Edouard Suenson was a Danish vice admiral who was known for his participation in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

and

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

where he was the main Danish commander at the Battle of Heligoland.

Biography

Family

Edouard Suenson was the son of Captain Jean Isaac Suenson (1774–1821) and his wife Anna Susanne, née Lütken (1778–1872). He married Ottilia Uldall (February 10, 1816 - March 22, 1872) in Copenhagen on September 11, 1837, the daughter of the captain, later commander and chamberlain, Johan Joachim Uldall (1777–1839) and his wife Anna Christiane Nellemann (1781– 1833).Th. Topsøe-Jensen: Edouard Suenson (1805–1887). In: Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. 3. Auflage. Gyldendals Boghandel and Nordisk Forlag, Kopenhagen (Danish
denstoredanske.dk
accessed on March 13, 2018). He had a son of the same name Edouard Suenson (1842-1921), who was a naval officer and director of the Great Nordic Telegraph Company.

Military career

He entered military service in 1817 as a cadet and promoted to Lieutenant on September 14, 1823.Flådens Historie (Danish Naval History): ''Edouard Suenson'' (dänisch, ) Around 1825/26, he sailed for the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...

on the corvette ''Diana'' and was granted admission to serve in the

French Royal Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. He was aboard the brig ''Alcyone'' near

Navarino Navarino or Navarin may refer to: Battle * Battle of Navarino, 1827 naval battle off Navarino, Greece, now known as Pylos Geography * Navarino, Wisconsin, a town, United States * Navarino (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community, Unit ...

and the combined British-French-Russian fleet would completely destroy the Ottoman navy at the

Battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied fo ...

. He later served on board the frigate Thetis during the

Invasion of Algiers in 1830 The invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Deylik of Algiers. Algiers was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in 1529 after the capture of Algie ...

from 1830 to 1831 under Admiral

Guy-Victor Duperré Guy-Victor Duperré (20 February 1775 – 2 November 1846) was a French naval officer and Admiral of France. He is known for commanding French naval forces in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–11 and was victorious in the Battle of Grand Port ...

. In the autumn of 1831 he returned home from the French service and in 1831/32 sailed with the brig St. Jan to the Danish West Indies. On May 29, he was promoted to First Lieutenant at Sea. In 1840 he was given command of the steamship ''Kiel'' and later was promoted on February 13, 1841, to Lieutenant Commander. In the years 184041 he sailed with the frigate ''

Bellona Bellona may refer to: Places *Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy *Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia *Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands Ships * HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...

'' to the east and west coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. From 1842 to 1844, he was in command of the steamship ''ÆgirIn'' 1846 he sailed as a commander with the brig ''St. Croix'' to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and in 1847 became commander of the

Trekroner Fort Trekroner Søfort (literally ''Three Crowns Sea Fortress'') is a Coastal defence and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort at the entrance to the Copenhagen#Harbour, Copenhagen harbour. From 1713 until after World War I, Trekroner Fort was part of th ...

off

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

First Schleswig War

In 1848, the

broke out and Suenson was Commander of the schooner ''Pilen'', a guard ship near

Nyborg Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,525 (2022). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...

in the

Great Belt The Great Belt ( da, Storebælt, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Be ...

. In 1849, he became commander of the corvette ''Diana'', a guard ship near

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

. In 1850, he was Commander of the steamship Hekla in the Baltic Sea Squadron. In the bay of Neustadt there was a battle with the Schleswig-Holstein steam cannon boat Von der Tann on July 20 and 21, 1850, during which the '' Von der Tann'' ran aground and was abandoned by its crew and set on fire. The ship was later repaired and incorporated into the Danish fleet under the name ''Støren''. On August 16, 1850, Edouard Suenson led a battle between the Danish ships ''Hekla'' and ''Løwe'' with four Schleswig-Holstein gunboats in the

Bay of Kiel The Bay of Kiel or Kiel Bay (, ; ) is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, ...

Interwar Period

After the war, he became a member of the Construction and Regulatory Commission in 1851. In May, he was commander of the Naval Cadet Corps. He held this position until 1863 and was also in command of the cadet ships and corvettes ''Flora'' in 1851, ''Valkyrien'' in 1853, 1855 and 1857, ''Heimdal'' in 1860 and the frigate ''Jylland'' in 1862. Throughout his service in this period, he was promoted to Corvette Captain on February 26, 1850. On September 24, 1855, to frigate captain and finally on March 24, 1858, to sea captain but on February 26, 1850, he was a frigate captain again.

Second Schleswig War

Admiral Suensons Hjemkomst efter Slaget ved Helgoland

Edouard Suenson had been in command of the Danish squadron in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

with the frigates ''Niels Juel'' and ''

Jylland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

'' and the corvettes Dagmar and Heimdal since the spring of 1864 . Their task was to arrest German merchant ships in the English Channel and the North Sea and thus ensure a sea blockade in Germany. The penetration of the Austrian squadron, allied with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, under the command of

Wilhelm von Tegetthoff Wilhelm von Tegetthoff (23 December 18277 April 1871) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian admiral. He commanded the fleet of the North Sea during the Second Schleswig War of 1864, and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. He is often considered by some A ...

into Danish waters should also be prevented. On May 9, 1864, the Battle of Heligoland began as the Danish fought the Austrian squadron. The battle ended in a draw, but later both sides claimed victory for themselves.

Accolade and commemoration

On May 15, 1864, Suenson received the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

. He is buried in

Holmens Cemetery Holmen Cemetery (Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in th ...

in Copenhagen. The

Edouard Suenson Memorial The Edouard Suenson Memorial is located in front of Nyboder on Store Kongensgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It commemorates Vice Admiral Edouard Suenson who commanded the Danish ships in the Battle of Heligoland 9 May 1864. The monument was designe ...

Nyboder Nyboder (English: New mallHouses) is a historic row house district of former Naval barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was planned and first built by Christian IV to accommodate a need for housing for the personnel of the rapidly growing Royal Dan ...

in Copenhagen was inaugurated in 1886. It incorporates a bust of him by

Theobald Stein Theobald Stein (7 February 1829 – 16 November 1901) was a Danish sculptor. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1883 to 1886. Among his most well-known works are the Niels Juel statue ...

from 1866. The nearby street Suensonsgade is also named after him. A number of ships of the Royal Danish Navy have also been named after Suenson. An 1881 oil on vanvas portrait painting of him by

Otto Bache Otto Bache (21 August 1839 – 28 June 1927) was a Danish Realist painter. Many of his works depict key events in Danish history. Biography At age eleven he received a dispensation and was admitted into the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, ...

is on display in the Museum of National History at

Frederiksborg Castle Frederiksborg Castle ( da, Frederiksborg Slot) is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II ...

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 35,357 (1 January 2022)Christian Mølsted Christian Ferdinand Andreas Mølsted (15 October 1862 – 10 May 1930) was a Danish artist who specialized in marine painting. He is best known for his painting of the frigate ''Niels Juel'' during the Battle of Heligoland on 9 May 1864. Biograph ...

(1897–98, Frederiksborg Castle), H. Nik. Hansen (1910),

Erik Henningsen Erik Ludvig Henningsen (29 August 1855 – 28 November 1930) was a Denmark, Danish painter and illustrator. He is best known for his Social realism, Social Realist paintings of poor and exposed groups in the 1880s and 1890s. He was the younger brot ...

(1915,

Christiansborg Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

) and

August Jerndorff August Andreas Jerndorff (25 January 1846 – 28 July 1906) was a Denmark, Danish painter who is best known for his portraits. Biography August Jarndorff was born in Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg in Lower Saxony. His parents were Just Ulrik Jerndo ...

References

Bibliography

* Th. A. Topsøe-Jensen: ''Det Danske Søofficerskorps 1801–1919.'' Gyldendals Boghandel and Nordisk Forlag, Copenhagen 1919. * Th. A. Topsøe-Jensen, Emil Marquard: ''Officerer i den Dansk-Norske Søetat 1660–1814 og den Danske Søetat 1814–1932.'' Band I und II, H. Hagerups Forlag, Copenhagen 1935. * H. Degenkolv: ''Oplysninger vedrørende den danske flaades skibe i sidste aarhundrede.'' Copenhagen 1906. * Th. Topsøe-Jensen: ''Edouard Suenson (1805–1887).'' In: ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon.'' 3. Auflage. Gyldendal (dänisch
denstoredanske.dk
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Suenson, Edouard 1805 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Danish naval officers Royal Danish Navy admirals People of the First Schleswig War Danish military personnel of the Second Schleswig War Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog French Navy officers French people of the Greek War of Independence