Vice Admiral Alexander F.I. Cochrane

North American station, the Channel Fleet, the Quiberon Bay and Ferrol expeditions, and the landings in Egypt.
From 1800 to 1806, he combined naval command with service in Parliment. Peace in 1802 saw a brief lull in his active service, but he was recalled in 1803 when hostilities resumed. He became a rear admiral in 1804, commanding the squadron off Ferrol.

In 1805, Cochrane was sent to the Caribbean in pursuit of a French naval squadron, then was made commander-in-chief at the Leeward Islands. For his performance as second in command at the battle of St. Domingo the following year, he was created a knight of the Order of the Bath. In 1810, he became governor of Guadeloupe.

By the time Cochrane was appointed to command the newly-defined North American station in 1814, he had already distinguished himself in the service of his country. He wasted no time issuing a proclamation aimed largely at black slaves, inviting Americans to join the British forces or be relocated in Canada or the Caribbean. Some 300 former slaves eventually served with the British in the Chesapeake Bay area. Americans authorities accused him of trying to foment a slave revolt.

When Gen. Sir George Prevost asked Cochrane to raid American coastal towns in retaliation for American depredation in Canada, he was quick to do so. After receiving some 5,000 marines and veteran soldiers from the Duke of Wellington's campaigns, he resolved to send 4,500 of them on a quick dash on Washington, D.C. under Maj. Gen.Robert Ross. After the burning of Washington, he next sent Ross on a similar expedition to Baltimore while he sailed his lighter ships up the Patapsco River. When Ross was killed and Cochrane's own bombardment of Fort McHenry failed, the combined British forces retreated. While awaiting a replacement for Ross, he commenced the attack against New Orleans.

On December 14, Cochrane's forces captured the American gunboats on Lake Borgne. The British subsequently advanced through Bayou Bienvenu to within 7 miles of New Orleans by December 23. When the British attack on Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson's army ultimately failed, Cochrane withdrew with the rest of the British force. Thwarted at New Orleans, he helped to capture Fort Bowyer on February 11. After this, he heard of the war's end.

Returning to England after the war, Cochrane was promoted to admiral in 1819 but did not receive another command until he was made commander-in-chief at Plymouth in 1821.