"Lindholm ought to have omitted the guns of the Russell, Bellona,
Agamemnon, Amazon, Alcmene, Blanche, Dart, and Arrow; as the two
first were aground; and, although within random shot, yet unable to
do that service expected from seventy-four gun ships. The Agamemnon
was not within three miles; the others, frigates and sloops, were
exposed to a part of the Crown Battery and the ships in the other
channel, but not fired upon by the eighteen sail drawn up to the
southward of the Crown Islands. Therefore, sixty-six guns are to be
taken from the British, and a hundred and sixty-six guns added to
the Danes: viz. sixty-six, Crown Batteries--(I think, there were
eighty-eight)--and a hundred for the batteries on Amack; besides
random shot from the ships in the other channel, citadel, &c.
Therefore, the account ought to stand thus--

Guns, by Lindholm's account 1058
Deduct, as above 366
----
British force in action 692
----

Danish force, by Lindholm's account 634
Add, I say, at least 166

Danish force 800
British force 692

Superiority of the Danes 108"

Though Lord Nelson could not have rested without satisfying himself of
the precise fact, he saw no necessity for entering into any altercation,
on so trivial a topic, with General-Adjutant Lindholm. He contented
himself, therefore, with immediately closing the subject, by the
following very liberal reply.

St. George, May 3d, 1801.

"MY DEAR LORD,

"I was yesterday evening favoured with your reply to my letter of
the 22d of April; and I have no scruple in assuring you, that if
Commodore Fischer's letter had been couched in the same manly and
honourable manner, I should have been the last man to have noticed
any little inaccuracies which might get into a commander in chief's
public letter; and if the commodore had not called upon his royal
highness for the truth of his assertions, I never should have
noticed his letter. You have stated, truly, the force which would
have been brought into action, but for the accidents of their
getting aground; and, except the Desiree frigate, no other frigate
or sloop fired a gun