Peter Nicolay Skibsted
| Peter Nicolay Skibsted | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
12 January 1787 Copenhagen |
| Died | 18 April 1832 (aged 45) Copenhagen |
| Buried | Holmens Kirke, Copenhagen (55°40′36″N 12°35′0″E / 55.67667°N 12.58333°ECoordinates: 55°40′36″N 12°35′0″E / 55.67667°N 12.58333°E) |
| Allegiance |
 Denmark
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Danish Navy
|
| Years of service | 1798 - 1832 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars |
Battle of Copenhagen (1807) HMS Grinder Grenå |
Peter Nicolay Skibsted (1787–1832) was a Danish naval officer with a successful career marred only by the loss in 1810 of a squadron of three gunboats under his command to the British.
Born in Copenhagen on 12 January 1787, Peter Nicolay Skibsted was the son of the brewer and alderman, Andreas Skibsted.
Skibsted entered the Danish Navy in 1798 as a volunteer cadet; he formally enrolled as a cadet in 1799 at the age of 12. He was a good swimmer and his senior officer reported in July 1801 that he had completed a swim of 2880 alen (1800 meters in modern measurement) in 63 minutes.
In 1802 he received a promotion to junior lieutenant, which led to his service on Friderichssteen in the Danish West Indies in 1803 and 1804. From 1806 to late February 1808 Skibsted taught at the Naval Cadet Academy. He spent part of his time on Prins Christian Frederik, a ship-of-the-line that was then serving also as a cadet training ship.
Skibsted interrupted his teaching in August and September 1807 with service as commander of the gunboat Holbæk at the defence of Copenhagen.
In 1808 Skibsted commanded the gunboat Nykøbing at Ulfshale, south of Copenhagen. On 9 December 1808 he was promoted to senior lieutenant.
By 1809 Skibsted was commanding officer of a squadron of gunboats based at Korsør in the Great Belt. It was here that a local blacksmith, Knud Eskildsen, laid charges of assault against him. Reportedly, Skibsted struck the blacksmith, who had been extremely rude to him in the presence and hearing of many of Skibsted's crew. Although his senior officer reported that Peter Skibsted never lost his temper, and that the blacksmith was known to be a very impertinent fellow, the court found Skibsted guilty of unlawful and violent assault. In judgement, the court fined Skibsted one month’s pay – to be donated to the hospital for injured sailors – plus court costs.
By 13 April 1810, Skibsted was stationed in the Kattegat. On that day his four gunboats were escorting a small fleet of merchant ships from Udbyhøj at the mouth of Randers fjord southward to the island of Samsø when a British gunboat sought to raid the convoy. Skibsted initially concealed his gunboats behind the merchant ships. Then when the British ship (which turned out to be Grinder) was close enough, the Danes were able to capture her after 90 minutes of hard rowing in the relatively windless air.
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