Count Johan August Meijerfeldt (4 May 1725–21 April 1800) was a Swedish

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. To distinguish him from his father,

Johan August Meijerfeldt the Elder Johan August Meijerfeldt (1664–1749) was a Swedish general and civil servant. To distinguish him from his son who had an identical name, he is generally referred to as Johan August Meijerfeldt the Elder. Biography Johan August Meijerfeldt was ...

, he is generally referred to as Johan August Meijerfeldt the Younger. He pursued a military career both outside Sweden, and as an officer in Swedish service in the

Pomeranian War The Pomeranian War was a theatre of the Seven Years' War. The term is used to describe the fighting between Sweden and Prussia between 1757 and 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, northern Brandenburg and eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin. ...

and the

Russo-Swedish War Wars between Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and ...

. Towards the end of the latter war, he was given command of all Swedish land forces in Finland, and promoted to field marshal at the end of the war. He was married to

Louise Meijerfeldt Lovisa "Louise" Augusta Meijerfeldt ''née'' Sparre af Sundby (12 September 174516 September 1817), was a Swedish noble and courtier. She is famous in history as one of "the three graces" of the Gustavian age; three ladies-in-waiting ( Augusta v ...

Biography

The Meijerfeldt family came from

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

. Johan August Meijerfeldt the Younger was born in

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...

on 4 May 1725. He began a military career early in life. In 1737 he was already serving in a regiment in his hometown. In 1744 he was promoted to the rank of captain, and the following year received royal permission to leave the country to fight in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

on the side of Austria, first against

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 em ...

and later against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He participated in the

Battle of Soor The Battle of Soor (30 September 1745) was a battle between Frederick the Great's Prussian army and an Austro- Saxon army led by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the Second Silesian War (part of the War of the Austrian Succession). Th ...

and the

Battle of Kesselsdorf The Battle of Kesselsdorf was fought on 15 December 1745, between the Kingdom of Prussia and the combined forces of the Archduchy of Austria and the Electorate of Saxony during the part of the War of the Austrian Succession known as the Second S ...

, and in 1746 he was taken prisoner by French troops. After his release he returned to Sweden. Back in Sweden he became a confidant of Queen Louisa Ulrika and aided her in trying to raise funds abroad for her failed coup d'etat in 1756. After the failed coup, Meijerfeldt was briefly arrested and questioned but did not suffer any serious repercussions. However, he again left Sweden to fight 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 (1754� ...

, this time on the side of Brunswick. He participated in the

Battle of Hastenbeck The Battle of Hastenbeck (26 July 1757) was fought as part of the Invasion of Hanover during the Seven Years' War between the allied forces of Hanover, Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) and Brunswick, and the French. The allies were defeated by ...

in 1757. Following Sweden's entry into the war, he returned to Sweden and joined the Swedish army. He commaned forces fighting around

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 communi ...

Güstrow Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in Me ...

and

Wolin Wolin (; formerly german: Wollin ) is the name both of a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from the ...

during the subsequent

. In 1759 he was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He was politically engaged in Sweden during the 1760s, -70s and -80s. With the outbreak of the

in 1788, he returned to active military service and initially commanded a brigade attempting to take

Hamina Hamina (; sv, Fredrikshamn, , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, reg ...

, an effort which derailed due to a lack of supplies and ammunition. Following the

Anjala conspiracy The Anjala conspiracy ( sv, Anjalaförbundet, fi, Anjalan liitto) of 1788 was a scheme by disgruntled Swedish officers to end Gustav III's Russian War of 1788–1790. Declaring Finland an independent state was not a part of the original plot, ...

, Meijerfeldt was given command of the forces around Anjala. In December 1788 he was given the overall command of all land forces in Finland in the absence of the king. In this capacity he reconquered

Karkkila Karkkila (; sv, Högfors) is a town and a municipality of Finland. Neighboring municipalities are Lohja, Loppi, Tammela and Vihti. Geography Karkkila is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and it covers an ar ...

in July 1789, and managed to thwart further Russian gains in Finland. When the war ended with the

Treaty of Värälä The Treaty of Värälä (sometimes known as the Treaty of Wereloe) was signed in Värälä, Elimäki, Elimäki Municipality, Finland under Swedish rule, Finland, between Russian Empire, Russia (represented by Otto Heinrich Igelström) and Gustavi ...

, he was promoted to

. Soon after the war he retired, in opposition to the increasingly authoritarian politics 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 ...

. He spent most of his remaining life at his family estate in in Pomerania. He married

in 1763. He died in Stockholm on 21 April 1800.

Awards and decorations

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

(1797)

References

Sources cited

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meijerfeldt, Johan August the Younger 1725 births 1800 deaths Swedish generals Field marshals of Sweden People of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) People of the War of the Austrian Succession People of the Seven Years' War