page_title: Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet
section_title: French Revolutionary Wars
hierarchical_section_title: Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet / French Revolutionary Wars
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Miss Philadelphia Rowley, Angleterre ca1783. Exposée au musée Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbonne.
context_page_description: Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet 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.
context_section_description: In England, Cotton settled at Madingley 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.
caption: Miss Philadelphia Rowley, Thomas Gainsborough (ca 1783)
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