ClaesAlso written as Claas, Clas or Klas Johansson Uggla (1614 – 1 June 1676) was a Swedish military officer of the 17th century, who served in both the army and the navy, reaching the rank of

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 ...

before he was killed in action during the naval

Battle of Öland The Battle of Öland was a naval battle between an allied Danish-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, off the east coast of Öland on 1 June 1676. The battle was a part of the Scanian War (1675–79) fought for supremacy over th ...

Biography

Uggla was born in the village of Afverstad in Ölseruds parish,

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...

, the son of Colonel Johan Uggla and Margareta Gyllenmärs. As a young man he was a

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

at the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

. 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 ...

of 1643-1645 he served as a volunteer in the navy, seeing action in the fleet under the command of Clas Fleming. From 1646 Uggla served in the Swedish army. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Prague in 1648, and was promoted to

captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

. In 1650, he was promoted to captain in the

Life Guards Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...

, accompanying

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

during the

Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia ( 1656–58), Brandenburg-Prussia (1657–60), the ...

. When the Dano-Swedish War broke out in 1657 Uggla returned to naval service. He was promoted to major and in November 1658 participated in the Battle of the Sound against the Dutch fleet. In 1660, he was promoted to

lieutenant admiral Lieutenant admiral () is a senior naval military rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The rank is a four-star rank, senior to a vice-admiral () and equivalent to admiral in most foreign navies. It is used whenever the Dutch Chief of Defence is fro ...

. During a three-year stay in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, he oversaw the construction of warships being built for the Swedish Navy. In 1670 he was promoted to admiral, and in 1676 was elevated to the status of Friherre. When further conflict broke out in 1675 in the

Scanian War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

, Uggla was given command of a squadron under '' Generalamiral''

Lorentz Creutz Lorentz Creutz (; 16151 June 1676) was a Swedish '' friherre'' (roughly equivalent to a baron), government administrator, county governor (''landshövding'') of Kopparberg County (1655–62), member of the Privy Council and supreme commander of ...

.Hofberg (1906), p.652

Battle of Öland

On 1 June 1676, during the

, against the allied Danish and Dutch fleets under

Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish admiral and a naval hero. He served as supreme command of the Dano-Norwegian Navy during the late 17th century and oversaw development of the Danish-Norwegian Navy. Background Niels Juel ...

and

Cornelis Tromp Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, ''Count of Sølvesborg'' (3 September 1629 – 29 May 1691) was a Dutch naval officer who served as lieutenant-admiral general in the Dutch Navy, and briefly as a general admiral in the Royal Danish Navy. Trom ...

, Creutz's flagship '' Kronan'' capsized, as a result of intemperately turning hard south, even though under full sail with open cannon ports. The Swedish fleet's

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

was thrown into confusion, and the enemy, taking advantage of the situation, surrounded Uggla's 94-gun flagship ''Svärdet''. He found himself attacked by four enemy vessels simultaneously, including both the Danish and Dutch flagships. After a fierce battle lasting two hours Uggla's ship was dismasted and holed below the waterline. Uggla finally surrendered to Tromp, but a Dutch

fire ship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

failed to recognize that the ship had surrendered and attacked, and Uggla was killed when his ship blew up. Only 51 of the 670 crew survived.

Notes

References

;Bibliography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uggla, Claes 1614 births 1676 deaths Swedish admirals People from Säffle Municipality Swedish nobility

Biography

Battle of Öland

See also

Notes

References