One of the more fascinating things about being a bit of a history buff is that there’s just an awful lot of history out there to take in. (I should know, I’ve lived through a pretty fair chunk of it.) It’s cool to look at an artifact and wonder where it’s been, who was associated with it, and what this thing would say if it could talk.
Case in point: Working in Copenhagen harbor, marine archaeologists have discovered the wreck of the Dannebroge, a Danish man-of-war that was sunk over 200 years ago by ships of the British Royal Navy. The Dannebroge was sunk during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, and here’s the really cool thing: This ship was the primary target of the Royal Navy, and it’s a near-certainty that Lord Horatio Nelson himself laid eyes – well, eye – on the ship before it went down.
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.
And some findings there were. Cannon, fixtures, and even the jawbone of one of the unrecovered crew members. It’s a fascinating look into the past, when things were very different than today; naval battles during and since World War 2 have generally been fought at a distance, mostly by aircraft and now, missiles and drones. it in 1801, it was wooden ships and iron men, facing iron shot that tore ships apart, making very effective shrapnel out of heavy oak.
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.”
This, the remains of the Danish flagship, is all that’s left of those brave men.
Read More: Heroes of Our Past: Expedition Locates Long-Lost WWII Ship Sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Memorial Day Weekend: Grave Robbers Are Desecrating WWII Shipwrecks to Loot ‘Pre-War’ Steel
While we enjoy reading about the historical significance of this fund and the artifacts recovered, we should also take a moment to remember the men on both sides. Some members of the crew of the Dannebroge, after all, went down with their ship, making this not only a fascinating archeological find but also a grave site.
We forget our history at our peril. That’s why finds like this are important; they point out something fundamental about humanity, and it’s this: The history of mankind is the history of conflict, in 1801, and now; in Copenhagen harbor, and in the skies over Iran. And as long as we have iron men to man those aluminum aircraft, we’ll be fine.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
