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COCHRANE, SIR ALEXANDER
FORRESTER INGLIS, G.C.B.—This admiral belonged to a family of which the
naval service is justly proud, being the ninth son of Thomas, eighth
Earl of Dundonald, and consequently uncle to the present earl, better
known by the name of Lord Cochrane. Alexander Cochrane was born on the
23rd of April, 1758. Being destined for the sea service, he
embarked at an early age; and, after the usual intermediate steps, was
appointed lieutenant in 1778. In this capacity he acted as
signal-officer to Lord Rodney, in the action with de Guichen and the
French fleet on the 17th April, 1780, off Martinique; and it is evident,
from the complicated manoeuvres which the British commander was obliged
to adopt in bringing the enemy to action, that Lieutenant Cochrane’s
office on this occasion was one of great trust. After the action his
name was returned among the list of the wounded. His next stop of
promotion was the command of the St. Lucia, sloop of war, and afterwards
of the Pachahunter, which last command he subsequently changed with Sir
Isaac Coffin for that of the Avenger, an armed sloop employed in the
North River in America. At the end of 1782 he was appointed, with the
rank of post-captain, to the command of the Kangaroo, and afterwards to
the Caroline, of 24 guns, employed on the American station.
After peace was established with
our North American colonies, by which the latter were confirmed as an
independent government, Captain Cochrane’s occupation for the time was
ended; and he spent several years in retirement,
until he was called again to service in
1790, in the prospect of a rupture with Spain. On this occasion he was
appointed to the command of a small frigate, the Hind, when, on the
renewal of hostilities with France, he was removed to the Thetis, of 42
guns and 261 men. With such means at his disposal he soon showed himself
an active, bold, and successful cruiser, so that, during the spring and
summer of 1793, he captured eight French privateers, mounting in all
above eighty guns. In 1795 he also signalized himself by a bold attack
upon five French sail off Chesapeake, being aided by the Hussar, a
British frigate of 34 guns, and succeeded in capturing one of the
largest vessels, the rest having made their escape after they had
struck. Several years of service on the coast of America succeeded, in
which Captain Cochrane made important captures of not a few French
privateers, and established his character as an able naval commander; so
that, in February, 1799, he was appointed to the Ajax, of 80 guns, and
sent in the following year upon the expedition against Quiberon,
Belleisle, and Ferrol. This expedition, as is well known, was all but
useless, as the French royalists, whom it was sent to aid, were too
helpless to co-operate with the invaders. The Ajax, having subsequently
joined the fleet on the Mediterranean station, under the command of Lord
Keith, proceeded to Egypt as part of the convoy of Abercromby’s
expedition for the expulsion of the French from that country; and on
this occasion the professional talents of Captain Cochrane were brought
into full play. He was commissioned by Lord Keith to superintend the
landing of the British troops; and this disembarkation, performed so
successfully in the face of so many difficulties, will ever constitute a
more important episode in history than a victory won in a pitched field.
With such admirable skill were the naval and military details of this
process conducted, and so harmoniously did the two services combine on
the occasion, that a landing, which on ordinary occasions might have
been attended with utter defeat, or the loss of half an army, was
effected with only 20 sailors and 102 soldiers killed. At the capture of
Alexandria, by which the war in Egypt was successfully terminated,
Captain Cochrane, with a detachment of armed vessels, was stationed on
the lake Moerotis, to protect the advance of the British troops upon the
city, a duty which he performed with his wonted ability. So valuable,
indeed, had his services been during the six months of the Egyptian
campaign, that at the end of it they were most honourably mentioned in
the despatches of Lord Keith, as well as those of General Hutchinson, by
whom Abercromby was succeeded.
The peace of Amiens
occasioned the return of the Ajax to England in February, 1802, and
Cochrane, with the true restlessness of a landed sailor, as well as the
true patriotism of a good British subject, still wished to do something
for his country. He accordingly turned his attention to Parliament, and
became a candidate for the representation of the united boroughs of
Stirling, Dunfermline, &c., at the genera1 election that had now
occurred. As the votes for Sir John Henderson, his antagonist, and
himself were equal, a contest ensued that was followed by petition, and
the result was that in 1804, after a long investigation, Cochrane’s
election was confirmed. Two years after the wind completely changed, for
at the election of 1806 Henderson was elected. The quarter-deck, and not
the hustings, was the proper arena for Cochrane. Fortunately for him
that arena he continued to occupy even during this period of political
altercation; for the peace, or rather hollow truce of Amiens was at an
end while the ink was scarcely dry upon the paper, and in 1803 he was
appointed to the command of the Northumberland, 74; and in the following
year he was sent out, with the rank of rear-admiral, to watch the port
of Ferrol, in anticipation of a war with Spain. In 1805 he was
commissioned to pursue a French squadron that had stolen out of the
blockaded port of Rochefort. Its destination was unknown, but the most
serious consequences were apprehended, as it consisted of five
ships-of-the-line, three frigates, two brigs, and a schooner, and had
4000 troops on board. Cochrane went off with six ships-of-the-line in
pursuit of these dangerous fugitives, and after a long cruise, in which
the coasts of France and Spain, and the West India Islands, were
successively visited and explored, he found it impossible to come in
sight of his nimble fear-stricken adversaries: all that he could learn
of their whereabouts was in the instances of a few paltry captures they
had made of British merchantmen, and their throwing a supply of troops
into the town of St. Domingo. The timidity of this flying squadron was
rewarded by a safe return to Rochefort, which they effected in spite of
the British cruisers that were sent in all directions to intercept them.
Admiral Cochrane then assumed the command of the Leeward Islands
station, and joined Lord Nelson in his active pursuit after the combined
fleets of France and Spain. In the following year (1806) he formed a
junction with Vice-Admiral Sir John G. Duckworth, for the pursuit of a
French squadron that had sailed from Brest to relieve the town of St.
Domingo. On this occasion the French were overtaken, and in the action
that followed, and which lasted nearly two hours, they were so utterly
defeated, that of their five ships-of-the-line two were burnt, and the
other three captured: nothing escaped but two frigates and a corvette.
On this occasion Cochrane’s ship, the Northumberland, which had been in
the hottest of the fire, had by far the greatest number of killed and
wounded, while himself had a narrow escape, his hat being knocked off
his head by a grape-shot. So important were his services on this
occasion, that he received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, and
of the corporation of London; while the latter, not confining itself to
verbal acknowledgments, presented him with the honour of the city, and a
sword of the value of a hundred guineas. This was not all; for the
underwriters at Barbadoes presented him with a piece of plate valued at
£500; and the committee of the Patriotic Fund at Lloyd’s with a vase
worth £300. The honour of knighthood crowned these rewards of his
highly-valued achievements, and on the 29th of March, 1806, he was
created Knight of the Bath. Nothing could more highly attest the
estimation in which his exploit at St. Domingo was held, than that so
many acknowledgments should have rewarded it, at a season, too, when
gallant actions at sea were events of every-day occurrence.
Soon after, war was declared
against Denmark; and on hearing of this, Sir A. Cochrane concerted
measures with General Bowyer for the reduction of St, Thomas, St.
John’s, and St. Croix, islands belonging to the Danish crown.
In a few months the whole were
captured, along with a valuable fleet of Danish merchantmen. His next
service ws in the reduction of Martinique, where he co-operated with
General Beckwith; and for this acquisition, he and his gallant land
partner received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. The reduction
of Guadaloupe followed, in which both commanders joined, and were
equally successful; and in 1810 Cochrane, in reward of his services, was
appointed governor and commander-in-chief of Guadaloupe and its
dependencies. In this situation he continued till 1813, when a war with
the United States called him once more into action. He was appointed to
the command of the fleet on coast of North America, and on assuming
office, he shut up and watched the ports of the United States with a
most vigilant and effectual blockade. Soon after this the universal
peace ensued, which has only of late been terminated, and in 1815 Sir
Alexander Cochrane returned to England. He was raised to the rank of
full admiral in 1819, and held the office of commander-in-chief at
Plymouth from 1821 to 1824.
The brave old admiral,
like the rest of his contemporaries of the land and sea service, was now
obliged to change a life of action for one of repose, and find enjoyment
in the tranquillity of home, and the pleasures of social intercourse. In
this manner he passed the rest of his days, honoured and beloved by all
who knew him. His death, which occurred at Paris, was fearfully sudden.
Accompanied by his brother he went, on the morning of the 26th of
January, 1832, to visit his daughter, Lady Trowbridge, for the purpose
of inviting his young grand-children to an evening entertainment; but
while he was affectionately caressing them he suddenly started, placed
his hand on his left side, and exclaiming to Mr. Cochrane, "O brother,
what a dreadful pain!" he fell back into his arms, and instantly
expired. |
