The Swedish Army of the Seven Years War is one
of the most neglected armies of the period, and if one
considers its performance during these years probably
rightly so. The Swedes, however, present a challenge to
those of us who enjoy researching uniforms and
organizations.
Accurate information is difficult to come by, especially where uniforms and flags are concerned. My purpose in writing this article is twofold: first, to present the information on Swedish uniforms I have been able to accumulate, and second, to hopefully stir other readers into providing additional information. The result will then be a more complete picture of the Swedish Army.
On July 12, 1756, a new uniform regulation was issued for infantry and cavalry. For the most part this new regulation only confirmed what already existed in fact. The regulation prescribed the blue-yellow uniform for all infantry units.
| INFANTRY UNIFORMS FOR 1756 | |
|---|---|
| Coat: Collar, Cuffs, Coatlining, Turnbacks | Dark Blue |
| Buttonhole lining: | Yellow |
| Vest: | Yellow |
| Trousers: | Yellow |
| Neck Stock: | Black |
| Stockings: | White wool with brown leather garter |
| Shoes: | Black with brass buckles |
| Belts: | White or Buff (The sword belt was worn either over or under the coat) |
| Tricorn: | Black with white cord trim and a tin button on the left side |
| Cartridge Box: | Black leather |
| Scabbard | Brown leather with brass fittings |
| Grenadier Cap: | Similar to the Prussian mitre, but it was covered in white wax cloth to prevent confusion. The Helsinge regimental grenadiers wore a bearskin cap similar to the cap worn by the French Imperial Guard |
| Buttons: | Tin (There were a total of 19 buttons on the coat; 10 down the front, 3 for each pocket, two at the small of the back and one on the left shoulder) |
The uniform of the NCO was the same as the enlisted man with the exception of silver lace on the tricorn.
The officer's uniform was also similar to the enlisted men with the following exceptions:
| Buttons: | Gilded brass |
| Tricorn Lace: | Gold |
| Sash: | Silver and Gold |
| Vest and Trousers: | Dark Blue |
| Gorget: | Silver |
The uniform of the drummers were either as described above or in reverse colors with the addition of white cord down the coat front, on the sleeves, and trim on the collar and cuffs.
As far as I can determine all infantry units, including the German regiments, were wearing the blueyellow uniform except that Jonkopings and Nerike-Varmlands regiments were still wearing red in place of yellow in 1757, and the Vesterbottens regiment was wearing white.
| CAVALRY UNIFORMS FOR 1757 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regiment | Coat | Vest, Collar, Cuffs, Turnbacks |
| Lif Regt | Dark Blue | White |
| Vastgota | Dark Blue | Yellow |
| Smalands | Dark Blue | Yellow |
| Ostgota | Dark Blue | Dark Blue |
| Norra Skanska | Dark Blue | Chamois |
| Sodra Skanska | Dark Blue | Chamois |
| Adelsfanan | Dark Blue | White |
| Bohuslans | Green | Yellow |
| Trousers: | Buckskin or reindeer skin |
| Stock: | Black |
| Tricorn: | Black without trim except for the Lif Regt. which had gold trim; one brass button on the left side |
| Buttons: | Brass (The coat had a total of 28 buttons positioned as follows: 12 down the front, 3 on each pocket, 3 on each cuff, 2 in the small of the back and 1 on each shoulder) |
| Boots: | Black |
| Gauntlets: | Chamois |
| Scabbard: | Brown with brass fittings |
| Cuirass: | Worn by the horse but under the coat |
| Saddle cloth and pistol covers: | Unknown, but a good guess might be coat color trimmed with facing color |
| Cloak: | Dark blue |
| Horse furniture: | Black |
| ARTILLERY UNIFORMS IN 1757 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coat, Vest, Trousers and Facings | Dark blue | |
| Stockings: | Dark blue | |
| Buttons: | Brass | |
| Shoes: | Black with brass buckles | |
| Tricorn: | Black without trim and one brass button on the left side; Konstablers had yellow trim | |
| Belts: | White or buff | |
Let me reiterate that the above uniform descriptions are by no means the last word on Swedish uniforms. Any reader with information that can supplement or correct any of the above information will be greatly appreciated.
SOURCES
Royal Swedish Army Museum, Stockholm
Bellander, Erik. Drakt och Uniform.
Stockholm, 1973.
Grossen Generalstabe. Die Kriege Friedrichs des Grossen, Third Part, Vol. 6. Berlin, 1904.
Save, Teofon. Sveriges Deltagande i Sjuariga Kriget. Stockholm, 1915
Related
-
Uniforms of the Swedish Army: 1757-1762
Update: With Corrections
Swedish Army 1757-1762
Swedish Cavalry Standards 1757-1762: Part I
Swedish Infantry Standards 1757-1762: Part II
Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. 1 #1
To Courier List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1979 by The Courier Publishing Company.
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