LS in Russian, signed “Piotr,” one page, 6.25 x 8, July 29, 1714. Letter to Jan Lups, in full (translated): "Let Us reveal to you the means by which the Almighty Lord God has seen fit to glorify Russia, for He has deigned to crown her with many victories granted on the land, and now at sea, for, on the 27th day of this month, with much cruel fire, we took Rear Admiral Nilson Ehrenskjold, with one frigate, six galleys, and two skerry boats off Hango, near the prominent land feature, Rilaks Fjord. Truly the whole war for us has been as for the allies with France; a great number not just of generals, but also of field marshals taken, with more than one victory of the kind. We congratulate you; and as with the accounting of officers, sailors, and so forth taken with the Rear Admiral already mentioned, we send our roster of our killed and wounded herein." In very good to fine condition, with light toning and foxing, and two small edge chips.
At the height of the Great Northern War, the removal of Swedish dominion over the seas drove Peter the Great to bolster and reorganize the might of his Russian navy. By 1714, his Baltic fleet had amassed nearly 200 galleys and 20 line ships, a force that despite lacking in destructive firepower, yielded greater speed and maneuverability, qualities ideal for close quarter combat. On July 27, the Battle of Gangut (Hango) commenced. Led by Admiral Feodor Apraxin and Tsar Peter, the larger Russian fleet capitalized on calm waters to make three swift attacks, closing distance and boarding the more powerful Swedish warships, and effectively capturing Schoutbynacht Nils Ehrenskiöld in the process. The Swedish defeat north of the Hanko Peninsula resulted in the Russian occupation of Finland, otherwise known as the Great Wrath, and has long been credited as the first significant naval victory in the history Russia.
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