Magnus (Måns) Rosén von Rosenstein ''né'' Aurivillius (9 March 1755 – 14 November 1801) was a Swedish Navy rear admiral. After having served in the Fleet of the Army, Rosenstein joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

against the French. He then joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

and took part in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

where he was taken prisoner by his former commander Admiral Sir

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...

and was imprisoned in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was immediately released, returned to Sweden and would later distinguish himself in the

Battle of Svensksund The Second Battle of Svensksund (Finnish: ''Ruotsinsalmi'', Russian: ''Rochensalm'') was a naval battle fought in the Gulf of Finland outside the present day city of Kotka on 9 and 10 July 1790. The Swedish naval forces dealt the Russian f ...

. Rosenstein retired with the rank of rear admiral in the Swedish Navy in 1797 and died in his hometown of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

in 1801.

Early life

Rosenstein was born in

, Sweden, the son of professor of medicine Samuel Aurivillius and his wife Anna Margareta Rosén von Rosenstein, whose children were knighted in 1773 and adopted their grandfather's, archiater

Nils Rosén von Rosenstein Nils Rosén von Rosenstein (11 February 1706 – 16 July 1773) was a Swedish physician. He is considered the founder of modern pediatrics, while his work ''The diseases of children, and their remedies'' is considered to be "the first modern text ...

, noble name, but under a special number (No 2055) introduced at the House of Nobility in 1776. Rosenstein became ''

furir Furir (from French '' fourrier'', a person responsible for the feed) is a Swedish military rank (OR5) reintroduced in 2019, after having been abolished in 2009. Duties The ''Furir'' is a Squad Leader at Skill Level B (Intermediate). Promotion fr ...

'' at the age of ten at

Uppland Regiment The Uppland Regiment ( sv, Upplands regemente), designation I 8, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1957. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province ...

in 1765 and was promoted to sergeant in the Sveaborg Squadron of the Fleet of the Army in 1770 and became '' styckjunkare'' the same year. He was promoted to ''

fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( en, second lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Acting sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above sergeant and below lieutenant. In the navy, it ranks above sergeant and ...

'' in 1771 and to ''

löjtnant ''Löjtnant'' ( en, Lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above second lieutenant and below captain. In the navy, it ranks above acting sub-lieut ...

'' in 1774. According to the custom of the time, he obtained a letter of appointment at the age of ten and took

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

together with several other officers from the Fleet of the Army for training purposes to join foreign war service in 1776.

Career

Rosenstein served in the

1776–78, where he became a midshipman and took an active part in Sir

's squadron in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

and participated in the Battle of Ushant against the French. Only the lack of money had refrained Rosenstein from joining the

, which he did in 1779, the year after his return. As a French naval officer, he participated in the

and was in the

on 12 April 1782 captured by his former commander Admiral Parker and was taken to

, where he nonetheless soon was freed against his word of honor that he would not fight against the English. He left the French Navy in 1783 and on his return to Sweden, adorned with the French ''* Order of Military Merit'', he was immediately appointed ''sekundmajor'' in the Stockholm Squadron of the Fleet of the Army and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1785. As captain of the frigate ''Gripen'' 1784-85 he carried out an expedition to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

and a mission to the Sultan of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. During the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1788, he received the command of the Galley Squadron's third division. During the

on 24 August 1789 he defended the passage aboard the

hemmema A hemmema (from Finnish "Hämeenmaa", Tavastia) was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet and the Russian Baltic Fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The hemmema was initially developed for use against the Imperi ...

''Oden'', until the rest of the fleet managed to escape, when he, after a ten-hour incessant cannonade at last, had to surrender and was taken as a prisoner to Russia. There he was nursed by Catherine the Great's chief physician. After having returned to Sweden, Rosenstein was promoted to colonel in the Swedish Army in 1790 and with the frigate ''Bellona'' he carried out a new mission to Morocco in 1791. He was appointed acting commander of the Stockholm Squadron in 1794 and was promoted to rear admiral in 1797.

Personal life

Rosenstein died on 4 November 1801 in his hometown of Uppsala. He was never married.

Dates of rank

*1765 –

Furir Furir (from French '' fourrier'', a person responsible for the feed) is a Swedish military rank (OR5) reintroduced in 2019, after having been abolished in 2009. Duties The ''Furir'' is a Squad Leader at Skill Level B (Intermediate). Promotion fr ...

*1770 – Sergeant *1770 – Styckjunkare *1771 –

Fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( en, second lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Acting sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above sergeant and below lieutenant. In the navy, it ranks above sergeant and ...

*1774 –

Löjtnant ''Löjtnant'' ( en, Lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above second lieutenant and below captain. In the navy, it ranks above acting sub-lieut ...

*1777 –

Kapten ''Kapten'' ( en, Captain in the Swedish Army/Air Force, ''Lieutenant'' in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above lieutenant and below major. In the navy, it ranks above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant co ...

*1783 – Major (Swedish Army) *1783 – Sekundmajor (Swedish Navy) *1785 –

Överstelöjtnant Lieutenant colonel (LtCol) ( sv, Överstelöjtnant, Övlt) is a field grade officer rank in the Swedish Armed Forces, just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the Swedis ...

*1790 –

Överste Colonel (Col) ( sv, Överste, Öv) is the most senior field grade military officer rank in the Swedish Army and the Swedish Air Force, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general. It is equivalen ...

(Swedish Army) *1797 – Konteramiral

Awards and decorations

*Commander of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

(1799) *Knight Grand Cross of the

(1790) *Knight of the

(1781) * Order of Military Merit (1781)Phaleristica - En väldekorerad minnessten
/ref>

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenstein, Mans von 1755 births 1801 deaths Swedish Navy admirals 18th-century Swedish military personnel 19th-century Swedish military personnel People of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War French Navy officers American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain Prisoners of war held by Russia Military personnel from Uppsala Commanders of the Order of the Sword Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (France) Burials at Uppsala old cemetery