Christian Thomsen Carl

Family

Christian Thomsen Carl was born in 1676 in Assens on the Danish isle of Funen as the son of Helvig Jensdatter (†1717) and Thomas Iversen, also spelled Iffversen. Carl's father was a wagoner and owned a ferry, then a typical reward for former naval officers; on 5 October 1665 he had received the privilege to maintain a ferry from Frederick III of Denmark. Iffversen on 28 November 1667 received another privilege granting him the right to maintain an inn in Assens, where he became a member of the town's council on 25 November 1673 and a mayor from 13 December 1682 to 1694. According to Johan Henrik Lutzow,^(da.wiki) Carl's father died in 1698, while Max Sander says he died between 1699 and 1702.

According to Lutzow, Christian Thomsen Carl married twice, both times in Copenhagen's naval Church of Holmen, and both times into the Klaumann family: on 1 June 1702, he married Dorothea Klaumann (*~1675 in Copenhagen, †1704), daughter of Peter Klaumann (*~1635, †1710) and Eleonora Theresa Dulieu (†1679); and on 19 February 1706 he married Mechtilde Magdalene Klaumann (*in or before 1682, †1711), daughter of Nicolaj Klaumann (*~1646, †1707) and Apolonia Jensdatter Snistorph (†1733).

Sander however, with reference to the rigsarkivet, reports similar names but in a different setting. According to Sander, Carl married Megtilde Magdalene Klaumann on 1 June 1702, and with her he had at least the following children:

Sander says that after Christian Thomsen Carl's death, one of his sisters and his son Peter Klaumann Carl were still alive; the sister had married Assens' mayor Lauge Hansen. Based on Hansen's correspondence, Sander says that the abovementioned privilege to maintain a ferry - which Christian Thomsen Carl had inherited from his father - was desired by Hausen, because of his marriage, as well as Peter Klaumann Carl; the former received the privilege in turn for an annual payment of 120 rigsdaler to the latter.

In the Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift^(da.wiki) of 1920, there are entries for two marriages, in 1702 and 1706, by Carl and the respective Klaumann family members similar to Lutzow's report.

Career

After apprenticeship in Denmark, Christian Thomsen Carl on 17 January (Sander) or 28 February 1696 (Lutzow) was allowed to serve in a foreign army, and began his military career in the navy of the Dutch Republic. He was promoted 2nd lieutenant on 31 December 1697. On 26 February 1698, he got permission to enter Russian service for three years, and was promoted 1st lieutenant on 30 January 1700. By then, a coalition of Denmark-Norway, Russia and Saxony had just started the Great Northern War against Sweden; Denmark dropped out in August 1700 and re-entered in June 1709.

Christian Thomsen Carl served on the Danish vessel Dronning Charlotte Amalie and on 26 April 1701 entered the new naval cadet company as a lieutenant. In 1704, he served on the vessel Prins Carl, and was promoted captain lieutenant on 31 January 1705. After serving on the yacht Kronen and the vessel Swaerdfisken, he asked for graduation from the naval cadet company on 16 April 1708 and left the company on 30 July. According to Lutzow, he was promoted to the rank of a captain on 14 April 1708; according to Sander and Hans Georg Garde^(da.wiki), he was characterized captain on 24 April 1708 and actually became captain on 16 April 1709.

In 1709, Christian Thomsen Carl was sent to the Kattegat to monitor British naval maneuvers. In September 1709, he became the commander of the vessel Wenden, a flagship in the fleet of Ulrik Christian Gyldenlove, and in 1710 commanded the vessel Delmenhorst. He took part in the battle of Koge bay on 4 October 1710, and in 1711 commanded the Prins Carl. In 1712 and 1713, he commanded the vessel Ditmarsken and was put in charge of vice-admiral Christen Thomesen Sehested's Pomeranian fleet during his absence. Carl took part in the action of 21–23 June 1712 and the action of 31 July 1712. In early 1713, he had established his headquarters in the sconce of Swedish Pomeranian Wieck near Greifswald, occupied by the allies of the anti-Swedish coalition. According to Sander and Garde, his rank was that of a captain commander on 6 June 1710, and that of a commander on 17 December 1712.

Achievements and death in Pomerania

When Christian Thomsen Carl was in Wieck, nearby Greifswald was a front town commanded by the marquis de Saisan (actually Monsieur de Villenouvette, Comte de Saissan), a Frenchman in Saxon service. The Saxons had occupied Greifswald on 31 August 1711, and were joined by Russian forces in January 1712; tsar Peter the Great visited the town in August. Most of Swedish Pomerania was in the hand of the allies, who besieged the remaining Swedes at Stralsund.

Greifswald town fire

On 1 March at about 10:00 pm, a fire broke out in Greifswald's stables, which were used by the Saxon horse. The marquis de Saisan alleged a conspiracy of Greifswald's burghers against the occupation forces. He ordered the Greifswalders near the stables to be dislodged, and had the streets leading to the site fenced off by his troops. The situation was precarious as the town's arsenal near the fire site, holding large amounts of gunpowder, threatened to destroy much of the town when it blew up. When the fire had already encroached on the roofs of several houses, including the town hall, the marquis discarded the conspiracy theory and allowed the Greifswalders to extinguish the fire. They were however unable to do so effectively, as their fire fighting devices had been damaged by the occupation forces.

Christian Thomsen Carl decided to help, bringing with him his crewmen and fire fighting devices. Carl ordered his crew to approach Greifswald at a run from their quarters in Wieck, located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of the town. While much of the town hall and 36 houses burned down, the fire was extinguished before it reached the basements containing the council's archive. The documents had been retrieved from the burning house by Carl's crewmen during the operations. Afterwards, the town awarded the crewmen an "Ohm" of brandy, containing about 150 litres (40 US gal).

Rescue of Anklam

Other Swedish Pomeranian towns were ordered by tsar Peter the Great to be systematically burned down. This order was issued on 16 March to retaliate for the burning of Danish Altona by Swedish forces under Magnus Stenbock in January. Subsequently, Gartz and Wolgast were burned down, and Anklam was to be the next town to burn. The order was to be carried out by baron von Staff, a German in Russian service, who had already burned down Wolgast on 27 March. Also on 27 March, while encamped at Friedrichsstadt in Holstein, Menshikov on his own authority revoked the tsar's order, in turn for a contribution of 1,000 reichstalers per town spared. Menshikov's decision had been preceded by the intercedings of the marquis de Saisan and king Frederik IV of Denmark. However, since the courier from Friedrichstadt would only arrive in Greifswald on 3 April, Anklam was nevertheless scheduled for destruction, and the burning of Demmin was also announced.

Staff prepared to leave for Anklam to carry out the tsar's conflagration order, but first fought a duel with Christian Thomsen Carl on 29 March on the market square in Greifswald. In the course of the duel, Staff stabbed Carl to death, perforating the right ventricle of his heart.

In most German secondary literature, it is maintained that the duel took place because Carl called Staff a "murderous incendiary" ("Mordbrenner"); while Sander (1914) says that the primary sources retrieved by him, mostly from Denmark, do not reveal the reason for the duel - he nevertheless assumes that Carl already knew about his king's efforts in rescinding the tsar's order and that his argument with Staff was about that issue. On 24 March, Christen Thomesen Sehested actually ordered Carl to intervene - because of king Frederick IV's discontent - against the devastation of Swedish Pomerania by the Russians, but without alienating them; yet, this order arrived in Greifswald only on 30 March and was answered by the Danish captain Michael Gude, who informed Sehested about the duel and Carl's death. Lutzow, who reports an "exchange of words" as the reason for the duel and also notes that Staff was the one who called Carl out, further says that the duel happened directly before Carl would have left for Denmark.

The marquis de Saisan reacted by arresting Staff, charging him with murder. Thus, the burning of Anklam was delayed. However, general major Bueck, a Mecklenburger in charge of the Russian forces in Pomerania, took over the responsibility for the burning of Anklam from Staff, re-scheduling it for 3 April. The inhabitants of Anklam were ordered to leave the town on 1 April, carrying with them only two shirts each and food for four days; their houses were looted and filled with straw and tar. The action was cancelled when Menshikov's courier arrived. Staff, who in 1710 participated in the successful siege of Riga, is in 1716 attested to have camped in Grevesmuhlen as general major in Repnin's army. Saissan, the French mercenary who before had fought in the War of the Spanish Succession, remained in Saxon service and in 1718 led an unsuccessful attempt to abdicate Stanislaus Leszczynski; he died in Madrid in 1728 or 1739.

Burial

Christian Thomsen Carl's body was transferred to Denmark and buried at the Church of Holmen, Copenhagen, on 6 April 1713.

Name and focus in historiograpic tradition

Danish and German accounts of Christian Thomsen Carl's life vary significantly in scope. While Danish accounts rely on the Danish navy's datasets and focus on Carl's career in the Danish navy, German accounts rely on reports about Carl's stay and death in Swedish Pomerania and focus on the implications of Carl's action for that region, thereby disregarding his earlier life. Carl's name is reported in a wide variety of different spellings, whereby nearly all German accounts, in contrast to most Danish accounts, do not inform about his given names, and report varieties of "Carlson" as his last name.

Danish tradition

The name "Christian Thomesen Carl" is used in a concise biographical article authored by Johan Henrik Lutzow^(da.wiki) (1788), used as a reference for the biographies by Carl Ludvig With-Seidelin (in Bricka, ed., 1889) and Topsoe-Jensen & Marquard (1935). Lutzow (*1747, †1794) was a Danish naval officer who collected and published biographies of notable Danish navy officers of his time, and in the beforementioned article outlines Carl's family background and career in condensed form. Part of Carl's family background is also documented in the Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, where he is spelled "Christian Thomesen Carl" and "Christian Thomaesen Carl."

The Danish naval officer and naval historian Hans Georg Garde^(da.wiki) in 1835 presented the biography of "Christian Thomasen Carl," along with many others, in table format, noting the circumstances of his death in a footnote. The same name is used by William August Carstensen^(da.wiki) and Otto George Lutken (1887), who mention Carl's role in the Danish advance to Pomerania and his death. However, Garde in his 1852 naval history of Denmark-Norway mentioned Carl as "C. T. Carl" when in command of the Delmenhorst, but as "C. T. Carlsen" when in command of the Ditmarsken and the Pomeranian fleet, and also when reporting the duel with Staff. Garde was nevertheless aware that Carl and Carlsen were the same person. Gustav Ludvig Baden,^(da.wiki) mentioning him in passing, likewise refers to him as "Commandeur Carlsen." The mention by Baden (1833) is part of a cite in the biography of captain Friderich Lutken referenced to Address-Avis No. 21.

The Danish navy historian Jorgen Henrik Pagh Barfod^(da.wiki) uses the name "Christen Thomasen Carl." Barfod (1997) mentions selected incidents from Carl's life in the context of the Danish naval history between 1660 and 1720, and retrieved his information from warship journals and other documents in the Danish archives. "Chr. Thomasen Carl" is also used by August Peder Tuxen^(da.wiki) and Carl Ludvig With-Seidelin (1910).

Norwegian tradition

During Christian Thomsen Carl's lifespan, the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway were combined under the rule of the absolutist monarchs residing in Copenhagen and had a common fleet. Thus, the career of Christian Thomesen Carl is part of the Danish as well as the Norwegian naval history, and is noted e.g. in Olav Bergersen's^(no.wiki) 1956 history of the Dano-Norwegian navy. Bergersen refers to him as "Christen Thomesen Carl."

German tradition

In German literature, where Carl is only known by his last name, he is referred to most often as "Carlson," sometimes his name is spelled "Karlson," rarely "Carlsen." The focus of the German records is exclusively on Carl's role in the Greifswald town fire and/or, more prominently, on the events preventing the burning of Anklam.

A contemporary record is included in the chronicle of Christoph Helwig the Younger.^(de.wiki) Helwig (*1679, †1714) was a Greifswald resident who between 1709 and 1714 wrote a Latin chronicle of the medical faculty of the university of Greifswald which included events up to 1713. An annotated edition and German translation was published by Hans Georg Thummel^(de.wiki) in 2001; it includes a mention of the Greifswald town fire without making a reference to Carl, but prominently identifies the "commandator navium Danicarum, dominus Carlson" as the one who prevented Anklam from being burned, and has the same details about his death as the sources used by Barfod.

Another nearly contemporary account of the role of "Carlson, the commander of the Danish warships" in preventing the burning of Anklam was published on 26 March 1754 by Joachim Friedrich Sprengel, rector in Anklam and later pastor in Boldekow. This account was republished in 1773 by the historian and secretary of the town of Anklam, Carl Friedrich Stavenhagen.^(de.wiki)

The role of "Carlson" in the Greifswald town fire was reported in 1827 by Carl Gesterding^(de.wiki) and in 1860 in Johann Carl Hahn's history of Greifswald, though without revealing his sources; Carl's role has also recently been emphasized by the historians Rudolf Biederstedt^(de.wiki) (1962, when he was in charge of the Greifswald town's archives) and Martin Meier (2007).

Some German sources address Carl as "admiral Carlson," e.g. Demmin's chronicler Wilhelm Karl Stolle^(de.wiki) (*1704, †1779), Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten in his 1857 chronicle of Greifswald's university, Gustav Kratz^(de.wiki) (1865), who graduated from school in Anklam, or Anklam's chronicler Heinz Bemowsky (*1921, †2003).

The first to draw a connection between "Carlson" and Carl was Max Sander, who in 1914 published an article "Carl, nicht Carlson, der Retter Anklams [Carl, not Carlson, Anklam's savior]." Sander retrieved and published from the university of Greifswald's archive a handwritten piece titled "Kurtze Relation von der erbarmlichen Einascherung der pommerschen Stadte Gartz und Wolgast, als dieselbe respektive am 10. und 27. Martii anno 1713 von den barbarischen Moskowitern klaglich in die Asche gelegt worden [Short notice of the disgraceful burning of the Pomeranian towns of Gartz and Wolgast, as these were laid in ashes by the barbarian Moscovites on 10 resp. 27 March 1713]." This notice, in the accusative case, speaks of "commandeur Carln."

Sander also retrieved various datasets from the Danish rigsarkivet, and published an outline of Carl's career and family background using the name "Christian Thomsen Carl." Sander asserts that this is the most correct spelling variant, as he had found a respective handwritten signature of Carl, which he also published.

Sander further published transcriptions and translations of various letters relating to the situation in Pomerania, among them

Biedenstedt (1962) also connected the Danish and German traditions, addressing Carl as "Christian Thomsen Carl (also called Carlson)," yet later German publications such as Bemowsky (1989) or Meier (2007) reverted to using "Carlson."

In public memory

Regarding Anklam, consensus has formed in the German tradition of the events that the delay caused by the interception of Staff by Carl(son) was the decisive factor for the town's rescue. From 1715 to 1939, and again since 1992, an annual "Judica commemoration" is held where Carl ("Carlson") is remembered as playing the key role in the rescue of Anklam.

A wooden bust, supposedly showing Carl(son), was put on public display in Anklam. The bust was a gift from Swinemunde's consul Krause, who had retrieved it in 1841 from the damaged Swedish vessel Carlsson in Kristiansund and mistook it for a bust of Carl, whom he thought of as a Swede and namesake of the vessel. The bust was gradually damaged by influence of the weather, and later dismantled; in 1909 Walter Schroder reported that he had discovered the bust "in a chamber of our [i.e. Anklam's] town hall containing lots of interesting items," and said that it had been there already for several years.

Anklam's officials later named a street after Carl, Carlsonstrase, which still exists today.

In fiction

Based on Carl's duel with Staff, commemorating his role in saving Anklam from being burned, the following fictional works were published (all in German):