Jørgen Conrad De Falsen
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Counter-Admiral Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Dependi ...
Jørgen Conrad de Falsen (19 August 1785 – 23 August 1849) was a Norwegian naval officer who served in the
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...
. Despite being plagued by ill health, he saw active service in the
Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Denmark-Norway, Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, when John, King of Denmark, King John appointed his vassal Henrich Krummedige, Henrik Krummedige to become "chief captain and ...
throughout the
Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, , Swedish: ''Kanonbåtskriget''; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and Great Britain supported by Sweden during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing sm ...
, and eventually rose to the rank of rear admiral in the
Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...
. Falsen married twice, the second marriage being to a
lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
to the Queen of Denmark.


Family

His father, Enevold De Falsen (1755–1808) married Anna Henrikka Petronelle Mathiesen (1762–1825) in 1781. They had 7 children, including the statesman
Christian Magnus Falsen Christian Magnus Falsen (14 September 1782 – 13 January 1830) was a Norwegian statesman, jurist and historian. He was a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly and was one of the writers of the constitution of Norway. Falsen has been name ...
(1782–1830) and the county governor Carl Valentin de Falsen (1787–1852). Their fourth child, Jørgen Conrad de Falsen was born on 19 August 1785 in Kristiania (now
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
).


Early career

De Falsen joined the Danish-Norwegian navy as a volunteer cadet in 1797, becoming a midshipman in 1798 and acting lieutenant in 1801. Promoted to junior lieutenant in 1802, he served in ''Friderichssteen'' on a cruise to the Danish West Indies in 1802–1803. Returning in poor health, he was granted six months' sick leave—extended to nine months—before resuming duties and in 1805 returning to the Danish West Indies in the frigate ''Diane'', a voyage followed by another extended period of leave. In April and May 1807 he was first officer on board the frigate ''Triton'', and later in 1807 in charge of troop transports bringing Danish soldiers from Femern to Lolland, skilfully navigating the treacherous waters with his vessels thanks to his navigational experience. Later the same year, he was promoted to senior lieutenant. In 1808 and early 1809 he was stationed on the Scheldt, where Danes crewed and officered ''Pultusk'' (or ''Pulstuck'') and ''Dantzick'', two French ships-of-the-line. When the Danish captains were replaced on 28 January 1809 with French ones, Falsen and fellow officer Senior Lieutenant Frederick Christian Holsten resigned in protest and refused to obey orders, so they were arrested and sent to Frederickshavn Citadel to serve a six-month detention.


Gunboat War

In July 1809 Falsen was posted to a gunboat flotilla in the
Great Belt The Great Belt (, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Belt ferries fr ...
, but in August was ordered from
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to Fladstrand. Whilst travelling to his new post, he injured his knee in a cart accident, so P. M. Tuxen took command at Fladstrand. Falsen's organisation of naval aspects of the abortive 1810 expedition to
Anholt Anholt may refer to: Places *Anholt (Denmark), Danish island * Anholt, Netherlands, village in Drenthe, Netherlands *Anholt, Germany, district of the city of Isselburg, Germany **The Lordship of Anholt, historical state People *Christien Anholt ( ...
in February and March of that year failed due to short notice, winter leave for the gunboat crews, ice and storm; Falsen sought to exonerate himself in a report to the
Danish king This is a list of Danish monarchs, that is, the kings and queen regnants of Denmark. This includes: * The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397) ** Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397) * The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) ** Union of Denmark ...
. After this he was posted to Fladstrand under the command of Lieutenant P. M. Tuxen. In an engagement lasting some ninety minutes, Falsen's flotilla of four gunboats exchanged heavy fire with a British frigate of 32 guns on 27 April 1810 off
Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...
(The Skaw) before both sides broke off the fight. On 12 September 1810 off
Læsø Læsø ("Isle of Ægir, Hlér") is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Denmark, Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality (Danish language, D ...
, Falsen captured HMS ''Alban'', which the Danes took into service as ''The Alban''. It was recaptured just seven months later. In early 1811, now the officer commanding Fladstrand and HalsHals, at the eastern entrance to limfjord, is thirty miles south of Fladstrand flotilla, the prize money that was owed to him was finally given. During the Battle of Anholt on 23 March 1811, Falsen was in command. The most senior army officer in the attack, Major Melsted, was killed during the battle. The Danes were defeated and Falsen was captured, but he was exchanged on 8 April 1811 during a
prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoner of war, prisoners of war, spy, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, cadaver, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conven ...
and was landed in Jutland. On the 4th of July Falsen's flotilla engaged a British convoy near Hjelm. During the engagement Falsen was wounded in action when captured his vessel, ''Gunboat No 2''. Again, he was exchanged a few days later. In November 1811 Falsen was off sick due to his battle wounds worsening, but on 19 August 1812 he was again involved in an action when he captured the brig off
Grenå Grenaa (or Grenå) is a Denmark, Danish town and seaport on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula. Tourism, education and commerce are important sectors in the economy of Grenaa. It is the only larger town on Djursland. Grenaa is the municipal ...
.


Post-war

In the immediate post-war years de Falsen undertook several foreign study tours but his health was poor, and he was given extended leave on health grounds in 1835. He continued to suffer from liver disease and gallstones, but eventually retired from the Danish navy at the rank of
counter admiral Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Dependi ...
in 1848.


Marriage

Falsen's first marriage was to Cecilie Catharine Hoier in 1811. She died in 1817, and he married Jørgine Elisabeth Rosenkrantz on 9 November 1825. He had two sons, Enevold (1813–1867) and Niels.


Death

Falsen died on 23 August 1849 on the estate of Søbysøgård on
Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...
, which he had bought in 1845.It is now the site of an open prison. He is buried at the Danish Naval Church på Holmen in Copenhagen.


Notes


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * T. A. Topsøe-Jensen og Emil Marquard (1935) ''Officerer i den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og den danske Søetat 1814-1932'' (Officers of the Danish-Norwegian Naval Service 1660 -1814 and the Danish Naval Service 1814-1932) Many deeper references to source material are contained within the text of this two volume publication. The books can be downloaded fro

in .pdf format. * (especially page 337) * * C F Wandell ''Søkrigen i de dansk-norske farvande 1807-14: fra tabet af flaaden til freden i Kiel'', (The war at sea in Danish-Norwegian Waters 1807 – 14) {{DEFAULTSORT:Falsen, Jorgen Conrad De 1785 births 1849 deaths Military personnel from Oslo Royal Danish Navy counter admirals Danish naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 18th-century Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officers 19th-century Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officers Norwegian emigrants to Denmark 19th-century Royal Danish Navy admirals Danish military personnel of the Gunboat War