Olof Rudolf Cederström (8 February 1764 – 1 June 1833) was a Swedish naval commander. Cederström enlisted in the Swedish admiralty in 1779 and as captain, he conducted a raid against Rogervik. He distinguished himself in 1790 at the naval Battle of Reval and the Battle of Viborg Bay. During the following years he led ships against

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. He was sent in 1801 to fight alongside the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 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 and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

during the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the Barbary Wars, in which the United States and Sweden fought against Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against S ...

. In 1808 his ships were sent to blockade

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to th ...

in order to repel a

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 encompassing one-eigh ...

n invasion . His last military action was against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in 1813, when he helped Swedish forces capture

Vorpommern Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

. In 1815, he was appointed a minister but returned to the navy in 1818. He finally resigned in 1828.

Career

Cederström was born in

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

, Sweden, the son of Claes Cederström and his wife Margareta Elisabet von Mevius. He was a student in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat 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 inha ...

in 1776 and was admitted to war service at the Admiralty in 1779. Cederström became a petty officer (''arklimästare'') at the Admiralty on 3 August 1779 and 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 ...

'' on 5 June 1781. In 1784 he became

harbourmaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct opera ...

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in Englis ...

and on 15 August 1785 he was promoted 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-lieutenan ...

''. Cederström was promoted to ''

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 lieuten ...

'' on 21 July 1788. He distinguished himself during the

Russo-Swedish War Wars between Russia and Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> ...

1788–90 when he conducted a successful expedition to Rogervik (17 March 1790) as the commander of a small squadron of two frigates and a few brigs, where timber to a Russian archipelago fleet and much other military equipment was destroyed. For this he was appointed major on 26 March 1790. Cederström also distinguished himself during the Battle of Reval (13 May 1790) and the Battle of Vyborg Bay (4 July 1790). He became '' överstelöjtnant'' at the Admiralty on 25 February 1793. Cederström became a member of the Committee of the Navy's Equipment on 22 April 1794 and ''

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 equivalent ...

'' at the Admiralty on 21 June 1795. In 1796 and in 1798 he was cruising with a frigate squadron in the

to protect the Nordic trade against the

s. He was appointed commanding officer of the High Seas Navy (''Örlogsflottan'') on 6 April 1801 and was three days later promoted to rear admiral. Cederström was sent with a squadron to the Mediterranean to punish Tripolitanian pirates during the

. After 20 months he made peace with

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

. In 1808 he took command of a squadron, which had the task of protecting the Swedish coast against a feared French-Danish landing. Also in 1808, Russia occupied the island of Gotland and a Swedish relief expedition under the command of Cederström was dispatched from Karlskrona to expel the Russian forces from the island, which was executed within three days. The Russian occupation accelerated, however, the establishment of the

Gotland National Conscription The Gotland National Conscription ( sv, Gotlands nationalbeväring) was a Swedish Army infantry unit that traced its origins back to the 19th century. It was split into two new regiments in 1887. The regiment's soldiers were recruited on the islan ...

and Cederström was commissioned as vice governor of the island to implement this arming of the people and to set the island in a state of defense. Cederström was promoted to vice admiral on 29 June 1809 and he was military commander of

from 13 August 1810 to 24 September 1811. In 1813 he was appointed general commander of the entire Swedish naval force against

and the French allies, and in 1814, for a short time, over the naval force against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Cederström was general commander of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands— Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

in 1814 and was on duty as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the fleets on 5 August 1815. Cederström became minister (''statsråd'') on 8 August 1815 and the

Over-Governor of Stockholm The Governor of Stockholm ( sv, överståthållaren) was the head of the Office of the Governor of Stockholm ( sv, Överståthållarämbetet, ÖÄ), and as such he was the highest Swedish State official overseeing the affairs in the City of Stoc ...

and acting chancellor of the Royal War Academy on 30 July 1816. He was promoted to admiral on 24 November 1818 and resigned as the Over-Governor of Stockholm on 15 December 1818. He received the title

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

on 11 May 1819 and was promoted to ''överamiral'' on 1 June 1820 and was appointed

Lord of the Realm ''En af rikets herrar'' (in Swedish) or Lord of the Realm was an honorary title introduced by King Gustaf III of Sweden shortly after his bloodless coup d'état in 1772, and after the new constitution was passed by the Riksdag of the Estates. It w ...

on 5 November 1821. Cederström was promoted to general admiral and was appointed commanding officer of the Naval Artillery Regiment (''Sjöartilleriregementet'') on 7 October 1823. He was also appointed commanding officer of the Royal Majesty's Fleet, which according to Cederström's proposals was formed by merging the High Seas Navy (''Örlogsflottan'') and the Fleet of the Army. On this post, he was the victim of many attacks from parliament and the press side for dubious economic trades of warships from the navy, which led to his resignation in 1828 "at the end of his brilliant career". He then became an honorary member of the Uppsala County Agricultural Society on 28 January 1829.

Personal life

On 16 February 1793 he was married in Karlskrona to countess Charlotta Catharina Wrangel af Sauss (7 October 1767 in Karlskrona - 4 February 1848 in Lövsta), the daughter of the

, First Admiral, Count Anton Johan Wrangel af Sauss and Countess Charlotta Regina Sparre af Söfdeborg. During his last years, he lived on the estate Lövsta in Uppland County. Cederström died on 1 June 1833 at Lövsta in Funbo Parish, Uppsala County. He was the father of: *Claes Anton (born 1795). Became count when his father died. *Margareta-Charlotta (25 November 1796 in Karlskrona - 21 June 1883 in Karlskrona). She married on 25 November 1814 to Rear Admiral, Count Claes August Cronstedt (1785-1860). *Gustaf Adolf (born 1797) *Olof Rudolf (born 1800) *Carl-Emanuel (born 1804) *Fredrik Ture (born 1808)

Awards and decorations

Cederström's awards: *Knight 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 ...

(26 March 1790) *Commander of the

(16 November 1799) *Commander Grand Cross of the

(13 June 1803) *Honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for ...

(9 December 1809) *Knight Grand Cross 2nd Class of the

(9 August 1814) *Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King (7 October 1816) *

Order of Charles XIII The Royal Order of Charles XIII ( sv, Kungliga Carl XIII:s orden) is a Swedish order of merit, founded by King Charles XIII in 1811. Membership The Lord and Master of the Order is the King of Sweden, currently King Carl XVI Gustaf. Membershi ...

(28 January 1825)

Citations

References

* * *

External links

Article
at '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cederstrom, Rudolf 1764 births 1833 deaths Swedish Navy admirals People of the Barbary Wars People involved in anti-piracy efforts 18th-century Swedish military personnel 19th-century Swedish military personnel Swedish military commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) People from Landskrona Municipality Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Charles XIII Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences