We do not know how many people lost their lives as a result of the shelling of Sønderborg in 1864. Contemporary accounts mention several killed and wounded, but the worst episode occurred on the first day of the bombardment. A platoon of the 16th Regiment’s 4th Company stood waiting to move off on guard duty, when a shell exploded close to them. The number of dead and wounded is unclear: the Mayor of the town, Hilmar Finsen, writes about 2 killed and 19 wounded, but others, including the memorial tablet erected later, speak of 28 dead and wounded.