Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Jørgen Peter Frederik Wulff (6 April 1808 – 8 March 1881) was a Danish naval officer.

Early life

Wulff was born on 6 April 1808 in

Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Ka ...

, the son of

Peter Frederik Wulff Counter-Admiral Peter Frederik Wulff (26 November 1774 – 2 February 1842) was a Danish naval officer. He headed the Royal Danish Naval Academy from 1824 to 1841. Wulff, his wife Henriette Wulf, and several of his children were loyal friends an ...

and Hanne Henriette Wulff née Weinholdt (1784-1836). His paternal uncle was

Christian Wulff Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff (; born 1959) is a retired German politician and lawyer who served as President of Germany from 2010 to 2012. A member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he previously ...

Career

Wulff became a cadet in 1819 and a second lieutenant in 1824. He visited the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

with the frigate ''

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

'' in 1825-26. On his return to Denmark, he was freed from service to join the French navy. The Danish navy was still under reconstruction after the war and, financing being tight, the navy could not afford to build ships and at the same time equip and sail with them. To maintain the naval officers' training, many of them were therefore allowed to sail in foreign navies, including the French Navy. In

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, Wulff was dispatched to service aboard the corvette ''La Bayadére'' in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

. In

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, he was transferred to the schooner ''L'Estafette'' whose task it was to eliminate the Greek pirates in the area. He then served on the corvette ''L'Echo''. In 1830, he served in the

French conquest of Algeria The French conquest of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul (representative), consul escalated into a blockade, following which the Jul ...

. In 1831, he served aboard the frigate ''Hermione'' on its voyage to the West Indies. He was then called back to Denmark where he became a teacher at the Royal Cadet Academy. In 1832-33, he was dispatched to service aboard the brig ''St. Croix'' in the Danish West Indies. He reached the rank of

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 se ...

in 1833. In 1834, he was stationed as enrollment officer at

Fehmarn Fehmarn (; ; from Old Wagrian Slavic languages, Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, afte ...

but was freed from service to recuperate in the south. In 1836, he served on the ship of the line ''Skiold ''. In 1837, he served as second-in-command on the Altona guardship ''Elben''. He distinguished himself during a fire in the village of Wedel. Later that same year he was granted four years freedom from service to command C. H. Donner's merchant brig ''Elisabeth'' on a voyage to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. The ship was involved in a collision in the English Cannel, but Wulff managed to ground it before it sank. In 1841, he reached the rank of

captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Fin ...

and served as commander of the steam vessel ''Kiel'', which was used by the king on his visit to the Danish West Coast islands and picked up Princess Mariane at

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. In 1842-45, Wulff served as customs officer on the east coast of Jutland. In 1846, he served as second-in-command on the frigate ''Gefion'' in the Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. The crown prince participated in the first half of the voyage while his divorce was sorted out. The ship called at Cadiz and

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

. In 1847, Wulff was granted permission to travel to

Malchin Malchin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district), Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in north-eastern Germany. History The name of the town is of Slavic origin. It was granted town rights in ...

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

. During the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

, he initially served as second-in-command of the Danish fleet at the west coast of Sønderjylland and later as commander of the steam ship ''Geiser''. The ship participated in the

Battle of Eckernförde The Battle of Eckernförde was a Danish naval assault on Schleswig. The Danes were defeated and two of their ships were lost with the surviving crew being detained.Carsen Jensen: ''Vi, de druknede'' (oversatt av Mie Hidle), Forlaget Press, (20 ...

on 5 April 1849. In 1850, the ship was in combat with slesvig-holstenske gunboats off Smaldyb. In 1850, Wulff reached the rank of captain. After the end of the war, he was a member of the Construction and Regulation Commission (''konstruktions- og regleringskommissionen'') from 1850 to 1870. In 1851, he travelled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was commander of the frigate ''Havfruen'' in 1853 and of the frigate in 1854. He commanded the corvette ''Heimdal'' on its maiden voyage in 1857 and the corvette ''Thor'' on an expedition to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

in 1859. He reached the rank of ''kommandørkaptajn'' in 1857 and ''orlogskaptajn'' in 1858. Wulff served as commander of the ship of the line ''Skiold'' in 1861 and again in 1864. He participated in the Battle of Rugen. He reached the rank of commander in 1868 and was appointed as ''flådeinspektør'' in 1869. He was commander of the ''pansereskadren'' in 1870 and reached the rank of admiral in the year of his retirement from the navy in 1873.

Personal life

Wulff married Antoinette Christiane Birch (18 July 1823 - 30 July 1892) on 28 December 1843. They had two daughters, Ida Antoinette Wulff (1845-1924) and Marie Henriette Wulff (1847-1927). Ida Antionette Wulff married barrister and politician Octavius Hansen.

References

External links

Jørgen Peter Frederik Wulff
at geni.com
Fregatten Diana of dens besætning
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wulff, Jorgen Peter Frederik People from Slagelse 1808 births 1881 deaths 19th-century Royal Danish Navy admirals