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In 1801 the northern powers of Russia, Denmark, Sweden and Prussia – the last three under pressure from the mentally unstable Tsar Paul I – formed an armed coalition that constituted a threat to British interests in the Baltic. A British fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, with Lord Nelson as his second-in-command, was therefore dispatched to disrupt it. Nelson proposed an assault on the Danish fleet anchored in a defensive formation off Copenhagen. By 30 March the fleet anchored off the Swedish island of Hven, 15 miles from Copenhagen. Nelson took the lighter ships of the squadron (74 guns and less) south of the city via the Hollands Deep, the outer channel east of the Middle Ground shoal, while Parker with the larger vessels remained to the north.
The picture is viewed from the south end of the King's Deep and shows the British flying the blue ensign. In the right foreground the sharply pitched positions of the 'Russell' and 'Bellona', indicate that they have gone aground, though they remained in action (Captain Thompson of the 'Bellona' losing a leg). The skyline of Copenhagen rises above the gunsmoke in the centre background, the distinctive spiral tower of the Bourse being notable.
Title
The Battle of Copenhagen, 2 April 1801
Date
1801
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 49.5 x W 81.3 cm
Accession number
BHC0528
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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