Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet

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Sir

George Cockburn

Cape of Good Hope Station
North American Station
Battles/warsFrench Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars
War of 1812
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

First Naval Lord and in that capacity sought to improve the standards of gunnery in the fleet, forming a gunnery school at Portsmouth
; later he ensured that the Navy had the latest steam and screw technology and put emphasis on the ability to manage seamen without the need to resort to physical punishment.

Naval career

The Stern of the third-rate HMS Implacable which Cockburn commanded during the Walcheren Campaign

Cockburn was born the second son of

brig-sloop HMS Orestes later that month before transferring to the first-rate HMS Britannia in the Mediterranean Fleet in February 1793 and then to the first-rate HMS Victory, Flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, in June 1793.[3] He became commander of the sloop HMS Speedy in October 1793 and acting captain of the fifth-rate HMS Inconstant in January 1794.[4]

Cockburn was promoted to the substantive rank of

battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars.[4]

Minerve's boats' crews, in company with those of the frigate HMS Lively, successfully cut out the French ship Mutine at Santa Cruz, Tenerife in May 1797.[5]

Cockburn was given command of the fifth-rate HMS Phaeton on the East Indies Station in July 1803, of the third-rate HMS Captain in July 1806, and of the third-rate HMS Pompée in March 1808.[6] He commanded the naval support at the reduction of Martinique in February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, for which he received the thanks of Parliament.[6]

Cockburn commanded a squadron of warships for the landings in

King of Spain, whom the French had imprisoned at the Château de Valençay. The mission failed when Ferdinand refused to have anything to do with the British.[7] Cockburn was promoted to commodore, hoisting his broad pennant in the fourth-rate HMS Grampus in November 1811.[6]

War of 1812

Portrait of Cockburn by John James Halls, circa 1817, depicting the burning of Washington. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Cockburn was promoted to

North American Station, where he played a major role in the War of 1812 as second-in-command to Admiral Sir John Warren until the end of March 1814, and then to Warren's successor Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane for the rest of the war.[6]

He proceeded to lead forces which cruised up and down the Chesapeake Bay and other parts of the Atlantic coast in 1813 and 1814, seizing American merchant shipping, disrupting U.S. commerce, and raiding local ports.[6] Warren "had been waging a pretty tepid campaign on the Atlantic seaboard, and the Admiralty decided that he could use an aggressive subordinate". Cockburn's prior military experience made him a suitable candidate for the role in the eyes of the Admiralty. Historian Steve Vogel compared Cockburn's raids on U.S. interests along the Eastern Seaboard to Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War.[9]

The most important of Cockburn's involvements during the War was his role in the capture and burning of Washington on 24 August 1814, undertaken as an advisor to Major General Robert Ross.[10][11] The plan to attack Washington had been formulated by Cockburn who accurately predicted that "within a short period of time, with enough force, we could easily have at our mercy the capital".[9] A CBC News article described General Ross as less optimistic than Cockburn, having "never dreamt for one minute that an army of 3,500 men with 1,000 marines reinforcement, with no cavalry, hardly any artillery, could march 50 miles inland and capture an enemy capital".[12]

Cockburn had reached Benedict, Maryland, via the Patuxent River with his warships; the troops then disembarked and marched to Washington to mount the attack.[13] The 4,500 troops, commanded by Ross, successfully captured the capital city on 24 August 1814. Cockburn accompanied Ross and recommended burning the entire city. Ross decided instead to put only public buildings to the torch, including the White House and the United States Capitol, while sparing nearly all of the privately-owned properties.[14][15]

Following the battle, Cockburn oversaw the destruction of the National Intelligencer newspaper's offices and printing house by his soldiers; he famously stated: "Be sure that all the C's are destroyed, so that the rascals cannot any longer abuse my name."[16]

He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 4 January 1815.[17]

Subsequent years

In August 1815, Cockburn was given the job of conveying

vice-admiral on 12 August 1819.[21] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 21 December 1820.[22]

Political career

Commander-in-Chief, North American Station

Entering politics, Cockburn was elected

Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, hoisting his flag in the fourth-rate HMS Vernon, in December 1832.[18]

Cockburn became First Naval Lord briefly again in the

Leamington Spa on 19 August 1853.[33] He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.[2]

Cockburn Sound in Western Australia was named after him by Captain James Stirling in 1827.[34] Cockburn Island, at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, was named for him by Sir James Clark Ross during his Antarctic expedition between 1839 and 1843.[35] Cape Cockburn and Cockburn Bay on Nelson Island on the west coast of Canada were named after him.[36]

Family

In 1809, Cockburn married his cousin Mary Cockburn. The couple had one surviving daughter, Augusta Harriot Mary Cockburn (d. 1869), who married Captain John Cochrane Hoseason.[2]

Cockburn's descendants are writer Alexander Cockburn (1941-2012) and actress Olivia Wilde.[37]

References

  1. ^ Chisholm 1911.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5770. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  3. ^ a b c Heathcote, p. 47
  4. ^ a b c d Heathcote, p. 48
  5. ^ Ralfe, James (1828). The Naval Biography of Great Britain. Whitmore & Fenn. p. 267.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Heathcote, p. 49
  7. ^ Literary Chronicle (1823), p.550.
  8. ^ "No. 16632". The London Gazette. 11 August 1812. p. 1585.
  9. ^ a b Vogel, Steve (3 July 2013). "Interview With War of 1812 Author Steve Vogel". History Net (Interview). Interviewed by David Lauterborn. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  10. ^ Gresham, p.17
  11. ^ Pitch, Anthony. "The Burning of Washington" (PDF). The White House Historical Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Trump blames Canada for torching White House. Meet the 'reluctant arsonist'". CBC News. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  13. ^ "The British Burn Washington, D.C., 200 Years Ago". History.com. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  14. ^ "In 1814, British forces burned the U.S. Capitol". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Why Americans Celebrate the Burning of Washington". TIME magazine. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2021. Cockburn, who accompanied Ross into the capital, reportedly wanted to burn the entire city in retaliation for American depredations in Canada. But it was an army operation and Ross' call, and he would have none of it.
  16. ^ Crain, Caleb (22 October 2012). "Unfortunate Events". The New Yorker. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  17. ^ "No. 16972". The London Gazette. 4 January 1815. p. 19.
  18. ^ a b c d e Heathcote, p. 50
  19. ^ Hiscocks, Richard (17 January 2016). "Cape Commander-in-Chief 1795-1852". morethannelson.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  20. ^ "No. 17334". The London Gazette. 21 February 1818. p. 352.
  21. ^ "No. 17505". The London Gazette. 12 August 1819. p. 1446.
  22. ^ "Library and Archive catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 10 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
  23. ^ "No. 17375". The London Gazette. 4 July 1818. p. 1191.
  24. ^ a b c d Sainty, J C (1975). "'Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870". pp. 18–31. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  25. ^ "No. 17698". The London Gazette. 17 April 1821. p. 870.
  26. ^ "No. 18357". The London Gazette. 1 May 1827. p. 961.
  27. ^ "No. 18478". The London Gazette. 13 June 1828. p. 1141.
  28. doi:10.1080/00253359.1945.10658919
    .
  29. ^ "No. 19456". The London Gazette. 10 January 1837. p. 69.
  30. ^ "No. 20023". The London Gazette. 1 October 1841. p. 2421.
  31. ^ "No. 20764". The London Gazette. 13 August 1847. p. 2950.
  32. ^ "No. 21225". The London Gazette. 8 July 1851. p. 1769.
  33. ^ Heathcote, p. 51
  34. ^ "About Cockburn". City of Cockburn. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  35. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cockburn Island
  36. ^ Andrew Scott, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names Harbour Publishing 2009
  37. ^ Moynihan, Colin (22 July 2012). "Alexander Cockburn, Left-Wing Writer, Is Dead at 71". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2013.

Sources

Further reading

External links

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
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 Member of Parliament for Portsmouth
1818–1820
With: John Bonham-Carter 		Succeeded by
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Military offices
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1815–1816 		Succeeded by
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1828–1830 		Succeeded by
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Title next held by
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Honorary titles
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