King George III Approves the Assignment of Officers, Including the Future Duke of Wellington, to Baltic Expedition

Manuscript Document Signed GR, July 23, 1807. 1 p. During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain's King George III assigns six senior officers to participate in the Baltic Expedition commanded by Lord Cathcart to prevent Napoleon Bonaparte from acquiring the fleet of Denmark and using it against the British. Complete TranscriptMost Humbly submitted to His MajestyThat the undermention'd Officers upon the Staff of the Army, be employed on the service under the orders of Lieutenant General Lord Cathcart.Lieutenant Generals Harry Burrard ? ? James Earl of Rosslyn ? ? Sir George LudlowMajor General Sir Arthur WellesleyBrigadier Generals Robert McFarlane / 72d Foot ? ? Henry Warde of the 1st Foot Guards Approved G RHistorical BackgroundIn 1807 France was in a commanding position in Europe, but Britain retained her naval supremacy. Despite its loss in the first Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, Denmark-Norway, which also controlled Greenland, Iceland, and several smaller territories, still retained a sizeable navy. Although technically neutral, Denmark was under intense French pressure to pledge its naval forces to Napoleon to enforce his Continental System that closed mainland Europe to British goods.The United Kingdom mounted the Baltic Expedition to prevent Napoleon from commandeering the Danish fleet. The vanguard of a British force of 25,000 troops sailed just one week after the King approved these appointments. Of these officers, Harry Burrard (1755-1813) commanded the First Division and was second in command to Cathcart; Henry Warde (1766-1834) commanded the 1st Brigade in the First Division; Robert Henry MacFarlane (1771-1843) commanded the 4th Brigade in the Second Division; George Ludlow (1758-1842) commanded the Third Division; and James St. Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn (1762-1837) may have commanded the King's German Legion (KGL) in the expedition. Wellesley commanded the Reserve Division.On August 29 at the Battle of Kge, General Wellesley overwhelmed a force of Danish troops sent to relieve Copenhagen. When the Danes rejected British demands, the British Royal Navy bombarded Copenhagen from September 2 to 5. On September 7, less than two months after this document was signed, the Danes surrendered their fleet of more than forty ships and twenty-six gunboats to the British, ensuring continued dominance of the Baltic by the Royal Navy. The attack on Copenhagen led directly to an Anglo-Danish conflict, carried on largely by privateers. It also led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian War (1807-1812). Tsar Alexander I of Russia had signed the peace Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon Bonaparte in July, and after the British attack on Copenhagen, Alexander I declared war on the United Kingdom in October.Cathcart was subsequently elevated to an Earldom for his actions at Copenhagen. This campaign was Wellesley's last before he departed for the Peninsular War in Spain.George III (1738-1820) became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (united in 1801) in 1760. Born in London as the grandson of King George II of the House of Hanover, he married Princess Charlotte in 1761; they did not meet until their wedding day, and eventually had fifteen children. George III's reign included several multinational conflicts, from the Seven Years' War through the American Revolutionary War to the Napoleonic Wars. Very popular at first, he lost the loyalty of many American colonists by the 1770s. Deeply religious, George was appalled by the lack of morals displayed by his brothers. Though he was still King during the War of 1812, his mental illness had become so severe that his son and successor ruled as regent from 1810 until George III's death.William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart (1755-1843) was born in London and educated at Eton College. In 1771, he went to Russia where his father was the ambassador. From 1773 to 1777, he studied law at the University of Glasgow and was called to the Scottish Bar. . (See website for full description).…