HMS Tartar (1801) - Battle of Anholt

Battle of Anholt

At the beginning of February 1811 Captain Maurice of the Royal Navy warned Vice Admiral Sir James Saumarez that the Danes were planning an attack on the island of Anholt, on which there was a small British garrison of which Maurice was the commander. Maurice received further confirmation of the attack on 8 March. Saumarez ordered Tartar and Sheldrake to sail to Anholt to provide support. They left Yarmouth on 20 March and anchored off the north end of the island on 26 March.

The next day the British garrison sighted the invasion force off the south side of the island. Maurice marched to meet them with a battery of howitzers and 200 infantry, but was not able to forestall a landing. He therefore pulled back to prepared positions and alerted Tartar and Sheldrake that the enemy was on shore. The two vessels immediately set sail, with Tartar going around one side of the island and Sheldrake the other. However, the shoals forced Tartar to swing wide, delaying her by many hours.

The Danes, who had eighteen heavy gunboats for support, had landed more than 1000 troops in the darkness and fog. They were poorly equipped and their attack was uncoordinated, with the result that the British batteries at Fort Yorke (the British base) and Massareenes stopped the assault. Gunfire from Tartar and Sheldrake forced the gunboats to move off westwards.

The gunboats made their escape over the reefs while the ships had to sail around the outside. Tartar chased three gunboats towards Læsø but found herself in shoal water as night approached and gave up the chase. On the way back Tartar captured two Danish transports that she had passed while chasing the gunboats; one of them had 22 soldiers on board, with a considerable quantity of ammunition, shells and the like, while the other contained provisions. Sheldrake managed to capture two gunboats.

About half of the Danish invasion force managed to board fourteen gunboats on the western side of Anholt and make their escape that way. The Battle of Anholt cost the British only two killed and 30 wounded. The Danes lost their commander, three other officers, and 50 men killed. The British took, besides the wounded, five captains, nine lieutenants, and 504 rank and file as prisoners, as well as three pieces of artillery, 500 muskets, and 6,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, Sheldrake's two captured gunboats resulted in another two lieutenants of the Danish Navy and 119 men falling prisoner.

The Danish troops came from the 2nd Battalion of Jutland Sharp Shooters, 4th Battalion 2d Regiment Jutland Jagers and the 4th Battalion lst Regiment Jutland Infantry. Maurice sent a flag of truce to Jutland offering to release the prisoners on their parole not to serve until exchanged. Baker proposed that if the Danish authorities agreed to these terms, that he would take all the prisoners to Randers to exchange for the officers and crew of the sloop Pandora which had wrecked off Jutland on 13 February 1811.

Because the Admiralty had declared the island of Anholt a vessel, "HMS Anholt", for administrative purposes, Tartar shared with her and Sheldrake in the head money for the battle and for gunboats No.1 and No. 7, which Sheldrake had taken. HMS Anholt also had a schooner, the Anholt, as a tender. She had been cruising looking for enemy vessels but had returned in time to take part in the battle. All four vessels, i.e., including the island HMS Anholt, also shared in the money for the ordnance stores captured. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Anholt 27 March 1811" to the remaining British survivors of the battle.

Tartar and Ethalion captured St. Helena (4 June), St. Johannes (5 June), St. Alexa (26 June), and the packet of Abo (4 July). On 17 June they captured the Commerce. A month later, on 27 July 1811, Tartar and Ethalion were in sight when Fisgard captured the St Ivan. In June and July the two warships also captured the Danish galiots Nos. 7 and 9, the St. Peter and St. Simeon, and the sloop Expressen.