British Navy Admiral. His father was Thomas Cochrane, eighth Earl of Dundonald and an uncle to Lord Thomas Cochrane, tenth Earl of Dundonald. By the age of twelve he was a Lieutenant and the signal officer to Lord Rodney in battle against the French off Martinique in 1780. By 1782 he had been promoted to the rank of Post-Captain and was in command of the "HMS Caroline",employed on the American station. After American independence was won and peace established his occupation was ended and he entered retirement for a few years. He returned to service in 1790 when it appeared that there was going to be hostilities with Spain. In 1802 he returned to England, decided to enter politics, and was elected to Parliament. He lost the election in 1806 and returned to the naval forces. In March of 1806 he was created Knight of the Bath for his operations in the West Indies against the French and Spanish at San Domingo. During the War of 1812 he was able to establish an effective blockade of the American ports and virtually shut down all trade. After the British forces under General Robert Ross and Admiral George Cockburn successfully destroyed Washington DC, General Sir George Provost called upon Admiral Cochrane to shell Fort McHenry so that Ross and Cockburn might capture the wealth of goods that were stockpiled in Baltimore, Maryland. This was the battle that resulted in Francis Scott Key writing the "The Star Spangled Banner." The American forces were successful in their defense of Baltimore and the British forces were all forced to withdraw. In 1815 Cochrane was the leader of the British forces that were defeated in the Battle of New Orleans by General Andrew Jackson and his troops. Unbeknownst to either force, the war had already ended before the battle was fought. Cochrane returned to England and was promoted to full admiral in 1819 and was commander-in-chief at Plymouth from 1821 to 1824. He was with his daughter in Paris when he died.