Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet (June 1753 – 23 February 1812) 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.

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.

Cotton was educated at Westminster School and Lincoln's Inn before joining the Royal Navy in 1772 as a midshipman on HMS Deal Castle.

[1] On 10 August 1779, Cotton was promoted to post captain aboard the ship of the line HMS Boyne and in her joined the fleet under Sir George Rodney in the West Indies.

[1] 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 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.

After the French invasion of Iberia, Cotton closely supported the Portuguese defences and subsequently, the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley which fought at the Battle of Vimeiro.

Admiral Cotton, newly promoted, objected to the Convention of Sintra which ended the campaign and refused to acknowledge the provision which allowed the blockaded Russian squadron in Lisbon safe passage back to Russia.

Cotton's plans allowed a fleet to transport to remove the vast majority of the army after they had defeated close French pursuit at the Battle of Corunna.