H79.] «50l [PhllLIpS 



kingdom of Denmark, and, under the pretext that the stipulations of the 

 treaty were not being carried out, in the month of August he unexpectedly 

 blockaded the roadstead of Copenhagen. All was consternation, and the 

 courtiers begged the King, Frederic the Third, to take to flight for safety 

 into Norway. But his noble spirit revolted, and with Roman bravery he 

 resolved to defend his capital to the last gasp, gave his personal superintend- 

 ence to all the necessary preparations for its defence, planted the Royal 

 Standard on the ramparts, armed the citizens, assigned to his officers the 

 command of different portions of the city, and, animated by the hopes and 

 promises of succor held out to him by the Netherlandish provinces, whose 

 interests were in common with those of his kingdom, he resolved to perish 

 beneath the ruins of Copenhagen, with his whole family and court, rather 

 than fly or fall into the hands of his enemies. Nor were his hopes un- 

 founded. When the States of Holland knew the design of the King of 

 Sweden to be the conquest of Denmark so as to fall upon the Elector of 

 Brandenburg and be avenged upon him for his having deserted the Swedish 

 cause, and saw that his efforts were to obtain the complete control of the 

 Baltic Sea, to the exclusion of their commerce, they resolved to send a fleet 

 and an army to the relief of the threatened nation, although by some it was 

 argued that to do so might imperil their relations with France and Eng- 

 land, which were supposed to be favorable to the Swedish pretensions. On 

 the 17th of October, Admiral Obdam set sail to succor the King of Den- 

 mark, who was continuing to defend his capital, with valor and fortitude, 

 although the enemy had became masters of the Castles of Cronenbourg 

 and Helsinbourg, and held the mouth of the Sund blockaded by their vessels, 

 so that the Hollandish fleet in order to bring relief to the besieged would be 

 obliged to run the gauntlet of the tires of these two fortresses, and at the same 

 time manoeuvre their ships in a narrow passage to avoid the dangers of an 

 intricate navigation. On the 8th of November the Admiral divided his 

 fleet into three squadrons and proceeded to engage the enemy's vessels, 

 manned chiefly by Scotch and Irish sailors, and commanded by the illustri- 

 ous Wrangel, as Captain General of the Kingdom of Sweden. About 9 

 o'clock in the forenoon the combat began, and raged for six hours with 

 great fury in the presence cf the King of Sweden himself, who in company 

 with his wife and sister and other personages of high rank watched from 

 the Castle of Cronenbourg the fortunes of the fight. The Swedes fought 

 bravely as ever, but the extraordinary valor of the Hollanders was ulti- 

 mately crowned with success. Of the enemy's vessels they captured three, 

 and burned and sunk eight others, forcing the rest to take to flight, thus 

 permitting a juncture to be made with the the Danish flotilla under Admiral 

 Bielkc. The Sound was opened by valor and force of arms, and the Swedi s 

 chased out of that sea by a most glorious victory, whose memory was pre- 

 served in this and some other medals. 



A stiver medal presents on the obverse Neptune boldly engraved stand- 

 ing in a chariot drawn by two horses upon a stormy ocean whose waves are 

 lashed into fury by JEolus in the right cor.ier. in Neptune's left hand is 



