Cochrane the Dauntless
Page 45
5. Cochrane’s father, the 9th earl, had married his third wife, Anna Maria Plowden, in 1819 but she died in 1822.
6. Dundonald and Bourne, Life of Lord Cochrane, vol. 2, pp. 214–5.
7. The Times, 9 May 1832. The order was issued from the Admiralty Office on 2 May and published in the London Gazette on 8 May.
8. William Cochrane to Lord Cochrane, 3 November 1829, NAS, Edinburgh: GD233/180.
9. Hanover Lodge was built in 1827 and was one of several villas in Regents Park which were designed by Decimus Burton (1800–81), a leading architect of the Greek Revival and the designer of the Athenaeum Club, London, the Palm House at Kew and the screen at Hyde Park Corner.
10. Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 324.
11. Autobiography, p. 115. Cochrane had also experimented with giant kites to increase the speed of the Pallas, rather in the manner of the modern spinnaker or cruising chute.
12. Cochrane had visited the sulphur mines in Sicily in 1811, and in April 1812 he submitted a Memorial to the Prince Regent setting out his plans for using sulphur dioxide as a weapon to destroy the French fleet at Toulon. The Memorial was considered by a committee which included the Duke of York, Lord Keith and William Congreve, but his proposals were not taken up. For further details see ‘The Secret War Plan of Lord Dundonald’, a postscript in Grimble, The Sea Wolf, pp. 384–417 and Charles Stephenson, The Admiral’s Secret Weapon: Lord Dundonald and the origins of chemical warfare, (Woodbridge 2006).
13. The civil engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (1769–1849) was born in Normandy and served in the French navy for six years. He came to England in 1799 to patent his machinery for making ships’ blocks. The Thames Tunnel, the first to be built under a navigable river, was opened in 1843. It is now part of the London Underground system (the East London line from Whitechapel to New Cross).
14. From ‘The Steam Engine Simplified’ by the Earl of Dundonald in Letters to R. Stephenson Senior, 1818–1836. BL: Add.MS. 38,781, ff. 68–9. See also John Bourne, A Treatise on the Steam Engine (London, 1861).
15. In 1829 the Rocket, designed by George and Robert Stephenson, had triumphantly beaten the opposition at the trials held at Rainhill near Liverpool for the best steam engine and won the £500 prize offered by the directors of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway.
16. Cochrane to James Guthrie, MD, 6 May 1839. NMM: JOD/55, 56 (AGC/38). According to Guthrie’s service record in the National Archives (Surgeons for Service, PRO: ADM. 104/12) his address from 1815 to his death in 1862 was Wester Drumhead, Newburgh, Fife.
17. Dundonald and Bourne, Life of Lord Cochrane, vol. 2, p. 240.
18. Ibid., p. 241.
19. Ibid., p. 243.
20. Earl of Dundonald, Observations on Naval Affairs and on some Collateral Subjects; including Instances of Injustice experienced by the Author: with a Summary of his Naval Service; and a Copious Index (London, 1847). See also Christopher Lloyd’s observations in Lord Cochrane, p. 194.
21. Letter of 27 April 1847 quoted in Dundonald and Bourne, Life of Lord Cochrane, vol. 2, p. 283.
22. The announcement was published in The Times on Wednesday 26 May 1847.
23. Dundonald and Bourne, Life of Lord Cochrane, vol. 2, p. 285.
24. Auckland to Dundonald, 27 December 1847. Quoted by Dundonald and Bourne, Life of Lord Cochrane, vol. 2, p. 290.
25. See log of HMS Wellesley, NA, Kew: ADM. 51/3703.
26. Quoted by Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 351.
Chapter 21
1. Quoted by Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 370. The Crystal Palace was re-opened by Queen Victoria at Sydenham on 10 June 1854.
2. See Dundonald and Bourne, Life of Lord Cochrane, vol. 2, footnote on p. 334, which gives details of the patents and the years in which each was taken out.
3. A. C. Benton and Viscount Esher, eds, The Letters of Queen Victoria, 1837–1861 (London, 1908), vol. 2, p. 9.
4. For more detail see Charles Stevenson, ‘To the Imperial Mind: The Secret War Plan of Lord Dundonald’, in N. Tracy and M. Robson, eds, The Age of Sail, vol. 1 (London, 2002). The same article appears as a Postscript in Grimble, The Sea Wolf, pp. 384–417.
5. Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 358.
6. In 1861 William Alexander Mackinnon, MP, gave evidence before the House of Lords Committee of Privileges. Minutes of Evidence, p. 38.
7. Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 358.
8. Ibid., p. 359.
9. Arthur Cochrane (1824–1905) later saw action in the Far East and ended his career with a Knighthood and the rank of admiral. Ernest was promoted to post-captain and commanded a ship off West Africa before marrying the daughter of the Governor of Sierra Leone. He retired to Ireland and became High Sheriff of Donegal.
10. Illustrated Times, 9 June 1855
11. Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 364.
12. Ibid., p. 365.
13. Robert Simpson to Dundonald, 15 May 1857. Simpson told Cochrane that the Government of Chile were giving him a medal for his past services, and added, ‘I have been requested to procure a biographical sketch of your Lordship’s eventful life in order to its publication in this country…’ Quoted by Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 370.
14. See Brian Vale, Audacious Admiral Cochrane, pp. 202–7, for a detailed account of Cochrane’s extravagant demands for back pay, prize money and other payments from the Chilean and Brazilian governments.
15. Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 371.
16. Cochrane to Thomas Cochrane, 20 July 1859. NAS, Edinburgh: GD 233/14.
17. Minutes of Evidence, p. 41.
18. Cochrane to Jackson, 1 January 1860. NAS. Edinburgh, GD 233/29/217.
19. Grimble, The Sea Wolf, p. 376.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid., p. 377.
22. The Times, Thursday 15 November 1860.
23. Brougham to Dundonald, 31 October 1860. Quoted by Dundonald and Bourne, Life of Lord Cochrane, vol. 2, pp. 360–61.
24. Ibid., p. 357.
25. According to the report of the funeral in The Times of 15 November, ‘In the first carriage were the chief mourners, the new Earl of Dundonald and his three brothers; the second and third carriages contained the pall-bearers, the others being occupied by mourners immediately related to the family.’
26. Many of Kate’s later letters are in the Dundonald archives in Edinburgh and several are quoted by Grimble, The Sea Wolf, pp. 363–74.
27. Cochrane wrote to his son Tom from the Royal Hotel, Deal, on 3 August 1859, ‘I shall be deeply, deeply grieved if the apparent difference between your Mamma and you increases to dislike, or to a break…’, NAS, Edinburgh: GD233/14.
Epilogue
1. The Times, 2 November 1860.
2. Illustrated London News, 3 November 1860 (no. 1058, vol. XXXVII), p. 413.
3. Punch, 24 November 1860 (vol. XXXIX), p. 203.
4. Napier to Guthrie, 12 March 1814, Guthrie Papers, NMM.
5. Minutes of Evidence. BL: BS.96/51, p. 58
6. Lord Ellenborough, The Guilt of Lord Cochrane in 1814: a Criticism (London, 1914), p. vi.
7. Lord John Campbell, The Lives of the Chief Justices of England (London, 1858).
8. Sugden, Lord Cochrane, p. 222.
9. Lloyd, Lord Cochrane p. 190.
10. Cecil, A Matter of Speculation, p. 11.
11. Vale, The Audacious Admiral Cochrane, p. 213.
Plates Section
William Cochrane, founder of the family fortunes. He became the first Earl of Dundonald in 1669.
Thomas Cochrane’s father Archibald, the ninth Earl of Dundonald.
Thomas Cochrane as a boy. Following the death of his mother when he was nine years old, Thomas and his brothers were brought up on the family estate at Culross by their grandmother.
The confluence of the Thames and Medway, 1808, by J.M.W. Turner. A breezy depiction of shipping in the Thames estuary with a sheer hulk removing the masts of a warship on the left of the picture and Sheerness in the distance.
The harbour and town of Lerwick,
capital of the Shetland Islands. Cochrane paid two visits to Lerwick in 1804 while in command of the Arab. Lithograph after the painting by J. C. Schetky.
A British squadron under the command of Lord Keith, off Valetta during the blockade of Malta in February 1800, after a watercolour by Rev. Cooper Willyams. Cochrane was a junior lieutenant at this time aboard Keith’s flagship, the Queen Charlotte, the large warship in the centre of the picture.
Lord St Vincent as First Lord of the Admiralty. It was foolish of Cochrane to make an enemy of such a formidable naval officer. Engraving after the picture by Sir William Beechey.
A portrait of Admiral Lord Keith by William Owen. In 1799 he became commander-in-chief, Mediterranean.
The Rock of Gibraltar viewed from the ruins of Fort St Philip. The town and harbour of Gibraltar can be seen in the distance on the right of the picture. Engraving after the drawing by H. A. West.
The capture of the Spanish frigate El Gamo by the British sloop Speedy, 6 May 1801, by Clarkson Stanfield. Cochrane can be seen with raised sword on the poop deck. The artist, who was a former seaman, was a close friend of Charles Dickens and Captain Marryat.
A detail from a panoramic view of the royal dockyard at Plymouth painted by Nicholas Pocock in 1798. The building slips where Cochrane’s frigate Pallas was built can be seen on the right of the picture.
A watercolour of Plymouth by J.M.W. Turner. The view looks from Turnchapel, across the shipping in the Cattewater, towards the distant Citadel and the city itself. On the left is the small fort on Mount Batten Point.
The boarding and taking of the Spanish xebec frigate El Gamo by His Majesty’s sloop Speedy, commanded by Captain Lord Cochrane, after a close action off Barcelona on 6 May 1801. Engraving after the picture by Nicholas Pocock.
Boats being launched from the Thames during the action off Gibraltar on 12 July 1801 between a British squadron under Saumarez and the French squadron which had captured the Speedy a few days before. Pen and wash drawing by Pierre Ozanne.
A portrait of Cochrane’s uncle, Admiral the Hon. Sir Alexander Cochrane. Engraving after the portrait by Sir William Beechey.
A portrait of the gallant Captain Jahleel Brenton, who preceded Cochrane as commander of the Speedy.
A multiple launching of warships at Plymouth on 17 November 1804. Cochrane’s frigate Pallas and the frigate Circe are shown with their launching flags in the middle distance. The ship entering the water on the right is the Hibernia, 120 guns.
The Right Hon. Lord Collingwood, Vice-Admiral of the Red, from an engraving of 1806 after the picture by Bowyer.
Admiral Sir Edward Thornborough, who was Cochrane’s commanding officer during his coastal raids. Portrait by Samuel Lane.
An aquatint after Nicholas Pocock showing the closing stages of the action on 14 May 1806, when Cochrane’s Pallas attacked the French 40-gun frigate Minerve (on the left of the picture) within sight of the anchored French fleet.
Aquatint after the picture by Robert Dodd described as ‘The attack on the Enemy’s Fleet by Fire Ships on the Night of the 11th April 1809’. The fire ship Mediator is shown breaking the boom and heading for the anchored French ships.
Cochrane’s Imperieuse, followed by other British frigates, advances to attack the grounded French ships on the morning of 12 April 1809. Aquatint after the picture by Robert Dodd.
A portrait of Admiral Lord Gambier by Joseph Slater. Gambier was in command of the British fleet at Basque Roads in April 1809.
A cartoon which expresses the popular view of the Basque Roads action and Lord Gambier’s court martial. Cochrane and a British sailor burst into Gambier’s cabin and demand action against the French fleet.
Lord Ellenborough, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench, who presided over the Stock Exchange trial. Engraving after the portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
The principal entrance of the King’s Bench Prison in Southwark, where Cochrane was imprisoned. Behind the high wall topped with spikes was a large courtyard. Engraving after the drawing by Thomas H. Shepherd.
General José de San Martin, who led the armies that liberated Chile and Peru from the colonial rule of Spain. He became Protector of Peru in 1821.
A portrait of the young Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil, who was a friend and supporter of Cochrane. Engraving after the picture by Jean Baptiste Reville.
The two principal ships of the Greek Navy under Cochrane’s command: the American-built frigate Hellas on the left of the picture, and the steam warship Karteria (formerly the Perseverance). Engraving by Steingrubel after the picture by Krazeisen.
The lines of the Arab, 22 guns, formerly the French privateer La Brave, which had been captured by the British in 1798. Cochrane took command of her in 1803 and described his cruises in her as ‘naval exile in a tub’.
The lines of the two 32-gun frigates Pallas and the Circe, which were built at Plymouth and launched on 17 November 1804. Cochrane’s cruises in the Pallas off the Azores in 1805 earned him a fortune in prize money.
The lines of the frigate Imperieuse, of 38 guns, which under Cochrane’s command became one of the greatest of all coastal raiders. Built in Spain, she was formerly the Medea, flagship of Admiral Bustamente, and had been captured in a controversial action off Cadiz in October 1804.
British sailors boarding a man-of-war. A lieutenant leads the boarding party, followed by sailors brandishing cutlasses and red-coated marines firing their muskets. Coloured aquatint published in 1815, after a picture by John Atkinson.
The Rock of Lisbon, a watercolour by the marine artist J. C. Schetky. This view is typical of much of the rocky coast of Spain and Portugal, and the crew of the Imperieuse spent weeks sailing past similar coastlines as they hunted for enemy shipping.
Crowds gathered around the hustings at Covent Garden for the election of the parliamentary candidates for Westminster. Engraving after the drawing by Pugin and Rowlandson from Ackermann’s Microcosm of London, published in 1808.
Lord Cochrane, the naval hero. Engraving after the portrait by Stroehling which was published in the Naval Chronicle in 1809.
Lord Cochrane, the Radical politician. This is one of a series ofportraits by Adam Buck.
A watercolour by Lieutenant William Innes Pocock identifying seven types of Mediterranean vessel. From left to right: a xebec, a polacre ship, a trabacolo, a secca leva, a sciabecca, a courier and a gunboat settee.
Sir Francis Burdett, the wealthy aristocrat who was the leading spokesman for the Radicals in the House of Commons. Watercolour by Adam Buck.
William Cobbett, writer, journalist and fearless campaigner against corruption in politics and public life. Portrait attributed to George Cooke.
The House of Commons as it would have looked in Cochrane’s day. Engraving after the drawing by Pugin and Rowlandson from Ackermann’s Microcosm of London, published in 1808.
Cochrane’s wife Kate with their daughter Elisabeth on horseback in the Italian mountains. Painted by Sir George Hayter in 1830 during the period when the family were living in Italy following Cochrane’s return from his campaigns in Greece.
Portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence of Maria Graham, who was a friend and admirer of Cochrane in South America.
General Bernardo O’Higgins, who became Supreme Director of Chile following the overthrow of Spanish rule in 1817.
A view of the Bay of Guanabara, Brazil, showing the forts at the entrance, the Sugar Loaf mountain, and on the right the city of Rio de Janeiro. Aquatint after the drawing by George L. Hall, 1860.
A fine portrait of Cochrane in his fifties by Sir George Hayter. A romantic view of the liberator of oppressed nations, probably painted when he returned from Greece in 1830.
A Note on the Author
David Cordingly was Keeper of Pictures and Head of Exhibitions
at the National Maritime Museum for twelve years, where he
organised such exhibitions as ‘Captain James Cook, Navigator’,
‘The Mutiny on the Bounty’ and �
��Pirates: Fact and Fiction’.
His other books include Life among the Pirates, Heroines and Harlots
and the highly praised Billy Ruffian.
Other Books By the Same Author
Marine Painting in England
Nicholas Pocock
Ships and Seascapes
Life among the Pirates
Heroines and Harlots
Billy Ruffian
Also available by David Cordingly
Billy Ruffian
‘A thrilling narrative which brings engaging the enemy so alive that you smell
the cordite of the guns and hear the splintering of mighty masts and spars’
Independent
This is the story of the Bellerophon, a ship of the line known to her crew as the
Billy Ruffian. Under fourteen captains, she played a conspicuous part in three of
the most famous of all sea battles: the battle of the Glorious First of June (1794),
the opening action against Revolutionary France; the battle of the Nile (1798),
which halted Napoleon’s eastern expansion from Cairo; and the battle of
Trafalgar (1805), which established British naval supremacy for 100 years and
during which her captain was shot dead with a musket ball an hour before
Nelson was mortally wounded. But her crowning glory came six weeks after the