Battle of Lyngør The Battle of Lyngør was a naval battle fought between Denmark - Norway and Britain in 1812 on the southern coast of Norway , effectively concluding the Gunboat War in Britain ' s favour and putting Denmark - Norway out of the war . Background . Denmark - Norway ’ s attempt to remain neutral in the struggle between France and England and their respective allies early in the 19th century came to an end after England ’ s preemptive naval actions of 1807 , in which the entire Danish fleet was taken . The British imposed a blockade on supply lines between Norway and Denmark in the Skagerrak sound , except for Norwegian ships transporting lumber to Britain . The resulting blockade isolated Norway from both Denmark and from the market and was a catastrophe for Norway . Most exports were stopped , as well as grain imports from Denmark . The consequences were economic crisis , with hunger and severe famine due to the blockade . The Norwegians preferred to limit military operations to coastal defence . Nevertheless , what was left of the Dano - Norwegian fleet after the Battle of Copenhagen ( 1807 ) fleet was committed to breaking the blockade . After years of skirmishes , the Dano - Norwegian fleet was reduced to one major ship , the frigate " Najaden " , which they had finished in 1811 with materiel salvaged from a ship - of - the - line destroyed in earlier battles . " Najaden " was under the command of Danish naval officer Hans Peter Holm . Three brigs – " Kiel " ( under the command of Otto Frederick Rasch ) , " Lolland " , and " Samsøe " – accompanied " Najaden " . The British saw an opportunity to enforce the blockade and break the back of Dano - Norwegian seapower . They therefore sent the 64 - gun Third Rate ship - of - the - line and three brigs , the 18 - gun Cruizer class brig - sloop , 14 - gun brig - sloop and the 14 - gun gun brig to seek out the Danes . Battle plans . Captain Steward ' s plan was to chase down " Najaden " and destroy it , thereby giving Britain supremacy over the trade routes across the Skagerrak between Norway and Denmark , and effectively ending Danish involvement in the Napoleonic Wars . In a pitched battle , his ship - of - the - line would easily defeat the frigate . As a consequence , Steward , a Scotsman known in the Royal Navy as " Mad Jim " , was simply looking for a confrontation . Captain Holm never intended to engage the British ships . He relied on his superior knowledge of the local waters to evade Steward ' s pursuit . The group of Danish - Norwegian naval forces based in Norway was utilizing a sheltered but weakly defended anchorage on the coast of Norway as a base of operations . If attacked by a superior naval force , the Danish - Norwegian warships would basically be caught , cornered in a geographic death trap in the skerries from which there was no apparent escape , except through the one entrance , which was inadequately protected by coastal batteries . Battle . " Najaden " had anchored near the island of Sandøya near Tvedestrand , where the captain felt secure . His premise was that no British ship would risk running ashore in the unfamiliar and craggy archipelago . He accepted an invitation to dine with the captain of the " Samsøe " and even went ashore on the island after his meal . From the hills above , he saw that the British ships were inside the archipelago and headed in his direction . Rushing back to his ships , he ordered the ships along an inner route northeast , toward Lyngør . " Podargus " was in the van of the British squadron , apparently with a pilot on board who was familiar with the waters . Still , she ran aground at Buskjærsteinen and Steward ordered " Flamer " to stay behind and assist . Several smaller Danish and Norwegian boats immediately attacked " Podargus " and " Flamer " . Among them were Lieutenant Parnemann with the armed launch " Kiøge Bugt " and gunboat No . 3 under the command of Lieutenant Ring . Four additional gunboats from the Arendal Division , commanded by Captain - Lieutenant Dietrichson , subsequently reinforced them . Lastly , the battery at Digernes ( on the seaward side of Borøya island , which is three miles southwest of Lyngør ) , also fired on the two British brigs . Although " Podargus " and " Flamer " sustained considerable damage , they were eventually able to rejoin " Dictator " after the main battle was over . " Najaden " went into the narrow sound of Lyngør where she anchored between Holmen and Odden , detaching most of her supporting vessels to fight " Podargus " and " Flamer " . Captain Holm assumed that the " Dictator " could not follow down the narrow sound , and assumed that the attack would come from smaller vessels and over Holmen , and deliberately set his broadside towards Holmen . However , Steward sailed into the sound , dropped an anchor behind him , and deliberately ran ashore with his broadside perpendicular to the sound . Using his anchor line for leverage , he positioned " Dictator " to set its broadside against " Najaden " at a range of 35 – 40 meters . Unable to turn , " Najaden " had its broadside pointing away from the opposing ship and was dead in the water . At about 9 : 30 pm , " Dictator " unleashed a 15 - minute barrage against " Najaden " that amounted to four tons of ordnance . The barrage broke her main mast almost immediately and caused a fire on the ship and the Danish brigs anchored nearby . Within 45 minutes , " Najaden " had sunk , having suffered 133 dead and 82 wounded . Captain Holm survived , only to drown in an accident a few months later . The battle resumed as the Norwegian gunboats found their way into Lyngør . At 2 a . m . on 7 July , " Dictator " pulled herself off and departed , harried out of Norwegian waters by the gunboats . The British took " Laaland " and " Kiel " as prizes but had to abandon them after the two vessels grounded . The British did not set fire to either as they still had their crews and wounded aboard . The action cost " Dictator " five killed and 24 wounded , " Calypso " three killed , one wounded and two missing , and " Flamer " one killed and one wounded . Overall , the Danes acknowledged losing 300 men killed or wounded . Commander Weir of " Calypso " was immediately , and Commander Robilliard of " Podargus " in the ensuing December , promoted to post - captain ; " Dictator " s first lieutenant , William Buchanan , was made a commander . In 1847 the surviving British participants were authorized to apply for the clasp " Off Mardoe 6 July 1812 " to the Naval General Service Medal . Consequences . The Battle of Lyngør effectively ended Denmark ' s involvement in the Napoleonic Wars . In the Treaty of Kiel , Denmark ceded dominion over Norway , setting the stage for Norway ' s independence movement , which finally achieved its aims in 1905 . The battle also freed up British naval resources to fight France ' s navy in the Napoleonic Wars . Bicentenial . For the 200th anniversary of the battle in 2012 , a replica gunboat named " Øster Riisøer III " was made . A cannon , possibly from " Najaden " , was recovered from the harbour in 1995 .