My Great-great Grandfather Christen Godskesen, B 1837 - D 1906.
Christen served in the Royal Danish Army during the War with Germany in 1864. At the time, he was 26 years old, and Denmark had compulsory military service for all men.
The war began on 1 February 1864, when Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig.Denmark fought Prussia and Austria.
Reasons for the war were the ethnic controversy in Schleswig and the co-existence of conflicting political systems within the Danish unitary state.
The war ended on 30 October 1864, when the Treaty of Vienna caused Denmark's cession of the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Saxe-Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria.
Returning home after the War, Christen must have decided to get on with his life, and married Karen Jensdatter in December of that year.
I have the medal he received for his service in the War, which is one of my most prized possessions.
-Rog
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