Danish warship sunk by Nelson's British fleet discovered after 225 years
[April 02, 2026]
By JAMES BROOKS
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm.
Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been
discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbor by marine archaeologists.
Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 15 meters (49 feet)
beneath the waves, divers are in a race against time to unearth the
19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction
site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.
Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum, which is leading the monthslong underwater
excavations, announced its findings on Thursday, 225 years to the day
since the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.
“It’s a big part of the Danish national feeling,” said Morten Johansen,
the museum’s head of maritime archaeology.
A great deal has been written about the battle “by very enthusiastic
spectators, but we actually don’t know how it was to be onboard a ship
being shot to pieces by English warships and some of that story we can
probably learn from seeing the wreck,” Johansen said. The Associated
Press was the only international outlet given access to the site.
In the Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson and the British fleet attacked and
defeated Denmark’s navy as it formed a protective blockade outside the
harbor.
Thousands were killed and wounded during the brutal hourslong naval
clash, considered one of Nelson’s “great battles.” The intention was to
force Denmark out of an alliance of Northern European powers, including
Russia, Prussia and Sweden.
At the center of the fighting was the Danish flagship, the Dannebroge,
commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer.
The 48-meter (157-foot) Dannebroge was Nelson’s main target. Cannon fire
tore through its upper deck before incendiary shells sparked a fire
aboard.
“(It was) a nightmare to be on board 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 also is believed to have inspired the phrase “to turn a blind
eye.” After deciding to ignore a superior’s signal, Nelson, who had lost
sight in his right eye, reportedly remarked: “I have only one eye, I
have a right to be blind sometimes.”
[to top of second column]
|
Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking
Ship Museum, shows a metal insignia recovered from the wreck of
Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of
Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
(AP Photo/James Brooks)
Nelson eventually offered a truce and a ceasefire was later agreed with
Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik.
The stricken Dannebroge slowly drifted northward and exploded. Records
say the sound created a deafening roar across Copenhagen.
Marine archaeologists have discovered two cannons, uniforms, insignia,
shoes, bottles and even part of a sailor’s lower jaw, perhaps one of the
19 unaccounted-for crew members who likely lost their lives that day.
The dig site will soon be enveloped by construction work for Lynetteholm,
a megaproject to build a new housing district in the middle of
Copenhagen Harbor that is expected to be completed by 2070.
Marine archaeologists began surveying the area late last year, targeting
a spot thought to match the flagship’s final position.
Experts say the sizes of the wooden parts found match old drawings.
Dendrochronological dating, the method of using tree rings to establish
the age of wood, match the year the ship was built. They also say the
darkened dig site is full of cannonballs, a hazard for divers navigating
waters darkened by clouds of silt stirred up from the seabed.
“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,” diver and
maritime archaeologist Marie Jonsson said.
Chronicled in books and painted on canvases, the 1801 battle is deeply
embedded in Denmark’s national story.
Archaeologists hope their discoveries may help reexamine the event that
shaped the Scandinavian country and perhaps uncover personal stories of
those who went into battle on that day 225 years ago.
“There are bottles, there are ceramics, and even pieces of basketry,”
Jonsson said. “You get closer to the people onboard.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
