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Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald GCB (14 December 1775 – 31 October 1860), styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a Scottish naval officer, peer, mercenary and politician. Serving during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the Royal Navy, his naval successes led Napoleon to nickname him le Loup des Mers (the Sea Wolf). He was successful in virtually all of his naval actions.[2]
Cochrane was dismissed from the Royal Navy in 1814 after a controversial conviction for fraud on the London Stock Exchange. Travelling to South America, he helped organise and lead the revolutionary navies of Chile and Brazil during their respective wars of independence during the 1820s. While commanding the Chilean Navy, Cochrane also contributed to Peruvian independence through his participation in the Liberating Expedition of Peru. He was also hired to help the Greek Revolutionary Navy during the Greek War of Independence, but ultimately had little impact.
In 1832, Cochrane was pardoned by the Crown and reinstated in the Royal Navy with the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue. After several more promotions, he died in 1860 with the rank of Admiral of the Red, and the honorary title of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom. Cochrane's life and exploits inspired the naval fiction of 19th and 20th century novelists, particularly the fictional characters C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey.
Family
Thomas Cochrane was born at Annsfield, near Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of Archibald, Lord Cochrane (1748–1831), who later became, in October 1778, The 9th Earl of Dundonald, and his wife, Anna Gilchrist. She was the daughter of Captain James Gilchrist and Ann Roberton, the daughter of Major John Roberton, 16th Laird of Earnock.[3]
Thomas, Lord Cochrane, as he himself became in October 1778, had six brothers. Two served with distinction in the military: William Erskine Cochrane of the 15th Dragoons, who served under Sir John Moore in the Peninsular War and reached the rank of major; and Archibald Cochrane, who became a captain in the Navy.
Lord Cochrane was descended from lines of Scottish aristocracy and military service on both sides of his family. Through his uncle, Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, the sixth son of The 8th Earl of Dundonald, Cochrane was cousin to his namesake, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John Cochrane (1789–1872). Sir Thomas J. Cochrane also had a naval career[4] and was appointed as Governor of Newfoundland and later Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom. By 1793, however, the Cochranes had fallen on hard times; with their fortune spent, the family estate was sold off to cover debts.[5]
Early life
Lord Cochrane spent much of his early life in Culross, Fife, where his family had an estate.
Through the influence of his uncle Alexander Cochrane, he was listed as a member of the crew on the books of four Royal Navy ships starting when he was five years old.[6] This common (though unlawful) practice known as false muster was a means of gaming naval regulations, enabling well-connected officers to attain the years of service required for promotion if and when they joined the Navy. Cochrane's father secured him a commission in the British Army at an early age, but Cochrane preferred the Navy. He joined it in 1793 upon the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars around the time his family lost their wealth and lands.[7]
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