Roads,
"April 2, 1801.

"To the Brothers of Englishmen, the Danes."

"It may be farther characteristic of his lordship, to mention that, when
a wafer was brought for the above letter, he said--"No; bring me wax,
and a match: this is no time to appear hurried and informal." An
unfounded idea has prevailed, that the flag of truce was sent to cover
his own ships, which would inevitably have been destroyed if the Danes
had not been cajoled into an armistice; and the victory is, thereby,
converted into a defeat: but the victory was too decisive, to be thus
ravished from his grasp. The enemy were compleatly horrified and
dismayed, at the carnage and ruin which a dreadful contest of five hours
had involved them in. The batteries of the town were too far distant, to
have much effect even upon the ships aground; Sir Hyde Parker, with the
rest of the fleet, could soon have approached; and, as to the Crown
Batteries, which alone were to be dreaded, the following disposition was
made for carrying them--As the flag of truce left the admiral's ship,
fifteen hundred of the choicest boarders, who had been selected from the
whole fleet previously to the action, descended into fifty boats, thirty
men in each boat. These boats were to be commanded by the Honourable
Colonel Stewart, and Captain Freemantle. The moment it could be known,
that the flag of truce was refused, the boats were to have pushed for
the batteries. The fire of every gun in the fleet would have covered
their approach; a few minutes would have carried them there; and let any
one ask himself, what defence was to be expected from five hundred raw
Danish soldiers, on an ill-built battery, that gave no cover--fatigued,
besides, by the carnage of a terrible battle--against such assailants,
flushed with victory, and irresistible in courage." It may, however, be
proper to remark, that we could have done little more than spiked the
guns; as these batteries, being within the range of the fire of the
citadel, were not possible to have been long retained.

The following note, in answer to that sent on shore by Lord Nelson, was
brought in a flag of truce from Copenhagen, by General-Adjutant
Lindholm.

"His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, has sent me,
General-Adjutant Lindholm, on board, to his Britannic Majesty's
Vice-Admiral, the Right Honourable Lord Nelson, to ask the
particular object of sending the flag of truce?"

Though Sir Frederic Thesi