The Man Who Asked for Ammunition from His Enemy

July, 26, 1714. The Løvendals Gallej, an 18-gun frigate, was sailing off Lindesnes (a municipality in Norway), flying the Dutch flag, when it came across a British-flagged ship. That ship was De Olbing Galley, a 28-gun frigate made available by the Royal Navy to Sweden.

As the two ships approached each other with caution, the Løvendals Gallej suddenly raised their true flag, and the other ship opened fire. The battle between the Løvendals Gallej, captained by Peter Jansen Wessel Tordenskjold, against De Olbing Galley, captained by Bactmann.

Both ships suffered heavy damage as they shot at each other. But the Løvendals suffered more than the De Olbing Galley, because of Wessel’s aggressiveness. His ship was already running out of ammo… but he still wanted to continue the duel. And so,

...Wessel had a boat lowered and sent with a white flag. The Englishman thought it was to negotiate the surrender but he was stunned when he heard the true proposal of the adversary—Wessel wanted a shipment of gunpowder and cannon balls to continue the battle.

Obviously the proposal was not accepted but they did toast together and exchange compliments. Then, given the battered state of the two ships, each one went their own way.

After this battle, Wessel was court-martialed upon the demand of Frederick IV, King of Denmark.

It was carried out in November [of the same year], and he was accused of revealing information to the enemy about his precarious situation and of putting a crown ship at risk by attacking a better-armed adversary. However, the audacious sailor was acquitted in less than a month when he successfully argued a section of the Danish naval code which mandated that fleeing enemy ships had to [be] attacked no matter the size.

And if he was already audacious in that battle, he was more audacious this time as he approached the king and even asked for a promotion, which he received, surprisingly.