Carl Adolph Rothe

Carl Adolph Rothe (December 8, 1767 – July 12, 1834) was a naval officer in the Royal Danish Navy and governor of the Danish West Indies from 1820 to 1822.

Carl Adolph Rothe, by Hermann Ernst Freund, 1837

Biography

Rothe was born on December 8, 1767 in Tybjerggård on Zealand, Denmark, to parents Tyge Jesper Rothe and Karen Bjørn.[1] The Rothe family originates from Germany, coming to Denmark in the end of the 17th century.[2] On January 12, 1811 he married Benedicte Ulfsparre de Tuxen (1790-1877) in Helsingør, the daughter of Louis de Tuxen and Charlotte Elisabeth Klingfeldt. The couple had no less than eight children: Louis, Anna Rosine, Andrea Bjørn, Karen, Charlotte Elisabeth, Martha Gustava, Margrethe Christine and Louise.[3]

Rothe joined the Danish navy as a naval volunteer (cadet) in 1778 and on April 2, 1783 he was commissioned as an officer in the rank of a Second Lieutenant. In his naval career Rothe, fought in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 against the British fleet, commanding the ship (pram) Nyborg. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1806, and served as the second in command of the ship Prinds Christian Frederik under command of captain Carl W. Jessen from December 24, 1807. He participated in the battle of Battle of Zealand Point on March 22, 1808,[4] which he survived as the second in command of Prinds Christian Frederik. After that battle, in which he was wounded, he spent two months as an English prisoner of war in Göteborg, Sweden.

He was promoted to the rank of Counter Admiral as of April 16, 1833. From November 11, 1808 until July 25, 1814 Carl was governor of Bornholm and Christiansø, and was the governor of the Virgin Islands in the Danish West Indies from 1820 to 1822.[1] He died, 66 years old, in Copenhagen on July 12, 1834. He is buried on Holmens Cemetery.

Notes

1. Bricka, Carl Frederik, Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, vol. XIV [Resen - Saxtrup], 1900. Entry: "Rothe, Carl Adolph", pp.353-355. Available online
2. Roskildes History [viewed on August 14th 2008]
3. Jan Tuxen, Lorenz Tuxen (1618-82) - En efterslægtstavle in: Genealogy, artists, biographies, silhouettes etc. [last update: August 6th 2008 as viewed on August 14th 2008]
4. Johnny E. Balsved, The Battle of Sealand's Point (1808): "At Eventide on open Sea the Vessels they did Meet" (transl. Robert Rayce) in: Danish Naval History Archived 2012-03-18 at the Wayback Machine on [viewed on August 14th 2008]

Further reading

• Johnny Balsved's website about Danish Naval History (website's last update August 11, 2008 as viewed on August 14, 2008)
• Oil painting of Carl Adolph Rothe is available on the Reventlow family website. Christian Ditlev Reventlow, Slægten Reventlow (last modified July 20, 2008 as viewed on August 14, 2008)