Question about the Battle of København with the British in April of 1801

[Roger Nelson]

Was there a great deal of destruction in the Royal Naval Dockyards at Holmen and were the dockyards closed or were operations limited for a time because of the British bombardment during the Battle of København in 1801?

An ancestor worked at the dockyards and lived in Nyboder at that time. He and his family moved to Søllerød after the 1801 census.  I was wondering if that could possibly be the reason for their leaving København.

Best wishes, Rog

[Barbara Bate]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Copenhagen_(1807)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holmen_destructions_1807.jpg

Looks pretty bad to me. I think I might have moved too.

Barbara

[Roger Nelson]

Mange tak, Barbara

[Bjørn Marcher]

Well Roger, which event are you referring to? There were two separate attacks.

You mention the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801, where Nelson was fighting the Danish fleet. This did not include any destruction of the dockyards.

Barbara refers to the Bombardment of Copenhagen in September 1807, which led to occupation of the Dockyards for a month, and handover of the Danish Fleet to England. The dockyards were probably emptied for timber and equipment, so may be the fleet temporarily could not use the number of workers.   

Who was your ancestor? I had several living in Nyboder, working for the fleet and docks at that time....

regards

Bjørn

[Roger Nelson]

Hi Bjørn,

I was referring to the British bombardment in 1801.  I thought that my 3rd great-grandfather Søren Jensen & his family (Søren: b. about 1756, birthplace, mother & father unknown) may have left København in 1801, possibly because of the shelling but since then I discovered that he & his family left København after 1802.

Søren and Anna Kirstine Jørgensdatter married in Holmen Kirke in 1790.  Three of their children were buried in a Skibskirkegaarden in 1791 and 1793.   Søren and Anna Kirstine lived in Nyboder on Kaninlægden from about 1790 until after 1802.  Various records identify him as a "Skibetstømrer", "Enroul Matros" and a "Baadsmand".  I do not know if he served in the Royal Navy and later worked in the dockyards but as an "Able Seaman" or "Boatswain" he would have served aboard ship at some time.  Would he have been discharged from the Navy in the late 1790's?

In 1801 he was reported to be a "Enroul Matros" with the "Østersøiske Kompagni" in the parish records of the Holmens Kirke when his 5th daughter died.  She was buried in a Skibskirkegaarden also.

Søren and Anna Kirstine moved to Søllerød, København amt.  Søren died in 1813 and Anna died in 1830 in Søllerød.  Søren's death record reported that he was a "Baadsman" on a ship called "Narvalen" or "Narhvalen".  My post of 4 Apr 2016 has a reply by Helmer which reports that a ship called the "Narhvalen" was based in Copenhagen in 1787.

Best wishes, Rog

[Bjørn Marcher]

Roger,

the people belonging to Holmens sogn (parish) and living in Nyboder would normally be working for the Danish Royal Navy including the Royal Dockyards. A "ships carpenter"  (Skibstømrer) was probably a carpenter traveling with the a fleet ship (doing maintenance and repair after a sea battle), so he would also be a "Enrolled Matros" (Enlisted sailor).
I assume they mostly worked for the fleet until they were unable due to poor health....

I have seen a few cases where the left for a job on cargo ships, for example at the "Østasiatiske Kompagni".

Several Danish naval ships have been named "Narhvalen" (The Narwhale). One serving at that time can be found here:

http://mfs.dk/sites/default/files/documents/SkibeiGroenlandsfarten.pdf see lower section of page 44 - built in Sweden 1802, taken by the British on Oct. 13, 1807, and the seamen as POW put into prison

http://navneregistre.dis-danmark.dk/prison/pri_vis_navne.php?navn=Narhvalen&type=s

Your Søren Jensen is not mentioned as POW, so probably he was not serving at that time.

best regards, Bjørn

[Roger Nelson]

Bjørn,  Thanks again for the additional information!

Best wishes, Rog

[Roger Nelson]

The 1813 death record for Søren Jensen reported that he was a Boatswain on the Narhvalen.  Did the British return that ship to Denmark after it was captured in 1807 or would it be more likely that Søren served on another ship with that name.

The Narhvalen in 1787 and the Narhvalen built in Sweden in 1802 where both "Hukkerts" and were probably freighters.  The only ships I have found that were kept or destroyed by the British were warships.
Have a great day, Rog