The British Fleet off Kronborg Castle, Elsinore, 28 March 1801 [before the Battle of Copenhagen]

The British fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson (flying blue at the fore) as second-in-command, is shown here during its southward passage of the Sound in the run-up to the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. The ships in the middle of the line are exchanging fire with the 16th-century Kronborg Castle at Elsinore on the Danish shore. The neutral Swedish coast at Halsinborg is just visible on the right. The 'Monarch' is in the lead and Nelson is shown in the 74-gun 'Elephant' (Captain Thomas Foley), into which he had shifted his flag from the three-decker 'St George' just before passing the Sound. The drawing is signed and dated twice, 1810 lower left and 1805 lower right, which suggests it is a repetition of the 1805 version. The Museum also has an even earlier version dated January 1802. Formerly owned by Consul J. F. Erichsen; purchased for the Museum from Spink's by Sir James Caird in 1935. Exhibited: NMM Pocock exhib. (1975) no. 33.

Object Details

ID: PAJ2304
Collection: Fine art; Special collections
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Pocock, Nicholas
Places: Kronborg Castle
Events: Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen, 1801
Vessels: Monarch (1765); Saint George (1785) Elephant (1786)
Date made: 1810
People: British Fleet; Pocock, Nicholas
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: Sheet: 480 x 750 mm; Mount: 704 x 988 mm