Editing Battle of Copenhagen (1801) (section)

==Aftermath==
After fighting had ended, the Danish [[flagship]] ''Dannebrog'' exploded at 4:30 pm, killing 250 men. By the end of the afternoon, three more badly-damaged British ships ran aground, including ''Elephant''. The Danish-Norwegian ships had been partly manned by volunteers, many having little or no naval experience, and as they were not all listed after the battle, it is uncertain what the exact Danish-Norwegian losses were. Estimates vary between 1,135 and 2,215 captured, killed or wounded.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} The official report by Olfert Fischer estimated the Danish-Norwegian casualties to be between 1,600 and 1,800 captured, killed or wounded.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} According to the official returns recorded by each British ship, and repeated in dispatches from Nelson and forwarded by Parker to the Admiralty, British casualties were 963 killed and wounded.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Of the Danish ships engaged in the battle, two had sunk, one had exploded, and twelve had been captured. The British could not spare men for manning [[Prize (law)|prizes]] as they suspected that further battles were to come. They burned eleven of the captured ships, and only one, ''Holsteen'', was sailed to England with the wounded under surgeon [[William Fergusson (physician)|William Fergusson]].<ref>Clarke and McArthur, p. 611</ref> ''Holsteen'' was then taken into service with the Royal Navy and renamed {{HMS|Holstein||6}} (later {{HMS|Nassau|1805|6}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=4754|title=British Third Rate ship of the line 'Holstein' (1801)|date=n.d.|website=Three Decks|publisher=Cy Harrison|access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref>

===Subsequent events===
[[File:The Battle of Copenhagen, 2 April 1801 RMG BHC0526.tiff|thumb|upright=1.6|left|The Battle of Copenhagen painted by [[Robert Dodd (artist)|Robert Dodd]]. The sail-less Danish ships at right are being deployed as floating batteries.]]

The next day, Nelson landed in Copenhagen to open negotiations. Colonel Stewart reported that "the population showed an admixture of admiration, curiosity and displeasure".<ref name="Matter of Honour">{{cite book | last=Riley | first=Jonathan | title=A Matter of Honour | publisher=Frontline Books | publication-place=Montréal | date=2010-09-30 | pages=68 | isbn=978-1-896941-65-3 | oclc=701589968 }}</ref> In a two-hour meeting with the Crown Prince (who spoke English),<ref name="autogenerated5" /> Nelson was able to secure an indefinite armistice. He then tried to convince first Fischer (whom he had known in the [[West Indies]]),<ref name="autogenerated5" /> and then the Prince, of British protection against the Russians. Negotiations continued by letter and on 8 April Nelson returned in person with a formal agreement.

The one sticking point out of the seven articles was a sixteen-week armistice to allow action against the Russians.<ref>Pocock, p. 239</ref> At this point Stewart claims that one of the Danes turned to another and said in French that disagreement might lead to a renewal of hostilities. "Renew hostilities!" responded Nelson, and turning to his interpreter said "Tell him that we are ready in a moment; ready to bombard this very night!" Hurried apologies followed (the British fleet now occupied positions that would allow the bombardment of Copenhagen) and agreement was reached and signed the next day.<ref>Pocock, pp. 239–240</ref> The armistice was reduced to fourteen weeks, but during it armed neutrality would be suspended and the British were to have free access to Copenhagen. Danish prisoners were also paroled. In the final hour of negotiations, the Danes found out (but not the British) that [[Tsar Paul]] had been assassinated. This resulted in the dissolution of the League of Armed Neutrality and allowed the Danes to accept British terms.<ref name="part Det danske søforsvar at"/> The final peace agreement was then signed on 23 October 1801.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

On 12 April, Parker sailed to [[Karlskrona]] and on the British approach, the Swedish fleet returned to the port where Parker attempted to persuade them to also leave the League.<ref name="autogenerated6">Pocock, p. 241</ref> Parker refused to sail into the eastern Baltic and instead returned to Copenhagen, where he found that news of his lack of vigour had reached London. On 5 May, he was recalled and ordered to hand his command over to Nelson. Nelson sailed eastwards again and, leaving six ships-of-the-line at Karlskrona, he arrived at Reval on 14 May to find that the ice had melted and the Russian fleet had departed for Kronstadt. He also found out that negotiations for ending the armed neutrality had started and so withdrew on 17 May.<ref name="autogenerated6" /> As a result of the battle, Lord Nelson was created [[Viscount]] Nelson of the Nile.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

This was not the end of the Danish-Norwegian conflict with the British. In 1807, similar circumstances led to another British attack, in the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1807)|Second Battle of Copenhagen]].