Magnus (Måns) Rosén von Rosenstein ''né'' Aurivillius (9 March 1755 – 14 November 1801) was a

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

rear admiral. After having served in the Fleet of the Army, Rosenstein joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

against the French. He then joined the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

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 in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of ...

and was imprisoned in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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

Battle of Svensksund The Second Battle of Svensksund (; ) 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 Empire, Swedish naval forces dealt the Imperial Russia, Russian fleet a devastatin ...

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

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

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, 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 (), 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 of Uppland, and it was ...

in 1765 and was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

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

fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( 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 below sub-lieutenan ...

'' in 1771 and to ''

löjtnant ''Löjtnant'' ( 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-lieutenant and below lie ...

'' 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 awa ...

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 A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

and took an active part in Sir

's squadron in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and a mission to the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. During the outbreak of the Russo-Swedish War 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 ''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 Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

's chief physician. After having returned to Sweden, Rosenstein was promoted to colonel in the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

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 Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

*1770 – Styckjunkare *1771 –

Fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( 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 below sub-lieutenan ...

*1774 –

Löjtnant ''Löjtnant'' ( 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-lieutenant and below lie ...

*1777 –

Kapten ''Kapten'' ( in the Swedish Army/Swedish Air Force, Air Force, ''Lieutenant'' in the Swedish Navy, Navy) is a Company (military unit), company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above Löjtnant, lieutenant and below Major (Sweden), ...

*1783 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

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

Överstelöjtnant Lieutenant colonel (LtCol) (, 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 Swedish Navy. History Lieut ...

*1790 –

Överste Colonel (Col) (, 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 equivalent to the ...

(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 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(1799) *Knight Grand Cross of the

(1790) *Knight of the

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