03361cam a22003733u 4500 77060 UtSlPG 20260610134802.0 m cr n 260607r20251859utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 DA Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, Earl of, 1775-1860 The autobiography of a seaman (volume 1 of 2) Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Compiled by G. B. Earp from oral or written material furnished by Lord Dundonald and his secretary, William Jackson. Release date is 2025-10-15 MWS, KD Weeks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) // first edit: 9/5/2025 "The autobiography of a seaman (volume 1 of 2)" by Earl of Thomas Cochrane Dundonald is a naval autobiography written in the mid-19th century. It charts the celebrated but contentious career of a British admiral known for daring operations, outspoken reformism, and political battles, set chiefly against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. This first volume focuses on his early life, family background, formative service, and the lead-up to the celebrated but disputed action at Aix Roads, alongside his criticisms of naval administration. The opening of the work presents a dedication to the Westminster electors and a forthright preface outlining its scope: service up to the Basque Roads attack, the ensuing court-martial of Lord Gambier, years of exclusion from command, and eventual restorations of rank and honours. Cochrane thanks prominent supporters (notably the Marquis of Lansdowne and Lord Brougham) and credits his wife’s direct appeal to the sovereign for a key turn in his fate, then states a “moral” about the personal costs of truth-telling and reform. An introductory chapter traces the Dundonald lineage—from medieval Cochranes and the rise and fall of Robert Cochran under James III, through staunch Stuart loyalties, civil-war entanglements, and the family’s elevation—before turning to the author’s own beginnings. Chapter I sketches his 1775 birth, the loss of ancestral estates, and his father’s scientific ventures (soda, alumina, British gum, sal ammoniac, white lead, and coal-tar/coke), including an early, accidental demonstration of coal-gas illumination later developed by others; these pursuits, though inventive, ruined the family finances and delayed his entry into the navy. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: London: Richard Bentley, 1859 Admirals -- Great Britain -- Biography Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, Earl of, 1775-1860 Great Britain -- History, Naval -- 19th century Earp, George Butler Jackson, William, active 1784?-1862 https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofs01dund https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofs_02dund https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77060 117784 117784