Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor

Count Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor (7 December 1744 – 15 May 1814) was a Swedish noble military officer and one of the Lords of the Realm. He is probably best known from his time as field marshal of Finland during the Finnish War, where his command of the Swedish army contributed to the Swedish loss. He is also known for participating in the coup of 1809 that dethroned Gustav IV of Sweden. Biography Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor was a member of the Swedish branch of the Klingspor noble family. He was the son of Christian Fredrik Klingspor (1711–1785) who was vice president of Svea Court of Appeal and who in 1771 had been made a friherre (baron). Already as a child, Klingspor was given the rank of corporal in the Västergötland Cavalry Regiment, and as a young man he served in several French regiments during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). In 1763 he returned to Sweden and made a career in the Swedish Army. In 1779 he was made a colonel and commander of the Västerbotten Regiment. In 1789 he was promoted to major general and in 1790 to lieutenant general. Klingspor had made impressive efforts in the Quartermaster Corps of the Swedish Army, which resulted in him being appointed Quartermaster-General for the army in Finland during the war of 1788–1790. In this role, he saved the army's supplies at Anjala, which were close to falling into the enemy's hands.