Olof Strömstierna

Olof Strömstierna, painting by JH Wedekindt from 1715, Gripsholm Castle, Sweden

Olof Strömstierna , (* 1664 in Käringön in Bohuslän , † 1730 in Bro Socken in Bohuslän) was a Swedish naval officer in the Great Northern War . Most recently he held the rank of admiral retired.

Childhood and youth

Olof Strömstierna was born in Käringön on the west coast of Sweden in 1664 . His birth name was Olof Knape, his father was Nils Knape, a simple fisherman. At the age of eight, Strömstierna first went out to sea with the fishermen.

In his youth he went to sea with the East India Company between France , England and America . In 1697 he joined the Dutch East India Company . Under the flag of the States General of the Netherlands , he rose to lieutenant .

He also had his own ship that traded between the mainland and Sweden. In 1715 he was ennobled for his services and he was given the name Strömstierna . Strömstierna married Christina Ström, daughter of Ratmann von Marstrand and the sister of Nils Thorvedsson Ström , who later became ennobled Strömcrona.

Military career

In 1698, Strömstierna was offered to join the Swedish Navy . He was appointed captain in 1700 and placed in the fleet of Admiral Cornelius Anckarstierna . All existing seamanships in Bohuslän were recruited in 1701 and took part in the expedition to Arkhangelsk . Strömstierna was in this operation as the commanding officer on board the frigate Marstrand .

In 1704 he was appointed commander of the Bohuslän's 1st Enrollment Company. In this position he was responsible for the defense of the province and its coasts. He was also responsible for escorting and defending cargo convoys in this part of Swedish waters.

In 1711 he thwarted a Danish invasion. Furthermore, Strömstierna was a privateer in the waters. He hijacked merchant ships on behalf of the Swedish crown. For his services to the crown, he was appointed Schout-bij-Nacht and commander of the Gothenburg Sea Squadron in 1714 .

Fight against Tordenskjold in Bohuslän

After Olof Strömstierna had defeated the Danish captain Tordenskiold on Sponviken, he was appointed vice admiral . The Danes tried to destroy the bridge that crossed the sound . Tordenskjold's fleet consisted of 16 ships, its flagship was the Coronation Rose with 28 cannons and 128 men on board. The fleet was partially sunk by the Swedes, including the flagship.

In 1716, Strömstierna led a supply convoy consisting of around 35 ships (15 warships and 20 transport ships). These should bring siege artillery and supplies to the Swedish siege army in Fredrikshald . In the small Dynekilen fjord, three miles from Fredrikshald, the fleet made a stopover. Here the fleet was completely captured or sunk by a small Danish flotilla (seven ships). The sea ​​battle in the Dynekilen Fjord became a battle of fate in the first Norwegian campaign of Charles XII. After this defeat, the Swedes had to break off the siege of Fredrikshald and withdraw to Sweden.

While in command of the sea squadron in Gothenburg, Strömstierna succeeded in repelling Tordenskjold's attack on the city in 1717. In the same year he also became the commander of the rowers regiment (3000 men), and in 1718 he was in charge of the delivery of more than 100 shiploads of food and other supplies from Gothenburg to Strömstad , this supply convoy marked the start of the Swedes' second campaign in Norway.

In 1719 he asked for retirement, which was granted to him. He was also raised to the rank of full admiral.

He then lived on his farm in Bro Stocken until his death in 1730.

memory

In the National Portrait Collection of Sweden at Gripsholm Castle there is a picture of Olof Strömstierna with his head to the right. It was painted by John Henry Wedekind in 1715 in 1715 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Strömstierna, Olof . In: Herman Hofberg, Frithiof Heurlin, Viktor Millqvist, Olof Rubenson (eds.): Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon . 2nd Edition. tape 2 : L – Z, including supplement . Albert Bonniers Verlag, Stockholm 1906, p. 551 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).