detailed for active duty as second in command of the land forces that
under Lord Nelson were ordered to the attack on Copenhagen. It was
intended that Brock, with the 49th, should lead in storming the
Trekroner (Three Crown) battery, in conjunction with five hundred
seamen; but the heroic defence by the Danes rendered the attempt
impracticable, and Brock remained on the _Ganges_, an unwilling
spectator of bloodshed in which he took no part. Towards the close of
the engagement--the heaviest pounding match in history--he was on the
_Elephant_, Nelson's flagship, and saw the hero of Trafalgar write his
celebrated letter to the Crown Prince of Denmark.

As at Egmont, the irrepressible conduct of Savery Brock on the _Ganges_
gave our hero much concern. Savery, as a former midshipman, was of
course a gunner. While training a quarter-deck gun on the Trekroner
battery his hat was blown from his head and he was knocked down by the
rush of wind from a grapeshot. Seeing this, Brock exclaimed, "Ah, poor
Savery! He is indeed dead." But, to use his own words, it was only "the
hot air from the projectile that had 'floored' him." Previous to this he
had driven Isaac almost demented by stating his intention of joining the
storming party and sharing his brother's danger. "Is it not enough that
one brother should be killed or drowned?" said Isaac. But Savery
persisted until, at Isaac's request, the commander of the _Ganges_ kept
the paymaster quiet by stratagem. "Master Savery," said he, "you simply
_must_ remain with us. I appoint you captain of the gun. It will amuse
you."

The loss of the Danes at Copenhagen was placed at 6,000, including
prisoners. The British killed and wounded numbered 943, more than fell
at the Battle of the Nile. Part of this loss is charged to a criminal
misconception of military etiquette. To a line officer who asked where