Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet (June 1753 – 23 February 1812) was a senior Royal Navy
officer of the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
whose service continued until his death in command of the Channel Fleet
from apoplexy
in 1812. During his service, Cotton saw action off the Eastern Seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies
and later at the Glorious First of June
. Cotton's most influential service was in 1809 when he planned and executed the evacuation of thousands of British soldiers from Corunna
after the disastrous collapse of the land campaign under Sir John Moore.
and Lincoln's Inn
before joining the Royal Navy
in 1772 as a midshipman
on HMS Deal Castle. In 1775, during the American Revolutionary War
, Cotton joined the frigate
HMS Niger and participated in the Boston campaign
in 1775 and Long Island
campaign in 1776. In 1777, Cotton took command of the floating battery HMS Vigilant off the Chesapeake
and supported the landing of British troops off the river. He was also promoted to lieutenant
during the campaign.
On 10 August 1779, Cotton was promoted to post captain aboard the ship of the line
HMS Boyne
and in her joined the fleet under Sir George Rodney in the West Indies. The following year, Cotton joined Rodney in action at the Battle of Martinique
, when the French and British fleets fought an inconclusive action off the island. Cotton then returned the aged Boyne to Britain where she was paid off and Cotton given the frigate HMS Alarm
which he returned to the West Indies. In 1782, Cotton commanded her at the Battle of the Saintes
as a repeating ship for Rodney's signals. After the peace of 1783, Cotton returned to Britain.
and married Philadelphia Rowley, daughter of Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley. The couple had four surviving children and settled into genteel retirement during the peace of the 1780s. In 1793, two weeks after the French Revolutionary Wars
broke out, Cotton was recalled to service in HMS Majestic
and joined the Channel Fleet
under Lord Howe
. In June 1794, Majestic was engaged at the Glorious First of June
where Cotton took a long-time to join the action, failing to reach the French until late in the engagement and taking possession of Sans Pareil
. Despite joining the fighting, Lord Howe omitted Cotton from his dispatch of the battle and as a result, Cotton was denied official recognition and did not receive the Gold Medal given to many of the officers present at the action.
Despite this snub, Cotton remained in service and in January 1795 inherited the baronetcy upon the death of his father. He moved to HMS Mars
and in June was with the fleet under William Cornwallis
at Cornwallis's action, when a squadron of British ships were overhauled by a much larger French fleet under Villaret de Joyeuse. Mars was badly damaged and fell behind the other ships. When Cornwallis turned to rescue Cotton, Villaret shied off, believing that Cornwallis had support over the horizon. Cotton and Cornwallis were both highly praised for this action.
In 1797, Cotton was promoted to rear-admiral and two years later hoisted his flag in HMS Prince
. In June 1799, Cotton pursued a French squadron from Brest
to the Mediterranean and there served under Lord Keith, unsuccessfully pursuing the same squadron on its return to Northern European waters. In 1802 he was promoted to vice-admiral and between 1802 and 1805 worked actively in the Channel Fleet to hinder and forestall French invasion plans against Britain.
and the collapse of French hopes of invasion, Cotton took command of several ships stationed off the Tagus
in Portugal
. After the French invasion of Iberia, Cotton closely supported the Portuguese defences and subsequently the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley
which fought at the Battle of Vimeiro
. Admiral Cotton, newly promoted, objected to the Convention of Sintra
which ended the campaign and refused to acknowledge the provision which allowed the blockaded Russian squadron in Lisbon
safe passage back to Russia. Maintaining the blockade over the objections of allies and enemies alike, Cotton eventually forced the Russian admiral
to agree to a revision of the treaty in which his ships remained legally Russian but would be held in a disarmed state in a British harbour for the duration of Anglo-Russian hostilities.
In 1808, Cotton remained off Portugal and arranged Lisbon as the principal harbour for the British invasion of Iberia later in the year. He also planned and executed the seaborne extraction of the 30,000 men of Sir John Moore's army trapped in Galicia. Cotton's plans allowed a fleet to transports to remove the vast majority of the army after they had defeated close French pursuit at the Battle of Corunna
. Late in the year, Cotton was recalled to Britain.
In 1810, Cotton was chosen as Lord Collingwood's replacement in command of the Mediterranean Fleet
after Collingwood's sudden death. This was the second most senior seagoing command in the Navy, and Cotton continued the close blockade of the French fleet in Toulon
and expanded operations from the sea against French troops operating in Southern Spain. In mid-1811, Cotton was recalled to Britain and took command of the Channel Fleet from Lord Gambier
on the latter's retirement. Cotton was in the post just five months when on 23 February 1812 he collapsed and died of apoplexy
in Plymouth
after inspecting the fleet in its winter berths.
Cotton was survived by his wife and four children, the eldest son becoming Sir St Vincent Cotton, 6th Baronet. Cotton was buried at Landwade church in Cambridgeshire
with his family raising a memorial to him in Madingley. His memorial by the monumental mason Flaxman was erected in the Cambridgeshire parish church.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer of the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
whose service continued until his death in command of the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
from apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
in 1812. During his service, Cotton saw action off the Eastern Seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
and later at the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
. Cotton's most influential service was in 1809 when he planned and executed the evacuation of thousands of British soldiers from Corunna
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
after the disastrous collapse of the land campaign under Sir John Moore.
Early career
Cotton was the third child of Sir John Hynde Cotton, 4th Baronet, MP and Anne Parsons, daughter of Humphrey Parsons, Lord Mayor of London. Cotton was educated at Westminster SchoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
before joining the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1772 as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
on HMS Deal Castle. In 1775, during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, Cotton joined the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Niger and participated in the Boston campaign
Boston campaign
The Boston campaign was the opening campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The campaign was primarily concerned with the formation of American colonial irregular militia units, and their transformation into a unified Continental Army...
in 1775 and Long Island
Battle of Long Island
The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict, and the...
campaign in 1776. In 1777, Cotton took command of the floating battery HMS Vigilant off the Chesapeake
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
and supported the landing of British troops off the river. He was also promoted to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
during the campaign.
On 10 August 1779, Cotton was promoted to post captain aboard the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
HMS Boyne
HMS Boyne (1766)
HMS Boyne was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1754, and launched on 31 May 1766.Boyne served until 1783, when she was broken up....
and in her joined the fleet under Sir George Rodney in the West Indies. The following year, Cotton joined Rodney in action at the Battle of Martinique
Battle of Martinique (1780)
The Battle of Martinique, also Combat de la Dominique, took place on April 17, 1780 during the American War of Independence in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.-Origins:...
, when the French and British fleets fought an inconclusive action off the island. Cotton then returned the aged Boyne to Britain where she was paid off and Cotton given the frigate HMS Alarm
HMS Alarm (1758)
HMS Alarm was a 32-gun fifth rate Niger-class frigate of the Royal Navy, and was the first Royal Navy ship to bear this name. Copper-sheathed in 1761, she was the first ship in the Royal Navy to have a fully copper-sheathed hull....
which he returned to the West Indies. In 1782, Cotton commanded her at the Battle of the Saintes
Battle of the Saintes
The Battle of the Saintes took place over 4 days, 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American War of Independence, and was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney over a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned...
as a repeating ship for Rodney's signals. After the peace of 1783, Cotton returned to Britain.
French Revolutionary Wars
In England, Cotton settled at MadingleyMadingley
Madingley is a village near Coton and Dry Drayton on the western outskirts of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Known as Madingelei in the Domesday Book, the village's name means "Woodland clearing of the family or followers of a man called Mada"....
and married Philadelphia Rowley, daughter of Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley. The couple had four surviving children and settled into genteel retirement during the peace of the 1780s. In 1793, two weeks after the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
broke out, Cotton was recalled to service in HMS Majestic
HMS Majestic (1785)
HMS Majestic was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched on 11 December 1785 at Deptford. She fought at the Battle of the Nile, where she engaged the French ships Tonnant and Heureux, helping to force their surrenders...
and joined the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
under Lord Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
. In June 1794, Majestic was engaged at the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
where Cotton took a long-time to join the action, failing to reach the French until late in the engagement and taking possession of Sans Pareil
French ship Sans Pareil
Five ships of the French Navy have born the name Sans Pareil :* Sans Pareil, a 62-gun ship of the line * Sans Pareil, a 50-gun ship of the line...
. Despite joining the fighting, Lord Howe omitted Cotton from his dispatch of the battle and as a result, Cotton was denied official recognition and did not receive the Gold Medal given to many of the officers present at the action.
Despite this snub, Cotton remained in service and in January 1795 inherited the baronetcy upon the death of his father. He moved to HMS Mars
HMS Mars (1794)
HMS Mars was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 October 1794 at Deptford Dockyard.-Career:In the early part of the French Revolutionary Wars she was assigned to the Channel Fleet. In 1797 under Captain Alexander Hood she was prominent in the Spithead mutiny...
and in June was with the fleet under William Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...
at Cornwallis's action, when a squadron of British ships were overhauled by a much larger French fleet under Villaret de Joyeuse. Mars was badly damaged and fell behind the other ships. When Cornwallis turned to rescue Cotton, Villaret shied off, believing that Cornwallis had support over the horizon. Cotton and Cornwallis were both highly praised for this action.
In 1797, Cotton was promoted to rear-admiral and two years later hoisted his flag in HMS Prince
HMS Prince (1788)
HMS Prince was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 4 July 1788 at Woolwich. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.-Life:...
. In June 1799, Cotton pursued a French squadron from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
to the Mediterranean and there served under Lord Keith, unsuccessfully pursuing the same squadron on its return to Northern European waters. In 1802 he was promoted to vice-admiral and between 1802 and 1805 worked actively in the Channel Fleet to hinder and forestall French invasion plans against Britain.
Napoleonic Wars
With the Battle of TrafalgarBattle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
and the collapse of French hopes of invasion, Cotton took command of several ships stationed off the Tagus
Tagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...
in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. After the French invasion of Iberia, Cotton closely supported the Portuguese defences and subsequently the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
which fought at the Battle of Vimeiro
Battle of Vimeiro
In the Battle of Vimeiro the British under General Arthur Wellesley defeated the French under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro , near Lisbon, Portugal during the Peninsular War...
. Admiral Cotton, newly promoted, objected to the Convention of Sintra
Convention of Sintra
The Convention of Cintra was an agreement signed on August 30, 1808 during the Peninsular War. By the agreement, the defeated French were allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict...
which ended the campaign and refused to acknowledge the provision which allowed the blockaded Russian squadron in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
safe passage back to Russia. Maintaining the blockade over the objections of allies and enemies alike, Cotton eventually forced the Russian admiral
Dmitry Senyavin
Dmitry Nikolayevich Senyavin or Seniavin was a Russian admiral who ranks among the greatest seamen of the Napoleonic Wars.- Service under Ushakov :...
to agree to a revision of the treaty in which his ships remained legally Russian but would be held in a disarmed state in a British harbour for the duration of Anglo-Russian hostilities.
In 1808, Cotton remained off Portugal and arranged Lisbon as the principal harbour for the British invasion of Iberia later in the year. He also planned and executed the seaborne extraction of the 30,000 men of Sir John Moore's army trapped in Galicia. Cotton's plans allowed a fleet to transports to remove the vast majority of the army after they had defeated close French pursuit at the Battle of Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
. Late in the year, Cotton was recalled to Britain.
In 1810, Cotton was chosen as Lord Collingwood's replacement in command of the Mediterranean Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
after Collingwood's sudden death. This was the second most senior seagoing command in the Navy, and Cotton continued the close blockade of the French fleet in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
and expanded operations from the sea against French troops operating in Southern Spain. In mid-1811, Cotton was recalled to Britain and took command of the Channel Fleet from Lord Gambier
James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty, but who gained notoriety for his actions at the Battle of the Basque Roads.-Early career:Gambier was born in New Providence, The...
on the latter's retirement. Cotton was in the post just five months when on 23 February 1812 he collapsed and died of apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
after inspecting the fleet in its winter berths.
Cotton was survived by his wife and four children, the eldest son becoming Sir St Vincent Cotton, 6th Baronet. Cotton was buried at Landwade church in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
with his family raising a memorial to him in Madingley. His memorial by the monumental mason Flaxman was erected in the Cambridgeshire parish church.