Henrik af Trolle (24 November 1730 – 12 March 1784) was a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
naval officer and commander of the Swedish
Archipelago fleet
The archipelago fleet ( sv, skärgårdsflottan), officially the "fleet of the army" ( sv, arméns flotta), was a branch of the armed forces of Sweden which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was su ...
. He was ennobled in 1772. He is considered to be one of the foremost administrators and developers of the Swedish Navy throughout the ages (together with
Claes Larsson Fleming and
Hans Wachtmeister).
History
Henrik Trolle was born in 1730 to the Danish admiral Georg Herman von Trolle, who had entered Swedish service, and Anna Margareta Grill. At age ten his father sent him to serve in the navy, where he spent the next thirteen years, advancing to the rank of
second mate. During one adventurous journey outside South America, Trolle's ship encountered four Spanish vessels and fought a four-hour-long battle, which ended with the entire Swedish crew being captured and imprisoned. Trolle was released after four months.
Upon his return to Sweden one year later (1754) he was promoted to the rank of
chief mate
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the s ...
and rose to
lieutenant captain in 1758. He fought in the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
at the siege of
Peenemünde
Peenemünde (, en, " Peene iverMouth") is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the ''Amt'' (collective municipality) of Usedom-Nord. The commu ...
and at a battle that took place at the Prussian
sconce Anklamer-Fehr. There he served as a captain on ''Carlskrona'' one of the larger
galleys and managed to chase away two
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n galleys.
In 1759 he organized the transport of the Swedish army to Rügen and served as an
aide-de-camp to Count
Axel von Fersen who was commander of the Swedish army. The same year he also participated in the victorious
battle at Frisches Haff. He was given command of the naval and army units that guarded the waters around the islands of
Usedom
Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea.
It is north of the Szczecin ...
and
Wollin. He rose quickly through the ranks and became a major in 1762, the final year of Sweden's involvement in the Seven Years' War.
In 1766, after years that had seen the Swedish Navy being reduced, he travelled on his own expense to
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
,
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, where he observed shipbuilding and fortress construction techniques. In 1769 he married Carolina Carleson, daughter of politician
Edvard Carleson.
In 1770, he was given a high position in the Swedish
Archipelago fleet
The archipelago fleet ( sv, skärgårdsflottan), officially the "fleet of the army" ( sv, arméns flotta), was a branch of the armed forces of Sweden which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was su ...
, at the time officially referred to as the "fleet of the army" (''arméns flotta''), a branch of the military specializing in coastal warfare and amphibious operations. He became the right-hand man of its commander,
Augustin Ehrensvärd
Field Marshal count Augustin Ehrensvärd (25 September 1710 – 4 October 1772) was a Swedish military officer, military architect, artist, creator of the Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) fortress, Svartholm fortress and the Swedish archipelago fleet. H ...
, and together they supervised the expansion, administration and training of the fleet. As a reward for his support in the royal revolution of king
Gustav III
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
in 1772, he was given command of the Archipelago fleet and was ennobled, thus being allowed to attach the prefix "af" to his family name. During the following years, Trolle came into conflict with traditionalist supporters of the blue water navy who were against the very existence of a naval unit under army command. Trolle and the naval architect
Fredrik Henrik af Chapman
Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (9 September 1721 in Gothenburg – 19 August 1808) was a Swedish shipbuilder, scientist and officer in the Swedish navy. He was also manager of the Karlskrona shipyard 1782-1793. Chapman is credited as the world' ...
had both come to the conclusion that small, fast and maneuverable vessels with 60-70 guns were of more use than big, slow, depth-craving ships with 100 guns. With the help of powerful allies and support from the court he managed to aide af Chapman become chief naval architect, further developing and renewing the army fleet according to their visions.
While remaining an officer in the Archipelago fleet he then went on to command the
Nyland Regiment and the Swedish squadron of the Archipelago fleet. In June 1780 he was appointed the rank of General Admiral. He died in Stockholm on 12 March 1784.
References
* ''Svenskt Biografiskt Handlexikon'', 1906
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Trolle, Henrik
1730 births
1784 deaths
Swedish Navy admirals
Swedish nobility
18th-century Swedish military personnel
Age of Liberty people
Military personnel from Stockholm