Mayor Finsen’s house was situated in the southernmost part of Sønderborg, but was mercifully spared any extensive damage. True, a shell did pass through his office and his children’s little bedchamber, leaving the house with one corner in ruins and not a window intact, but the house did not catch fire and the damages were only assessed at 260 Rixdollars, one of the lowest figures. As a Danish official, Finsen could not return to the town after the Prussians marched into it in June 1864, so he had to sign for the damage compensation, which was paid out in Marks, by proxy.

In his letters to his wife, who had gone to Copenhagen, he kept her up to date with the condition of their house.

7 April: Yesterday, a shell hit our house, passing through the parlour, dining room and kitchen; no window in the house remained unbroken.

Friday 8 April: …In fact the shell did not pass through the parlour, but through the children’s room off the entrance hall and through my office; it completely smashed the corner cupboard with the children’s toys ….

Saturday 16 April: … I send you …. Greetings from our house, which I visited this afternoon, and which has not suffered any damage of note since that shell, two pieces of which I have sent to you. The house has not since been hit by shells, but the corner is almost completely smashed, and the last row of windows, sills and all, along with a piece of the wall about half the breadth of a windowsill, have been completely blown out.