Research for Dad's files‏

AnnMarie wrote: 

Thanks for working on the pictures of Morten Sorensen that Auntie gave us.  My copies couldn't have resulted in those enlargements.  We are still working on Matthew's poster.  I have been doing some research to get pictures of where he was born and lived.  I also wanted to learn about the war for which he received his honors.  The best condensed history of the war was on wikipedia (which I don't like using because of its lack of veracity), but look at the wonderful painting of Danish soldiers during the war of 1864 that is in the document.  It also talks about the horrendously cold environment in which they fought during the winter of 1864.  I am not sure which of the many lost battles he helped save his battalion from, but the utter chaos comes through in this document, and had to be disheartening for Morten.  Denmark lost the war and even lost a part of the country that had never been claimed by Prussia or Austria.  A terrible blow to the Danes I am sure, losing 40% of land mass and over a million citizens in the treaty.  After reading further, Dad will see that in the Treaty of Versailles after WWI, Denmark got some of Schleswig back after a referendum, however, I noticed that it was signed in June 1919.  Morten Sorensen had died the year before and therefore would never have known that the most Danish part that they had lost in the Second war of Schleswig-Holstein war was finally returned.  Interestingly, the article points out that the Danes realized they were no match for the southern powers below them which influenced their decision in WWII on how to handle Hitler, they have not left Denmark proper to fight in a war except for aiding NATO in 1999.

 

I have attached another painting I found depicting the retreat of the Danish Army, one of the coldest and deadliest they ever had.

 

Rasted is where he was born. (I can't do the a with the o over it, so this is the Americanized spelling.) 

 

The Denmark map shows how central Randers is to that area of Denmark.  A lot of roads criss-cross through there.  It is no wonder he left the smaller areas to work near Randers, Randers, Denmark (where his last two children were born), surely there was more building going on where a brick mason could find work.   

 

Just thought Dad might like to see some of this.

AnnMarie