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Johannesen Øvre Waage or
Stolmevaagen, plus the fishermen Ole Hansen Nedre Waage, Johannes Anderssen Nedre Waage, Lars Nielsen Øvre Waage and Lars Olsen Stolmevogen, also pulling for the frigate, which they boarded at about 10 am Sunday, though the defendant and his crew arrived first, although the other men tried to reach the frigate first; when they came aboard, the defendant was shown to the Captain's quarters alone, whom, via a mere seaman who spoke Norwegian, asked the defendant if he could pilot the ship into Bergen, to which the defendant answered Yes! But he also asked where the ship came from, to which the translator answered that the ship came from Dover. The seaman convinced the defendant that the ship was French, and as the defendant does not know where Dover is, he assumed what was presented to him by the translator was true.
715:) out on 16 May to investigate and counter the enemy frigate reported to be lying becalmed and fog-bound near Bjørø (some 13 kilometers west and south from central Bergen). Opposite (the fort of) Kvarven there was a small boat under oars retreating quickly, at which the Norwegians fired a couple of shots. As they steered for Bjørø the enemy frigate came under sail and being towed. A lively engagement of 57 minutes ensued. One of the towing vessels was hit by Bjelke's second shot, and observers on land reported seeing five holes in the hull. A breath of southerly wind forced the gunboats to retire as they continued to engage the frigate leaving Gjelte fjord. Damage to the gunboats involved mostly shot-away oars.
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542:. The Norwegian population depended on the import of grain from other countries, particularly Denmark, but supplies dried up as enemy warships captured the merchant vessels carrying them. With the loss of the high seas fleet, and the blockade of the Norwegian coast, the two countries were left to design and build a coastal defence system. As funds were lacking to construct even smaller vessels in sufficient numbers, people were urged to give money and valuables to raise funds for the construction of gunboats
696:
514:, near Bergen, on 16 May, the five vessels making up the entire Norwegian sea force in the Bergen region were ordered to row out and engage the enemy. The frigate lay becalmed outside Alvøen, and in thick fog. The Norwegian vessels took up a position between Alvøen and the frigate, and opened fire. The battle lasted about one hour, during which the British lost 2 men, including Post Captain Bettesworth, commander of the frigate. Norwegian losses were four men killed and unknown amount wounded.
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independence of our country and to the construction of gunboats, contributing trees from the forest, gold, silver and money. We should not sit back idle, insensitive and indifferent – we are our country's sons and our king's citizens, and we should not make ourselves unworthy to bear the name of noble
Norwegian men, because we did not participate in the struggle for the defence of our country.
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anchored off Bjorøyhamn on the evening of 15 May, where she was observed by inhabitants of Alvøen, and sent out four light boats to reconnoitre further in towards Bergen, find out which vessels were lying in its harbour and (last but not least) "bring out the shipping" (i.e. tempt or tow the shipping
546:
You all know the state of our
Country. A deceitful enemy has robbed us of our defence, the Danish Fleet. The country is exposed to attacks from the sea. The government is working hard on a solution, and every honourable citizen and subject should work towards the common goal: National defence and the
659:
station, part of the telegraph system along the coast. This station observed the frigate, still flying a Dutch flag and not thought to be a threat, and the station's head (carrying the signal book) and his assistant rowed out to the frigate, but were both taken prisoner, thus breaking Bergen's chain
624:
The defendant and the three previously mentioned Men, plus Rasmus
Andersen Øvre Waage and Johannes Johannesen Søre Aarland: altogether six Men, then went out to the frigate in a small boat. -When they had come a brief distance from Shore, they sighted the pilots Jacob Jacobsen Nedre Waage and Ole
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was flying Dutch colours upon entering
Norwegian waters on 15 May, and was therefore unsuspected, since the Netherlands were then an ally of Denmark-Norway against Britain. Norwegian fishermen and pilots sailed out in small boats to welcome the vessel and to offer their assistance as pilots – the
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by the Danish government legally allowing them to engage and seize enemy vessels along the country's coast and retaining 99% of these vessels' value so long as 1% of it was then given to the government. Norwegian privateers operated as far as
Scotland, and British merchants began to demand better
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The fight had lasted only 57 minutes, each gunboat firing its weapon once every three minutes. Bielke considered this impressive, considering that the flotilla had been in training for only three weeks. The money raised from private individuals was sufficient to build three new small gunboats
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returning. The pilots would have rushed to the vessel since the first there would get the job of piloting that vessel but, upon arrival, the pilots and fishermen were taken prisoner and forced to guide the vessel in through the narrow fjords leading to Bergen. They were tried by the
Norwegian
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The battle of the Alvøen was not blow in the slightest to RN operations in the Baltic, but was of great importance for the
British operations along the Norwegian coast during the war from 1808 to 1814, emphasising the tactical necessity of avoiding actions close inshore.
638:
National
Archives in Bergen, copy of court documents printed during interviews of the Norwegian pilots and fishermen conducted during 1808 and 1809: Sorenskrivaren i Sunnhordland I.A. 46, tingbok 1807-1812, fol. 86b-89b. The text is translated from old Norwegian
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was about to strike her colours, but at that moment a favourable breeze blew up, allowing the frigate to make good her escape. The
Norwegian commander, Biele, claimed "If the windless wind had not come for us, I dare almost say that the frigate was now ours."
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MILITÆRT TIDSSKRIFT 1967 (Editor: Major K. V. NIELSEN) published by DEN KRIGSVIDENSKABELIGE SELSKAB, containing J. R. Hegland: Marineholmens historie. En skildring av Sjøforsvaret i Bergens Distrikt 1807–1962. (Forsvarets krigshistoriske avdeling, Oslo 1966)
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The defendant answered that he would claim no more than what the King's regulations allowed him, and then asked the ship's Draught, whereupon he received an answer. – The Chief then took the money away, and the defendant did not receive any of
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Morale amongst the Norwegians rose quickly at the perceived victory in driving away the large British warship, even though she had not been captured. Money for building new gunboats became readily available from public subscription. HMS
562:
protection from the Royal Navy. As a result, the Royal Navy sent even more warships to the Norwegian coast, trying to prevent the privateers from ever reaching the open sea and any trading ships from entering Norwegian waters.
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entered Bergen harbour seeking a sheltered spot to conduct repairs. Several privateers were also present in the harbour. The Royal Navy received intelligence about the Dutch frigate, and sent the frigates
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The Chief thereafter showed the defendant a large stock of golden money lying on a plate, and told the defendant that he would be given this money by the Chief if he could take the frigate to Bergen. -
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The Royal Navy was then blockading the coast of Norway, causing major difficulties since the country was then dependent on Danish imports of grain and other foodstuffs. Having lost their fleet in the
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Bielke writes that the station was "borttaget", but does not mention the details as to how. The commission documents from the state archive, however, confirm that the station's crew left the station.
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in 1807, Denmark-Norway was unable to afford the time or money to rebuild their high-seas fleet of corvettes, frigates and ships of the line and so had been forced to construct small vessels or
691:(with several of her cannonballs landing in the water behind the gunboats) and the five gunboats (flying the Danish flag) at the entrance to Alvøen – this image hangs in Alvøen's hovedbygning.
763:, the ship sailed back to England and was repaired there. The ship participated in several actions along the Norwegian coast after this, then with new ship commander, Joseph Baker.
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756:). With this, it was enough to maintain a force in Bergen and at the same time let some vessels go in convoy service along the coast to protect the trade.
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was the last major warship to try invading the inner waters of Bergen where large ships could become targets for the highly manoeuvrable smaller gunboats.
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stating that a British frigate had been sighted, and was probably heading towards Bergen. After the frigate had been sighted at
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from Leith in Scotland on 10 May, with orders to intercept the frigate and report on its movements. On 7 May,
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Senior lieutenant J. C. A. Bjelke, commander of the Bergen gunboat flotilla, took his five boats (one
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The Norwegians on board were eventually designated as prisoners and mostly held below decks on the
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authorities after the battle and a transcript of their interrogation tells of what happened next:
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Fra Krigens Tid (1807 -1814) (From the wartime) edited by N A Larsen, Christiana (Oslo) 1878. (
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of signal stations and putting an important part of the city's defences out of action.
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designed as a monolith encircled by five gun barrels topped with cannonballs.
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had left Bergen; at least that is what local fishermen told Post Captain
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and cruised along the Norwegian coast, capturing merchant vessels as
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Note to citizens, as told in churches in Norway. Source: Hegland:
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The British frigate was underway to Bergen harbour in search of a
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Naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars involving the United Kingdom
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530:" to open warfare against Britain. The Royal Navy blockaded the
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Naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars involving Denmark
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Dutch flag might have fooled them into thinking the
551:Another important factor involved were Norwegian
43:Gunboat battle near Alvøen in Norway, 11 may 1808
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813:""Landssvikoppgjøret" etter slaget ved Alvøen"
791:Modern spelling of this fjord is Hjeltefjorden
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593:George Edmund Byron Bettesworth
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857:Post Captain Bettesworth
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606:Some sources claim that
477:(collectively known as
924:19th century in Bergen
846:Marineholmens Historie
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154:Commanders and leaders
111:Dano-Norwegian victory
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492:for coastal defence.
206:Casualties and losses
599:entered the area of
486:Battle of Copenhagen
92:60.35056°N 5.16889°E
898:22 May 2016 at the
88: /
832:Fra Krigens Tid –
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508:Bergenhus Fortress
403:La Romana's Escape
177:George Bettesworth
929:Conflicts in 1808
729:Holy Cross Church
711:and four smaller
657:optical telegraph
583:and the corvette
558:letters of marque
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355:English Wars
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281:2 March 1808
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120:Belligerents
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28:Part of the
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876:Hegland J R
759:As for HMS
754:kanonjoller
713:kanonjoller
471:kanonjolles
444:Gunboat War
417:Gunboat War
398:West Indies
254:Gunboat War
196:4 gunboats
95: /
57:16 May 1808
30:Gunboat War
918:Categories
799:References
769:Baltic Sea
617:Gelderland
589:Gelderland
572:Gelderland
553:privateers
524:Copenhagen
518:Background
504:Gelderland
266:Copenhagen
216:12 wounded
80:60°21′02″N
878:pp146-148
848:, page 10
719:Aftermath
639:(Danish).
532:Skagerrak
500:privateer
214:2 killed
201:1 frigate
83:05°10′8″E
896:Archived
636:—
615:was the
490:gunboats
479:gunboats
473:and one
450:and the
446:between
368:West Kay
306:Grimstad
291:Saltholm
211:4 killed
191:Strength
62:Location
601:Stolmen
581:Adriane
566:Context
540:convoys
183:†
834:Bergen
765:Tartar
761:Tartar
746:Tartar
737:Tartar
689:Tartar
680:Course
674:Tartar
669:Tartar
665:Tartar
645:Tartar
613:Tartar
608:Tartar
597:Tartar
585:Cygnet
577:Tartar
536:prizes
512:Alvøen
502:named
466:Tartar
460:Norway
456:Bergen
311:Lyngør
301:Anholt
286:Alvøen
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108:Result
67:Alvøen
779:Notes
653:Sotra
595:when
497:Dutch
296:Silda
464:HMS
438:The
388:Køge
271:Køge
54:Date
676:).
633:it.
481:).
458:in
920::
821:^
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752:(
346:e
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