Part 1
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THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN.
VOL. I.
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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]
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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.
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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]
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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