HDMS ''Sarpen'' was a brig of 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 ...

, in which she served from 1791 until the British seized her in 1807. While in Dano-Norwegian service she participated in an indecisive action at

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

, North Africa. She served the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as HMS ''Sarpen'' from 1808 until 1811 when she was broken up. During her brief British service she participated in the

Walcheren Expedition The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Ch ...

. Her name is that of a waterfall on the Norwegian river

Glomma The Glomma or Glåma is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the river r ...

Design

''Sarpen'' was one nine ''Lougen''-class brigs designed by the naval architect

Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt (born 14 February 1741 29 February 1796) was a Danish naval officer and ship builder, who served in the French navy for four years.Topsøe-Jensen Vol 2 pp 554 – 557 and became a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Scienc ...

. The British captured six in 1807.

Dano-Norwegian service

In the

action of 16 May 1797 The Action of 16 May 1797 was a naval battle that took place near Tripoli in Ottoman Tripolitania (present-day Libya). The Danish squadron was attacked by a Tripolitan squadron that outnumbered them in number of vessels. Background After the n ...

, ''Sarpen'', under Captain Charles Christian De Holck, with Captain

Steen Andersen Bille The name of Steen Andersen Bille is closely associated with one extended Bille family of Danish naval officers over several generations. In a direct line from one Vice-Commandant of the City of Copenhagen in the later 17th century, a long list of d ...

in overall command in the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, participated in a punitive attack at Tripoli. The battle lasted for about two hours before the Tripolitans retreated. The Danes suffered one man killed and one wounded. As a result of the Danish victory, the Bey of Tripoli signed a peace treaty with Denmark on 25 May. On his return to Malta from Tripoli, De Holck, performed his quarantine of 38 days at the

Lazzaretto A lazaretto ( ), sometimes lazaret or lazarette ( ), is a quarantine station for maritime travelers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. In some lazarets, postal items were also disinfected, usu ...

in Marsamuscietto, together with Lieut. John Munk, Lieut. Emanuel Krieger, Lieut. Wolfgang Kaas, Commissar Gabriel Hetting and Doctor Mark Klausen. In acknowledgement of the kind treatment they had received, De Holck set up a commemorative marble tablet on 10 October 1797. During the battle of Copenhagen in 1801, ''Sarpen'' was under the command of Captain Lieutenant Carl Farbriuis de Tengnagel. Prior to the battle the Danes had sent her to The Skaw to serve as the eyes of the fleet. She served in

Olfert Fischer Vice-Admiral Johan Olfert Fischer (4 August 1747 – 18 February 1829) was a Danish naval officer. He commanded the Dano-Norwegian fleet against British forces under Lord Nelson during the Danish defeat at Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Life and ...

's division in the Inner Run under Chamberlain Steen Bille and did not engage in any actual fighting.

British service

The British took possession of ''Sarpen'' under the terms of capitulation following 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 ...

on 7 September 1807. ''Sarpen'' arrived on 7 November at Chatham where she was fitted out from November to August 1808. She was to be renamed ''Voltiguer'' but the Admiralty canceled the name change. After refit she joined the British Navy as HMS ''Sarpen''. Commander James Gifford took command of ''Sarpen'' on 16 May 1808 for the North Sea and Baltic. In 1809 she came under the command of Commander John Sanderson Gibson and participated in the

. She took up station off Blackenbeg (probably

Blankenberge Blankenberge (; ; ) is a seaside Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitke ...

). In early May Gibson boarded a vessel with an English license and found out from the Master information about the size and status of the French fleet at

Terneuzen Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentione ...

. Gibson passed the information up the chain of command to Admiral Sir Richard J. Strachan. Similarly, on 29 June, boats from ''Sarpen'' captured a boat and took five prisoners. Gibson interrogated the prisoners from whom he learned that the French were stringing a chain across the river at Antwerp to prevent an attack by

fire ship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the ad ...

s.''Papers relating to the Expedition to the Scheldt.'' (London, 1810), p.48. By October 1809, however, ''Sarpen'' was at

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 ( ...

, to which she had escorted four supply ships.

Fate

''Sarpen'' was paid off on 22 December 1809 and laid up at Sheerness. She was broken up there in August 1811.

Citations

References