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 ...

Christian Wulff (21 February 1777 – 17 March 1843) was a Danish naval officer. He commanded on her expedition to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in 1840–41. He was the younger brother of

Peter Frederik Wulff Counter-Admiral Peter Frederik Wulff (26 November 1774 – 2 February 1842) was a Danish naval officer. He headed the Royal Danish Naval Academy from 1824 to 1841. Wulff, his wife Henriette Wulf, and several of his children were loyal friends an ...

, who headed the Royal Danish Naval Academy from 1724 to 1841, and was the owner of

Petersgaard Petersgaard is a Neoclassical manor house and agricultural estate located between Kalvehave and Vordingborg in Vordingborg Municipality, on the southern part of Zealand, in southeastern Denmark. The Neoclassical main building overlooks Ulvsund ...

Vordingborg Vordingborg () is a market town and old ferry town on the south coast of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three sat ...

Early life

Wulff was born on 21 February 1777 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 ...

, the son of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

and later commandant Frederik Christian Wulff (1749–1812) and Kirstine Wulff née Johansen (1755–1829). His maternal grandfather was Peter Johansen, a ship-owner, owner of

and founder of the

Petersværft Petersværft (literally "Peter's Wharf") is a locality situated on the south coast of Zealand, between Vordingborg and Kalvehave, in southeastern Denmark. It consists of a small, private harbor that belongs to the Petersgaard estate and a few scatte ...

shipyard.

Career

Wulff enrolled as a voluntary cadet in 1781 and became a cadet in 1792. He reached the rank of second lieutenant in 1796. Over the following years he visited 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 ...

several times, first onboard ''HDMS Triton'' (1797–99) and, after a short spell in 1800 in home waters on the training ship HDMS Fridericksværn, on ''HDMS Seieren'' (1800–01 and 1802). He became a

in 1802 and served as second-in-command on the brig ''FDMS Nidelven''. In 1804–13, he was stationed as enrollment officer in

Nakskov Nakskov is a market town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. The town has a population of 12,200 (1 January 2025) and is the largest town on the island of Lolland. It is located in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland. Nakskov is situ ...

. In 1806, he served on ''HDNS Prinds Christian Frederik''. He commanded the boat ''Nakskov'' and acted as ''divisionschef'' in the

Second Battle of Copenhagen The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 7 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet during the Napoleonic Wars ...

, September – October 1807. In 1808–10, he was commander of the gun boats at

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

. In 1808 he captured the Royal Navy brig , whose captain, Lieutenant John Watson Skinner, was killed during the engagement. In 1809, his fleet of gun boats was in combat with the frigate at

Omø Omø is a Danish island in the Great Belt. The island covers an area of , with a 12-kilometre (7-mile) coastline, and has 168 inhabitants, of which the majority inhabit ''Omø village'', which has a church, and Kirkehavn, a small harbour with a f ...

. He attacked a large British convoy at

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

in 1810. He reached the rank of captain-lieutenant (''kaptajnsløjtnant'') in 1810 and was sent to France in 1811 where he initially served on the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

. In 1811–12, he was second-in-command on the ship of the line '' Albanais''. He was freed from service in France in 1812 and traveled to

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

to recuperate. Back in Denmark in 1814, he was once again commander of the gun boats at

Tårs Tårs is a Danish town with a population of 1,839 (1 January 2025)Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

. He reached the rank of commanding captain in 1828 and

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in 1836. In 1840–41, Wulff was commander of on her expedition to the east coast and west coast of

. The Danish frigate collided with a French

chasse-marée In English, a chasse-marée is a specific, archaic type of decked commercial sailing vessel. In French, ''un chasse-marée'' was 'a wholesale fishmonger', originally on the English Channel, Channel coast of France and later, on the Atlantic coa ...

, ''La sainte Fleur'', which sank in the English Channel. The French captain was later given full responsibility for the incident. Wulff negotiated with the government in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, the

President of the Republic The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of state and/or heads of government in countries having republican form of government. Designation In most cases the president of a republic is elected, either: * by direct universal s ...

of Chile, and the government of Peru on behalf of the Danish government. On his return to Denmark in 1841, Wulff was appointed chamberlain and commander of the 1st division. In 1842, he was appointed ''generaladjudant'' and ''jagtkaptajn''. He reached 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 1842.

Personal life

Wulff married Henriette Bodille Birgitte Munthe af Morgenstierne (6 December 1782 – 16 March 1863) on 20 November 1803 in

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

. She was the daughter of landowner and later county governor (''amtmand'') and chamberlain Caspar Wilhelm von Munthe af Morgenstierne (1744–1811) and Anna Petra Cathrine Flindt (1750–1814). His wife bore him one daughter, Charlotte Louise Werner Wulff (1810–1842). In 1810, he bought Petersgaard at

(his maternal grandfather's former estate). In 835–36m he was a member of Roskilde stænderforsamling.

References

External links

Christian Wulff

Christian Wulff
at geni.com

Other sources

T. A. Topsøe-Jensen og Emil Marquard (1935) “Officerer i den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og den danske Søetat 1814-1932“. Two volumes. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wulff, Christian (1777-1843) 18th-century Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officers 19th-century Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officers Danish naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Danish Navy counter admirals Royal Danish Naval Academy alumni Danish military personnel of the Gunboat War 1777 births 1843 deaths 19th-century Royal Danish Navy admirals