and a few others, under the 64-gun ship Agamem- 1807. non, captain Jonas Rose, from England, the expe- Aug. dition consisted of 25 sail of the line, and upwards of Its full 40 frigates, sloops, bomb-vessels, and gun-brigs; strength making a total of about 65 vessels of war, exclusive of 377 transports, measuring 78420 tons, and conveying about 27000 troops, more than half of them Germans in british pay. * rations It appears that Mr. Jackson, the british plenipo- Prepatentiary to the court of Denmark, had his first inter- by Denview with the crown prince at Kiel in Holstein. To mark. the former's demand on the subject of the danish fleet, the latter returned such a reply as might be expected, and, despatching an estafette to Copenhagen, with orders to put the city in the best possible state of defence, proceeded thither himself. On the 10th, in the evening, the courier reached Copenhagen, and early on the following morning the work of preparation began. At noon the prince arrived, and by his presence gave an additional impetus to the exertions of his subjects. On the 12th his danish majesty quitted Copenhagen for Colding in Jutland, leaving the defence of the city to the care of major-general Peiman. The regular force at this time in the city and suburbs of Copenhagen, of which the population, in the preceding March, was estimated at upwards of 100000 souls, has been variously Troops stated at from 3000 to 10000 men; but the account penhathat appears to be the most worthy of credit makes gen. the number, including an organized militia-force of 2000 men, 5510. 5510. These were exclusive of sailors, and of 3600 armed citizens; so that the whole force, regular and irregular, amounted probably to 12000 men. The main danish army, of more than double that amount, was encamped in Holstein. in Co The sea-defence of the port consisted of the BatteTrekronen pile-battery, situated at the distance of ries, 2000 yards, in a north-east by north direction from * No official account was published of the result of this interview, and, of the private accounts, scarcely two agree. &c. 1807. the entrance of the harbour, (which runs like a canal through the centre of the town,) and mounting 68 guns besides mortars, a pile-battery in advance of the citadel, mounting 36 guns and nine mortars, the citadel itself, mounting 20 guns and three or four mortars, and the holm or arsenal battery, mounting 50 guns and 12 mortars; total 174 guns and 25 mortars, the guns long 36 and 24 pounders, (danish,) and the mortars the largest in use. Ships of war There were also, around the Trekronen and in in the front of the harbour, the blockship Mars, of 64 guns, port. and the prame St.-Thomas, of 22, also three 20-gun prames, (24-pounders,) two floating batteries, and from 25 to 30 gun-boats, each of the latter mounting two heavy long-guns. The fleet in the arsenal consisted of 16 sail of the line and 21 frigates and sloops afloat, but not in a serviceable state, besides three 74-gun ships on the stocks, one nearly finished. Two sail of the line, the Prindts-Christian-Frederic 74, captain Jessen, and Princessen-Louisa-Augusta 64, captain Sneedorf, lay in ports of Norway; the one at Christiansand, the other at Frederickswaern. On the night of the 12th the Frederickscoarn friGam gate, at anchor as already mentioned in Elsineur bierde- road, foreseeing the turn that affairs would take, a force prudently slipped her cable and steered for Norway. after This measure, and the knowledge of the active prefrigate. parations making by the Danes, determined admiral Lord taches danish Gambier to detach a force in pursuit of the frigate. Accordingly, on the 13th, at 2 h. 30 m. P. M., captain Ekins, with, besides his ship the Defence, the 22gun ship Comus, captain Edmund Heywood, weighed and made sail into the Cattegat, for the purpose, although no declaration of war had passed between England and. Denmark, of capturing and detaining the Frederickscoarn. Shortly after the departure of these ships on this unpleasant mission, captain Ekins hailed captain Heywood, and directed him, as the Comus, in the prevailing light wind, sailed better than the Defence, Aug. over takes scoarn to proceed ahead and execute the service alone. 1807. The Comus, whose real so far exceeded her rated force, that she mounted 22 long 9-pounders on the Comus main deck, and two of the same caliber, with eight 24-pounder carronades, on the quarterdeck and fore- Fredecastle, immediately made all sail, followed by the rickDefence, who gradually dropped astern in the chase. On the 14th, at 6 h. 30 m. A. M., the Comus descried, bearing north, which was nearly ahead, the object of her orders, steering the same course as herself. Calms and partial airs retarded the progress of all three ships; and at noon the Frederickscoarn bore from the Comus north five miles, and the Defence south by east seven miles. At 4 P. M. the danish frigate had increased her distance a mile. At 6 P. M. a light easterly breeze sprang up; and at 8 P. M. the Comus had advanced considerably in the chase, while the Defence was full 13 miles astern. At a few minutes before midnight the Comus got alongside of the Frederickscoarn, whose 32 guns were danish 12 and 6 pounders, with six 12-pounder carronades in addition. Captain Heywood desired the danish captain to bring to, and allow his frigate to be detained. Considering that the Frederickscoarn was not merely a national ship of war, but a vessel, in guns, men, and size, superior to the Comus, no other reply could be expected than a peremptory refusal. On this the british ship fired a musket athwart the stern of the dane, and instantly received a shot from one of the latter's stern-chasers. All ceremony being now at an end, the Comus bore Enup, and, as soon as she had placed herself astern of gages the Frederickscoarn in a raking position, commenced capthe action within pistol-shot. The fire of the Comus tures was immediately returned, and the cannonade continued for about 45 minutes; when the Frederickscoarn, from the disabled state of her rigging and sails, fell on board her opponent. A portion of the crew of the Comus, led on by lieutenants George Edward Watts and Hood Knight, quickly rushed and her. 1807. on the decks of the danish frigate, and carried her without further resistance. Aug. Mutual loss, &c. Besides escaping nearly untouched in hull, and with very slight damage in rigging or sails, the Comus, out of her 145 men and boys, had but one man wounded. The Frederickscoarn, on the other hand, suffered considerably in rigging, masts, yards, and hull, and, out of her complement of 226 men and boys, had 12 killed and 20 wounded. Under almost any other circumstances than those which had led to this battle, the gallantry displayed by the officers and crew of the Comus would have been duly appreciated. As it was, very limited praise fell to the share of the British; while the Danes were less blamed for the want of prowess they had evinced, than compassionated for the heavy loss in blood, if not in fame, to which an attack so illegal and unexpected had unfortunately subjected them. On the 14th the state of the weather prevented the british fleet from moving to a position for disembarking the troops; but, early on the 15th, the men of war and transports weighed, and by 5 p. m. worked up to the bay of Wedbeck, a village about troops midway between Elsineur and Copenhagen. Here land at the admiral and the bulk of the fleet anchored; British Wed beck. while rear-admiral Essington, with a small squadron, proceeded to an anchorage higher up the Sound, in order to make a diversion. On the morning of the 16th a part of the troops landed at Wedbeck, without opposition. The fleet then weighed and made sail towards Copenhagen, the two commanders in chief having previously addressed to the Danes, in Procla- the german language, a proclamation, explanatory on each of the object of the expedition, and couched in terms as conciliatory as the peremptory nature of the demand would admit. On the same day the danish king, at Gluckstadt, and his general, at Copenhagen, issued a proclamation, or edict, directing all english vessels and property to be seized and detained. mation side. boats British On the 17th the danish gun-boats, stationed off 1807. the entrance of Copenhagen harbour, taking advan- Aug. tage of a calm, seized and set fire to an english Danish timber-laden merchant bark, in company with some guntransports coming from Stralsund: they also attacked, attack with round and grape, the pickets at the left of the the british army, and, after receiving a fire from several british bomb-vessels and gun-brigs, that were towed as near to them as the depth of water would admit, retired into the harbour. On the same evening Lord admiral Gambier, with 16 sail of the line, besides Gamfrigates, anchored in Copenhagen road, about four chors miles to the north-east of the Trekronen or crown in Cobattery; and, in consequence of the attack made gen upon the english merchantmen in the morning, issued road. an order to his cruisers to detain all danish ships. bieran penha ades Between the 18th and 21st some additional skirmishes took place between the danish and english gun-vessels, but with little or no effect on either side. On the last-named day, the circumvallation of Zealand by the british ships being complete, admiral Gambier formally declared the island to be Blockin a state of close blockade. On this day, also, the Zea last division of troops, lord Rosslyn's corps from land. Stralsund, disembarked in the north part of Keoge bay. To defend the left of the army from the annoyance of the danish gun-boats, a battery of thirteen 24-pounders had been erected at a spot named SvaneMoelle. On the 22d three danish prames, mounting 20 guns each, and from 28 to 30 gun-vessels, placed themselves in readiness to interrupt the army in the construction of some mortar-batteries in advance of the Swan-mill battery. To prevent this, the british British advanced squadron, consisting, along with the three adsloops, five bomb-vessels, and seven gun-brigs, squahereunder named, of three armed transports, and 10 dron launches fitted as mortar-boats, under the command danish of captain Puget, of the Goliath, took a station within the crown battery. vanced and flotilla. |