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NAVAL GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL WITH COPENHAGEN CLASP
Riflemen at The Battle of Copenhagen
This month’s object is one of two Naval General Service
Medals (1793-1840) with the clasp ‘Copenhagen 1801’
awarded to members of the Experimental Corps of Riflemen
(later the 95th Rifles). It is the only one owned by,
and on display in, the Museum. It was awarded to Private
J. Steff (or Stiff), who was a member of Captain
Beckwith’s company, which, during the battle on 2 April
1801, provided marksmen on board the ships of His
Majesty’s Navy. |
Background
The Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 arose because the Danes
had adopted a position of ‘armed neutrality’ towards
France, which subsequently led the Danes to occupy the
Baltic ports of Hamburg and Lübeck and place an embargo
on British shipping entering the Baltic Sea. The British
reacted by sending a fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker
, with Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson as his
second-in-command, to force the Danes to climb down.
One company of the Experimental Corps of Riflemen, under
the command of Captain Sidney Beckwith, together with
the 49th Regiment of Foot (later The Berkshire Regiment)
and a detachment of artillery, accompanied Admiral
Parker’s expedition. The Army contingent was commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable William Stewart,
commanding officer of the Experimental Corps of
Riflemen.
On 28 February 1801 Captain Beckwith and his company
boarded Admiral Nelson’s flagship, HMS St. George, at
Portsmouth with the men later distributed as marksmen
among the ships of Nelson’s squadron. The company
strength amounted to four officers and 109 other ranks.
On 30 March 1801 the fleet anchored in sight of
Copenhagen. On 2 April, Nelson, with a detachment of 12
ships-of-the-line, began a bombardment of the city while
Admiral Parker waited offshore with the rest of the
fleet. The Danes responded with fire from onshore and
floating batteries of guns. These were eventually
overcome by the superiority of the British gunnery. Soon
afterwards the Danes accepted a ceasefire on British
terms.
During the battle Lieutenant and Adjutant J.A. Grant on
board HMS Isis became the first officer of the
Experimental Corps of Riflemen killed in action since
its creation in 1800. Two other ranks were also killed
and six others wounded, of whom some subsequently died
of their wounds.
Private Steff (Stiff) on board HMS Isis and Private H.
Pasley on board HMS St. George were the only members of
the Corps to claim the Naval General Service Medal
(1793-1840) with clasp ‘Copenhagen 1801’ after the medal
was authorised by General Order on 1 June 1847. In
total, only 25 medals with the clasp ‘Copenhagen 1801’
were awarded to military personnel. |
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Although the British Government did not introduce the
Naval General Service Medal (1793-1840) or the Military
General Service Medal (1793-1840) until 1847, regimental
medals were sometimes awarded soon after the action to
which they related. There are two examples of regimental
medals awarded for Copenhagen 1801 on display in the
Museum, both to unnamed recipients.
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