Name Pros Mund | Died 1644 | |
Pros Mund (died 1644) was a Danish admiral.
Contents
Early life
Pros Mund was the son of Niels Mund of Bjerkevold and Ingeborg Prosdatter Hørb. He became naval lieutenant in 1624 and was promoted to captain in 1628. That year he was stationed in the southern part of the Baltic Sea, where he counteracted the Imperial designs for a fleet based in Rostock, Warnemünde, Wismar, and Greifswald, also supporting the defense of Stralsund.
In 1630 he was sent first to the Faroe Islands and the coast of Norway to defend trade shipping against piracy and later participated in the fight against Hamburg on the Elbe, where he patrolled with two ships the following year. He then patrolled the North Sea and the Norwegian coast, in 1633 as chief of a fleet squadron. In 1633 he was granted a fief on Iceland, on which he spent several winters and where his wife, Edel Urne, daughter of Johan Urne in Valsø, accompanied him in 1638.
Torstenson War
When the Torstenson War with Sweden broke out in 1643, he was called in for duty with the fleet. In the beginning of 1644 he commanded a smaller squadron. After having joined forces in May with Ove Gjedde at Flækkerø (the present-day island Flekkerøy outside of Kristiansand) they sailed together into the North Sea where on May 25 they fought an undecided action against a Swedish-Dutch fleet under Marten Thijssen. Upon the return to Flakkerø, Mund accused several of his officers for having betrayed him to the enemy.
On July 1, 1644 he participated in the naval battle of Colberger Heide, as Quarter Admiral leading the 4th squadron. Again several of his ships' captains neglected their duties; at the very least, king Christian IV complained loudly about them, writing that they had used him as a shield between themselves and the enemy. Whether this complaint was justified or not, it did not apply to Mund himself, who participated with great courage in the battle. His flagship S:t Sophie appears to have suffered more casualties than any of the other ships.
Death in the Fehmarn Belt
In September he was ordered to patrol between Fehmarn and Lolland to keep the waterway clear and observe the movements of the Swedish fleet with 17 ships of the line. While sickness ravaged his squadron, the Swedish main fleet commanded by Carl Gustaf Wrangel was unexpectedly joined by the auxiliary Dutch fleet under the previously mentioned Thijssen (now ennobled with the name Anckarhjelm). These 42 ships attacked on October 13. It is unclear whether the Danes were taken by surprise or whether Mund wanted to avoid an unequal fight. The Swedish-Dutch fleet overpowered the Danes. After stiff resistance, the Danish flagship Patientia was boarded. Mund was killed during the struggle and his body thrown into the sea. Only three ships escaped, the rest were captured or destroyed.
Pros Mund owned the family farm Bjerkevold in Norge and acquired Grevensvænge in Zealand. His widow came into possession of the nearby Rønnebæksholm.