Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, GCB, PC, FRS (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a Royal Navy officer and politician.

[4] He fought a gallant action with the Spanish frigate Santa Sabina in January 1797 and was present at the battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars.

[6] He proceeded to lead forces which cruised up and down the Chesapeake Bay and other parts of the Atlantic coast in 1813 and 1814, seizing American merchant shipping, disrupting U.S. commerce, and raiding local ports.

Historian Steve Vogel compared Cockburn's raids on U.S. interests along the Eastern Seaboard to Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War.

[9] The most important of Cockburn's involvements during the War was his role in the capture and burning of Washington on 24 August 1814, undertaken as an advisor to Major General Robert Ross.

[9] A CBC News article described General Ross as less optimistic than Cockburn, having "never dreamt for one minute that an army of 3,500 men with 1,000 marines reinforcement, with no cavalry, hardly any artillery, could march 50 miles inland and capture an enemy capital".

Ross decided instead to put only public buildings to the torch, including the White House and the United States Capitol, while sparing nearly all of the privately owned properties.

[14][15] Following the battle, Cockburn oversaw the destruction of the National Intelligencer newspaper's offices and printing house by his soldiers; he famously stated: "Be sure that all the C's are destroyed, so that the rascals cannot any longer abuse my name.

[28] After losing his seat in Parliament at the 1832 general election he returned to sea and became Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, hoisting his flag in the fourth-rate HMS Vernon, in December 1832.

[18] Promoted to full admiral on 10 January 1837,[29] he was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Ripon at a by-election in September 1841[30] and also became First Naval Lord again in the Second Peel ministry later that month.

[24] As First Sea Lord he ensured that the Navy had latest steam and screw technology and put emphasis of the ability to manage seamen without the need to resort to physical punishment.