Battle of Alvøen The Battle of Alvøen was a sea battle of the Gunboat War between Denmark - Norway and the United Kingdom . It was fought on 16 May 1808 in Vatlestraumen , outside Bergen in Norway , between the British frigate HMS " Tartar " and a Norwegian force consisting of four " kanonjolles " and one " kanonsjalupps " ( collectively known as gunboat s ) . The British Royal Navy was then blockading the coast of Norway , causing major difficulties since the country was then dependent on Danish imports of grain and other foodstuffs . Having lost their fleet in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 , Denmark - Norway was unable to afford the time or money to rebuild their high - seas fleet of corvettes , frigates and ships of the line and so had been forced to construct small vessels or gunboats for coastal defence . The British frigate was underway to Bergen harbour in search of a Dutch privateer named " Gelderland " , known by the British to be seeking shelter in the harbour during repairs . On the evening on 15 May , a message was received at Bergenhus Fortress stating that a British frigate had been sighted , and was probably heading towards Bergen . After the frigate had been sighted at Alvøen , near Bergen , on 16 May , the five vessels making up the entire Norwegian sea force in the Bergen - region were ordered to row out and engage the enemy . The frigate lay becalmed outside Alvøen , and in thick fog . The Norwegian vessels took up a position between Alvøen and the frigate , and opened fire . The battle lasted about one hour , during which the British lost 12 men , including Post Captain Bettesworth , commander of the frigate . Norwegian losses were five men and several wounded . Background . The years from 1807 until 1814 were hard times for Norway . They fell during the Napoleonic Wars , which raged from 1800 – 1815 , and which the united kingdoms of Norway and Denmark entered in 1807 . After " the theft of the fleet " in 1807 , when the entire Danish - Norwegian fleet was confiscated and sailed to Britain after the British victory at Copenhagen , Denmark - Norway moved from ' armed neutrality ' to fighting against Britain . The British fleet blockaded the Skagerrak and cruised along the Norwegian coast , capturing merchant vessels as prizes and attacking coastal convoys . The Norwegian population depended on the import of grain from other countries , particularly Denmark , but supplies dried up as the British navy captured the merchant vessels carrying them . The Henrik Ibsen poem " Terje Vigen " occurs during this period and describes a poor pilot ' s risky journey from the south of Norway to Denmark to buy grain in order to feed his wife and child . He is captured near the coast of Norway on his way back from Denmark , and sent to prison in England . With the loss of the high seas fleet , and the blockade of the Norwegian coast , the two countries were left to design and build a coastal defence system . Lacking the funds to construct even smaller vessels in sufficient numbers , people were urged to give money and valuables to raise funds for the construction of gunboats : Lacking a proper navy and without larger vessels in sufficient numbers , it was self - evident that a defensive strategy was what was needed . What naval powers the country still had could only hope to prevent British warships from attacking Norwegian trading vessels , and this was what they attempted to do . The coastal trade was extremely important to prevent starvation - fish from northern Norway were traded for grain from areas south of Norway , especially Denmark . Naval forces of small gunboats were placed at strategic positions along the coast , with the naval commander in chief ordering each one out as and when enemy activity was reported in their operating area . Another important factor was the privateer s , civil ships granted " letters of marque " by the Danish government legally allowing them to engage and seize enemy vessels along the country ' s coast and retaining 99 % of these vessels ' value so long as 1 % of it was then given to the government . Norwegian privateers operated as far as Scotland , and merchants began to demand better protection from the Royal Navy . As a result , the Royal Navy sent even more warships to the Norwegian coast , trying to prevent the privateers from ever reaching the open sea and any trading ships from entering Norwegian waters . Context . In May 1808 , a Dutch frigate named " Gelderland " entered Bergen harbour seeking a sheltered spot to conduct repairs . Several privateers were also present in the harbour . The Royal Navy received intelligence about the Dutch frigate , and sent the frigates " Tartar " , " Adriane " and the corvette " Cygnet " from Leith in Scotland on 10 May , with orders to intercept the frigate and report on its movements . On 7 May , " Gelderland " had left Bergen ; at least that is what local fishermen told Post Captain George Edmund Byron Bettesworth when " Tartar " entered the area of Stolmen west of Bergen on 15 May . Some sources claim that " Tartar " was flying Dutch colours upon entering Norwegian waters on 15 May , and was therefore unsuspected , since the Netherlands were then an ally of Denmark - Norway against Britain . Norwegian fishermen and pilots sailed out in small boats to welcome the vessel and to offer their assistance as pilots - the Dutch flag might have fooled them into thinking the " Tartar " was the " Gelderland " returning . The pilots would have rushed to the vessel since the first there would get the job of piloting that vessel but , upon arrival , the pilots and fishermen were taken prisoner and forced to guide the vessel in through the narrow fjords leading to Bergen . They were tried by the Norwegian authorities after the battle and a transcript of their interrogation tells of what happened next : " Tartar " sailed into what is now Marstein fyr ( holmen Marsteinen ) . To the south , at Sotra , near Kleppe ( Kleppholmen ) , was an optical telegraph station , part of the telegraph system along the coast . This station observed the frigate , still flying a Dutch flag and not thought to be a threat , and the station ' s head ( carrying the signal book ) and his assistant rowed out to the frigate , but were both taken prisoner , thus breaking Bergen ' s chain of signal stations and putting an important part of the city ' s defences out of action . The Norwegians on board were eventually designated as prisoners and mostly held below decks on the " Tartar " , with only one or two of them kept on deck to guide the frigate into Bergen . The " Tartar " anchored off Bjorøyhamn on the evening of 15 May , where she was observed by inhabitants of Alvøen , and sent out four light boats to reconnoitre further in towards Bergen , find out which vessels were lying in its harbour and ( last but not least ) " bring out the shipping " ( i . e . tempt or tow the shipping to sail out from the port and thus pass the " Tartar " ) . Notes . [ [ Category : Battles of the Gunboat War ] ] [ [ Category : Conflicts in 1808 ] ]