Richard Parker ( colonel ) Richard Parker ( 1751 – 8 May 1780 ) was an American colonel who fought in the American Revolutionary War . Son of prominent Virginia jurist Richard Parker , Parker received an officer ' s commission in a Virginia regiment early in the conflict . He probably was present at Great Bridge and Norfolk . Promoted to major , he fought at Trenton in December 1776 and commanded the regiment at Second Trenton and Princeton in January 1777 . At Brandywine in September 1777 he led a detachment of light infantry in delaying the British . The next month he fought at Germantown . Promoted to colonel at Valley Forge , he led a picked detachment at Monmouth in June 1778 . In May 1779 , George Washington ordered him back to Virginia to recruit a new regiment . After being sent south with a new unit of reinforcements for Charleston , South Carolina in late 1779 , he died of wounds received at the Siege of Charleston in 1780 . Great Bridge to Valley Forge . Born in 1751 , Richard Parker ( 1729 – 1815 ) was the son of Judge Richard Parker and Elizabeth Beale ( d . 1778 ) . His brothers were John ( d . 1810 ) , Alexander ( 1752 – 1820 ) , William Harwar ( 1753 – 1815 ) , and Thomas ( 1755 – 1820 ) . The younger Richard Parker married Elelina Moss . He was appointed captain in the 2nd Virginia Regiment on 28 September 1775 . The commander of this unit , William Woodford led his troops at the Battle of Great Bridge on 9 December 1775 and at Norfolk on 1 January 1776 . On 13 August 1776 , Parker became a major in the 6th Virginia Regiment . This regiment was tranferred to Adam Stephen ' s brigade in George Washington ' s main army on 3 September 1776 . The 6th Virginia , only 191 men strong , under Colonel Mordecai Buckner is noted in the order of battle for the Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776 . Major Parker is listed as acting commander of the 6th Virginia at the time of the battles of Assunpink Creek and Princeton on 2 and 3 January 1777 . On 10 February 1777 Parker was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the 2nd Virginia Regiment . The regiment was involved in skirmishing in northern New Jersey through June 1777 . At the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 , William Maxwell led a force of light infantry to delay the British advance toward Chadds Ford . Maxwell deployed detachments under Lieutenant Colonels Parker , William Heth of the 3rd Virginia Regiment , and Charles Simms of the 12th Virginia Regiment , and Captain Charles Porterfield of the 11th Virginia Regiment . Beginning at 6 : 00 AM , the light infantry fought a delaying action against Patrick Ferguson ' s riflemen and the Queen ' s Rangers . According to Ferguson ' s account , the latter unit suffered casualties of one man in four . During the Philadelphia Campaign , the 2nd Virginia was assigned to the 2nd Virginia Brigade which was commanded by George Weedon . The brigade was part of Nathanael Greene ' s division at the Battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777 . Parts of Weedon ' s brigade penetrated as far as the Market House before being forced to retreat . At Valley Forge , the field officers of the 2nd Virginia were Colonel Christian Febiger , Lieutenant Colonel Parker , and Major Ralph Faulkner . Parker received promotion to colonel of the 1st Virginia Regiment on 10 February 1778 . His field officers at the time were Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ballard and Major Edmund B . Dickinson . Monmouth to Charleston . Before the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778 , Parker commanded a battle group consisting of the converged 1st , 5th , and 9th Virginia Regiment s in Peter Muhlenberg ' s brigade . However , shortly before the engagement , he was assigned to lead a picked detachment under Charles Scott in Charles Lee ' s Advance Guard . Scott ' s command also included three detachments under Richard Butler , Joseph Cilley , and Mordecai Gist . After a hesitant advance , Lee ' s troops began retreating after they were suddenly attacked by Sir Henry Clinton with as many as 10 , 000 troops . Parts of Lee ' s command put up a stout battle near a hedgerow before withdrawing to reorganize . The detachments of Parker and Cilley stayed behind to screen the left front of Washington ' s main body which was by then on the field . Around 1 : 00 PM Clinton began a bombardment of the American position with two 12 - pound cannons , six 6 - pound guns , and two 5 . 5 - inch howitzers . In response , 10 to 14 cannons replied under the direction of Washington ' s artillery chief Henry Knox and Edward Carrington of the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment . While the two - hour barrage continued , the British made an attempt to turn the American left flank . At 2 : 00 PM , the 1st Battalion of the 42nd Foot and the 44th Foot from Charles Grey ' s 3rd Brigade , the 1st Light Infantry Battalion and the Queen ' s Rangers under Sir William Erskine , and two 3 - pound cannons crossed the Spottswood North Brook and jabbed ineffectually at the American lines . At 3 : 00 PM Erskine ordered a withdrawal , leaving some Highlanders holding an orchard . Washington sent Cilley ' s 350 men , followed by Parker ' s 250 troops to capture the position . Using a covered approach , the Americans got within of the orchard before being spotted . The 320 defenders belonged to the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd Foot of Grey ' s brigade . With the help of a 6 - pound cannon that brought enfilading fire to bear , the American attack pushed the Highlanders back . As the Americans emerged into the open , they came under fire from the two British 3 - pound cannons . After an exchange of volleys , Cilley and Parker pulled their men back into the orchard . The British lost four killed and eight seriously wounded in the skirmish ; American losses were probably somewhat more . Major Dickinson was killed in the battle . In 1779 three provisional regiments from Virginia were raised as reinforcements for the Southern Department . On 7 May 1779 , Washington sent Parker to Virginia to recruit troops to reinforce Benjamin Lincoln ' s southern army . William Davies took over as colonel of the 1st Virginia . In October 1779 , Parker left Petersburg , Virginia with the first group of reinforcements . They arrived at Charleston , South Carolina on 5 December and were joined by the second echelon under William Heth on 7 April . The third unit under Abraham Buford left still later and was nearly wiped out at the Battle of Waxhaws . Parker and Heth led the 1st and 2nd Virginia Detachments , which were new units . From 14 February to 6 March , the 3rd North Carolina Regiment was assigned to Parker ' s Brigade . On 8 May 1780 Parker died of wounds sustained during the Siege of Charleston . Another source gives Parker ' s date of death as 24 April . He was one of about 90 Americans killed during the siege , which resulted in Lincoln ' s surrender of 2 , 650 Continental Army soldiers , plus militia .