Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

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The Battle of Copenhagen (also known as the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 7 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The incident led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian War of 1807, which ended with the Treaty of Örebro in 1812. The attack on Denmark, a neutral country, was heavily criticised in Danish sources.<ref>The Bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807; by Jens Rahbek Rasmussen; translated by David Frost, British Ambassador in Copenhagen</ref>

Britain's response to Napoleon's Continental System was to launch a naval attack on Denmark who had been breaking the blockade against Napoleon’s regime. Although neutral, Denmark continued to use their navy to trade under blockade and were under pressure to pledge its fleet to Napoleon. In September 1807, the Royal Navy bombarded Copenhagen, seizing the Danish fleet and assured use of the sea lanes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea for the British merchant fleet and reduced Napoleon’s influence in the Baltic. A consequence of the attack was that Denmark did join the Continental System and the war on the side of France, but without a fleet it had little to offer.<ref>A. N. Ryan, "The Causes of the British Attack upon Copenhagen in 1807." English Historical Review (1953): 37–55. in JSTOR</ref>

The attack gave rise to the term to Copenhagenize as a reference to the pre-emptive seizure of a nation's fleet while it was anchored.Template:Citation needed

Background

Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, Denmark-Norway, possessing Jutland, Norway, Greenland, Schleswig-Holstein, Iceland and several smaller territories, still maintained a considerable navy. The majority of the Danish Army, under the Crown Prince, was at this time defending the southern border against possible attack from the French.

There was concern in Britain that Napoleon might try to force Denmark to close the Baltic Sea to British ships, perhaps by marching French troops into Zealand. The British believed that access to the Baltic was "vitally important to Britain" for trade as well as a major source of necessary raw materials for building and maintaining warships and that it gave the Royal Navy access to help Britain's allies Sweden and (before Tilsit) Russia against France.Template:Sfn The British thought that after Prussia had been defeated in December 1806, Denmark's independence looked increasingly under threat from France. George Canning's predecessor as Foreign Secretary, Lord Howick, had tried unsuccessfully to persuade Denmark into a secret alliance with Britain and Sweden.Template:Sfn

On 21 January 1807, Lord Hawkesbury told the House of Lords that he had received information from someone on the Continent "that there were secret engagements in the Treaty of Tilsit to employ the navies of Denmark and Portugal against this country".Template:Sfn He refused to publish the source because he said it would endanger their lives.Template:Sfn

The reports of French diplomats and merchants in northern Europe made the British government uneasy, and by mid-July, the British believed that the French intended to invade Holstein in order to use Denmark against Britain. Some reports suggested that the Danes had secretly agreed to this. The Cabinet decided to act, and on 14 July Lord Mulgrave obtained from the King permission to send a naval force of 21 to 22 ships to the Kattegat for surveillance of the Danish navy in order to pursue "prompt and vigorous operations" if that seemed necessary. The Cabinet decided on 18 July to send Francis Jackson on a secret mission to Copenhagen to persuade Denmark to give its fleet to Britain. That same day, the Admiralty issued an order for more than 50 ships to sail for "particular service" under Admiral James Gambier. On 19 July, Lord Castlereagh, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, ordered General Lord Cathcart at Stralsund to go with his troops to the Sound where they would get reinforcements.Template:Sfn

During the night of 21/22 July, Canning received intelligence from Tilsit that Napoleon had tried to persuade Alexander I of Russia to form a maritime league with Denmark and Portugal against Britain. Spencer Perceval, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, wrote a memorandum setting out the government's case for sending forces to Copenhagen: "The intelligence from so many and such various sources" that Napoleon's intent was to force Denmark into war against Britain could not be doubted. "Nay, the fact that he has openly avowed such intention in an interview with the Emperor of Russia is brought to this country in such a way as it cannot be doubted. Under such circumstances it would be madness, it would be idiotic... to wait for an overt act".Template:Sfn Historian Hilary Barnes notes that Canning had no knowledge of the secret articles of the Treaty of Tilsit. He argues that Canning's decision was "rash, calamitous, and lacking in understanding of the Danes and of Danish foreign policy."<ref>Hilary Barnes, "Canning and the Danes, 1807" History Today (Aug 1965) 15#8 pp. 530–538.</ref>

The British assembled a force of 25,000 troops, and the vanguard sailed on 30 July; Jackson set out the next day. Canning offered Denmark a treaty of alliance and mutual defence, with a convention signed for the return of the fleet after the war, the protection of 21 British warships and a subsidy for how many soldiers Denmark kept standing. On 31 July, Napoleon ordered Talleyrand to tell Denmark to prepare for war against Britain or else Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte would invade Holstein.Template:Sfn Neither Talleyrand nor Jackson persuaded the Danes to end their neutrality, so Jackson went back to the British fleet assembled in the Sound on 15 August. The British published a proclamation demanding the deposit of the Danish fleet; the Danes responded with "what amounted to a declaration of war".Template:Sfn

As the first move in the campaign a division of twenty-nine vessels under Commodore Richard Goodwin Keats was detached to the great belt with instructions to seal the island of Zealand off from Funen and the west. Within a week some 200 miles of coast had been secured and the Danish army in Holstein prevented from passing into Zealand to lend support. The city of Copenhagen was left to its own resources to defend itself from a British force of 25,000.Template:Sfn

On 12 August, the 32-gun Danish frigate Friderichsværn sailed for Norway from Elsinor. Admiral Lord Gambier sent the 74-gun third-rate Template:HMS and the 22-gun sixth-rate Template:HMS after her, even though war had not yet been declared.Template:Sfn Comus was much faster than Defence in the light winds and so outdistanced her. On 15 August, Comus caught Friderichsværn off Marstrand and captured her.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Ludvig Flamand, Kjøbenhavns Bombardement 1807, Copenhagen, 1860, pp. 27–28 Template:Webarchive. In Danish.</ref>Template:Sfn The British took her into service as HMS Frederikscoarn.

Bombardment

Topographical map of Copenhagen and its surroundings showing the layout of the city and the British positions during the siege

The British troops under General Lord Cathcart were organised as follows:Template:Sfn

The Danish forces in the city amounted to 5,000 regular troops and a similar number of militias. Most of the civilian inhabitants of Copenhagen were evacuated in the few days before Copenhagen was completely invaded.Template:Sfn

On 26 August, General Wellesley was detached with his reserve and two light brigades of British artillery, as well as one battalion, eight squadrons and one troop of horse artillery from the King's German Legion (KGL) to disperse a force which had been sent to relieve the beleaguered city. On 29 August, at the rivulet of Køge, this significant British force swiftly overpowered the Danish troops, which amounted to only three or four regular battalions and some cavalry (see Battle of Køge).Template:Sfn

The Danes rejected British demands,<ref>London Gazette issue 16062 page 1153 −4 dated 5 September 1807</ref> so the Royal Navy fleet under the command of Admiral Gambier bombarded the city from 2 to 5 September. In addition to the military casualties incurred by the Danish army, the bombardment killed roughly 195 civilians and injured 768.<ref>Template:Harvnb cites Template:Harvnb</ref>

The bombardment included 300 Congreve rockets, which caused fires.Template:Efn Due to the civilian evacuation, the normal firefighting arrangements were ineffective; over a thousand buildings were burned.<ref>Template:Harvnb cites Template:Harvnb</ref>

On 5 September, the Danes sued for peace, and the capitulation was signed on 7 September. Denmark agreed to surrender its navy and its naval stores. In return, the British undertook to leave Copenhagen within six weeks.Template:Citation needed

Ernst Peymann, the Danish Commander, had been under orders from the Crown Prince to burn the Danish fleet,Template:Sfn which he failed to do, though the reason for his failure is unknown.Template:Efn

Thus, on 7 September Peymann surrendered the fleet (eighteen ships of the line, eleven frigates, two smaller ships, two ship-sloops, seven brig-sloops, two brigs, one schooner and twenty-six gunboats). In addition, the British broke up or destroyed three 74-gun ships of the line on the stocks, along with two of the ships-of-the-fleet and two elderly frigates.Template:Citation needed

After her capture, one ex-Danish ship of the line, Neptunos, ran aground and was burnt on or near the island of Hven. Then, when a storm arose in the Kattegat, the British destroyed or abandoned twenty-three of the captured gunboats. The British added the fifteen captured ships of the line that reached Britain to the British Navy but only four—Christian VII 80, Dannemark 74, Norge 74 and Princess Carolina 74—saw subsequent active service.Template:Sfn

On 21 October, the British fleet left Copenhagen for the United Kingdom. However, the war continued until 1814, when the Treaty of Kiel was signed.Template:Citation needed

Aftermath

A so-called offermønt used for financing the rebuilding of a Danish fleet

The news of what happened did not reach Canning until 16 September. He wrote to Rev. William Leigh: "Did I not tell you we would save Plumstead from bombardment?" One week later he wrote: "Nothing ever was more brilliant, more salutary or more effectual than the success [at Copenhagen]" and Perceval expressed similar sentiments.Template:Sfn The Times said that the confiscation of the Danish fleet was "a bare act of self-preservation" and noticed the short distance between Denmark and Ireland or north-east Scotland. William Cobbett in his Political Register wrote that it was "vile mockery" and "mere party cavilling" to claim that Denmark had the means to preserve her neutrality. MP William Wilberforce said the expedition could be defended on grounds of self-defence. Thomas Grenville wrote to his brother Lord Grenville that he could not help feeling "that in their [the government's] situation we should very probably have given the same order without being able to publish to Parliament the grounds on which we had believed in the hostile mind of Denmark".Template:Sfn Lord Erskine condemned it by saying "if hell did not exist before, Providence would create it now to punish ministers for that damnable measure".Template:Citation needed

The opposition claimed the national character was stained and Canning read out in Parliament the previous administration's plans in 1806 to stop the Portuguese navy falling into the hands of France. Canning and Castlereagh wished to hold Zealand and suggested that when the British evacuated it as part of the peace they should immediately occupy it again. This was strongly opposed by Sir Arthur Wellesley, however, and it did not happen.Template:Sfn The opposition claimed that the attack had turned Denmark from a neutral into an enemy. Canning replied by saying that the British were already hated throughout Europe and so Britain could wage an "all-out maritime war" against France without worrying who they were going to upset.Template:Sfn

The opposition did not at first table a vote of censure on the battle and instead, on 3 February 1808, demanded the publication of all the letters sent by the British envoy in Denmark on information regarding the war-readiness of the Danish navy. Canning replied with a three-hour speech which Lord Palmerston described as "so powerful that it gave a decisive turn to the debate". The three motions on this subject were heavily defeated and on 21 March the opposition tabled a direct motion of censure on the battle. It was defeated by 224 votes to 64 after Canning made a speech "very witty, very eloquent and very able".Template:Sfn

The British bombardment frustrated the first attempt to publish a modern edition of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf as the subsequent fire destroyed the 20-year work of scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin. Two manuscripts, however, were recovered and Thorkelin eventually published the poem in 1815.Template:Sfn

A horse foaled in 1808 (the year following the battle) was named "Copenhagen" in its honour, and was eventually sold to Wellesley and became his favoured mount, most notably at the Battle of Waterloo.

Danish privateers

Within one week of the British forces departing Copenhagen, King Christian VII's government promulgated the Danish Privateers Regulations (1807). Denmark was now at war with Britain, and a part of the Anglo-Danish conflict would be taken up by privateers.<ref>Historiens Verden</ref> Kaperbreve (letters of marque) were issued in Denmark and Norway<ref>Norwegian History website</ref> from 1807 to 1813—copies of original letters of marque for the two ships Odin and Norges Statholder are included in this reference. Danish shipping companies donated suitable ships (brigs, schooners and galleases) to the state which could then equip the ships for their new privateering role. One such ship was the brig Admiral Juel<ref>Marcussen</ref> which ranged the North Sea before her capture by the British off Scarborough.<ref name=LG16124>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Ships involved

One hundred and twenty-six ships, large and small, were involved at Copenhagen, included those named below.<ref>London Gazette Issue 16275 page 1103 – names listed alphabetically</ref>
In addition to those named here, there were another three dozen smaller frigates, sloops, bomb vessels, gun-brigs and schooners (e.g. HMS Rook attached to the British fleet), and a very large number of merchant or requisitioned ships carrying troops or supplies.Template:Efn

The following ships sailed with Gambier from England on 26 July 1807:Template:Citation needed

The following vessels joined on 5 August off Helsingør:

The following further vessels joined on 7 August off Helsingør:Template:Citation needed

The following vessels joined on 8 August or later:Template:Citation needed

Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart arrived in the Africaine on 12 August to take command of the ground forces.Template:Citation needed

Ships surrendered

The fleet leaves the harbor for the last time (Christian Mølsted, 1919)

The Danes surrendered the following warships on 7 September under the terms of the capitulation following the attack:Template:Efn

Ships of the line

  • Christian den Syvende 84 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Christian VII 80
  • Neptunus (80) – sailed for Britain but wrecked and burned en route
  • Valdemar (80) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Waldemar 80
  • Danmark (76) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Danmark 74
  • Norge (78) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Norge 74
  • Fyen (70) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Fyen 74
  • Kronprins Friderich (70) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Kron Princen 74
  • Tre Kroner (74) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Tree Kronen 74
  • Arveprins Friderich (70) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Heir Apparent Frederick 74
  • Skjold (70) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Skiold 74
  • Odin (74) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Odin 74
  • Justitia (74) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Justitia 74
  • Kronprinsesse Maria (70) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Kron Princessen 74
  • Prindsesse Sophia Frederica (74) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Princess Sophia Frederica 74
  • Prindsesse Caroline (66) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Princess Carolina 74
  • Ditsmarsken (64) – not sailed to Britain; deemed useless and burnt
  • Mars (64) – not sailed to Britain; deemed useless and burnt on Saltholm
  • Sejeren (64) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Syeren 64

Frigates

  • Perlen 46 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Perlen 38
  • Rota 40 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Rota 38
  • Freja 40 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Freya 36
  • Iris 40 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Iris 36
  • Najaden 44 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Nyaden 36
  • Havfruen 40 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Hasfruen 36
  • Nymfen 36 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Nymphen 36
  • Venus 36 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Venus 36
  • Friderichsstein 26 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as HMS Frederickstein 32
  • St Thomas 22 – not sailed to Britain, but deemed useless and burnt
  • Triton 24 (+6 howitzers) – not sailed to Britain, but deemed useless and burnt on Saltholm or the Swedish coast
  • Lille Belt 20 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Template:HMS 20
  • Fylla 22 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Fylla 20
  • Eyderen 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Eyderen 18
  • Elven 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Elvin 18
  • Glückstadt 12 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Gluckstadt 16

Brigs

  • Template:Ship 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as HMS Nid Elven 16
  • Sarpen 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Sarpen 18
  • Glommen 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Glommen 16
  • Mercurius 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Template:HMS 16
  • Delphinen 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Template:HMS 16
  • Allart 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Allart 16
  • Brevdrageren 18 – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Template:HMS 12
  • Flyvende Fiske 14 (brig-rigged cutter) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Template:HMS 14
  • Ørnen 10 (schooner) – sailed to Britain, added to Royal Navy as Template:HMS 12

Gunboats

There were a further 25 gunboats similar to the Stege, of which 23 were lost in the October storm in the KattegatTemplate:Sfn or destroyed rather than sailed to Britain. These lost were:

  • Aalborg, Arendal, Assens, Christiansund, Flensborg, Frederiksund, Helsingør, Kallundborg, Langesund, Nakskov, Middelfart, Odense, Roskilde, Rødbye, Saltholmen, Staværn, Svendborg and Wiborg.
  • The Norwegians or Danes recovered and returned to naval service six gunboats (Faaborg, Holbek, Kjerteminde, Nestved, Nysted and Nykjøbing) abandoned or stranded in the Kattegat.
  • Stubbekjøbing had been destroyed at Svanemølle Bay on 26 August by mortar fire from the land.

Gun barges

Four barges (stykpram), floating gun platforms each with 20 cannon, were incapable of being moved far and so the British scuttled the barges during their brief occupation of Copenhagen. Of these four barges (Hajen, Kiempen, Lindormen and Sværdfisken) only Hajen was not raised and refurbished by the Danes after the British departure. A further "unsinkable" floating battery (Flaadebatteri No 1) of twenty-four 24-pound cannon was rendered inoperable and decommissioned the following year.Template:Efn

See also

Notes

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Citations

Template:Reflist

References

The following website in Danish or in English gives the list of ships, as recorded by the Danes, "forcefully taken" by the British in September 1807 at Copenhagen. The references, in Danish, are as follows

Further reading

Template:Sequence Template:Napoleonic WarsTemplate:Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of LiverpoolTemplate:Authority control

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