Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet

Sir George Cockburn
Sir George Cockburn
	Sir George Cockburn
Born	22 April 1772; London
Died	19 August 1853 (aged 81); Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1786 - 1846
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands	Minerve; North American Station
Battles/wars	Napoleonic Wars
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet GCB (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈkoʊbərn/; Scots pronunciation: [ˈkobʌɾn]; 22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British naval commander of the late 18th through the mid-19th centuries. He held important commands during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 and eventually rose to become Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord.

Naval career

Born in 1772 in London, George was the second son of Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729–1804) and his second wife Augusta Anne Ayscough. His maternal grandfather was Francis Ayscough, Dean of Bristol.

Cockburn went to sea at the age of 14.^[1] He rose rapidly in the Royal Navy, perhaps because his father was a baronet, but most certainly because he was a brave and resourceful officer. He saw much action during the Napoleonic Wars and successfully commanded a succession of sloops, frigates and ships of the line.

After serving on the home station, and in the East Indies and the Mediterranean, he assisted, as captain of the Minerve (38) at the blockade of Livorno in 1796,^[1] and fought a gallant action with the Spanish frigate Sabina (40).^[1] He was present at the battle of Cape St Vincent.^[1]

In 1809, in command of the naval force on shore, he contributed greatly to the reduction of Martinique,^[1] and signed the capitulation by which that island was handed over to the British; for his services on this occasion he received the thanks of the House of Commons. After service in the Scheldt^[1] and at the defence of Cadiz he was sent in 1811 on an unsuccessful mission for the reconciliation of Spain and her American colonies.^[1]

By 1812, he was a rear admiral in charge of the squadron of the Royal Navy in Spanish waters, but in that year he was ordered to America.^[1]

Cockburn played a major role in the War of 1812 as second in command to Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren^[1] until the end of March 1814 and then to Warren's successor, Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane for the rest of the war.^[1] He cruised relentlessly up and down the Chesapeake Bay and other parts of the Atlantic coast in 1813 and 1814, seizing American shipping, disrupting commerce, and raiding the ports. From April 1814 to the end of the war Cockburn was responsible for carrying out government instructions to encourage the emigration of the enslaved Black population. In addition he implemented Cochrane's own plan of recruiting a Corps of Colonial Marines from among the Black refugees. The most important of Cockburn's actions was the capture and burning of Washington on 24 August 1814 as an advisor to Major General Robert Ross.^[2]^[3] He later served as the commander during the British occupation of Cumberland Island and St. Marys, Georgia.^[1] The Battle of Fort Peter was the only result of the campaign.

Cockburn received the order of the Bath (KCB) at the beginning of 1815, and after the war, on his return to Europe, he was immediately given the job of conveying Napoleon in the Northumberland to Saint Helena,^[1] where he remained for some months as governor of the island and the Emperor's gaoler.^[1] He was appointed GCB in 1818.^[1] In 1820 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society ^[4]

In later life, Cockburn was Commander-in-Chief on the North American Station from 1833 to 1836,^[1] and eventually Admiral of the Fleet. From 1827 he was a Privy Counsellor. He was also elected several times to Parliament as a Tory (for Portsmouth 1818-1820, Weobly 1820-1828, Plymouth 1828-1832 and Ripon 1841-1847)^[5] and served several times as First Sea Lord (1828–1830; 1834–1835 (very briefly); 1841–1846).^[1]

Later career

In 1839 he became the first President of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society. In 1852, he inherited the family baronetcy from his elder brother, being himself succeeded by his brother William, dean of York, who died in 1858. Admiral Cockburn died in 1853 at Leamington Spa, leaving a daughter.

Family

In 1809 he married his cousin Mary Cockburn; they had one surviving daughter, Augusta Harriot Mary.^[1] His descendents include renown journalist and writer Alexander Cockburn.

Honours

In 1827, Captain James Stirling named Cockburn Sound (City of Cockburn) in Western Australia after the First Sea Lord.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Laughton, J. K. (2004). "Cockburn, Sir George, eighth baronet (1772–1853)". In rev. Roger Morriss (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
^ Military Heritage confirms that it was George Cockburn who burned the White House and raided Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812 and included his retirement ranks (John D. Gresham, Military Heritage, February 2002, Volume 3, No. 4, p. 17)
^ The White House Historical Association (discusses the burning of the White House during the War of 1812)
^ "Library and Archive catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
^ Baronetage

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
Leigh Rayment's list of baronets

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Markham John Bonham-Carter	Member of Parliament for Portsmouth 1818 – 1820 With: John Bonham-Carter	Succeeded by John Markham John Bonham-Carter
Preceded by Viscount Weymouth Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck	Member of Parliament for Weobley 1820 – 1828 With: Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck to 1824 Lord Henry Frederick Thynne 1824–26 Lord William Thynne 1826–31	Succeeded by Lord Henry Frederick Thynne Lord William Thynne
Preceded by Sir William Congreve Sir Thomas Byam Martin	Member of Parliament for Plymouth 1828 – 1832 With: Sir Thomas Byam Martin	Succeeded by John Collier Thomas Beaumont Bewes
Preceded by Sir Edward Sugden Thomas Pemberton	Member of Parliament for Ripon 1841 – 1847 With: Thomas Pemberton 1835–43 Thomas Berry Cusack Smith 1843–46 Edwin Lascelles 1846–57	Succeeded by Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet Edwin Lascelles
Military offices
Preceded by The Duke of Clarence and St Andrews (Lord High Admiral)	First Naval Lord 1828–1830	Succeeded by Sir Thomas Hardy
Preceded by Sir Edward Colpoys	Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station 1832–December 1834	Succeeded by Vacant (next held by himself)
Preceded by Sir Charles Adam	First Naval Lord December 1834–April 1835	Succeeded by Sir Charles Adam
Preceded by Vacant (last held by himself)	Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station April 1835–1836	Succeeded by Sir Peter Halkett
Preceded by Sir Charles Adam	First Naval Lord 1841–1846	Succeeded by Sir William Parker
Honorary titles
Preceded by Sir T. Byam Martin	Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom 1847–1853	Succeeded by Sir William Hall Gage
Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Preceded by James Cockburn	Baronet (of Langton) 1852–1853	Succeeded by William Cockburn

Template:Persondata

[odnb-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Laughton, J. K. (2004). "Cockburn, Sir George, eighth baronet (1772–1853)". In rev. Roger Morriss (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 September 2007.

[2] Military Heritage confirms that it was George Cockburn who burned the White House and raided Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812 and included his retirement ranks (John D. Gresham, Military Heritage, February 2002, Volume 3, No. 4, p. 17)

[3] The White House Historical Association (discusses the burning of the White House during the War of 1812)

[4] "Library and Archive catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 17 March 2012.

[5] Baronetage

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