Peter Tordenskjold

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Peter Tordenskjold bigraphy, stories - Danish-Norwegian admiral

Peter Tordenskjold : biography

October 28, 1691 – November 12, 1720

Peter Jansen Wessel Tordenskiold (October 28, 1690 – November 12, 1720), commonly referred to as Tordenskjold (lit. Thunder Shield), was a Norwegian nobleman and an eminent naval flag officer in the service of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral for his services in the Great Northern War. Born in Trondheim, Peter Wessel travelled to Copenhagen in 1704, and was employed in the navy. He won a name for himself through audacity and courage, and was ennobled as Peter Tordenskiold by King Frederick IV in 1716. His greatest exploit came later that year, as he destroyed the supply fleet of Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Dynekilen. In 1720, he was killed in a duel. In Denmark and Norway he is among the most famous national naval heroes. He experienced an unusually rapid rise in rank and died when he was only 30 years old.

Biography

Born in Trondheim in Norway, he was the tenth child of alderman Jan Wessel, and the brother of later Rear-Admiral Caspar von Wessel. Peter Wessel was a wild, unruly lad who gave his pious parents much trouble, eventually stowing away on a ship heading for Copenhagen in 1704. In Copenhagen, he unsuccessfully sought to become a navy cadet. at Gyldendals Åbne Encyklopædi He befriended the king’s chaplain Dr Peder Jespersen who sent Wessel on a voyage to the West Indies, and finally procured for him a vacant cadetship. After further voyages, this time to the East Indies, Wessel was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Royal Danish-Norwegian Navy on July 7, 1711, and went on to serve on the frigate Postillion. While on Postillion, he befriended Norwegian admiral baron Waldemar Løvendal, who was the first to recognize the young man’s potential as a naval officer. Løvendal soon made Peter Wessel the captain of the 4-gun sloop Ormen ().Bricka, Carl Frederik, Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, vol. XVII [Svend Tveskjæg – Tøxen], 1903, , C. With, "Tordenskjold, Peder".

Early service time

Wessel started his navy service during the Great Northern War against Sweden, cruising about the Swedish coast in Ormen picking up useful information about the enemy. In June 1712, Løvendal promoted him to the 18-gun frigate Løvendals Gallej, against the advice of the Danish admiralty, who considered Wessel unreliable. After officially complaining about his dreary commanding officer Daniel Jacob Wilster in Norway, Wessel was transferred to the Baltic Sea command of Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, who appreciated and utilized Wessel’s courage. Wessel was already renowned for two things: the audacity with which he attacked any Swedish vessels he came across regardless of the odds, and his unique seamanship, which always enabled him to evade capture.Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, 1911,

The Great Northern War had now entered upon its later stage, when Sweden, beset on every side by foes, employed her fleet principally to transport troops and stores to the distressed Swedish Pomerania provinces. The audacity of Wessel impeded her at every point. He was continually snapping up transports, dashing into the fjords where her vessels lay concealed, and holding up her detached frigates. He was a part of Gyldenløve’s fleet which succeeded in destroying a large number of Swedish transport ships at Rügen on September 29, 1712, and was promoted from Second Lieutenant to Captain Lieutenant. His successes compelled the Swedes to post a reward for his capture, while his free and easy ways also won him enemies in the Danish navy, who deplored his almost Privateer-like conduct.

Court-martial

In 1714, Wessel was court-martialled after an indecisive sea battle with a Swedish frigate. The account of the incident is verified by the legal proceedings from November 1714. On July 26, 1714, he encountered a frigate under English flag near Lindesnes, while flying a Dutch flag on the Løvendals Gallej himself. The other frigate was De Olbing Galley carrying 28 guns, which had been equipped in England for the Swedes and was on its way to Gothenburg under the command of an English captain named Bactmann. De Olbing Galley signalled for Løvendals Gallej to come closer, and as Wessel raised the Danish flag, Bactmann fired a broadside at him.Hans Christian Bjerg, "", Op-ed in Jyllands-Posten, July 29, 1964 In the English captain, Wessel met a tough match. The combat lasted all day, and when De Olbing Galley tried to escape in the evening, Wessel set more sails and continued the duel. The fight was interrupted by nightfall, and renewed again indecisively the following morning. Both ships were badly damaged after around 14 hours of fighting, when Wessel was running out of ammunition. He then sent an envoy to the English ship, cordially thanking the English for a good duel, and asked if he could borrow some of their ammunitions in order to continue the fight. His request was denied, and the captains drank to each other’s health, before the ships dispersed.