Clas Larsson Fleming (March 1592 – 27 July 1644) was an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and administrator involved in the development of a formal management structure for the Royal Swedish Navy under King

Gustav II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 to ...

and Queen Christina. He is remembered as one of the ablest administrators in the history of the Swedish navy, and is in many ways a typical example of the type of aristocrat who served the Swedish Crown during the period of Sweden's imperial expansion.

Biography

He was the son of Lars Hermansson Fleming, the governor of

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city and former Capital city, capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura (Archipelago Sea), Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland, Finland Proper ...

in present-day

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. He was born at Villnäs in Finland and began his military career in the army, as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in the Field Marshal's Guards Company. In 1620 he began his naval service as a vice admiral and

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

, and served as the commander of a number of squadrons and fleets in the following years. He was away from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with the navy for most of the campaigning seasons in the 1620s, but returned to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in the winters. Admirals were also administrative officers, and Fleming became a central figure in the administration of naval procurement. When the office of ''holmamiral'', the official responsible for managing the state dockyard and arsenal in Stockholm, fell open in 1625, it was not filled for six years, but Fleming essentially fulfilled the duties of the office. During this period the dockyard was not under direct Crown control but was leased by private entrepreneurs,

Henrik Hybertsson Henrik Hybertsson (or Hendrik Hubertsen) (died 1627) was a Dutchborn master shipbuilder working in the Stockholm navy yard in the early 17th century. He is mostly known for being the designer and constructor of the warship ''Vasa (ship), Vasa'', w ...

and Arendt de Groote. They built the large warship ''Vasa'', which sank on its maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. Fleming had been involved in the negotiations of the original contract and in maintaining Crown control over the entrepreneurs, and was present at a demonstration of the ship's lack of stability about a month before the ship sailed. In the 1630s, Fleming went to sea less and took on a variety of civil administrative tasks. He presided over the Crown's accounting office and was a member of the Royal Council. From 1634 until his death he was the first governor-general of Stockholm, an office created under the Form of Government instituted in that year. As part of his duties he was involved in the planning of the city of Stockholm and the moving of the navy's dockyard from its original home on what is now

Blasieholmen Blasieholmen is a peninsula in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located east of Kungsträdgården. Originally a small island, named Käpplingen, it became a peninsula, connected to Norrmalm, during the 17th century. Among the buildings at Blasie ...

to the island of

Skeppsholmen Skeppsholmen is one of the islands of Stockholm. It is connected with Blasieholmen and Kastellholmen by bridges. It is accessible by foot from Kungsträdgården, past the Grand Hôtel and Nationalmuseum, by bus number 65, or by boat from Slus ...

, which remained the main Stockholm naval base until the later 20th century. He was instrumental in organizing the expedition to establish the Swedish colony in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...

, in modern

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, in 1637. He was also an industrialist, and in the 1630s established an ironworks at Vira, which produced weaponry for the Swedish armies in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...

. The ironworks still exists, as a museum of 17th-century technology. He returned to a major sea command in 1644, during the

Torstenson War The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War ( no, Hannibalsfeiden) was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645 towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The names refer to Swedish general L ...

with Denmark-Norway. He commanded the ships sent to attack the Danish fleet and land troops on the southern Danish coast, and on 1 July, directed the Swedish forces in the

Battle of Kolberger Heide The Battle of Colberger Heide (also Kolberger Heide or Colberg Heath) took place on 1 July 1644 during the Torstenson War, off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The battle was indecisive, but a minor success for the Dano-Norwegian fleet command ...

, in which the Danish fleet prevented the Swedish landing. He was killed in action several weeks later, on 27 July 1644, on board his flagship, ''Scepter'', near

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Personal life

Son of Lars Hermansson Fleming & Anna Henriksdotter Horn af Kanckas. Grandson of Admiral Herman Persson Fleming (ca. 1520–1583) and

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Henrik Klasson Horn Henrikki Laavunpoika of Kankainen, or Henrik Klasson Horn (c. 1512–1595), was a Swedish military officer and Governor-General of Finland. He was an ancestor of the noble Swedish family, Horn af Kanckas. Biography He was the son of Kl ...

(c.1512–1595). Married to Anna Göransdotter Snakenborg. Father of Admiral Herman Claesson Fleming af Liebelitz (1619–1673) and Lars Claesson Fleming af Liebelitz (1621–1699) who served as

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

for

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death a ...

Gallery

References

Other sources

* Cederlund, Carl Olof (2006) ''Vasa I, The Archaeology of a Swedish Warship of 1628'', series editor: Fred Hocker * Zettersten, Axel (1890) ''Svenska Flottans Historia Åren 1522–1634''. Stockholm.

External links