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THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN.
VOL. I.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON
PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
NEW-STREET SQUARE
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[Illustration:
_From a Photo_: _Joseph Brown_.
]
THOMAS, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, G.C.B.
_Admiral of the Red, Rear Admiral of the Fleet &c._
London. Richard Bentley 1861.
THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN.
BY
THOMAS, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, G.C.B.
ADMIRAL OF THE RED, REAR-ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET,
ETC. ETC.
[Illustration]
VOLUME THE FIRST.
=Second Edition.=
LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,
=Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty.=
1861.
_The right of translation is reserved._
TO
THE ELECTORS OF WESTMINSTER,
BY WHOSE GENEROUS SUPPORT, NEARLY HALF A CENTURY AGO,
I WAS RESCUED FROM DESPAIR,
THE RESULT OF UNMERITED INJURIES INFLICTED
BY HOSTILE POLITICAL FACTION
IN RETALIATION FOR
MY ADVOCACY OF NAVAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS;
AND TO WHOSE HONOUR BE IT RECORDED
THAT IN NO INSTANCE
DURING OUR LONG POLITICAL CONNEXION
DID ANY OF THEIR BODY EVER ASK ME
TO PROCURE FOR HIM PLACE, BENEFIT, OR EMOLUMENT,
=This Volume is Inscribed=
BY THEIR FAITHFUL SERVANT,
DUNDONALD.
PREFACE.
The present Volume narrates my services in the British Navy, from my
entrance into it, and including the action in Aix Roads, on the 11th,
12th, and 13th of April, 1809. The result of that action, viz., the
court-martial on Lord Gambier—virtually a prosecution of myself; my
non-employment thenceforward in the navy; the unscrupulous plot by which
I was driven from that noble service; my restoration to rank by his late
Majesty William IV., and to the honours which had accompanied that rank
by my present most gracious Sovereign Queen Victoria; form subjects,
which, together with many others, will be concisely set forth in the
succeeding portion of this Work.
To one of these points I shall, however, here briefly allude,—my
restoration to the naval service; not for the purpose of pre-judging the
subject, but with the intention of embracing the first opportunity which
has been afforded me, of paying a tribute of thanks to those who,
convinced of the injustice of the sentence, were mainly instrumental in
procuring its reversal.
Amongst these I am proud to rank one, the soundness of whose judgment,
and the disinterestedness of whose patriotism, have throughout a long
life never failed to secure the highest respect amongst men of every
shade of political party—the Marquis of Lansdowne; who, from the
commencement of my unmerited troubles, has to this day manifested the
most generous confidence in my honour, and has as generously supported
my cause when my character has been called in question. If proof were
wanted of my entire innocence of the accusation laid to my charge
forty-five years ago, no prouder testimony of incapability to have
committed the imputed offence could be adduced than the unabated
friendship of the Marquis of Lansdowne; simply because no man with a
stain on his character could have retained any place in that illustrious
nobleman’s consideration.
To another nobleman, whose name will descend to the remotest posterity
as the promoter of everything rationally liberal in politics, and the
untiring advocate of measures calculated to promote social advancement,
my warmest thanks are no less due. First my counsel, and for half a
century my friend,—to the long-continued esteem of Lord Brougham, I owe
no small portion of that consolation which for so many years formed my
only support under a weight of persecution enough to have bowed any man,
not so supported, to the earth; into which, had it not been for the
disinterested countenance thus afforded by men above reproach I must
have prematurely sunk.
One testimony of my venerated friend I may be allowed to adduce[1]:—
“I must be distinctly understood to deny the accuracy of the opinion
which Lord Ellenborough appears to have formed in Lord Cochrane’s
case, and deeply to lament the verdict of Guilty, which the jury
returned after three hours’ consulting and hesitation.
“Our own complaint was his Lordship’s refusal to adjourn after the
prosecutor’s case closed, and his requiring us to enter upon our
defence at so late an hour—past nine o’clock—so that the adjournment
took place at midnight and before we had called our witnesses. I speak
of the trial at Guildhall only. Lord Ellenborough was _equally to
blame with his brethren in the Court of King’s Bench for that most
cruel and unjustifiable sentence_ which at once secured Lord
Cochrane’s re-election for Westminster.
“In 1833 the Government of which I was a member restored this great
warrior to his rank of admiral in our navy. The country, therefore, in
the event of hostilities, would now have the inestimable benefit of
his services, whom none perhaps ever equalled in heroic courage, and
whose fertility of resources, military as well as naval, places him
high among the very first of commanders. That his honours of
knighthood, so gloriously won, should still be withholden, is a stain,
_not upon him_, but upon the councils of his country; and after his
restoration to the service, it is as inconsistent and incomprehensible
as it is cruel and unjust.”[2]
-----
Footnote 1:
See Lord Brougham’s “Historic Sketches of Statesmen of the Reign of
George III.”
Footnote 2:
On the accession of Her present Most Gracious Majesty those honours
were restored; every attempt to obtain their restoration during the
reign of His late Majesty having failed, from causes which will be
stated in the next Volume; and notwithstanding that His Majesty
himself warmly espoused my cause.
-----
To many others, high in public estimation and in the councils of their
Sovereign, I have been equally indebted for countenance and support, but
as it has been my lot to outlive them, they are beyond the reach of
thanks. Amongst these may be mentioned the late Duke of Hamilton, the
Earl of Auckland, Sir Francis Burdett,—my late warm-hearted friend and
colleague; Mr. Whitbread, Mr. Hume, and others whose names have escaped
my memory rather than my gratitude.
Last, though foremost in estimation, is another friend, found where man
will seldom look for a friend in vain,—at home; the Countess of
Dundonald, my wife. Knowing the opinion of her Sovereign with regard to
the persecution which had entailed on me so many years of misery, and
equally well aware that in the first years of his Majesty’s reign the
non-reversal of that unjust sentence was owing to the influence of some
in his Majesty’s councils, whose political animosity sixteen years
before had no small share in its infliction,—that ardent and heroic lady
determined to penetrate to the foot of the throne, and learn from the
lips of the Sovereign himself whether it was consistent with the dignity
of his crown, that its attribute of mercy should be the sport of an
almost extinct political faction.
The step was a bold one; but the ardour which had conceived it to be
necessary lacked not the energy to carry out its resolve. In spite of
the coolness of some about the court, and the positive rudeness of
others whose names it is not worth while to resuscitate, this devoted
lady gained an interview with her Sovereign, and with the greatest
respect besought His Majesty not to permit the benevolence of his
disposition, and his own belief in the innocence of her unjustly
maligned husband, to be thwarted by those whose office it was to advise,
but not to control, his better judgment.
His Majesty graciously listened, and his reply was kingly, that “he
would no longer allow the reparation which was her husband’s due, to be
withheld.” A change of Ministry shortly afterwards followed, and, as
already quoted in an extract from the writings of Lord Brougham, my
restoration to rank rewarded the heroic efforts of my devoted wife.
Nevertheless, a leaven of former political malice remained, sufficiently
powerful to prevent my restoration to the honours with which a previous
Sovereign had invested me, but of which I had been despoiled with every
mark of degradation which political animosity could invent.[3]
-----
Footnote 3:
Viz., a forcible intrusion into my apartments in the King’s Bench
Prison in the dead of night, with a demand for the immediate surrender
of the Insignia.
-----
This gracious act of restoring my honours was reserved for Her present
Majesty, who with the delicacy which is one of Her Majesty’s noblest
characteristics, gave back the boon of which I had for so many years
been wrongfully deprived; and subsequently conferred upon me, at the age
of seventy-three, my first command of a British fleet. For both marks of
Her Majesty’s kindness and appreciation of my former services, I am
deeply grateful. But alas! reparation came too late to compensate for
the early hopes and just expectations of a life forcibly wasted as
regarded myself or my country.
The moral—to use an old-fashioned phrase—of my chequered career, is
this:—That they who, in political matters, propose to themselves a
strict and rigid adherence to the truth of their convictions,
irrespective of personal consequences, must expect obloquy rather than
reward; and that they who obstinately pursue their professional duty in
the face of routine and official prejudice, may think themselves lucky
if they escape persecution. Such a moral may be derogatory in a national
point of view, but it is the result of my own bitter experience:
notwithstanding which, were my life to begin anew, I would pursue the
same unflinching course with regard to naval abuses, of following out my
own convictions,—a course which would produce the same result to myself,
the consolation of my own rectitude, even though I might be deprived of
all other reward.
Still all is not dark. I have survived malignity, and its chief cause,
viz. the enmity arising from my zealous advocacy of departmental and
political reform. The latter has been achieved to a greater extent than
the early political reformers, amongst whose ranks I was enrolled, ever
dreamed of; and even departmental reform has become fashionable, though
it may not have advanced far beyond that point.
In one respect I will boldly assert that this narrative of my life is
worthy of example. It will show the young officer that, in spite of
obstacles, warm attachment and untiring devotion to my noble profession
enabled me to render some services to my country upon which I may be
allowed to reflect with satisfaction, even though this be accompanied
with bitter reflection as to what the all-powerful enmity of my
political opponents cruelly deprived me of further opportunity to
accomplish.
In conclusion, I must express my thanks to Mr. Earp, whose zeal has
exhumed from documents almost, in my own estimation, beyond
comprehension or arrangement[4], the mass of facts condensed within the
compass of this volume.
Footnote 4:
In the great earthquake at Valparaiso in 1822 my house shared the
common destruction, and from the torrents of rain which accompanied
the unusual atmospheric disturbance, my papers were saturated with
water, to such an extent that it became necessary to lay them to dry
in the sun. Whilst undergoing this process one of the whirlwinds
common on the Chilian coast suddenly came on, and scattered them in
all directions. Many were lost, but more torn, and rendered almost
undecipherable; whilst all that remained have been ever since in
confusion. The labour of accurate compilation from such materials may
be imagined.
In the succeeding portion of this work, should God spare me to see its
completion, I trust to render additional service, by an attempt to
deduce from past naval experience the best means of preserving
unimpaired our future maritime efficiency. Should the attempt be the
means of awakening national attention, the gratification will be mine of
having left no unworthy legacy to my country.
DUNDONALD.
December 14, 1859.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
INTRODUCTORY.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE DUNDONALD FAMILY.
CHAPTER I.
MY BOYHOOD, AND ENTRANCE INTO THE NAVY.
Younger Branch succeeds to Earldom.—Alienation of Family
Estates.—My Father’s scientific Pursuits.—His ruinous
manufacturing Projects.—A neglected
Discovery.—Communicated to James Watt.—Lord Dundonald’s
Agricultural Works still held in Estimation.—Early
Reminiscences.—My first Visit to London.—My Father
destines me for the Army.—A Commission procured.—My
Aversion to the Military Profession.—Our Return to
Scotland.—I am permitted to enter the Navy Page 34
CHAP. II.
CRUISE OF THE _HIND_.
A Lieutenant of the Old School.—His Ideas on
Sea-chests.—Dockyards sixty Years ago.—Prize-money, the
leading Motive of Seamen.—Voyage to Norway.—Norwegian
Customs.—A Midshipman’s Grievances.—A Parrot turned
Boatswain.—Ineffective Armaments.—Men before
Dockyards.—Training of Officers 50
CHAP. III.
THE VOYAGE OF THE _THETIS_.
Voyage in the _Thetis_.—Icebergs.—I am made Acting
Lieutenant.—I am ordered to join the _Thetis_.—Pass
Examination for Lieutenant.—Captain Cochrane’s Capture of
French Store-ships.—My Appointment to the
_Resolution_.—Admiral winters in the Chesapeake.—An
undignified Encounter.—A Dinner ashore.—Harsh Treatment of
the Americans.—Their Complaints.—Return of the _Thetis_ to
England 62
CHAP. IV.
SERVICES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.
I join Lord Keith’s Ship.—An unpleasant Altercation, ending
in a Court-Martial.—The Blockade of Cadiz.—French Fleet in
the Offing.—Pursued by Lord Keith.—Enemy’s Vessels burnt
at Toulon.—Lord Keith recalled by Lord St. Vincent.—Lord
St. Vincent resigns the Command.—Lord Keith pursues the
French Fleet to Brest, and from thence to the
Mediterranean.—State of the French Marine.—Lord Keith
appoints me to the _Généreux_.—Burning of the _Queen
Charlotte_.—Action with Privateers off Cabritta
Point.—Recommended for Promotion 76
CHAP. V.
CRUISE OF THE _SPEEDY_.
My Appointment to the _Speedy_.—My first Prize.—Capitulation
of Genoa.—More Captures.—Join Lord Keith at
Leghorn.—Cruise on the Spanish Coast.—Nearly caught by a
Spanish Frigate.—How she was evaded.—Our Cruise
renewed.—We proceed to Malta.—Foolish Fracas in a
Ball-room.—A Duel.—Capture of a French Store-ship.—Chased
by another Spanish Frigate.—Cruise off Barcelona.—An
Attempt to entrap us.—Attack on the _El Gamo_
Frigate.—Carried by Boarding.—Trifling Loss of the
_Speedy_.—A Device practised during the Action.—We proceed
with our Prize to Mahon.—Postponement of my Post
Rank.—Official Despatch 93
CHAP. VI.
CRUISE OF THE _SPEEDY_ CONTINUED.
The _Speedy_ sent to Algiers.—Interview with the
Dey.—_Speedy_ returns to Minorca.—Attack on
Oropesa.—Enemy’s Vessels destroyed.—Letter of Thanks from
Lord Keith.—_Speedy_ sent in Convoy of a Packet.—Captured
by three French line-of-battle Ships, and taken to
Algesiras.—Attack by Sir J. Saumarez’s Squadron.—Loss of
the _Hannibal_.—Capture of Dockyard Artificers.—Gallantry
of Captain Keats 118
CHAP. VII.
ADMIRALTY RELUCTANCE TO PROMOTE ME.
Letter from Sir Alexander Cochrane.—Second Letter from Sir
Alexander.—Both written unknown to me.—Reluctance of Lord
St. Vincent to promote me.—Letter from my Father to Lord
St. Vincent, urging my right to Promotion.—Lord St.
Vincent’s Reply.—Its Fallacy.—His Lordship’s Reasoning a
Subterfuge.—Promotion of my First Lieutenant refused.—My
imprudent Remark to Lord St. Vincent, who becomes my
Enemy.—Further Effort to promote Lieutenant
Parker.—Admiralty Refusal also.—Lieutenant Parker’s
eventual Promotion, and subsequent shameful Treatment 135
CHAP. VIII.
NAVAL ADMINISTRATION SIXTY YEARS AGO.
Political Favouritism.—Refusal of further Employment.—Naval
Corruption.—Dockyard Practices.—Shameful Treatment of
Prisoners of War.—Economy the Remedy.—Results of Medical
Economy.—Empty Physic Bottles.—Seamen’s Aversion to the
Service.—A Post Captain at College 152
CHAP. IX.
EMPLOYMENT IN THE _ARAB_.
Appointment to the _Arab_.—Projected Invasion by
Napoleon.—The _Arab_ ordered to watch the French
Coast.—Then to cruise in the North Sea.—Retirement of Lord
St. Vincent 165
CHAP. X.
CRUISE OF THE _PALLAS_.
Orders of the _Pallas_ embargoed.—Capture of the
_Carolina_.—Arrival of the Prizes.—Capture of Papal
Bulls.—A Chase.—Admiral Young.—Election for Honiton.—Novel
Election Tactics.—Become a Reformer.—Painful Results 171
CHAP. XI.
SERVICES IN THE _PALLAS_ CONTINUED.
Services in the _Pallas_.—The _Pallas_ at Halifax.—Clamour
of Shipowners.—Sail from the Downs.—Capture a Vessel.—The
_Pomone_ sent to England.—Capture of the _Tapageuse_.—The
French run ashore.—Chase of the Corvettes.—Off
Chasseron.—Cold Approval of Lord St. Vincent.—Cruise of
the _Pallas_.—Sight the French Squadron.—French Signal
Houses.—The Isle of Aix.—Engage the French
Squadron.—Joined by the _Kingfisher_.—Details of the
Action.—Construction of Kites 183
CHAP. XII.
MY ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT.
My Entrance into Parliament.—Enthusiastic Reception.—Seek
Promotion for Haswell.—Cutting out _Le Cæsar_.—Gross
Instance of Partiality.—Claret against Small Beer.—Story
of Mr. Croker.—Mr. Croker’s Revenge.—Command the
_Impérieuse_.—Drift towards Ushant.—Join the Squadron in
the Basque Roads.—Anchor off Cordovan.—Supply the
_Atalante_ 202
CHAP. XIII.
DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT.
Dissolution of Parliament.—Westminster Election.—Reply to
Mr. Sheridan.—I am elected.—Virulent
Recriminations.—Opening of the House.—Move for an Account
of Sinecures.—Opposition to the Motion.—Mr. Perceval’s
Proposition.—My Motion evaded.—Naval Abuses.—Details of
Abuses.—Naval Hospitals.—Speech in the Commons.—Join Lord
Collingwood’s fleet. 215
CHAP. XIV.
CRUISE OF THE _IMPÉRIEUSE_.
Cruise of the _Impérieuse_.—Engagement with the _King
George_.—Off Toulon.—Fall in with Thirteen Merchantmen.—Am
recalled by Lord Collingwood.—Russian Declaration of
War.—Capture a Vessel from Corfu.—Run into Valencia.—Clear
for Action.—Death of Lieut. Caulfield.—Chase round Cape
Negretti.—Blow up a Tower at Minorca.—Capture of Spanish
Wine.—Fall in with the _Leonidas_.—Capture a Xebec.—Chase
three Ships.—Capture a Xebec.—Cape Palos.—Gale at
Sea.—Joseph proclaimed King of Spain.—Spain declares War
against France 234
CHAP. XV.
CRUISE OF THE _IMPÉRIEUSE_ CONTINUED.
Assist the Spaniards.—Off Barcelona.—Spanish Kindness.—The
French in Mataro.—Cruise on the Spanish Coast.—Embark the
Enemies' Guns.—Give the Spaniards a Lesson.—Siege of
Gerona.—Contest at Mongat.—Irritation of the
Spaniards.—Excesses of the French.—Spirit of the
Catalans.—Anchor off San Felin.—Guerilla Troops.—Fortress
of Figueras.—Chase two Vessels.—Anchor in Gulf
Dumet.—Destroy a Signal Station.—Storming a Battery.—The
Tables turned. 255
CHAP. XVI.
CRUISE OF THE _IMPÉRIEUSE_ CONTINUED.
The French Fleet.—The Mole of Ciotat.—The Gulf of Foz.—Take
Possession of the Battery.—Silence other Batteries.—Anchor
off Cette.—Despatch the Prizes.—How we obtained Fresh
Water.—Demolish a Telegraph.—Frigates to leeward.—Ordered
to Gibraltar.—Ingratitude of Government.—Letter of Lord
Collingwood.—Letter of Lord Cochrane 275
CHAP. XVII.
CRUISE OF THE _IMPÉRIEUSE_ CONTINUED.
Capture a Settee.—Get under Sail.—Fight between the Patriots
and French.—Make sail for Rosas.—Fort Trinidad.—Gallantry
of Captain West.—Bravery of the Catalans.—Repulse of the
French.—Attack of the _Impérieuse_.—The French redouble
their Efforts.—Occupation of Catalonia.—The Castle of
Trinidad.—Nature of our Position.—Nature of our
Operations.—Manufacture of a Man-trap.—Lose my Nose.—The
French assault Rosas.—Practice of the
French.—Presentiment.—The French Attack.—The Attack
repulsed.—Bravery of a French Soldier.—Heavy Gale of
Wind.—Unfortunate Accident.—Evacuate the Fortress.—Stand
towards Scalla.—Letter from Lord Collingwood.—Despatch to
Lord Collingwood.—Letter to the Admiralty.—Testimony of
the Spaniards.—Sir Walter Scott.—Official Gratitude. 290
CHAP. XVIII.
CRUISE OF THE _IMPÉRIEUSE_ CONTINUED.
Defeat of the Spaniards.—Attack some French Vessels.—French
Operations.—Letter of Lord Cochrane.—Lord
Collingwood.—Operations of the Enemy.—Fall in with the
_Cyrene_.—Sail for Minorca.—Apply for leave.—Motives for
leaving.—Apathy of the Government.—Reproached for
Service.—Neglect of the Admiralty 323
CHAP. XIX.
APPOINTMENT TO COMMAND FIRESHIPS IN BASQUE ROADS.
Undertaking against Rochefort.—Hopes excited.—Present myself
at the Admiralty.—Am consulted by Lord Mulgrave.—Lord
Gardner’s Statement.—Anxiety of Government.—My Plan of
Action.—Decline the Command.—The Command pressed upon
me.—Return to the _Impérieuse_.—Preparations for
Attack.—Lord Gambier obtains the Laurels, but dissuades
the Attack.—The Isle d’Aix.—Lord Gambier’s Statement 338
CHAP. XX.
Sail for the Basque Roads.—My awkward Position.—Ill-humour
of the Fleet.—Admiral Harvey.—Imprudence of Admiral
Harvey.—Complains of Lord Gambier.—Inaccurate
Soundings.—Lord Gambier’s Tracts.—Cobbett’s Comments on
the Tracts.—Dissensions in the Fleet.—Letter to Lord
Mulgrave.—My Principles of Warfare.—Night-work.—My
Principles of Action.—The Isle d’Aix.—Explosion-vessels. 354
CHAP. XXI.
Press for an Attack.—Results of Delay.—The French
Preparations.—French Admiral’s Account.—Insult to the
English Fleet.—State of Preparations.—Start for the
Attack.—The Attack.—The Explosion.—Failure of the
Attack.—Terror of the French.—The French aground.—Apathy
of Lord Gambier.—The Aix Roads.—The French Fleet permitted
to escape.—Drift towards the Enemy.—Attack the French
Fleet.—The _Calcutta_ strikes.—The Attack.—Failure of
Fireships.—Singular Incident.—Signal of Recall.—Captain
Seymour.—Lord Gambier’s Evasiveness.—Am
recalled.—Remonstrate with Lord Gambier.—Am sent
Home.—Lord Gambier’s Despatch.—The French
Despatch.—Destruction of the Boom.—The _Mediator_ 370
CHAP. XXII.
ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND.
Intended Vote of Thanks to Lord Gambier.—Resolve to oppose
it.—Interview with Lord Mulgrave.—Lord Gambier demands a
Court-Martial.—He is directed to make a fresh Report of
the Action in Basque Roads.—Injustice of this second
Despatch.—Attempt to entrap me into the Position of
Prosecutor.—Composition and Proceedings of the
Court-Martial.—The Admiral’s Point of
Justification.—Disposed of by Captain Broughton’s
Evidence, and by that of Captains Malcolm, Newcombe, and
Seymour.—Sir Harry Neale’s Evidence stopped by Admiral
Young 403
CHAP. XXIII.
LORD GAMBIER’S DESPATCH.
Its Omissions and Suppressions.—Motive for Lord Gambier’s
Mis-statements.—Mr. Fairfax reports that the _Mediator_
went in fifth, not first.—Reason of the contrary
Assertion.—Napoleon attributes the Escape of his Fleet to
the Imbecility of Lord Gambier.—Mismanagement of the
Fireships.—Lord Gambier’s Delay and Misdirection.—His
Perversion of Fact.—His misplaced Praise.—The Despatch
fails to satisfy the Public.—Criticised by the
Press.—Admiral Gravière’s Account of the Termination of
the Action 416
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN.
————————
INTRODUCTORY.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE DUNDONALD FAMILY.
Tradition has assigned to the Cochranes a derivation from one of the
Scandinavian sea-rovers, who, in a remote age, settled on the lands of
Renfrew and Ayr. There is reason to believe the tradition well founded;
but to trace its authenticity would be foreign to the purpose of the
present work.
In later times, incidents of historic interest connected with the
family, justify allusion, as forming contributions not only to the
national annals of Scotland, but to those of England also. The earliest
authentic record of our house is contained in the subjoined extract from
Crawfurd’s “Peerage of Scotland.”
“This family, which originally took its surname from the Barony of
Cochran, in Renfrewshire[5], is of great antiquity; and though none of
the family arrived to the dignity of peerage till the reign of King
Charles I., yet it is undeniable that they were barons of special
account for many ages before, and endowed with large possessions in
these parts and elsewhere.
“The first of whom I have found upon record is Waldenus de Coveran,
_i.e._ Cochran, who, in 1262, is witness to the grant which Dungal,
the son of Suayn, made to Walter Stewart Earl of Monteith of sundry
lands in the county of Argyle, which came in aftertimes to be
transmitted to Forrester of Carden. Another William de Coveran is
mentioned by Pryn, as a person of account in this county, who makes
his submission to King Edward I. Anno Dom. 1296, in the Ragman Roll;
also John de Coveran is witness in the regular election of James,
Abbot of Paisley, 17th of David II. Anno 1346.
“The next remarkable person of the family is Gosiline de Cochran, who
flourished under King David Bruce; he is witness to several grants
made by Robert II. when Earl of Strathern, to the religious of
Paisley, an abbacy he assumed into his particular patronage, wherein
his ancestors’ donations being made to the glory of God are
particularly narrated. He left issue, William de Cochran, of that Ilk,
his son, who obtained from King Robert II. a charter of the lands of
Cochran, to be held in as ample a manner as any of his progenitors
held the same of the Lord High Steward of Scotland, dated on the 22nd
of September 1389. As he stood in special favour with this king, so
was he in no less with Robert III. his son, to whom it seems he had
been serviceable; for when he came to the crown he had so grateful a
sense thereof, that in the second year of his reign, Anno 1392, he
made him a grant of forty shillings sterling in annuity, arising out
of the profits of the Burgh of Rutherglen. He was succeeded by Robert
his son who, in 1456, resigned his estates in favour of Allan his
son.”
This surrender of his estate appears to have been made for no other
purpose than to devote himself to the study and practice of
architecture, in which, as an art, Scotland was, at that time, behind
other nations. In the exercise of his self-imposed profession, Robert
Cochran is said to have displayed great skill in the erection of several
edifices[6], and when, by the favour of the King James III. he
afterwards rose to power, his architectural eminence procured for him,
amongst the host of enemies created by his elevation, the contemptuous
appellation of the “mason chiel.”
-----
Footnote 5:
“Opposite to Johnstoun, upon the east side of the river, lye the house
and barony of Cochran, the principal manour of the Cochrans, a family
of great antiquity in this shire, whose ancestors have possessed these
lands well nigh 500 years, and, without doubt, have taken appellation
from their hereditary lands, when fixed surnames came to be
used.”—_Crawfurd’s Description of Renfrew_, p. 82.
Footnote 6:
Pinkerton.
-----
It was not, however, his architectural skill alone which gave him a
place in his sovereign’s estimation, but his good broadsword and
powerful arm, the efficacy of which having been displayed in a combat in
the king’s presence[7] attracted his Majesty’s attention; so much so,
that the king, finding him to be of good family, and possessed of great
talent, placed him near his person; the result being that in a brief
space of time he became his chief adviser, and the great opponent of the
Scottish nobility, who sought to hold the king in their power.
In short, Robert Cochran appears to have become to James something like
what Wolsey subsequently was to Henry VIII. not in power only, but also
in ostentation. In the latter respect, Lindsay says of him, that “even
his pavilions were of silk, and the fastening chains thereof richly
gilt.” Pinkerton says he “became the fountain of royal favour, and was
elevated to a giddy and invidious height of power—this being the earldom
of Mar.”[8]
-----
Footnote 7:
“He came to be known to the king by a duel which he fought with
another; and presently from an architect came to be made a courtier,
and was put in a fair way of rising to some greater advancement; for,
having performed some lighter matters, intrusted to him, with
diligence, and also accommodating himself to the king’s humour, he was
soon admitted to advise concerning the grand affairs of the kingdom;
insomuch that Preston chose him to be his son-in-law.”—_Buchanan_,
vol. ii. p. 301. “But that which made Cochran most envied was his
earldom of March; which country the king had either given to him, or
at least committed to his trust, upon the death of the king’s younger
brother.”—_Buchanan_, vol. ii. p. 309.
Footnote 8:
The following extract from Crawfurd shows that the title and revenues
of the earldom of Mar were in the hands of James at this time:—
“ERSKINE EARL OF MAR.
“Which Thomas [Erskine Earl of Mar,] did prosecute his father’s claim
to the earldom of Mar with all the vigour imaginable, but having a
powerful party, the king, to deal with, at length a final sentence was
given against him in parliament, on the 5th November 1457, which he
was obliged to acquiesce in; but notwithstanding the hard measure he
had undergone from the king, and which might have been thought would
have made him ready to have taken all occasions of being severe of it,
yet he was a person of so much honour and virtue that in the
succeeding reign of James III., when he had a very fair opportunity to
be revenged, yet he no sooner saw the ways of duty towards the king
decline, and his power _envied by a strong party of the nobility_,
than out of pure conscience to serve his Majesty when he was in
distress he fairly engaged in his quarrel, and when the war broke out
accepted a command in the army, in which he continued till the very
end that the king was miserably killed in the field of Stirling on the
11th of June 1488.”
-----
This advancement to the earldom of Mar, says Buchanan, “was the chief
source of the hatred of the nobility, who were disgusted with James,
partly by reason of his familiarity with that rascally sort of people,
but chiefly because _he slighted the nobility_, and chose mean persons
to be his counsellors and advisers, the chief of these being Thomas
Preston, one of a good family, and Robert Cochran, a man endued with
great strength of body and equal audacity of mind.”
In classing Thomas Preston and Robert Cochran amongst “that rascally
sort of people,” Buchanan contradicts himself, for he admits that
Preston was of good family, and he must have known that Cochran’s family
was still more ancient, so that the historian only gives evidence of his
own tufthunting tendencies. What were the feelings of the nobility
towards Robert Cochran, may be gathered from the titles to the chapters
of a scurrilous book subsequently written in their interest for the
purpose of denouncing his memory.
1. “This minister’s (Robert Cochran) raising himself, first by his
impudence, and next by his alliance with a noble lord, whom he wormed
out of power.”
2. “His poor condition when he first came to court.”
5. “His buildings and passion for hunting.”
7. “_His working the disgrace of all the great men_,” &c.
This last head, “_working the disgrace of all the great men_,” appears
to form the key to their whole hatred, but it implies patriotism towards
a monarch and a country whom the “great men” had previously oppressed. I
am quite content to rest the reputation of my ancestor upon the
libellous evidence of his adversaries, or the showing of the Scottish
historians, that he attempted to abridge the power of the nobles, _and
succeeded_ to such an extent as to secure his own murder. To enter at
length into such matters would, however, be to substitute my ancestor’s
biography for my own, and therefore it will only be necessary to abridge
from Pinkerton a few interesting extracts relative to this romance of
Scottish history.
“The new Earl of Mar, unconscious that his extreme elevation was an
infallible step to the deepest ruin, continued to abuse his power, and
that of his sovereign. The nobles beheld the places, _formerly given
to their sons_, now sold (?) to Mar’s followers. The prelates and
other dignitaries of the church _sighed at the increase of simony_!
&c. &c. In short, the whole honour and welfare of the king and kingdom
were sacrificed on the domestic altar of this base and covetous
minion!
“Some of the peers assembled, and consulted upon the means of
delivering the realm from the disgrace and destruction inflicted by
Cochran and the other royal favourites. A noble deputation had even
been sent to the king, requesting that he would dismiss these
pernicious councillors, and restore the confidence placed by his
ancestors _in the loyalty of the nobility_. The answer of James was
far from satisfactory, but the peers assented to delay, and dissembled
till some decisive occasion should arise.
“The Scottish array, amounting to about fifty thousand, had crowded to
the royal banner at Burrough-muir, near Edinburgh, whence they marched
to Sontray and to Lauder, at which place they encamped between the
church and the village. Cochran, Earl of Mar, conducted the artillery,
and his presence and pomp were additional insults. On the morning
after their arrival at Lauder, the peers assembled in a secret
council, in the church, and deliberated upon their designs of revenge.
The Earls of Angus, Argyle, Huntley, Orkney or Caithness, Crawford,
the Lords Home, Fleming, Gray, Drummond, Hales, and Seton, are chiefly
mentioned upon this occasion; and the discontent must have spread far
when we find Evandale the chancellor, and some bishops united to the
above names.
“In the course of the debate Gray took occasion to introduce an
apologue: ‘The mice consulted upon the means of deliverance from their
tyrannic enemy the cat, and agreed that a bell should be suspended
about her neck, to notify her approach and their danger; but what
mouse has courage sufficient to fasten the bell?’ ‘I shall bell the
cat,’ exclaimed the impatience of Angus, in whom a current of the
blood of Douglas flowed; and the homely times conferred upon him the
appellation of Archibald Bell the Cat. It was concluded that the king
_should be put in a gentle imprisonment_ in the castle of Edinburgh,
and that all his favourites should be instantly hanged over the bridge
of Lauder.
“Cochran, ignorant of their designs, at length left the royal presence
to proceed to the council. The earl was attended by three hundred men,
armed with light battle-axes, and distinguished by his livery of white
with black fillets. He was clothed in a riding cloak of black velvet,
and wore a large chain of gold around his neck; his horn of the chase,
or of battle, was adorned with gold and precious stones; and his
helmet, overlaid with the same valuable metal, was borne before him.
Approaching the door of the church, he commanded an attendant to knock
with authority; and Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven, who guarded the
passage, inquiring the name, was answered, ‘’Tis I, the Earl of Mar.’
Cochran and some of his friends were admitted. Angus advanced to him,
and pulling the golden chain from his neck, said, ‘A rope will become
thee better;’ while Douglas of Lochleven seized his hunting-horn,
declaring that he had been too long a hunter of mischief. Rather
astonished than alarmed, Cochran said: ‘My lords, is it jest or
earnest?’ To which it was replied, ‘It is good earnest, and so thou
shalt find it, for thou and thy accomplices have too long abused our
prince’s favour; but no longer expect such advantage, for thou and thy
followers shall now reap the deserved reward.’
“Having secured Mar, the lords dispatched some men-at-arms to the
king’s pavilion, conducted by two or three moderate leaders, who
amused James while their followers seized the favourites. Sir William
Roger, the English musician; Preston, a gentleman, Hommil, Torphichan,
Leonard, and others, were instantly hanged over the bridge at Lauder.
John Ramsay of Balmain having clasped the king’s person, was alone
spared. Cochran was now brought out, his hands bound with a rope, and
thus conducted to the bridge, and hanged above his companions.”
Even the privilege of being hanged with one of the silken cords of his
pavilion was denied him; and his making such a request Pinkerton
attributes to “weak pride,” though it certainly looked more like “cool
pride,” which would not condescend to beg life, and only asked to die
like a gentleman.
Much in the same spirit, but showing the abilities of the man, are the
following extracts from “A Detection of the Falsehood, Abuse, and
Misrepresentations in a late Libel, entitled, The Life of Sir Robert
Cochrane, Prime Minister in Scotland to James the Third.”
“This COCHRAN, [Sir Robert] according to the greatest of the Scottish
Writers, lived at a Time when a Faction in England made War on their
lawful Sovereign, and imposed it on the King by Force of Arms, that he
should bear the Name and Ensigns, or Badges of a King, but the Power
of the Government should be in the heads of their Faction, against
which Violence and Tyranny the Queen drew the Sword for her Husband’s
(Henry the 6th) Deliverance with such Vigour and Success, as rescued
him from his Enemies, slew their Chiefs in Battle, destroyed two
Armies, gaining two compleat Victories; and even when Fortune deserted
this masculine Princess, in her final Overthrow Six and thirty
thousand men were slain before she lost the Field.
“These were the Times when Cochran became the Minion of the King of
Scotland, who departing from the Counsels of his ancient Servants, and
withdrawing Himself from the Nobility, chose mean and infamous Persons
to be the Companions of his Pleasures, and the Advisers of his Reign.
“Of these one _Preston_ was Chief, though born of a better Family than
any of his Comrades, who abandoned himself to indulge the King’s
Humour in all Things. And COCHRAN came next, who, of a Builder was
instantly made Courtier! History describes Him as a Man of great
Bodily Strength, and of equal Impudence! who, making Himself known to
the King by a Duel which He fought, was admitted at Court with great
Expectations of Advancement. Having been employ’d in Matters of small
Concern, which He performed with great Application, and insinuating
Himself into the King’s Favour by constant Assiduity, He became
immediately advised with in the most important and the most intimate
Councils of the Kingdom. Preston upon this made Him his Son, by giving
him his Daughter in Marriage[9]....”
-----
Footnote 9:
Buchanan speaks of Preston’s alliance with Cochran as “one solicited
to strengthen himself, which was not the cause but the effect of
Cochran’s power at Court.... Again, the immediate Acquisition of Crown
Lands which rendered Cochran most odious, is highly spoken of,
notwithstanding that he obtained a Grant of the Lands belonging to a
Prince of the Blood, even the Revenue of an Earl! and by such Grants
_outvied the Splendour of the ancient Nobility_! who beheld Persons of
the meanest extraction eclipse them in Lustre!”
-----
To return to the descendants of the murdered minister:—
“This Allan (son of the murdered Robert), in 1452, is witness to the
mortification which Robert Lord Lyle made to the abbot and conventual
brethren of the monastery of Paisley, of the fishing on the river of
Clyde, at the place called Crokatshot, for the help of their prayers
to advance his spiritual estate, in which deed he is designated
Allanus Cochran, Armiger, his father being then alive, and to whom he
succeeded before the 1480. He married ..., daughter of ..., by whom he
had Robert, a son, who was father of John Cochran of that Ilk, who
immediately succeeded his grandfather upon his death.
“Which John, for some consideration I know not, obtained a licence
from his sovereign Lord King James IV. under the Great Seal, impouring
him to dispose of either his lands of Easter Cochran in Renfrewshire,
or his lands of Pitfour in Perthshire. Accordingly, he alienated a
part of his lands of Cochran to James Archbishop of Glasgow, Anno
1519; to which deed he appends his seal, the impression bearing _three
Boars’ Heads eraz’d_, and circumscribed _Sigillum Johannis de
Cochran_. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John Simple of Fullwood,
who bore him a son, John, who was served and retourned heir to his
father on the 12th of May, 1539; he, dying in the 1557, left issue by
Mary, his wife, daughter of Lindsay of Dunrod, _in Vicecomitatu de
Renfrew_, a son,
“William, who succeeded him. In 1593, he erected from the foundation
at Cochran, the ancient seat of his family, a very high tower of
free-stone, and adorned it with large plantations; he marrying
Margaret, daughter of Robert Montgomery of Skelmurly, _in Vicecomitatu
de Air_, by Mary, his wife, daughter of Robert, Lord Semple, had a
daughter Elizabeth, his sole heir.
“He wisely considering the proper way of supporting his family was to
settle his daughter in his own time, and declining to marry her into a
richer family than his son, he made a prudent and discreet match for
her with Alexander Blair, a younger son of an ancient and genteel
family in Airshire, whose ancestors had been seated in the country
aforesaid for many ages before, so that beside a noble alliance, and a
competent patrimony, he yielded to change his name to Cochran, which
was almost the only condition the old gentleman required. This
Alexander, so taking upon him the surname of Cochran, was a virtuous
and frugal man, and studied as much the good of the family as if he
himself had been born the heir thereof. In 1622, he acquired the lands
of Cowdoun with an intention to unite them to the ancient patrimonial
inheritance of Cochran; but he afterwards sold them to Sir William,
his second son, as a fund to provide his younger children; for,
besides Sir John, his eldest son, he had six other sons, and two
daughters:
“Sir William Cochran of Cowdoun.
“Alexander, a colonel in the king’s service, in the wars of Ireland,
which commenced in 1641, with the murder of upwards of fifty thousand
Scots and English by the native Irish.
“Hugh, author of the branch of Fergusly; he was a colonel, first under
the renoun’d Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden, and afterward to King
Charles I. in the time of the Civil War in Ireland.
“Bryse, a colonel in the time of the Civil War, who lost his life in
the king’s service, Anno 1650.
“Captain Ochter Cochran.
“Gavin Cochran of Craigmure, was the seventh and youngest son.
“Elizabeth, married to John Lennox of Woodhead in Stirlingshire.
“Grisel, to Thomas Dunlop of Housle.
“Which Sir John, in the time of the unhappy Civil War in Britain,
firmly adhered to the interest of King Charles I. and had a colonel’s
commission in the army. In the year 1644, he was sent ambassador to
several princes to solicit their assistance in his Majesty’s behalf,
which he performed with such diligence and conduct, that in the treaty
of peace which was set on foot betwixt the king and the Parliament of
England and the Estates of Scotland, Anno 1646, he was, together with
the Marquis of Huntly and Montrose, the Earls of Nithsdale, Crawfurd,
Traquair, &c. proposed to be excepted from the king’s pardon, which
his Majesty generously refused. Upon the murder of the king, he
attended King Charles II. into foreign parts, and in the 1650 was sent
into Poland to crave aid of the Scots merchants there; but before his
return the king and the Scots army were defeated at Worcester; he
continuing with the king during his exile, dyed about the time of the
Restoration, without issue; so that his next brother, Sir William,
became his heir.
“Which Sir William was very carefully educated in grammar learning in
his youth, whence he was removed to the university; where having
applied himself indefatigably to his studies, and highly improved his
natural endowments with academical learning, he removed from thence
after he had taken the degree of Master of Arts, and studied our laws;
in which profession he attained to an uncommon perfection. Soon after
his entering on the stage of business, he became much famed for his
prudent management and conduct, by which he acquired a fair estate,
both in the shires of Renfrew and Air, for the last of which he had
the honour to serve as a member in the Parliament, 1647, wherein his
abilities were soon discovered by the great and leading men of the
House, and he showed himself, thro' the course of the sitting of that
Parliament, a good and even patriot, wholly intent upon the honour and
safety of the king, whose interest he did visibly advance, and the
welfare and tranquillity of the nation then in no small ferment.”
On the visit of Charles I. to his Scottish dominions in 1641, for the
purpose of allaying the hostile feelings which his arbitrary acts had
there excited, Sir William Cochrane of Cowden had sufficient influence
to be instrumental in reconciling the monarch and his angry subjects;
together with sufficient substance and loyalty to minister to the
necessities of his sovereign. For these and other services Sir William
was at this time elevated to the peerage under the title of Lord
Cochrane of Cowden; the gratitude of Charles, however, not being openly
manifested until some years afterwards a prisoner in Carisbrook
Castle.[10]
-----
Footnote 10:
That the peerage was considered to have been conferred in 1641,
appears from a subsequent order of Charles II. for the elevation of
Lord Cochrane to the Earldom of Dundonald (see p. 22); but for some
cause or other the making out of the patent had been neglected or
omitted till 1647. It would almost seem that Charles, whilst a
prisoner at Carisbrook had some presentiment of his approaching fate,
and had hastened to remedy the neglect before it was too late.
-----
As this circumstance is, to the best of my knowledge, unique, and is at
variance with the statements of some Scottish genealogists, who give the
date of the letters-patent as at Scarborough, Dec. 27, 1647, an extract
from the “Acts” of the Privy Council in Edinburgh, confirming the
original patent, may be gratifying to the historian.
“_At Edinburgh, the 1st day of April, 1648._
“The which day and year of our Lord, at his Majesty’s Privy Council,
John Earl of Crafurd and Lindsay produced a patent under his Majesty’s
Great Seal, dated at Carisbrook, the 26th day of December, 1647—by
which his Majesty, considering the faithfulness and good affection of
Sir William Cochran of Cowden towards his Majesty’s service—and his
Majesty being willing, for his further encouragement to continue
therein, to bestow some token of his royal favor on him, hath given
and granted to the said Sir William Cochrane and his heirs male
lawfully begotten, the title and dignity of a Lord of Parliament
within this kingdom, to be called in all time coming Lord Cochrane of
Dundonald, and to have exercise, and enjoy all the privileges,
liberties, and pre-eminences belonging thereto, &c. &c. In token
whereof, Archibald Marquis of Argyll, President of the Council at this
time deliberate—in the name of Lord Cochrane—received the same on his
knees,” &c. &c.—_Extractum de Libris Actorum._