the foremost mourners at Nelson’s state fu-
neral in 1805. By the time Parker died in Lon-
don on December 21, 1811, he had been ele-
vated to Admiral of the Fleet following the
death of Lord Howe. Parker’s unfortunate de-
feat off Charleston was but a minor episode in
a long and distinguished naval career, but it is
the incident for which he is best remembered
in America.
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University of British Columbia Press, 1988.PARKER, QUANAH
Parker, Quanah
(ca. 1845–February 23, 1911)
Comanche War Chief
F
ierce Quanah Parker commanded some
of the best and most highly skilled Co-
manche raiders of the Southern Plains.
He outlasted all other warrior bands and
gained a reputation as a skilled guerrilla
raider. Once subdued, however, he became a
model of Indian assimilation for more than
three decades.
Quanah (Fragrant, or Sweet Smelling) was
born near Cedar Lake, Texas, around 1845,
under unusual circumstances for a Comanche
brave. His father was Peta Nocona of the mili-
tant Kwahadie (Antelopes) band, while his
mother, Cynthia Ann Parker, was a former
white captive. When she was only nine, she
had survived a May 1836 massacre of her rela-
tives by Comanches and was subsequently
raised by the tribe. Totally assimilated, she
was recaptured by her white family in 1860
but refused to renounce Comanche ways.
Cynthia Ann Parker, now known as Naduah,
allegedly died of a broken heart soon after.
Peta also died around this time, leaving Qua-
nah an orphan. Although taunted for his half-
breed origins, the young man quickly learned
the skills of a warrior and buffalo hunter, in-
cluding shooting, horsemanship, and all-
around guile. The loss of his mother increased
his hatred of white people in general, and he
accompanied many raids against frontier set-
tlements. Such was his reputation that Qua-
nah was appointed war chief around 1867, a
singular distinction for such a young man.
Like all Plains Indians, the Comanches were
under increasing pressure from the United
States to abandon their free-ranging, nomadic
existence for life on confined reservations. In
1867, a number of chiefs from the Kiowa, Co-
manche, and Cheyenne tribes signed the
Treaty of Medicine Lodge in exchange for new