Iver Huitfeldt (5 December 1665 – 4 October 1710) was a

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish and no, dansk-norsk) was a koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1536/1537–1814). It is from this ...

naval officer who was killed in action, when he commanded the ship ''

Dannebroge The ''Dannebroge'' was a Dano-Norwegian ship-of-the-line that exploded and sank on 4 October 1710, during the Great Northern War. Almost all of its crew of 600 were killed - one third of the victims were Norwegians. Admiral Iver Huitfeldt was a ...

'' during

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

1700–1721.

Biography

Iver Huitfeldt was born in the Norwegian town of

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

. He lost his mother at the age of six and his father died six years later. Both his parents died in his childhood years and he was therefore later raised by his stepmother with whom he moved to the Norwegian area of

Hurum Hurum was a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. As of 1 January 2020 Hurum has merged with the municipalities of Røyken and Asker to form the new Asker Municipality located in the newly formed Viken county. The administrative centre of the ...

. At the age of 16 he sent an application to

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

of Denmark-Norway in which he applied to join the navy. It was granted and he started the trainee programme of the Dano-Norwegian navy. As a part of the trainee period he first served in the Dutch fleet before later joining the French fleet. He returned to do service in the Dano-Norwegian fleet in 1689 as a 24-year-old lieutenant, but in the following year he returned to do service in the Dutch navy to get more experience. He participated in the Battle of Beachy Head, where the Dutch-English navy was defeated by the French fleet under the command of admiral Tourville. An admiral he served under just two years later at the

Battle of La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...

, where the French navy was defeated by a Dutch-English fleet. In 1691 he got the title as captain in the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in 1704 he was appointed commander. This year the king also ordered Ivar Huitfeldt to take charge of the ship yard in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

, a position he held until 1707. Iver Huitfeldt F

Death

Iver Huitfeldt was killed in action during the

at a battle in Køge Bugt on 4 October 1710. The Dano-Norwegian fleet was engaged by the Swedish fleet, and Huitfeldt's ship ''

'' exploded after a fire on deck reached the gunpowder depot. After the ship caught fire, Huitfeldt ordered his crew to remain onboard and continue firing at the Swedish fleet. Due to ''Dannebroge'''s strategic position, this decision allowed the rest of the Dano-Norwegian fleet to escape, but lead to the deaths of almost the entire crew. The corpse of Ivar Huitfeldt was later found on the beach in Køge Bugt. According to the commander in chief of the Dano-Norwegian navy,

Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve Ulrik is a male name, a Scandinavian form of Ulrich. Ulrik may refer to: *Ulrik Frederik Christian Arneberg (1829–1911), Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party *Albert Ulrik Bååth (1853–1912), Swedish poet *Ulrik Balling (born 1975), ...

, the fire on ''Dannebroge'' was probably ignited by the cannons of the ship. Gyldenløve mentions this in his letter to the king, where Gyldenløve also regrets that a "brave and talented" officer should die in such a miserable way. Gyldenløve followed the battle from his ship ''Elephanten'' and wrote the letter at about 9 o'clock in the morning of October 5.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huitfeldt, Iver People from Halden Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy personnel 1665 births 1710 deaths Danish military personnel of the Great Northern War Norwegian military personnel killed in action Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Huitfeldt family