Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Peter Willemoes (11 May 1783 – 22 March 1808) was a

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 ...

officer. He died in the

Battle of Zealand Point The Battle of Zealand Point was fought off Zealand on 22 March 1808 during the Gunboat War. Three ships of the line and one frigate of the Royal Navy intercepted and destroyed a Danish ship of the line. The British victory in the battle resulted ...

. He is commemorated by a statue on the harbourfront in his native town of Assens. Willemoes was born on 11 May 1783 in Assens on the island of

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 ...

, where his father was a public servant. At the age of twelve he was sent to the Naval Academy in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. He became a cadet in 1795 and ''sekondløjtnant'' (second lieutenant) in 1800.

Career

At seventeen he commanded a floating battery, "Flaadebatteri Nr. 1", during the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. After the battle, Willemoes became a member of the

Danish Order of Freemasons The Danish Order of Freemasons (, abbr.: ''DDFO''), in English also known as the Grand Lodge of Denmark, is a governing body of some Masonic Lodges in Denmark. The Danish Order of Freemasons was founded on 16 November 1858. The Danish Order of F ...

before setting off to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

aboard the frigate ''Rota''. After his return to Denmark, he began to study law but discontinued his studies in 1807 to briefly go into

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n service. After the 1807 Battle of Copenhagen where the British captured most of the Dano-Norwegian navy, he returned to Denmark, where he enrolled on '' Prinds Christian Frederik'', the only remaining Danish

ship-of-the-line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

. On 22 March 1808, in the

, the ship was driven onto a sandbar in order to prevent its capture by the British. Willemoes was among the 69 Danish casualties, hit by a bullet to his head, and was afterwards buried at Odden Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willemoes, Peter 1783 births 1808 deaths Danish naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Danish military personnel of the Gunboat War Military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars People from Assens Municipality 19th-century Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officers

Career

References

Further reading

External links