Henrik af Trolle

Henrik af Trolle (24 November 1730 – 12 March 1784) was a Swedish naval officer and commander of the Swedish Archipelago fleet. He was ennobled in 1772. He is considered to be one of the foremost administrators and developers of the Swedish Navy throughout the ages (together with Claes Larsson Fleming and Hans Wachtmeister).

History

Henrik Trolle was born in 1730 to the Danish admiral Georg Herman von Trolle, who had entered Swedish service, and Anna Margareta Grill. At age ten his father sent him to serve in the navy, where he spent the next thirteen years, advancing to the rank of second mate. During one adventurous journey outside South America, Trolle's ship encountered four Spanish vessels and fought a four-hour-long battle, which ended with the entire Swedish crew being captured and imprisoned. Trolle was released after four months.

Upon his return to Sweden one year later (1754) he was promoted to the rank of chief mate and rose to lieutenant captain in 1758. He fought in the Seven Years' War at the siege of Peenemünde and at a battle that took place at the Prussian sconce Anklamer-Fehr. There he served as a captain on Carlskrona one of the larger galleys and managed to chase away two Prussian galleys.

In 1759 he organized the transport of the Swedish army to Rügen and served as an aide-de-camp to Count Axel von Fersen who was commander of the Swedish army. The same year he also participated in the victorious battle at Frisches Haff. He was given command of the naval and army units that guarded the waters around the islands of Usedom and Wollin. He rose quickly through the ranks and became a major in 1762, the final year of Sweden's involvement in the Seven Years' War.