The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801, also known as the First Battle of Copenhagen to distinguish it from the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought and defeated a smaller force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. The battle came about over British fears that the powerful Danish fleet would ally with France, and a breakdown in diplomatic communications on both sides. The Royal Navy won a resounding victory, besting fifteen Danish warships while losing none in return.
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters. Other tasks include surveillance, search and rescue, icebreaking, oil spill recovery and prevention as well as contributions to international tasks and forces.
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet 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. In Denmark it is widely known as the first terror attack on a European capital.
HMS Defence was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 March 1763 at Plymouth Dockyard. She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. In 1811 she was wrecked off the coast of Jutland with the loss of almost her entire crew.
The Gunboat War was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal Navy. In Scandinavia it is seen as the later stage of the English Wars, whose commencement is accounted as the First Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.
Indfødsretten was a 64-gun ship of the line in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy commissioned in 1787. She was one of a class of five ships designed and constructed by naval architect Henrik Gerner.
Holsteen was a 60-gun ship of the line in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. She was commissioned in 1775 and the British Royal Navy captured her in the Battle at Copenhagen Roads on 2 April 1801. The British renamed the ship HMS Holstein, and later HMS Nassau. She participated in one major battle during the Gunboat War and was sold in 1814.
Søehesten was an 18-gun barge of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy, commissioned in 1795. During the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801, it was commanded by Lieutenant B. U. Middelboe with a complement of 178 sailors. 12 of the ship's crew were killed in the battle, and 21 wounded. The ship struck its colours at 14.30.
The action of 16 May 1797 was a naval battle that took place near Tripoli in Ottoman Tripolitania. The Danish squadron was victorious over a Tripolitan squadron that outnumbered them in terms of the number of vessels. The result was a peace treaty between the Bey of Tripoli and Denmark-Norway.
HMS Edgar was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, that saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Launched in 1779, she fought in the battles of Cape St Vincent and Copenhagen, two of the major naval engagements of the wars.
HMS St George was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 October 1785 at Portsmouth. In 1793 she captured one of the richest prizes ever. She then participated in the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands in 1795 and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. She was wrecked off Jutland in 1811 with the loss of almost all her crew.
HMS Dictator was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 January 1783 at Limehouse. She was converted into a troopship in 1798, and broken up in 1817.
Johan Olfert Fischer was a Danish officer in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He commanded the Dano-Norwegian fleet against British forces under Lord Nelson during the Danish defeat at Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.
HMS Alcmene was a 32-gun Alcmene-class fifth rate of the Royal Navy. This frigate served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under the command of several notable officers. Alcmene was active in several theatres of the war, spending most of her time cruising in search of enemy vessels or privateers, and escorting convoys. She fought at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 and served in the blockade of the French coasts during the later Napoleonic Wars until she was wrecked on the French coast in 1809.
HDMS Lougen was a brig of 18 guns, launched in 1791, and the name-vessel of her class of six brigs designed by the naval architect Ernst Stibolt. She was the first Danish warship to be copper-sheathed. She was active protecting Danish merchant shipping and suppressing pirates in the Mediterranean and in the Caribbean. In March 1801, she fought off the British privateer Experiment and the 22-gun warship HMS Arab in a single action. When the British captured the Danish West Indies in 1801, Lougen was part of the booty. The British later returned her to Denmark where she was broken up in 1802.
Jochum Nicolay Müller was a Norwegian naval officer who, as a midshipman, excelled at mathematics. As a junior lieutenant he met Horatio Nelson, and as a captain commanded the Finnmark squadron. He finally rose to the rank of Vice Admiral in the independent Royal Norwegian Navy.
Prøvestenen, also known as Benzinøen, is an artificial island off the northeast coast of Amager in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located between the Amager Hill combined incineration plant and ski slope to the north and Amager Strandpark to the south. It was created as a marine fortress to guard the entrance to Copenhagen Harbour in the second half of the 18th century and served military purposes until 1922. It now houses the city's petroleum harbor. Prøvestensbroen at the end of Prags Boulevard links it with the rest of Amager.
Robert Devereux Fancourt was a Royal Navy officer who saw active service during the Seven Years' War and the French Revolutionary War. He joined the Navy in 1759 and served in North America and the West Indies. Fancourt passed his lieutenant's examination in 1765 but was not promoted until 1777 and made Post Captain in 1789. The following year, he was appointed to HMS Ambuscade in the Mediterranean.
Richard Retalick was a Royal Navy officer who served during the American Revolutionary and French Revolutionary wars. He was promoted to captain in 1798 and commanded HMS Defiance at the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801
