Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/701

Rh tensively by the U. S. government during the civil war, and were first put to the test of actual warfare at Bull Run. Parrott's guns are of cast-iron, and in the larger calibres are hollow-cast on the plan invented by Gen. Thomas J. Rodman, and cooled from the inside, as in his method, by a stream of cold water running through the bore. They are strengthened by shrinking a hoop or ban-el of wrought-iron over that part of the re-enforce that surrounds the charge. Some Parrott guns have shown wonderful endurance. During Gilmore's operations against Charleston a thirty-pounder on Cumraing's point was fii'ed 4,606 times before bursting. Others have burst, owing probably to the wedging of the projectile in the bore. During the war Capt. Parrott refused to enrich himself by charging the government an extravagant price for his guns, and at its close he voluntarily can- celled a large contract that had recently been awarded him. Prom 1844 till 1847 he served as first judge of the Putnam county court of common pleas. His connection with the West Point foun- dry lasted till 1867, after which he was president or director of various industrial enterprises.

PARRY, Caleb, soldier, b. in Pennsylvania about 1785 ; d. on Long Island, N. Y., 27 Aug., 1776. He was one of the first to take up arms in the •cause of independence, assisted in raising Col. At- lee's " musketry battalion," was commissioned lieu- tenant-colonel, 3 March, 1776, and with his troops took part in the battle of Long Island, in the midst of which, while he was cheering on his men, he met instant death. In consideration of his services, his widow and children received from Pennsylvania 2,000 acres in Westmoreland county, Pa.

PARRY, Thomas, colonial Anglican bishop, b. in Denbighsliire, England, in 1795 ; d. in Malvern, 16 ^larch, 1870. He was graduated at Oxford, held a fellowship in Baliol college, and was subsequent- ly the incumbent of St. Leonard's, Colchester, till 1824, when he became archdeacon of Antigua, W. I. He was appointed bishop of Barbadoes in 1842. He published "A Practical Exposition of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans " (London, 1832) ; " Paro- chial Sermons in the West Indies "' (1837) ; " Three Charges to the Clergy of Bai-badoes " (1843-'6) ; and " Sermons on Ordination Vows " (1846 : with addi- tions, 1857). His wife was the author of " Young Christian's Sunday Evening " (London, 1838-'57), and other popular religious works for the young.

PARRY, Sir William Edward, British navigator, b. in Bath, England, 19 Dec, 1790 ; d. in Ems, Germany, 8 July, 1855. H^ entered the navy in 1803, became lieutenant in 1810, served on the North America station in 1812-'17, and then joined Capt. John Ross's arctic expedition as commander of the '• Alexander." They left England in April, 1818, and proceeded to Lancaster sound, which they navigated for about sixty miles, when Ross, imagining that the way was closed before them by a range of mountains, gave orders to return, al- though Parry insisted that the mountains were an optical delusion. In the spring of 1819 he was appointed to the command of an expedition that consisted of the " Hecla " and the " Griper," and, reaching Lancaster sound on 13 July, sailed through it. He explored and named Barrow strait, Prince Regent inlet, and Wellington channel, and enter- ing what has since been called Parry or Melville sound on 4 Sept., reached longitude 110° west, thereby earning a reward of £5,000 that was offered by parliament to the first ship's company that should attain that meridian. After being frozen in for ten months, the ships were released on 10 Aug., 1820, but the ice prevented farther progress westward, and Parry returned to England. On his arrival he was commissioned commander, and elected a member of the Royal society, and the nar- rative of his adventures was published by the admiralty. He sailed on another arctic expedition in May, i821, and was twice frozen in for several months, but made many explorations and dis- coveries by sea and land. He became captain on 8 Nov. of that year, and in 1823 was appointed acting hydrographer to the admiralty. He again set out with the " Hecla " and the " Fury " in May, 1824, but was obliged to abandon one of his vessels, and returned to England, having accomplished little or nothing. He set sail for Spitzbergen in the " Hecla," 27' March, 1827, left the vessel in harbor with part of the crew, and with the remain- der and Lieut. James C. Ross started for the pole in two boats that could be used also as sledges. The party sailed for eighty miles through an open sea, then reached a surface that was half covered with water, on which walking and sailing were equally difficult, and with great labor reached lati- tude 82° 45' north, which was the nearest point to the pole that up to tliat time had been attained by any explorer. At the end of September they ai"- rived in England, and Parry resumed his duties as hydrographer to the admiralty. In 1829 he was knighted and received the degree of D. C. L. from Oxford. He occupied many posts of trust and honor until his retirement in 1846. He became admiral of the White in 1852, and the next year was made lieutenant-governor of Greenwich hospi- tal. He published " Arctic Voyages " (7 vols., 1821-'7; abridged ed., New York, 1841); "The Parental Character of God " (1842) ; '' Nautical As- tronomy " ; and a " Lecture on Seamen." See his life by his son. Rev. Edward Parry (London, 1857).

PARSCHALL, Nathaniel, editor, b. in Knox- ville, Tenn., 4 April, 1804 ; d. in St. Louis, Mo.. 18 Dec, 1866. He was early left an orphan, and en- tered a printing-office. About 1814 he went to St. Louis and was apprenticed to Joseph Charless, of the " Missouri Gazette." He became part pro- prietor and editor of the " Missouri Republican " with Edward Charless in 1827, and continued so for ten years, when he engaged in business that was connected with the transfer of lands. Tliis was unsuccessful, and in 1840 he established the " New Era," and for a time was also clerk of the probate court of St. Louis. In 1848 he returned to the " Republican " as co-editor, becoming later editor-in-chief, which place he held until his death. The paper, which was conspicuous for its ability, advocated slavery and opposed the principles of the Republican party.

PARSEVAL DESCHENES, Alexander Ferdinand (par-seh-val-day-shain), French sailor, b. in Paris, France, 27 Nov., 1790; d. there. 10 June, 1860. He followed his relative, Admiral Latouche-Treville, to Toulon in 1804, and embarked as a volunteer on board the " Bucentaure." He took part in the capture of Fort Le Diamant in Martinique, and on his return to Europe rose rapidly in the service. He was employed in a dydrographic survey of Brittany in 1815, and in 1817 as commander of the " Sautereile," which formed part of the expedition that was sent to resume possession of French Guiana. He had charge of the local station of this colony for two years. His success in floating the frigate "L'Africaine," which was stranded on the coast of Newfoundland, gained him the cross of chevalier of the Legion of honor in 1822. From 1827 till 1839 he commanded various vessels, and took part in 1838 in the operations against Vera Cruz and the capture of San Juan