The following information is a summary of useful organization and uniform information for the Swedish army of the SYW, as found in the Pengel & Hurt series. There are three books pertaining to the Swedes and include the following:
-
Swedish Army in Pomerania 1757-1763 (RD Pengel, 1983)
Uniforms of Swedish & German States, Line and Cannon of the SYW (RD Pengel, 1984)
Uniforms of Swedish & German States, Cavalry of the SYW (RD Pengel, 1979).
Note that the latter two books also include data pertaining to other Gennan states including Bavaria, Saxony, Wurttemburg, Hesse Kassel, and Hanover, as well as some of the smaller states. Mr. Pengel states that the first book listed above is the most up to date, so the second book listing may be a later reprint.
Infantry Organization
As noted in Peter Wilson's text, the Swedish infantry were divided into three categories: guard regiments, indelta or provincial infantry, and varvarde or permanent regiments. All of these regiments would vary in size from 4 companies to 10 companies, and in strength from 105 to 161 men. Each regiment was organized into two battalions having an average established strength of 600 officers and men.
The Livgardet had three battalions. Each battalion carried two colors: the Liffana and the Kompanifana. The liffana and one kompanifana were carried by the senior (Colonel's) battalion, while the second battalion carried two liffana. The design of these flags varied by regiment and are fairly complicated, so one should refer to Pengel's Swedish Army in Pomerania for the details. By the way, much of the flag information in the Pengel book was provided by the SYW Association's own Daniel Schorr.
In addition, two grenadier battalions were formed from the regiments stationed in Pomerania and numbered about 400 men each.
Infantry companies consisted of the following officers and men:
- Officers (3) -- 1 each of Kapten, Lojtnant and Fanrik;
NCOs (5) -- 1 each of Faltvabel, Sergeant, Forare, Furir and Rustmare;
Specialists (16) -- 6 Korpraler, 2 drummers, 1 flutist, 9 grenadier
Musketeers -- between 85 and 135 per company.
Swedish Infantry Regiments
Pengel numbers the 31 infantry regiments in what appears to be ranking by seniority. The Swedish indelta regiments are numbered through 15, inclusive; the Finnish indelta are numbers 16 to 22, the garde regiments are numbers 23 to 25, and the varvarde regimen are numbers 26 through 31. The following tables list the regiment uniform styles (my anotation), and company strength. The descriptions of uniform styles appear at the end of this article.
| No. | Regt. Name | Strength | Uniform Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upplands | 8 cos x 161 men | Style E |
| 2 | Skaraborgs | 8 cos x 161 men | Style A |
| 3 | Sodermanlands | 8 cos x 161 men | Sty1e B |
| 4 | Kronobergs | 8 cos x 148 men | Style B |
| 5 | Jonkopings | 8 cos x 148 men | Style F |
| 6 | Dalarnas | 8 cos x 161 men | Style A |
| 7 | Ostgota | 8 cos x 161 men | Style B |
| 8 | Halsinge | 8 cos x 161 men | Style B |
| 9 | Alvsborg | 8 cos x 161 men | Style G |
| 10 | Vastgota | 8 cos x 161 men | Style B |
| 11 | Vastmanlands | 8 cos x 161 men | Style B |
| 12 | Vasterbotterns | 8 cos x 161 men | Style B |
| 13 | Kalmar | Not Known | Style B |
| 14 | Narke Varmlands | 10 cos x 101 men | Style H |
| 15 | Jamtlands | 1 co. x 105 dismounted dragoons | Style I |
| 16 | Abo Lans | 8 cos x 140 men | Style A |
| 17 | Bjornborgs | 8 cos x 140 men | Style B |
| 18 | Tavastehus | 8 cos x 140 men | Style B |
| 19 | Savalox Nyslotts | 6 cos x 161 men | Style B |
| 20 | Nylands | 8 cos x 140 men | Style B |
| 21 | Osterbottens | 8 cos x 161 men | Style B |
| 22 | Elimas Co. | Not Known | Style A |
| 23 | Kungl Livgardet | 10 cos | Style B |
| 24 | Kungl Livregement | 12 cos | Style K |
| 25 | Kronprinsens | - | Style B |
| 26 | Hamilton | 8 cos x 136 men | Style C |
| 27 | Hessenstein | 8 cos x 136 men | Style A |
| 28 | Cronhielm | 8 cos x 136 men | Style D |
| 29 | Spens | 8 cos x 161 men | Style L |
| 30 | Posse | 8 cos x 161 men | Style M |
| 31 | Lowenfels | 8 cos x 161 men | Style C |
Notes: Regiment Hamilton was known as Lillievard in1759 and as Lieven in 1761. Regiment Posse was known as Hamilton after 1760. The Finnish Elimas Company represented the remains of the Viborg Regiment, whose recruiting grounds had been lost to the Russians in the previous war. The Jamtlands Regiment was a single company of dismounted dragoons acting as infantry.
Swedish Infantry Uniforms
For ease of presentation, I applied my own labels to the 13 uniform variations listed in Pengel & Hurt, calling them Styles A through M (see Table l). All uniforms had a medium blue coat with Swedish cuffs (no buttons) and a collar. Some regiments had lapels, some did not. Trousers (or knee breeches) and waistcoats (vests) varied in color from yellow, white, red or blue, as did the cuffs, collars and lapels.
Table 1: Summary of Swedish Uniform Styles as mentioned in Pengel & Hurt
Style A: yellow trousers, vest, collar, cuffs, turnbacks, no lapels, white (tin) buttons and white stockings.
Style B: yellow trousers, vest, collar, cuffs, turnbacks and lapels, white (tin) buttons and white stockings.
Style C: blue trousers, white vest, collar, cuffs, turnbacks, lapels. and white (tin) buttons and white stockings.
Style D: same as Style C, except no lapels.
Style E: white trousers, vest, collar, turnbacks, no lapels, white (tin) buttons and white stockings.
Style F: yellow trousers and vest, red collar, yellow cuffs and turnbacks, no lapels, white (tin) buttons and white stockings.
Style G: white trousers, yellow vest, blue collar, cuffs and turnbacks, yellow lapels, white (tin) bunons, white or blue stockings.
StyleH: red trousers, vest, collar, cuffs, lapels, and white buttons, white or red stockings.
Style I: same as Style E, except it has white lapels.
Style J: same as Style C without lapels.
Style K: same as Style E, with lapels.
Style L: white trousers, red vest, collar, cuffs, turnbacks and lapels, white buttons and white stockings.
Style M: yellow trousers, white vest, collar, cuffs and turnbacks, no lapels, white buttons and white stockings.
Pengel states that although his uniform table makes mention of lapels, these were probably not worn by any of the Swedish regiments during the Seven Years War. Pengel also makes the case that the coat resembled the style worn during the Great Northern War, ie. predominantly blue with yellow facings and no lapels and that a 1748 uniform regulation allowed some of the regiments to have facing colors other than yellow (white or red). The 1756 regulations would have tightened up the "uniformity" in appearance with most of the regiments in yellow facings. This contridiction with Pengel's uniform table creates some problems for the wargamer attempting to paint a Swedish army. Perhaps one of our readers can straighten out this conundrum for us.
Trousers (i.e. knee breeches) and vests (or waistcoats) wou1d eventually be saffron yellow for all units once the 1756 regulations were fully implemented.
Buttons were generally a white tin. Tricornes were black with white tape around the edges. Officers had gold tape and NCOs had silver tape around the tricorne. Swedish officers did not wear a waist sash in the manner of the Prussians or Austrians.
Other equipment included a brown knapsack with natural- colored (I assume this to mean light brown or tan in color) leather straps, a black cartouche with a broad white leather shoulder strap. A white waistbelt with brass buckle was worn over the coat and supported a sword attachment. The sword had a black pommel, white metal grip and guard, and a plain black scabbard. The musket had a white leather sling.
Musicians wore yellow coats (or in the facing color, such as white or red) with a plain white swallows nest on each shoulder and no other lace on the sleeves, etc. The drum was brass with provincial coats of arms embossed on the front. The rims were blue with yellow edging.
Officers wore a plain blue coat, vest and breeches. No collar or lapels; turnbacks in saffron yellow or facing color. They wore a silver gorges decorated with the royal cypher and also had leatl~:r gloves. The saddle cloth for mounted officers was blue with the borders in yellow.
NCOs were distinguished from the rank and file by the silver hat lace and the carrying of a halberd. Otherwise, the uniform was the same.
Artillery Organization & Uniforms
According to RD Pengel, each infantry battalion had its own 2- pounder cannon. Standard line artillery sizes were 3 pound, 6 pound and l2 pound smooth bore cannons, plus 8 pound and 16 pound howitzers. Guns, limbers and wagons were painted light blue and the brass ware was free of paint.
Artillerists wore coats colored deep blue, as were the breeches, vest and all facings. No lapels. They wore a black tricorne with yellow button and cockade and no edging tape. Gaiters were black or dark grey. All buttons were brass. Equipment included natural leather colored bandolier with brass fittings. Uniforms for engineers, pioneers, miners and pontoniers were the same as the artillery uniforms. Officers and NCOs had a yellow or gold band edging their tricorns.
Cavalry Organization and Uniforms
Each cavalry regiment had 8 companies of 125 men and all regiments were considered to be part of the indelta The Swedish cavalry establishment consisted of "guard" regiments, ryttare or heavy cavalry regiments, dragoner or dragoon regiments, and two hussar regiments which were raised during the SYW. The typical company strength was as follows:
-
1 ryttmastare
1 lojtnant
1 kornett, ensign
1 kvartmeister
3 korpraler
1 trumpeter
97 to 117 men
Pengel states that two companies formed a squadron, except in the hussar regiments where one comnany formed the squadron.
The following table lists the regiments by name and type:
| No. | Regt. Name | Unit Type | Uniform Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Livregiment | ryttr cuirassier | white vest, cuff, collar |
| 2 | Livreglment | dragoner | white vest, cuff, collar |
| 3 | Adelsfanor | ryttare | white vest, cuff, collar |
| 4 | Vastgota | ryttare dragooner | yellow vest, cuff, collar |
| 5 | Smalands | ryttare | yellow vest, cuff, collar |
| 6 | Nylands | dragoner | yellow vest, cuff, collar |
| 7 | Ostragota | ryttare | red vest, cuff, collar |
| 8 | Bohuslands | dragoner | blue vest, yellow cuff, green collar |
| 9 | Norraskanska | ryttare | straw vest, cuff, collar |
| 10 | Sodraskanska | ryttare | straw vest, cuff, collar |
| 11 | Karelska | dragoner | red later yellow facings, vest |
| 12 | Jamtland | ryttare | blue later yellow facings, vest |
The Livregiment had an establishment of 12 companies of 130 men; the Livdragoner had 8 companies of 130 men. Other regiments having 8 companies of 130 men were regiments Ostragota, Smalands, Nylands, Norraskanska. The Bohuslans Dragoner had 8 companies of 105 men. Adelsfanor had 4 companies of 105 men. The Karelska regiment had 2 companies of 130 men and were a nixture of remains from Finn~sh regiments Kare1ska, Viborg and NysloKa, all of which represented territory lost to Russia. The lamtlands regiment were dismounted dragoons. Regiment number 8, Bohuslands, was also known as the Green Dragoons.
Cavalry Uniforms
All units wore a medium blue infantry style coat, except the Green Dragoons who wore, what else, green. Trousers were straw color and waistcoats (vests) are as noted in the above table. Black tricorn with no border, natural leather belting. Shabraques were medium blue edged in yellow or in the facing color. Scabbards were black leather. Buttons yellow. Officers had gold hat lace. Drummers appeared to be outfitted in the same manner as the infantry.
More 7YW Swedish Army
-
Swedish Politics and Armed Forces
Appendix A: Swedish Army in 1756
Appendix B: Swedish Navy in 1756
Swedish Mobilization and Strategy
Campaign in Pomerania, 1757-1762
Swedish Jager Units
Prussian Navy vs. the Swedes
Swedish Army Organization
Back to Seven Years War Asso. Journal Vol. X No. 1 Table of Contents
Back to Seven Years War Asso. Journal List of Issues
Back to Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1997 by James E. Purky
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com