Jacob Johan Anckarström the Elder
Encyclopedia
Jacob Johan Anckarström the Elder (11 September 1729, Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...

 - 6 April 1777, Lindö sätesgård) was a Swedish nobleman and colonel of the Anckarström family. He was a knight of the Order of the Sword
Order of the Sword
The Order of the Sword is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star.Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it...

 (from 1761) and the Order of Vasa
Order of Vasa
The Royal Order of Vasa was a Swedish Royal order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III of Sweden...

 (from 1775) and the father of the regicide Jacob Johan Anckarström
Jacob Johan Anckarström
Jacob Johan Anckarström was a Swedish military officer who was convicted and executed for regicide. He was the son of Jacob Johan Anckarström the Elder. He served as a captain in King Gustav III's regiment between 1778 and 1783...

.

Life

Born in 1729, he was the son of Major Clas Anckarström and Brigita Charlotta Realize Stjerna. He was raised by his stepfather, a colonel Faber. He first joined the army aged 15, as a hantlangare in the artillery, and in 1745 travelled to France with lieutenant-colonel Leslie. He was immediately employed in the Swedish Royal Suédois
Royal Suédois
The Royal-Suédois was an infantry regiment in the French Army during the Ancien Régime. It was created in 1690 from Swedish prisoners taken during the Battle of Fleurus. The regiment was very successful and eventually earned the right and privilege to be called a Royal regiment. Thus it was named...

 regiment, rising to lieutenant aged 18 (in 1747) and wounded at the 1748 Siege of Namur
Siege of Namur
The siege of Namur refers to a number of sieges throughout history of the Belgian city of Namur.The city of Namur and the citadel of Namur held a strategic position in the heart of Europe...

.

He returned to Sweden in 1748 and in 1750 (aged only 21) he was promoted to be a captain with the Nylands regemente. During the 1750s he was ordered to Sveaborg (Suomenlinna
Suomenlinna
Suomenlinna, until 1918 Viapori , or Sveaborg , is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands , and which now forms part of the city of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular with both tourists and locals, who...

), then outside Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. In 1757 he was sent to the Pomeranian War
Pomeranian War
The Pomeranian War was a theatre of the Seven Years' War. The term is used to describe the fighting between Sweden and Prussia between 1757 and 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, northern Brandenburg and eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin....

, in which he was captured and held prisoner in Demmin
Demmin
Demmin is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district Demmin.- Name :...

. In 1759 his Prussian captors allowed him to leave captivity to go to Sweden to take up a legacy from his father, who had died that year. In 1760 he married Hedvig Ulrika Drufva, daughter of the governor Peter Drufva - they had three sons, including Jacob Johan the Younger.

Sources

Vilhelm Fredrik Palmblad: Biographiskt Lexicon öfver namnkunnige Svenska Män, v. 1 - 1835, s.180-183
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