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Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

The Second Battle of Copenhagen, (16 August - 5 September 1807) was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Danish fleet.

Background

Denmark was a greater European power than today, possessing the province of Holstein (currently part of Germany) and all of Norway. At this time most of the Danish army under the Crown Prince was defending the southern border against possible attack from the French; thus the defence of Copenhagen was extremely limited.

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. 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.

The reports of British diplomats and merchants in northern Europe made the British government feel uneasy and by mid-July the British believed that the French intended to invade Holstein in order to use Denmark against Britain. Some reports had suggested 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 convince 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 the 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.

In January 1808 Lord Hawkesbury told the House of Lords that he 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". He refused to publish the source because he said it would endanger their life. During the night of 21/22 July Canning was sent 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 E[mperor] of R[ussia] 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".

25,000 troops were put together and the first contingent sailed on 30 July, with Jackson travelling 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 and the protection of 21 British warships with a subsidy for how many soldiers Denmark kept standing. On 31 July Napoleon ordered Talleyrand to tell Denmark to prepare for war against Britain otherwise Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte would invade Holstein. Neither Talleyrand nor Jackson convinced 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".

Battle

British troops commanded by General Wellesley defeated weak Danish forces near the town of Køge, south of Copenhagen. Within a few days, Copenhagen was completely encircled. The Danes rejected British demands to surrender, so the British fleet under Admiral Gambier bombarded the city from 2 September to 5 September, 1807. On 7 September 1807, Danish General Peymann surrendered both the city and 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) to the overwhelming British and Hanoverian (the King's German Legion) force under General Lord Cathcart. In addition, three 74-gun ships-of-the-line on the stocks were broken up or destroyed, along with two of the aforementioned ships-of-the-fleet and two elderly frigates.

The British fired 5,000 rounds into Copenhagen on the first night of bombardment, only 2,000 rounds into the city on the second night, and 7,000 rounds on the third night. More than 2,000 civilians were killed and 30% of the buildings were destroyed during the battle. The bombardment had included Congreve Rockets, which caused fires. On 5 September the Danes sued for peace and it was signed on 7 September. Denmark agreed to give up their navy and naval stores in return for Britain to leave Copenhagen within six weeks. On 21 October 1807, the British fleet left Copenhagen for England. The war continued up to 1814, when the Treaty of Kiel was signed.

Peymann was under orders from the Crown Prince to burn the Danish fleet, as the Danish king at this time was not mentally stable. No one really knows why the fleet was not burned. After capture, one ex-Danish ship-of-the-line, Neptunos, ran aground and was burnt on or near the island of Hven, and when a storm arose in the Kattegat twenty-three of the captured gunboats similarly had to be destroyed or abandoned. Of the fifteen ships-of-the-line which reached England, all were added to the British Navy but only four — Christian VII 80, Dannemark 74, Norge 74 and Princess Carolina 74 — saw subsequent active service.

Aftermath

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. 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. William Wilberforce MP 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". Lord Erskine condemned it by saying "if hell did not exist before, Providence would create it now to punish ministers for that d—able measure".

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. The opposition claimed that the attack had turned Denmark from a neutral into an enemy. Canning replied by saying that the British were hated throughout Europe and so Britain could wage an "all-out maritime war" against France without worrying who they were going to upset.

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". Lord Howick said the speech was "eloquent and powerful" but that it was an "audacious misrepresentation" and "positive falsehood" of the correspondence between himself and Benjamin Garlike. 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".

The ships involved

The following ships sailed with Gambier from England on 26th July 1807:
Prince of Wales 98 (flag of Admiral James Gambier, 1st Captain Sir Home Riggs Popham, 2nd Captain Adam Mackenzie)
Pompee 74 (Vice-Admiral Henry Edwyn Stanhope, Captain Richard Dacres)
Centaur 74 (Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, Captain William Henry Webley)
Ganges 74 (Commodore Richard Goodwin Keats, Captain Peter Halkett)
Alfred 74 (Captain John Bligh)
Brunswick 74 (Captain Thomas Graves)
Captain 74 (Captain Isaac Wolley)
Goliath 74 (Captain Peter Puget)
Hercule 74 (Captain John Colville)
Maida 74 (Captain Samuel Hood Linzee)
Orion 74 (Captain Sir Archibald Collingwood Dickson)
Resolution 74 (Captain George Burlton)
Spencer 74 (Captain Robert Stopford)
Vanguard 74 (Captain Alexander Fraser)
Dictator 64 (Captain Donald Campbell)
Nassau 64 (Captain Robert Campbell)
Ruby 64 (Captain John Draper)
Sibylle 38 (Capt. Clotworthy Upton)
Franchise 36 (Capt. Charles Dashwood)
Nymphe 36 (Capt. Conway Shipley)
The following vessels joined on 5th August off Helsingor:
Superb 74 (Captain Donald M'Leod)
The following further vessels joined on 7th August off Helsingor:
Minotaur 74 (Rear-Admiral William Essington, Captain Charles John Moore Mansfield)
Valiant 74 (Captain James Young)
Inflexible 64 (Captain Joshua Rowley Watson)
Leyden 64 (Captain William Cumberland)
The following vessels joined on 8th August or later:
Defence 74 (Captain Charles Ekins)
Mars 74 (Captain William Lukin)
Agamemnon 64 (Captain Jonas Rose)
Africaine 32 (Capt. Richard Raggett)
Note that Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart arrived in the Africaine on 12th August to take command of the ground forces.
In addition, there were another three dozen smaller frigates, sloops, bomb vessels and gun-brigs attached to the British fleet, and a very large number of merchant or requisitioned ships carrying troops or supplies.

The ships surrendered

The following Danish warships were surrendered on 7th September under the terms of the capitulation following the attack:
Christian den Syvende 84 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Christian VII 80
Neptunos 80 - sailed for Britain, but wrecked en route.
Waldemar 80 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Waldemar 80
Danmark 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Danmark 74
Norge 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Norge 74
Fyen 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Fyen 74
Kronprinds Friderich 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Kron Princen 74
Tre Kroner 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Tree Kronen 74
Arveprinds Friderich 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Heir Apparent Frederick 74
Skjold 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Skiold 74
Odin 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Odin 74
Justitia 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Justitia 74
Kronprindsesse Maria 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Kron Princessen 74
Prindsesse Sophia Friderica 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Princess Sophia Frederica 74
Prindsesse Caroline 74 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Princess Carolina 74
(Note a sistership of this vessel, the Prinds Christian Friderick, was not present at Copenhagen at the time of the assault, but was captured and burnt by the British Navy on 23 March 1808.)
Dittsmarschen 64 - not sailed to Britain, but deemed useless and burnt.
Mars 64 - not sailed to Britain, but deemed useless and burnt.
Seijeren 64 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Syeren 64
Paerlen 38 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Perlen 38
Rota 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Rota 38
Havfruen 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Hasfruen 36
Freja 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Freya 36
Iris 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Iris 36
Najaden 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Nyaden 36
Havfruen 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Hasfruen 36
Nymfen 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Nymphen 36
Venus 36 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Venus 36
Frederichsteen 26 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Frederickstein 32
St Thomas 22 - not sailed to Britain, but deemed useless and burnt.
Triton 22 - not sailed to Britain, but deemed useless and burnt.
Lille Belt 22 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Little Belt 20
Fylla 22 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Fylla 20
Eijderen 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Eyderen 18
Elvin 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Elvin 18
Gluckstadt 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Gluckstadt 16
Nidelven 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Nid Elven 16
Sarpen 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Sarpen 16
Glommen 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Glommen 16
Mercurius 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Mercurius 16
Delphinen 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Delphinen 16
Allart 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Allart 16
Flyvende Fiske 14 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Flying Fish 14
Brevdrageren 18 - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Brev Drageren 12
Ornen 12 (schooner) - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Ornen 12
Stege 2 (gunboats) - sailed to Britain, added to British Navy as Warning 2
There were a further 25 gunboats similar to the Stege, of which 23 were destroyed in the Kattegat rather than sailed to Britain - these were the Arendal, Nykjobing, Nakskov, Aalborg, Odense, Langesund, Stavoern, Christiansund, Flensborg, Wiborg, Kallundborg, Helsingoer, Nestved, Roeskilde, Saltholmen, Fredericksund, Stubbekjobing, Rodby, Nysted, Svendborg, Faaborg, Holbek, Middelfart, Assens and Kjerteminde.
(Note that in 1809 there was a plan to give almost all of captured vessels more 'traditional' British warship names, but this plan was later cancelled, and most Danish vessels retained their original names (or at least, 'anglicised' versions thereof) until they were taken to pieces.)

Footnotes

References

Smith, D. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill Books, 1998.
Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793 - 1817. Chatham Publishing, 2005.

See also a new account of the British assault on Denmark in 1807 - 'Defying Napoleon. How Britain bombarded Copenhagen and seized the Danish Fleet in 1807' by Thomas Munch-Petersen (Sutton Publishing, 2007) Details available on http://www.copenhagen1807.info.