Strategic background to the battle

The British imposed a blockade on supply lines between Norway and Denmark during the Napoleonic War in the Skagerrak sound, except for Norwegian ships transporting lumber to Britain. Although this affected the supply of grain to Norway, the Norwegians preferred to limit military operations to coastal defense.

Nevertheless, what was left of the Danish-Norwegian fleet after the Battle of Copenhagen (1807) fleet was committed to breaking the blockade.

Naval tactical background

After years of skirmishes, the Danish-Norwegian fleet was reduced to one major ship, the Najaden, a frigate finished in 1811, in part with parts salvaged from a ship-of-the-line destroyed in earlier battles. Eyeing an opportunity to enforce the blockade and break the back of Danish-Norwegian seapower, the British deployed the ship-of-the-line HMS Dictator with 64 cannon and three brigs, the HMS Calypso , HMS Podargus , and HMS Flamer .

Najaden had 42 cannon and was accompanied by three brigs, the Kiel, Lolland, and Samsøe.

Steward's Battle Plan

Captain Steward's plan was to chase down the Najaden and destroy it, thereby giving Britain supremacy over the trade routes between Norway and Denmark, and effectively ending Danish involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. In a pitched battle, his ship-of-the-line would easily defeat the frigate. As a consequence, Steward was simply looking for a confrontation.

Holm's Battle Plan

Holm never intended to engage the British ships. He relied on his superior knowledge of the local waters to evade Steward's pursuit.

Battle

Najaden had anchored near the island of Sandøya near Tvedestrand, where the captain felt secure. His premise was that no British ship would risk running ashore in the unfamiliar and craggy archipelago. He accepted an invitation to dine with the captain of the Samsøe and even went ashore on the island after his meal. From the hills above, he saw that the British ships were inside the archipelago and headed in his direction.

Rushing back to his ships, he ordered the ships along an inner route northeast, toward Lyngør. The HMS Podargus led the British chase, apparently with a pilot onboard who was familiar with the waters. Podargus ran aground at Buskskjærsteinen, and Steward ordered the HMS Flamer to stay behind and assist. The British brigs were assaulted by several smaller Danish and Norwegian boats, among them lieutenant Parnemann with the canon caloupe Kiøge Bugt, canon boat No.3 (Ltn Ring), og Digernes batteri, subsequently reinforced also with 4 additional canon boats from the Arendal Division, commanded by Captaine-Lieutenant Dietrichson. Having sustained considerable damage, the British ships were eventually able to join the Dictator after the main battle was over.

Najaden went into the narrow sound of Lyngør, leaving behind much of its supporting vessels to fight the British brigs.

Steward, a Scotsman known in the Royal Navy as "Mad Jim," sailed into the sound, threw anchor behind him, and deliberately ran ashore with his broadside perpendicular to the sound. Using its anchor line as leverage, he positioned the Dictator to set its broadside against Najaden at 35-40 meters range. Unable to turn, Najaden had its broadside pointing away from the opposing ship and was dead in the water. At about 9:30 pm, the HMS Dictator unleashed a 15-minute barrage against the Danish frigate that amounted to 4 tons of ordinance, breaking its main mast almost immediately and causing a fire on the ship and the Danish brigs anchored nearby. Within 45 minutes, Najaden was sunk with 133 dead and 82 wounded. Holm survived, only to drown in an accident a few months later.

The battle resumed as the Danish gunboats found there way into Lyngør. At 2 am on July 7, the Dictator was finally pulled off and was chased out of Norwegian waters by Danish gunboats.

Consequences

The battle of Lyngør effectively ended Denmark's involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. In the Treaty of Kiel, Denmark ceded dominion over Norway, setting the stage for Norway's independence movement, which wasn't to be fully realized until 1905. It also freed up British naval resources to fight France's navy in the Napoleonic Wars.

See also

• British naval supremacy

External links

• Sailing ships of the Royal Navy
• Norwegian naval account of the battle