Carl Edvard van Dockum was a Danish admiral and minister that was notable for his participation in the Battle of Jasmund in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

Biography

Carl Edvard van Dockum was the son of Vice Admiral and his wife.285 (Dansk biografisk Lexikon / IV. Bind. Clemens - Eynden)
/ref> He began as early as 1815 at the ', which he completed as a second lieutenant with HM the King's Honorary Saber in 1821.C. van Dockum
/ref> After a voyage to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

, van Dockum went, with a passport, into French service, where he excelled in several battles such as the

Battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied ...

, and ended up being decorated with the Legion of Honor.C. van Dockum , lex.dk – Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
/ref> At the end of 1829 he returned to Denmark, where he had been promoted to first lieutenant the year before. After service as an enlistment officer, and on various ships, he became in 1840 adjutant to the Governor-General of the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with ; Saint John ( da, St. Jan) with ; and Saint Croix with . The ...

possessions, as well as the harbor master at

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

and military secretary at the General Government. It was under

Peter von Scholten Peter Carl Frederik von Scholten (17 May 1784 – 26 January 1854) was Governor-General of the Danish West Indies from 1827 to 1848. Early life and education He was born in Vestervig, Thy, Denmark as the son of captain Casimir Wilhelm von Sch ...

, where van Dockum proved to be a capable and tactful negotiator, during a dispute with the government of the island of Puerto Rico, which he got settled in a way that satisfied both parties. After returning home in 1846, he was appointed head of the Naval Academy, and in 1847 he became captain. During the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

, in 1848 van Dockum led the corvette ''Flora'' on a blockade in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

, but was recalled to participate in the

Danish Constituent Assembly The Danish Constituent Assembly () is the name given to the 1848 Constitutional assembly at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen that approved the Danish Constitution and formalized the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional democracy ...

as a member elected by the king. On 25 November 1850 van Dockum was briefly appointed Minister of the Navy in the Ministry of Moltke IV, a post he regained in 1866-1867 in the Ministry of Frijs. From 1855 to 1857, van Dockum was a Member of Parliament representing

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwes ...

, after which he was sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1857. In 1859 he was again offered the post of Minister of the Navy, but refused, and in 1860 he rejoined the Navy as Rear Admiral. At the outbreak of

, he was commander-in-chief of the navy in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. Shortly after his most recent ministry, van Dockum was appointed Chief of the Naval Officers Corps and Vice Admiral, which he remained until his retirement on 1 June 1874. He settled in

Strandgade Helsingør Strandgade ( lit. "Beach Street") is one of the principal streets in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs along the full length of the neighbourhood, following the harbourfront, from Christian's Church in the south-west to G ...

, and in 1888 published a book entitled ''Gamle Minder fra Tjenesteaarene om Bord i franske Skibe 1823-29, Ernst Bojesens Forlag København written down in 1877'' by C. van Dockum. Dockum was promoted to squire in 1823,

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

in 1851, became a Knight of the Dannebrog in 1843, Commander of the Dannebrog in 1853 and the Grand Cross in 1860. He is buried in

Holmen Cemetery Holmen Cemetery ( Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in t ...

. His surviving papers are in the

Danish National Archives The Danish National Archives ( da, Rigsarkivet) is the national archive system of Denmark. Its primary purpose is to collect, preserve and archive historically valuable records from central authorities, such as ministries, agencies and national or ...

. There is a portrait painting by

August Schiøtt Heinrich August Georg Schiøtt (17 December 1823 – 25 June 1895) was a Danish portrait painter. Biography August Schiøtt was born in Helsingør, Denmark. He was the son of Heinrich Erpecum Schiøtt and Anna Sophie Marie Fleron. His father w ...

in 1850 in the , a Miniature of wife Louise van Dockum b. Bauditz made by F.C. Camradt on June 1833 in family ownership, a Portrait of

Frederik Christian Lund Frederik Christian Lund (14 February 1826, Copenhagen – 31 October 1901, Frederiksberg), commonly known as F. C. Lund, was a Danish genre and history painter. He is also remembered for his illustrations of traditional Danish regional costumes ...

's painting Paa Søen 1853 on board "Dannebrog" ( lithograph hereafter) and woodcut drawings by

Henrik Olrik Ole Henrik Benedictus Olrik (24 May 1830 – 2 January 1890) was a Danish painter, sculptor and applied artist. Early life and education Henrik Olrik, born in Copenhagen, was son of customs inspector Henrik Johan Ludvig Olrik and Benedicte Mart ...

in 1864, 1871 and 1893.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dockrum, Carl van 1804 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Danish naval officers Royal Danish Navy admirals People of the First Schleswig War Danish military personnel of the Second Schleswig War Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Legion of Honour French Navy officers French people of the Greek War of Independence