Bomarsund (Bomarsund) 21 June & 8 August 1854

Building began in earnest in 1832, and was to include a new harbour, where large battleships could be accommodated, and several linked towers, including around fifty batteries of four guns each. However, at the outbreak of war in 1854, the fortress was still unfinished.

As a symbol of Russian expansionism, the fortress was a primary target for the Allied Fleet. The first bombardment, however, was not planned. Captain Hall of the Hecla had been ordered to proceed to the Gulf of Bothnia to pass the commander-in-chief’s order to Admiral Plumridge to sail to Barösund to take on provisions. In the Admiral’s absence, Hall was to assume command of his squadron, with which he was tasked to continue the blockade of the Gulf of Bothnia.

However, it seems that Hall used his independent command to form an attack on Bomarsund, led by Hecla on 21 June. Hall subsequently claimed that significant damage had been caused to the fortress by the superior firepower which allowed the ships to anchor outside the range of the fortress’s batteries, whilst still allowing effective British fire to be laid down. However, this is disputed by Russian historian Major-General Borodkin who claimed that the fortress suffered very little damage and few casualties.

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During battle, Mate Charles David Lucas was on the upper deck of Helca when a live shell landed on the deck. All hands were ordered to fling themselves flat on the deck, but Lucas ran forward and seized the shell, tossed it over the side and it exploded harmlessly in the air. His bravery earned him the first ever Victoria Cross in 1857.

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On 24 July, Vice Admiral Sir Charles Napier declared that Bomarsund would be the target of another attack. A great deal of survey work was done prior to the fleet’s arrival to plan the battleships approaches and by 3 August, General Bodisco, commander of the garrison at Bomarsund, knew that he was surrounded by an incredible force of British and French warships, accompanied by thousands of land troops. He was both outgunned and out-manned and his fortress was unfinished. The Russians’ defeat at Bomarsund was inevitable.

The landings began at 0300hrs on 8 August. Accounts, however, of the action are both varied and inconsistent. It appears that many British captains were exasperated at Napier’s restraint in holding back the main bulk of the British fleet whilst the smaller ships and mainly French troops engaged the fortress. It was largely felt that Napier failed to grasp the advantages offered by the technological merits of the steam engine.

The bombardment of Bomarsund also led to the award of two more Victoria Crosses to Lieutenant John Bythesea and William Johnstone, Stoker. Both went ashore from the Arrogant with the intent of stopping the mail flow from Bomarsund across Wärdö to the mainland. They lay in wait for three days until five Russians arrived on 12 August with the postbags. Johnstone ambushed the men, at Bythesea’s signal, attempting to throw a rope around the group whilst Bythesea provided cover with just one pistol. Two of the men dropped their bags and fled while the remaining three finally surrendered. Bythesea ordered the men back to their own boat and then forced them to row it back to Arrogant, with the mailbags.

{FileLink:3}The Russians surrendered on the afternoon of 16 August 1854. The total loss on the defenders’ side was fifty-three men, and the remainder were taken prisoner and immediately shipped to prisons in Britain and France. The British suffered the loss of fewer men. Included in the losses was Lieutenant the Honourable Cameron Wrottesley, whose grave is on the island of Fjälskär, as are those of Captain of the Main Top George Privett, and Ordinary Seaman Thomas Barber. Naval Cadet Alfred M. Fairlie was also killed at Bomarsund and his body was buried on the island of Herrön, where other graves are thought to exist. Also buried in the Åland Islands was Henry Collins, Royal Marine, although his gravesite has not been located.

Although the fortress was offered to the Swedes, the offer was declined in order to avoid aggravating the Russians, and thus the fortress’s remains were blown up on the morning of 2 September 1854.

Fifteen days after the battle, the ensuing publicity in Britain led to Bomarsund being chosen as the name for a new coal mine in north-east England. The mine was sunk near to the small town of Bedlington in the county of Northumberland, and the English village that grew up around the mine still carries the name Bomarsund to this day.

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