Cochrane

Just before we departed for the trip to Edinburgh my Dad sent me a newspaper clipping reviewing a new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland..  the exhibition features Admiral Cochrane, a British sailor of the Napoleonic Wars that many believe was the model for Jack Aubrey, Hornblower, Bolitho, Ramage and probably every other fictional Napoleonic sailor of the last 100 years! 😏

Not surprisingly, while I was in Edinburgh one day, I took the opportunity to get away for a half day to check it out and was pleased I did...

I'll admit up front I'd never heard of Cochrane before this exhibition, so if anything the Museum has done it's job with at least me - but by a coincidence I was reading  David Crooks blog and by strange serendipity he mentioned him as well when he had a lucky book find...

Either way, time to educate my readers I thought as the exhibition was very good, and the life they portrayed was just fascinating...

Thomas Cochrane, was the 10th Earl of Dundonald, and served as a sailor in various navies between 1778 and 1831, for Britain, Peru, Brazil and Greece. In addition to being a naval commander he was also a radical politician (ringing any Aubrey bells yet? 😀)

During the Napoleonic Wars he was so successful the French nicknamed him Le Loup des Mers ('The Sea Wolf'). On 28 March 1800, Cochrane, having been promoted to commander, was given command of the brig sloop HMS Speedy, and in one of his most spectacular exploits the following May he captured the Spanish frigate "El Gamo" which carried 32 guns and 319 men, compared with Speedy's 14 guns and 54 men (errrrm... 'Cacafuego' in Master and Commander, anyone??  😏)

The Action and Capture of the Spanish Xebeque
Frigate El Gamo, Clarkson Frederick Stanfield

"Cochrane flew an American flag to approach so closely to El Gamo that its guns could not depress to fire on the Speedy's hull. This left the Spanish with no option but to board. However, whenever the Spanish were about to board, Cochrane would pull away briefly, and fire on the concentrated boarding parties with his ship's guns. Eventually, Cochrane boarded the Gamo, despite still being outnumbered about five to one, and captured her".

In 13 months Cochrane captured, burned, or drove ashore, 53 ships before three French ships of the line captured him...!

He was soon exchanged, but was dismissed from the Royal Navy in 1814, following a conviction for fraud on the Stock Exchange (more bells?? ), was stripped of his knighthood, and then served in the rebel navies of Chile (see the review of "Blue at the Mizzen" when I can find time to write it for Aubrey service with the Chilean Navy!), Brazil, and Greece during their respective wars of independence.

In 1832, he was pardoned, reinstated in the Royal Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral of the Blue. After several further promotions, he died in 1860 with the rank of Admiral of the Red, and the honorary title of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom.

The guy was by all accounts "mercurial" - he was undoubtedly brave, resourceful, clever, a master tactician, but he was no strategist, and by all accounts wound everyone up - he only fought one duel but he knew how to harbour grudges, make enemies, and was particularly bitter about the loss of his knighthood....

The exhibition was well worth an hour of my time, if you can go, I recommend it - if you can't, I would recommend a read of the Wikipedia article below, jaw dropping doesn't even begin to describe his life...  but Aubrey seems the nicer fellow - I know who I'd prefer to have a beer with!

Links:

• Museum exhibition web site
• Wikipedia link