Ernst Frederik Walterstorff (1 April 175513 March 1820) served as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of the Danish West Indies from 1788 to 1794 and again from 1802 to 1803. Back in Denmark, he was appointed as a director of the General Post Office () and the Royal Danish Theatre. In 1810, he was appointed as Danish envoy in Paris.

Early life and education

Walterstorff was born on 1 April 1755 in Rønder, the son of and later infantry major Christian Walterstorff (1725–1801) and Barbara Maria Munthe (1727–1802). At an early age, he became a page in the

Royal Danish court The Royal Household of Denmark ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Hof) (also called the Royal Court of Denmark, and colloquially known as "The Court" ( da, Hoffet)) is the establishment and the collective departments which supports the monarch and me ...

(then the center of

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...

). He enrolled at the University of Copenhagen in 1777 and the same year passed his legal exams. He then briefly worked as an assistant () in .

Career

in 1778 Walterstorff moved to the Danish West Indies after being appointed as a member of the Government Council for three years. In 1780–1786, he also served as a district judge () on Saint Croix. In 1782, he became a chamberlain (). In 1783, he was awarded a considerable sum from the Ad Usus Publicos Foundation for an account of his travels in the Danish West Indies and England in the service of Danish trade interests. In 1787, he was promoted to vice governor of the Danish West Indies. On 31 December 1787, he succeeded Henrik Ludvig Ernst von Schimmelmann as governor-general of the islands. In 1790, he was awarded the rank of major general. On 25 July 1794, he was himself succeeded by Wilhelm Anton Lindemann as governor-general of the Danish West Indies. In 1796, after completing a journey to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, he returned to Denmark. Back in Copenhagen, he was appointed as director of . In 1797, he was appointed as one of several directors of , the postal pension fund. He is credited with having instigated, based on inspiration from North America, a passenger transportation system by way of

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

es in Denmark. From 1798 to 1801, alongside Jens Baggesen, he also served as director of the Royal Danish Theatre. During the same period, he also served as president of . Walterstorff was on several occasions charged with diplomatic missions. These activities intensified during the war years after the turn of the century. He was for instance entrusted with representing Denmark in the negotiations with Lord Nelson for a possible ceasefire. In late 1801 he was also sent back to the Danish West Indies as chief-in-command in connection with the return of the islands after the British occupation. In 1803, he returned to Copenhagen and resumed his administrative obligations. In 1807, during the Battle of Copenhagen, despite lacking advanced military training, he acted as head of the . He was also charged with representing Denmark in the negotiations for a Danish capitulation. Later the same year, he was

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

ed for his conduct. In November 1808, he was found partially guilty. In 1809, he was dismissed from all his administrative posts. In 1810, Walterstorff was appointed as Danish minister in Paris.

Personal life

Walterstorff was married to Sara Heyliger Cortwright (died 1839) on 31 May 1787 on Saint Croix, daughter of local planter Cornelius Kortright and Elizabeth Hendrichsen. They had one son, Christian Cortwright von Walterstorff (1790–1823). At the time of the 1801 census, Walterstorff resided with his family in a rented apartment at

Store Kongensgade 81 Store Kongensgade 81 is a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical property situated in Store Kongensgade between Frederiksgade and Hindegade, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The complex consists of a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical residential buil ...

in Copenhagen. From 1799 to 1806, he was the owner of the country house

Kokkedal Kokkedal () is the municipal seat of Fredensborg Municipality and a northern settlement in the urban area of Hørsholm, located on the coastline of northern Zealand, Denmark, between the two towns, Nivå and Hørsholm, 30 km north of Cop ...

north of Copenhagen. He died on 13 March 1820 in Paris and is buried in the city's Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Awards

On leaving the army in 1809, in 1811 he was appointed as lieutenant-general à la suite. He became a White Knight in Hv.R. 1801 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1812. In 1819, he became a count. The comital line of the family died with his son in 1923.

References

External links

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walterstorff, Ernst Frederik Governors of the Danish West Indies 18th-century Danish jurists Jurists from Denmark–Norway Postmasters general of Denmark 19th-century Danish jurists Danish theatre people People from Tønder Municipality University of Copenhagen alumni 18th-century Danish nobility Danish counts Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 1755 births 1820 deaths 19th-century Danish nobility 1780s in the Danish West Indies 1790s in the Danish West Indies 1800s in the Danish West Indies