Battle of Silda

Battle of Silda ("Affæren ved Silden" or "Affæren ved Stadt") was a naval battle fought on 23 July 1810 between the United Kingdom and Denmark-Norway near the Norwegian island of Silda in Sogn og Fjordane county as part of the Napoleonic wars.

Because of the war the three gun schooners "Odin", "Tor" and "Balder" and the gun barge "Cort Adeler" were stationed at the pilot's station on Silda. On the 23 July the British frigates HMS "Belvedere" and HMS "Nemesis" attacked. One of the Norwegian boats was able to hit at least one of the British landing barges, killing several British soldiers, however the British continued to lower barges and were successful in capturing the station. One Norwegian ship was scuttled and the crew were able to escape. The rest of the war ships were confiscated, the crews captured and sent to imprisonment in England. Civilian ships moored in the vicinity were raided. The British ships raided farms several places along the coast both before and after this incident.

The local Norwegian commander, vicar Gabriel Heiberg, failed to alert other Dano-Norwegian naval vessels nearby who could have helped repel the British attack. He also later issued an order to keep out of the way of the British as he thought they would behave better if they were unopposed, an action he was later court martialed for.

ource

* [http://nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_sogn_og_fjordane/fylkesleksikon/3406633.html An article on the event from nrk.no] no icon
* [http://www.idi.ntnu.no/~anders/books/Fra_Krigens_Tid/Stadt.html Some contemporary reports] no icon