Peter Lotharius Oxholm


Peter Lotharius Oxholm was a Danish army officer and governor-general of the Danish West Indies from 1815 to 1816. He also participated in the Battle of Køge against the British troops in 1807.
In 1814, Oxholm was appointed governor-general of the Danish West Indies.

Early life

Oxholm was born on 10 July 1753 in Copenhagen, the son of krigsråd Lorentz Oxholm and Marie Susanne Oxgilm née Schultz. His father worked as mønsterskriver at Holmen.

Military career

He began his career as a cadet in 1763 and was made corporal in 1769. From 1771 Oxholm was page to Queen Carolina Mathilda, and he was present at her arrest in 1772. After having served in Denmark, he left for the Danish West Indies as a lieutenant in 1777. Oxholm returned to Denmark in 1793 and was dismissed from the army with the rank of colonel.
During the English Wars, Oxholm became leader of a regiment in the militia created in 1801. This militia participated in the Battle of Køge, where Oxholm together with a handful of soldiers barricaded themselves in the cemetery at Herfølge, a small town in the middle of Zealand. After a brief and intense battle, they were forced to surrender and were taken prisoner.

Personal life and property

Oxholm was first married to Marie Heiliger, who died in 1794, and later to Ann O'Neill, daughter of a plantation owner on St. Croix.
He purchased a mansion of the corner of Sankt Annæ Gade and Amaliegade in 1808. He was the owner of the St. George Hill, Sally's Fancy, and Hope plantations.