Editing Battle of Copenhagen (1801) (section)

==Battle==
[[File:Battle of Copenhagen (1801).jpg|thumb|left|Sketch of the battle]]

===Preparations===
Parker gave Nelson the twelve ships-of-the-line with the shallowest drafts, and all the smaller ships in the fleet.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} Parker himself stayed to the north-east of the battle with the heavier ships – whose deeper drafts did not allow them to safely enter the channel – screening Nelson from possible external interference and moving towards Copenhagen to engage the northern defences.<ref group=note>[[William Bligh]], of ''Bounty'' fame, commanded ''Glatton'', one of Nelson's ships.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}</ref> Nelson transferred his command from the large 98-gun {{HMS|St George|1785|6}} to the shallower-draft 74-gun {{HMS|Elephant|1786|6}} for this reason.

On 30 March, Nelson, and his second-in-command, Rear Admiral [[Thomas Graves (admiral)|Thomas Graves]], accompanied by Captain Domett and the commanding officer of the troops, Lieutenant Colonel William Stewart, sailed in the [[Hired armed lugger Lark|hired lugger ''Lark'']] to reconnoitre the Danish defences at Copenhagen.<ref>James (1837), Vol. 3, pp. 65–66</ref> They found the defences to be strong and so spent the evening discussing the plan. Fixed batteries had a significant advantage over ship borne cannon owing to their greater stability and larger guns,<ref name= "autogenerated5" /> and the Danes could reinforce their ships during the battle.<ref group=note>Danish reinforcement included the replacement of a captain at one point.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}</ref> On the other hand, their ships were a motley collection, many of them small, and out-gunned if engaged by the whole of Nelson's force.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

[[File:Battle of Copenhagen, April 2nd 1801 RMG F3841.tiff|thumb|Period map of the battle]]
Nelson's plan was for the British ships to approach the weaker, southern end of the Danish defences in a line parallel to the Danish one. As the foremost ship drew alongside a Danish ship, it would anchor and engage that ship. The remainder of the line would pass outside the engagement until the next British ship drew alongside the next Danish ship, and so on. The frigate {{HMS|Desirée|1800|6}}, together with small gun-brigs, would rake the Danish line from the south, and a force of frigates, commanded by Captain [[Edward Riou]] of {{HMS|Amazon|1799|6}}, would attack the northern end of the line. Troops would land and assault the ''Tre Kroner'' fortress once the fleet had subdued the Danish line of ships.<ref name="autogenerated2">Pocock, p. 235</ref> [[Bomb vessel]]s would sit outside the British line and bombard the Danes by firing over it.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Should the British be unable to subdue the stronger, northern defences, the destruction of the southern ships would be enough to allow the bomb vessels to approach within range of the city and force negotiations to prevent the bombardment of the city.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

===Action===
[[File:The Battle of Copenhagen, 2 April 1801 RMG BHC0528.tiff|thumb|The picture is viewed from the south end of the King's Deep and shows the British fleet flying the blue ensign. In the right foreground the ''Russell'' and ''Bellona'', are shown in port-quarter view, their sharply pitched position indicating that they have gone aground]]
With a southerly wind on 2 April, Nelson picked his way through the shoals. However, {{HMS|Agamemnon|1781|6}} ran aground before entering the channel, and took no part in the battle.  Then {{HMS|Russell|1764|6}} and {{HMS|Bellona|1760|6}} ran aground on the Middle Ground, severely restricting their role in the battle. The loss of the three vessels required hurried changes in the line and weakened the force's northern end.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

[[File:Bataillen d.2 April 1801, paa Kiobenhavns Reed (Battle of 2 April 1801 in Copenhagen Roads) RMG PY7975.tiff|thumb|left|The battle viewed from Copenhagen, around noon, with the Danish floating batteries moored between the attacking British line and the city]]
The Danish batteries started firing at 10:05 am, the first half of the British fleet was engaged in about half an hour, and the battle was general by 11:30 am.<ref>Clarke and McArthur, p. 606</ref> Once the British line was in place there was very little manoeuvring. The British ships anchored by the stern about a [[cable length|cable]] from the line of Danish ships and batteries, which was relatively long range, and the two exchanged broadsides until a ship ceased firing. The British encountered heavy resistance, partly because they had not spotted the low-lying floating batteries, and partly because of the courage with which the Danes fought. The northern Danish ships, which were rigged and manned, did not enter the battle but remained on station as reserve units, even though the wind direction forced Parker's squadron to approach only slowly.<ref name="autogenerated5" />

[[File:The Battle of Copenhagen 1801 by Christian Mølsted.jpg|thumb|''The Battle of Copenhagen''. Painting by Christian Mølsted. (view from a floating battery)]]
At 1:00 pm, the battle was still in full swing. ''Prøvesteenen''{{'}}s heavier fire would have destroyed {{HMS|Isis|1774|6}} if it had not been [[raking fire|raked]] by ''Desirée'', assisted by {{HMS|Polyphemus|1782|6}}. {{HMS|Monarch|1765|6}} suffered badly from the combined fires of [[HDMS Holsteen|''Holsteen'']] and ''Sjælland''.<ref group=note>A [[midshipman]] sent to the magazine on an errand said "When I arrived on the maindeck, along which I had to pass, there was not a single man standing the whole way from the main mast forward, a district containing eight guns, some of which were run out ready for firing; others lay dismounted; the others remained as they were after recoiling... I hastened down the fore ladder to the lower deck and felt really relieved to find someone alive." Pocock, p. 236</ref>

===Signal to retreat===
Admiral Parker could see little of the battle owing to gun smoke, but could see the [[Flag signals|signals]] on the three grounded British ships, with ''Bellona'' and ''Russell'' flying signals of distress and ''Agamemnon'' a signal of inability to proceed.<ref>Clarke and McArthur, p. 607</ref> Thinking that Nelson might have fought to a stand-still but might be unable to retreat without orders (the [[Articles of War (Royal Navy)|Articles of War]] demanded that all ranks "do their utmost" against the enemy in battle), at 1:30  pm Parker told his flag captain:<blockquote>I will make the signal of recall for Nelson's sake. If he is in condition to continue the action, he will disregard it; if he is not, it will be an excuse for his retreat and no blame can be imputed to him.<ref>Pocock, p. 236</ref></blockquote>Nelson ordered that the signal be acknowledged, but not repeated. He turned to his [[flag captain]], [[Thomas Foley (Royal Navy officer)|Thomas Foley]], and said "You know, Foley, I only have one eye — I have the right to be blind sometimes," and then, holding his telescope to his blind eye, said "I really do not see the signal!"<ref>Pocock, p. 237</ref> Rear Admiral Graves repeated the signal, but in a place invisible to most other ships while keeping Nelson's "close action" signal at his masthead. Of Nelson's captains, only Riou, who could not see Nelson's flagship ''Elephant'', followed Parker's signal. Riou withdrew his force, which was then attacking the ''Tre Kroner'' fortress, exposing himself to heavy fire, which resulted in his death and the deaths of several crew members onboard ''Amazon''.

===End of the battle===
[[File:Christian Mølsted - Slaget på Rheden.png|thumb|upright=1.2|left|''The Battle of Copenhagen'' by Christian Mølsted. It shows a situation in the battle where Admiral Nelson sends a message - the small boat carrying Union Jack and a white flag - to the Danish side.]]
It was at this time that the battle swung decisively to the British, as their superior gunnery took effect. The guns of the dozen southernmost Danish ships had started to fall silent owing to the damage they had sustained, and the fighting moved northward. According to British eyewitness accounts, much of the Danish line had fallen silent by 2:00 pm.<ref name="autogenerated4">Clarke and McArthur, p. 608</ref><ref group=note>Some Danish historians{{who|date=April 2014}} contest the timing, stating that the entire Danish-Norwegian line continued to resist until 2:30 pm.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}</ref> The cessation of firing left the way open for the British bomb vessels to approach Copenhagen. In addition, the reinforcements of the ships from the shore batteries were causing the latter to become ineffective.

''Nyborg'' tried to leave the line with ''Aggershuus'' in tow, but both sank. The most northerly ship, the frigate ''Hjælperen'', successfully withdrew. The Danish commander, [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] [[Olfert Fischer]], moved from ''Dannebrog'' at 11:30 am, when it caught fire, to ''Holsteen''. When ''Indfødsretten'', immediately north of ''[[HDMS Holsteen|Holsteen]]'', struck its colours at about 2:30 pm, he moved on to the ''Tre Kroner'' fortress. There he engaged three of Parker's ships,{{Clarify|date=May 2009}}<!-- A word missing here - one, two or all ? --> which had lost their manoeuvrability after being badly damaged and had drifted within range. ''Indfødsretten'' resumed firing after Captain Schrodersee was ferried to it and took command of the ship.<ref group=note>Schrodersee fell during the battle, and the Crown Prince honoured his sacrifice by later erecting a "broken shipmast" at the spot where Schrodersee was ordered to take command of ''Indfødsretten''.</ref>

Perhaps because of inexperienced crews, several Danish ships fired on British boats sent out to them after their officers had signalled their surrender. Nelson said that he "must either send on shore and stop this irregular proceeding, or send in our fire ships and burn them" and went to his cabin to write a note to the Danes. He sent it with a Danish-speaking officer, Captain Sir [[Frederick Thesiger (naval officer)|Frederick Thesiger]], under a flag of truce to the Danish-Norwegian regent, [[Crown Prince]] [[Frederick VI of Denmark|Frederik]], who had been watching the battle from the ramparts of the Citadel.<ref name="autogenerated4" /> The note read:

{{Quote|<poem>
To the Brothers of Englishmen, the Danes
Lord Nelson has directions to spare Denmark when she is no longer resisting, but if firing is continued on the part of Denmark, Lord Nelson will be obliged to set on fire the floating batteries he has taken, without having the power of saving the brave Danes who have defended them.</poem>|Nelson|<ref>[http://www.navalhistory.dk/danish/Historien/1801_1814/Englandskrigene_nelsonbr_PO.htm Danish Naval History website – Nelson's letter of 2 April 1801] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816205044/http://www.navalhistory.dk/danish/Historien/1801_1814/Englandskrigene_nelsonbr_PO.htm |date=16 August 2007 }}</ref>}}

All action ceased when Crown Prince Frederick sent his Adjutant General, Hans Lindholm (a Danish member of parliament), asking for the reason for Nelson's letter. When he could not clearly communicate verbally, Lindholm was asked to put his message in written English, which he did, but being given a dull quill, he joked:
{{Quote|If your guns are not better pointed than your pens, then you will make little impression on Copenhagen.|Hans Lindholm|<ref>Pocock, pp. 237–38</ref>}}

In reply, Nelson wrote a note:
{{Quote|<poem>Lord Nelson's object in sending the Flag of Truce was humanity; he therefore consents that hostilities shall cease, and that the wounded Danes may be taken on shore. And Lord Nelson will take his prisoners out of the Vessels, and burn and carry off his prizes as he shall see fit.

Lord Nelson, with humble duty to His Royal Highness the Prince of Denmark, will consider this the greatest victory he has ever gained, if it may be the cause of a happy reconciliation and union between his own most gracious Sovereign, and His Majesty the King of Denmark.</poem>|Nelson|{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}}}

which was sent back to the Crown Prince. He then referred Lindholm to Parker on {{HMS|London|1766|6}}. Following him there at 4:00 pm,{{clarify|date=April 2014}} a twenty-four-hour ceasefire was agreed.<ref name="autogenerated3">Clarke and McArthur, p. 609</ref>