HDMS Ørnen (1842)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the naval Brig HDMS Ørnen. For other uses, see Ørnen (disambiguation). For the TV-series named Ørnen, see The Eagle: A Crime Odyssey.
HDMS Ørnen Danish Brig 1842-1866.jpg
the brig HDMS Ørnen
History
Denmark
NameHDMS Ørnen
Builder
Yard number33
Laid down8 June 1842
Commissioned1 May 1843
Decommissioned7 December 1866
HomeportCopenhagen
FateBroken up 1871
General characteristics
Class and typeBrig
Length31.3 m (103 ft)
Beam8.8 m (29 ft)
Draught4.2 m (14 ft)
Sail planFull rigged, 965 m2
Complement95
Armament16 18 pound cannons

HDMS Ørnen (the Eagle) was a brig build in 1842 for the Royal Danish Navy.[1] Ørnen played important roles during the last years Denmark maintained the African colony Danish Guinea, and in the events leading up to the emancipation of the slaves on the Danish West Indies in 1849.

Danish Guinea 1845 and 1847[]

HDMS Ørnen at anchor

Ørnen's first voyage began on 5 May 1843, immediately after she entered service, under command of . This voyage carried Ørnen to Tanger, Gibraltar, Madeira and further on to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The following year Ørnen went on a voyage into the Mediterranean, along the west coast of Africa to Danish Guinea (now eastern Ghana) and further to the Danish West Indies. The visit to Danish Guinea was due to reports of illegal slave trade, religious sacrifice of two children and rebellion. Ørnen arrived in September 1843 and took the responsible for sacrifice, King Addum of Aquapim and his minister Sebah Akim, into custody on the ship. They were sentenced to death, later reversed to imprisonment for life. In addition, their village was burned to the ground. A landing party under command of second lieutenant Otto Chr. Hammer, conquered the fort Prinsensten, which had been taken by the rebellions. Hammer also led negotiations with the king of Agna, who had taken part in the rebellion and slave trade.[2]

In 1847 new unrest erupted in Danish Guinea and Ørnen was again sent to help defend the Danish forts Prinsensten and Christiansborg. After heavy fightings on land and bombardments from sea was a fragile peace negotiated and Ørnen could leave for the West Indies again. This was the last time a Danish Naval ship visited the Danish colonies in Africa. Two years later, in 1849, they were sold to the British Government for the price of 10,000 Pound sterling.[2]

West Indies 1845–49[]

After the first visit to west Africa in 1845 Ørnen continued to the Danish West Indies. Once arrived, Ørnen took on board the Danish naturalist Anders Sandøe Ørsted (brother to Hans Christian Ørsted) on order from the Danish Admiralty and assisted him in his studies of the life in the deeper parts of the Caribbean. He made significant collections of marine life, down to depths of 1000 fathoms and brought the collections and sketches back home to the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen.[3]

Two years later Ørnen arrived again in the Danish West Indies, after her visit to west Africa. This time there was also unrest on the Danish West Indies and Ørnen took part in the dramatic events, which led the Danish Governor-General of the islands, Peter von Scholten, on the 3 July to declare immediate emancipation of all the slaves on the three Danish islands St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. Jan (St. John). Ørnen remained in the Caribbean until March 1949 and then returned to Copenhagen.[2]

First Schleswig War[]

Ørnen returned to Denmark in 1849 in the middle of the First Schleswig War, and was immediately fitted to serve in the naval blockade of the German harbour in Danzig. The following year Ørnen, under the command of Frederik Chr. G. Muxoll, participated together with the corvette and 4 gunboats in the fighting at Fehmarn, which was occupied by the Danish troops on 17 July 1850.[2]

Later years[]

Between 1852 and 1858 Ørnen was stationed in the West Indies. In 1859 Ørnen, under command of Adser Enevold Ludvig Knudsen, was sent on a voyage to Iceland and Greenland. This was the first visit of a naval ship in Greenland for more than 100 years, as the last visit was by the frigate in 1736–37. Ørnen was decommissioned in 1866 and broken up in 1871.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Royal Danish Naval Museum website - Ørnen
  2. ^ a b c d e Sandbeck, Thorkild (2007). Danske forskningsskibe gennem 250 år. Stenstrup, Denmark: Skib Forlag.
  3. ^ Wolff, Torben (1969). Danish Expeditions on the Seven Seas. Copenhagen: Rhodos.

Danish sources[]

Royal Danish Navy Museum website -shiplist - for technical plans and models, choose ships name and click vis

Retrieved from ""