The Battle of Lyngør was a naval action fought between Denmark-Norway and the United Kingdom in 1812 on the southern coast of Norway. The battle ended in a Dano-Norwegian defeat, and marked the end of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway's involvement in the Napoleonic Wars.
Background
Denmark-Norway's attempt to remain neutral in the struggle between France and the United Kingdom and their respective allies early in the 19th century came to an end after the United Kingdom's pre-emptive naval actions of 1807, in which the entire Danish fleet was captured, the British operating under the possibility that Denmark-Norway was planning to join the Napoleonic Wars on the side of the French. The British imposed a blockade on supply lines between Norway and Denmark in the Skagerrak sound, except for Norwegian ships transporting lumber bound for Britain. The resulting blockade isolated Norway from both Denmark and from the market and economically impacted Norway. Most exports were stopped, as well as grain imports from Denmark. The blockade resulted in an economic crisis for Denmark-Norway.
The Norwegians preferred to limit military operations to coastal defence. Nevertheless, what was left of the Dano-Norwegian fleet after the Battle of Copenhagen (1807) was committed to trying to break the blockade. After years of skirmishes, the Dano-Norwegian fleet was reduced to one major ship, the frigate , which they had finished constructing in 1811 with material salvaged from a ship-of-the-line destroyed in earlier battles. Najaden was under the command of Danish naval officer Hans Peter Holm. Three brigs – Kiel (under the command of Otto Frederick Rasch), Lolland, and Samsøe – accompanied Najaden.
The British saw an opportunity to end the blockade and finish what remained of Dano-Norwegian seapower. They therefore sent the 64-gun third rate ship-of-the-line and three brigs, the 18-gun , 14-gun brig-sloop and the 14-gun brig Flamer to seek out the last remnants of the Dano-Norwegian fleet.
Battle plans
Captain Steward's plan was to chase down Najaden and sink it, thereby giving Britain total control over the trade routes across the Skagerrak between Norway and Denmark, and effectively ending Danish involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. In a pitched battle, his ship-of-the-line would easily defeat the frigate. As a consequence, Steward, a Scotsman known in the Royal Navy as "Mad Jim", was looking for a naval confrontation.
Captain Holm's plan was to avoid engaging the British ships. He relied on his superior knowledge of the local waters to attempt to evade Steward's pursuit. The group of Dano-Norwegian naval forces based in Norway was utilizing a sheltered but weakly defended anchorage on the coast of Norway as a base of operations. If attacked by a superior naval force, the Dano-Norwegian warships would be trapped, cornered in a geographic death trap in the skerries from which there was no apparent escape, except through the one entrance, which was inadequately protected by Dano-Norwegian coastal batteries.
Battle
Najaden had anchored near the island of Sandøya near Tvedestrand, where the captain felt secure. His premise was that no British ship would risk running ashore in the unfamiliar and craggy archipelago. He accepted an invitation to dine with the captain of the Samsøe and even went ashore on the island after his meal. From the hills above, he saw that the British ships were inside the archipelago and headed in his direction.
Rushing back to his ships, he ordered the ships along an inner route north-east, toward Lyngør. Podargus was in the van of the British squadron, apparently with a pilot on board who was familiar with the waters. Still, she ran aground at Buskjærsteinen and Steward ordered Flamer to stay behind and assist the stricken brig. Several smaller Dano-Norwegian boats immediately attacked Podargus and Flamer. Among them were Lieutenant Parnemann with the armed launch Kiøge Bugt and gunboat No.3 under the command of Lieutenant Ring. Four additional gunboats from the Arendal Division, commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Dietrichson, subsequently reinforced them. Lastly, the battery at Digernes (on the seaward side of Borøya island, which is three miles southwest of Lyngør), also fired on the two British brigs. Although Podargus and Flamer sustained damage, they were eventually able to rejoin Dictator after the main battle was over.