Johan Andreas Cornelius Ohme (1746 – 5 March 1818) was a Danish-Norwegian army officer.

Early years

Johan Andreas Ohme started his military career as an artillery cadet in 1764. Nine years later he went to Denmark and was appointed

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 4 February. But his stay in Denmark was to be short since he only a month later was sent to Norway as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the 14th artillery company in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. In 1787, Ohme returned to Denmark and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 23 November, and later

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 12 June 1795.

Military career

On 8 May 1805, Ohme was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the artillery, and returned to Norway as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and head of the Artillery Corps on 8 February 1809. At the outbreak of the Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809 he was put in charge of a reserve brigade in the area between

Grønsund Grønsund is a strait in Denmark separating the island Falster from the smaller islands of Møn and Bogø. Grønsund is also the name of a locality on the northeast coast of Falster from where the ferries to Møn used to operate. Grønsund ...

and

Fetsund Fetsund forms the center of the municipality Lillestrøm Viken, Norway. The name comes from the local geography, ''Fet'' means "where water meets grass". As for the ''-sund'' part, it simply means 'strait, inlet'. Accordingly, Fetsund is located a ...

, and later during the war transferred to the infantry. After the war in 1809, he became interim commander at

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress h ...

, and later commandant at

Fredriksten Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. History This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän was ...

from the 13 February 1810. He was on 25 January 1812 also promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. During the Swedish campaign against Norway in 1814, Fredriksten fortress came under siege, and suffered under heavy bombardment. But the fortress held out and was not surrendered to the Swedes until after the

Convention of Moss The Convention of Moss (''Mossekonvensjonen'') was a ceasefire agreement signed on 14 August 1814 between the King of Sweden and the Norwegian government. It followed the Swedish-Norwegian War due to Norway's claim to sovereignty. It also becam ...

. Ohme was later again offered the position of commandant at Fredriksten, but turned it down. He was, however, appointed commandant in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

on 5 February 1815, and took over the fortress when the Swedish occupation forces pulled out. That same year he was also awarded the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

Death

Johan Andreas Ohme died as commandant in Fredrikstad on 5 March 1818 and was buried in the old cemetery at the Eastern Fredrikstad Church. Ohme remained unmarried, and at his death he established an endowment to the upbringing of orphan officer daughters of ages 9 to 18. 17 May 1905 it was erected a memorial over his grave, as it is placed flowers on it each 17 May (

Norwegian Constitution Day Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on 17 May each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to as ''Syttende Mai'' ("Seventeenth of May"), ''Nasjonaldagen'' ("National Day"), or ''Grunnlo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohme, Johan Andreas Cornelius 1746 births 1818 deaths People from the Duchy of Holstein Danish military personnel Norwegian Army generals Norwegian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Order of the Sword