missed” (Bookreporter) thriller by New York Times and internationally bestselling author John Connolly.Daniel Cl...
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Back Bay Blues
Peter ColtTheft, greed, and corruption collide in Peter Colt’s hardedged mystery featuring Vietnam veteran turned Boston P.I. Andy Roark.1985, Boston. In Vietnam, Andy Roark witnessed death ...
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FaceOff
David Baldacci & Lee ChildAn instant New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller and “a thriller reader’s ultimate fantasy” (Booklist), this oneofakind anthology pulls together the most beloved characters from ...