Nelson’s Victory: Danish Warship Wreck Found After 225 Years

More than 200 years after it was sunk during the Battle of Copenhagen, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen harbor by marine archaeologists.

Danish Flagship Found Before Construction

Divers are working to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before the area becomes a construction site for a new housing district off the Danish coast. The discovery was announced Thursday by Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum, 225 years to the day since the battle took place in 1801.

“It’s a big part of the Danish national feeling,” said Morten Johansen, the museum’s head of maritime archaeology.

Johansen said a great deal has been written about the battle by observers, but the wreck may reveal what it was like to be onboard a ship under attack. “Some of that story we can probably learn from seeing the wreck,” he said.

In the Battle of Copenhagen, British forces led by Horatio Nelson attacked and defeated the Danish navy, which was attempting to protect a blockade outside the harbor. Thousands were killed or wounded during the hours-long clash, considered one of Nelson’s major victories. The goal was to remove Denmark from an alliance with Russia, Prussia and Sweden.

The 48-meter (157ft) Dannebroge, commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer, was Nelson’s primary target. Cannon fire damaged its upper deck, and incendiary shells started a fire onboard.

“It was a nightmare to be onboard one of these ships,” Johansen said. “When a cannonball hits a ship, it’s not the cannonball that does the most damage to the crew, it’s wooden splinters flying everywhere, very much like grenade debris.”

The battle is also believed to be the origin of the phrase “to turn a blind eye.” Nelson, who had lost sight in one eye, reportedly said, “I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes,” after ignoring a superior’s signal.

Nelson eventually offered a truce, and a ceasefire was agreed upon with Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik. The Dannebroge drifted north and exploded, with the sound reportedly heard throughout Copenhagen.

Archaeologists have found two cannons, uniforms, insignia, shoes, bottles, and part of a sailor’s lower jaw, potentially belonging to one of the 19 crew members unaccounted for.

The dig site is threatened by construction related to Lynetteholm, a project to build a new housing district in Copenhagen harbor, expected to be completed by 2070. Marine archaeologists began surveying the area late last year, focusing on the ship’s believed final location.

Experts confirmed the size of the wooden parts matched old drawings, and dendrochronological dating confirmed the wood’s age. The dig site is also filled with cannonballs, creating a hazard for divers working in murky water. “Sometimes you can’t see anything, and then you really have to just feel your way, look with your fingers instead of with your eyes,” said diver and maritime archaeologist Marie Jonsson.

The 1801 battle remains a significant part of Denmark’s national history.