How to Research Cavalry Soldiers in the GMRs - Sweden (2a)

Introduction

This article will show how to research a cavalryman in an allotment regiment in the military rolls. It presents how to search for cavalrymen in the Army general muster rolls (generalmönsterrulla). However, researching allotted infantry soldiers is done in a similar manner. Researching Navy sailors (båtsman) is similar also but you then research the Navy rolls. If you are researching enlisted soldiers (värvad soldat) you have no help of Grill's work since it only covers the allotted regiments (indelta regementen). The image to the right shows cavalrymen in uniform m/1910. The image is shown with consent of Theresé Hällsten.

Rote and Rusthåll

Swedish military records are not difficult to research. However, to get the greatest benefit it helps to know how soldiers and sailors were recruited into the Swedish military. Two terms that are of importance to understand are rote and rusthåll. The Allotment System was an old system of organizing and financing the Swedish military. It was in use between 1682 and 1901. In the Allotment System, the basic unit of military organization was the rote (plural: rotar). This translates roughly as “military district” or “military ward.” Each individual infantry soldier or navy sailor was assigned to a particular rote. Rusthåll was the cavalry equivalent. Each rote or rusthåll was associated with a farm (or farms) in the rural countryside. Large towns and cities did not have military districts (with the exception of some navy units). Rotar were established based on the size and prosperity of the farms in a given region. Large, wealthy farms might support more than one rote. Less prosperous farms were grouped together into a single rote. Rotar generally were for “ordinary” soldiers of rank-and-file no higher than corporal. Every rote and rusthåll was assigned a number that denoted its position within the army or navy unit with which it was associated. This was the “rote number/soldier number”. Each rote was required to provide one soldier or sailor and an appropriate uniform for the man to wear. A rusthåll had to provide a soldier croft, called a ryttartorp, but also had to supply a good-quality horse and the horse’s tack. A rusthåll was expensive to maintain so only relatively wealthy farms could afford one. Rusthåll farmers signed a personal contract with the government and received a considerable tax break as part of the deal. It was voluntarily to be a holder of a rusthåll. An cavalry regiment normally numbered 1,100 cavalrymen. Therefore, each province had 1,100 rusthåll. Each rusthåll was required to provide one cavalrymen with a horse to the cavalry regiment of that province. Note, some provinces had more than one regiment and each unit therefore had rotar or rusthåll in the same province. In the beginning of the Allotment System, i.e. at the end of the 1600s, the cavalry units' names ended in "-kavalleriregemente" (cavalry regiment). However, there have been different types of cavalry units depending of armament and the way they were used in battle. The names of the cavalry units were changed in the 19th century to better reflect the way they were being used. Now, we see cavalry units which names ended in "-husarregemente" (hussar regiment), "-dragonregemente" (dragoon regiment), lansiärer (lancer regiment) etc. Each regiment was divided into smaller units called companies. Most cavalry regiments had eight companies of roughly 125 men. In the beginning of the 19th century the Cavalry begun using the term squadrons (skvadron) instead of companies.

The Parish Records - Husförhörslängd, HFL

Allotted Units

Spend enough time tracing your Swedish ancestors and it's likely you will eventually discover someone who served in the Sweden's armed forces, i.e. been a soldier in an infantry regiment, horseman in a cavalry regiment, artilleryman in an artillery regiment or a sailor in the Navy. You may have first become aware your ancestor was a soldier from a notation in the household examination rolls (husförhörslängd, HFL), the parish records. In the following example we will search for hussar / cavalryman Per Erik Kämpe in the military general muster rolls. In the example below, we have found Per Erik Kämpe in the Fellingsbro parish records (Örebro Län, T). Kämpe was born on 1819-10-04 in Lillkyrka parish (T). Source: Fellingsbro AI:19b (1836-1845) Image 69 / page 62. The information found in the household records lists no further details about his military occupation except for his title "husar" (hussar). His patronymic is not listed either. His soldier name is Kämpe (Kämpe means warrior).

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Tutorial 2: How to Research Cavalry Soldiers,

Sweden (2a)

Above, extract from Fellingsbro parish book, Fellingsbro AI:19b (1836-1845) Image 69 / page 62 (AID: v51119.b69.s62, NAD: SE/ULA/10244), Öster Sörby. The above image lists hussar (huss.) Per Erik Kämpe (Kjempe) and his family. Kämpe was born on 1819-10-04 in Lillkyrka parish, Örebro län (T). His wife is Maja Grea Andersdotter, born on 1821-05-15 in Lillkyrka parish. The couple was wedded in 1840. Per Erik Kämpe moved to the soldier croft in 1838. • Född = Born • År och dag = Date • Ort = Place (of birth) • Gift = Married • År = Year • Ankom = Moved-in from • År = Year • Ifrån = Place (previous parish)

Above, extract from Lillkyrka birth book, födelseboken Lillkyrka C:4 (1787-1840) Image 136 (AID: v63799.b136, NAD: SE/ULA/10839) for year 1819. The above image shows Per Erik Kämpe's birth entry in the Lillkyrka birth book. He was born on October 4, 1819. His parents was Erik Persson and his wife Lena Persdotter.

Matching a Soldier to a Regiment and Company by the help of Grill's

work

Before you can locate a soldier's military records, you must first identify the military unit in which he served. The basic unit of the Swedish army before 1900 was the regiment. Each regiment was divided into smaller units called companies. Most army regiments had eight companies of roughly equal numbers of men. You must identify both the regiment and company (squadron) to which your soldier was assigned in order to locate his military records. A very valuable source for the military researcher is Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill's work "Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket I - IV" (Statistical Summary of the Swedish Allotment System) from 1856. This was a detailed analysis of the allotment system regiments as they existed in the 1850s. This is the best source to locate the unit a soldier served in. Grill's work consists of 4 volumes and are available at libraries in Sweden. Grill's work may be found today in many research libraries in the US, such as the LDS Family History Libraries and at the University of MN, Wilson Library. However, Grill's works are digitalized too and the database software is available on CD-ROM. If you have a subscription with Arkiv Digital, you can browse the digitalized version online. In Arkiv Digital you search for "Tryckt litteratur" (Printed literature). Note: Grill's work only contains the allotted regiment, not the enlisted regiments. The image to the right shows the front page of the first volume of Grill's work. Grill's work is valuable tool for matching a soldier rote with a specific regiment and company. Among the contents of these works are tables of all the allotted infantry, cavalry and navy rotar, organized by regiment and company. The regiments are listed regiment-by-regiment and per regiment parish-by-parish. Per parish you will find the "rotar" the regiment had in these parishes. In the tables you will find information on which company each rote was a part of. A regiment of 1,200 soldiers consequently had 1,200 "rotar" (pl.). Normally the rote had the same name as the main farm in the rote that supported the soldier. Grill's work has a parish index. If you know the name of the parish and the name of the rote it is easy to find the regiment and the company the soldier served in. You have to be aware that some provinces had more than one regiment. Different regiments and Navy units could have "rotar" within the same parish. This makes it a bit more difficult to find the correct regiment for a soldier. An example of a province with two regiments is Östergötland. This province had an infantry regiment as well as a cavalry regiment plus "rotar" within the Navy Allotment System. Begin with browsing the parish index (sockenregister) for the parish in question to find the unit(s) which had rotar or rusthåll in that particular parish. The parish index is located in the beginning of volume 1. Our soldier Per Erik Kämpe above, lived in Fellingsbro parish, Örebro Län (County), when he was a cavalryman (that's where his horseman croft was located) so we begin by browsing Grill's parish index for Fellingsbro parish to find which military units had rotar/rusthåll in the parish. Then we browse the unit the parish index refers to. Grill's work shows that the Life Regiment Hussars, (Livregementets husarer), a cavalry unit, had 6 rusthåll and the Västmanland Regiment (infantry) had 10 rotar in the parish. [It is rusthåll / rote in singular and rusthåll / rotar in plural.] We know from the Fellingsbro parish record that the name of the rusthåll was Öster Sörby. Grill's work shows that the Life Regiment Hussars had one rusthåll in Öster Sörby (rusthåll 30) while the Västmanland Regiment had one rote (no 94). Per Erik Kämpe was a hussar which is a cavalry title. In other word, he served in a cavalry unit. This tells as that Per Erik Kämpe served in the Life Regiment Hussars which was a cavalry unit. The Öster Sörby rusthåll belonged to the Life Company (Life Squadron) of the regiment which means that Kämpe was cavalryman 30 of the Life Company. The soldier numbers listed in Grill are the numbers used within the companies, normally 1 - 125 for the cavalry units. See images below:

Grill

Note, Claes Grill's work "Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket" is a detailed analysis of the allotment system regiments as they existed in the 1850s. Many regiments have been carrying different names throughout the centuries and the regimental names in Grill are the names the units had in the mid-1800s. Further, regiments have been divided or been consolidated into new units. An example of a regiment that has been divided into two new independent units is the Närke-Värmland Regiment which in 1812 was divided into the Närke Regiment and the Värmland Regiment. It is these two regiments that are listed in Grill's work, not the original Närke- Värmland Regiment. If you do research of soldiers in the Närke-Värmland Regiment prior to 1812 you don't have much help of Grill's work since the rotar in the Värmland Regiment do not match the rotar in the Närke-Värmland Regiment. Even if many rotar have the same name they have different rote numbers. When the Närke-Värmland Regiment was divided all rotar were renumbered. More information about the different military unit's names and history. Note, Grill's work only lists the allotted units in the army and navy. Enlisted units are not listed in Grill!

The images below show in detail how to locate the military unit in Grill with the help of the parish index.

Above, an extract from Grill's parish index (sockenregister), Tryckt litteratur GrillReg:1 (0-9999) Image 180 / page 15 (AID: v792967.b180.s15, NAD: SE/AD/00001). The image shows among other parishes, Fellingsbro parish; Fellingsbro, Ör. "Ör" is short for Örebro Län (County). Grill's work at Arkiv Digital is a digitalized version of the original work by Grill and the references to each volume in the parish index are handwritten. For each parish name in the index there are a references to volumes followed by a page number in that volume where you will find the military unit which had rotar in that parish. The references to the different volumes are written in Roman digits. Volume 1 is referred to as I (1) followed by a number which is the page number in volume 1. II is volume 2, III volume 3 etc. 1. Volume I contains cavalry regiments 2. Volume II contains infantry regiments 3. Volume III contains navy companies 4. Volume IV contains the “Extra roteringen” According to the extract above, Fellingsbro parish has 3 references:: • I 121-126, volume I page 125 and 126 - Cavalry. Page 125 refers to the Life Regiment Hussar Corps. The rusthåll 30 Öster Sörby is found on this page! • - II 27, 30, 258, volume II. Page 27 and 30 - Infantry. Refers to the Västmanlands Regiment. Page 258 is the new nya regular "rotering". • - IV 11, volume IV, page 11, "Extra roteringen" in the Army, Närke Län (Örebro Län). We open volume I and go to page 125 where we find information about the Life Regiment Hussar Corps. See below:

Above, page 125 of volume I of Grill; Tryckt litteratur Grill:1 (1855-1855) Image 680 / page 125 (AID: v792653.b680.s125, NAD: SE/AD/00001). The above image is an extract showing the Life Regiment Hussar Corps's rusthåll in Fellingsbro parish (socken). The second column is the parish column (Socken). In the lower part of the image we find Fellingsbro parish. To the right of the parish name we find the names of the rusthåll in this parish. They are numbered from 26 to 30 plus 61, in total 6 rusthåll. Ö. Sörby was rote 30. Ö. Sörby is short for Öster Sörby which means East Sörby. See the red ellipse in the image above. To the right of the listing of rusthåll there is a column for each company of the regiment. Number "6" for Fellingsbro is the total number of rusthåll in Fellingsbro and it is in the first column which is the column for the Life Squadron (1st Squadron) - N:o 1 Lif- Skvadron. In other words, all of the 6 rusthåll in Fellingsbro belonged to the Life Squadron . Note, only the first five squadrons are visible in the extract above. Now we know that cavalryman Per Erik Kämpe served in the Life Squadron of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps.

The General Muster Rolls, GMR

Cavalry Regiments

The basic unit of the Swedish army was the regiment. A cavalry regiment generally comprised 1,100 cavalrymen (soldiers of rank- and-file and Corporals). Beside the 1,100 cavalrymen there were a great number of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) per regiment. Each regiment was divided into smaller units called companies/squadrons. Most cavalry regiments had eight companies of roughly 125 men. The 1st Company was always called the Life Company/Squadron (Livkompaniet/Livskvadronen). The regiments were organized into two battalions which were the combat units. Each battalion consisted of 4 companies (550 men). A company/squadron was subdivided into 6 "korpralskap" of 24 men led by a corporal (in total 25 men). The Regimental Commander normally held the rank of Colonel. The rank of a Company Commander was normally Captain.

The General Muster Rolls

The best resource for military research is the general muster roll. Army and navy units periodically called a “general muster” an official gathering of all its service members at one place so everyone could be counted and inspected. The results were written down in a “general muster roll” (GMR). General musters were often recorded in great detail. They can hold information about soldiers’ enlistments, promotions, transfers, discharges and even deaths. One can frequently find personal details about individual soldiers, such as his age, years of service and height. Cavalry regiment muster rolls included information on each soldier's horse such as age, years of service and coat color. We know that cavalryman Per Erik Kämpe served in the Life Squadron of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps. This information will be valuable in finding him in this regiment's general muster rolls for the time when he was a soldier. Kämpe was born in 1819 so he ought to have been recruited at the age of 20, in other words around 1839. The next step will be to find out which general musters the Life Regiment Hussar Corps called in the mid-1800s. A search online at Arkiv Digital shows that the regiment had a general muster in 1838 which we will take a look at. Arkiv Digital (AD) and SVAR are two online providers of parish and military records but only AD is a subscription-based service. Muster rolls were a method of record keeping used by a regiment. Usually, a GMR included all companies in the regiment. The Life Company/Squadron is always the first squadron and therefore located first in the general muster rolls, after the regimental commanders (the regimental staff). The 1838 general muster of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps was held on September 10. The date is listed in the preamble of the muster roll as well in the preamble of respective company. Browse the muster roll until you find the Life Squadron (Livskvadronen). This section begins with the squadron commanders followed by the cavalrymen. Continue browsing until you find cavalryman 30 Kämpe at Öster Sörby rusthåll. Source, general muster roll: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 829 (1838-1841) Image 620 (AID: v376235a.b620, NAD: SE/KrA/0023). Image 620 of the muster roll shows cavalryman 30 at Öster Sörby rusthåll. The entry for rusthåll 30 Öster Sörby tells us that the former cavalryman at the rusthåll was discharged on December 6, 1837. The rusthåll got a replacement cavalryman on February 20, 1838, the new recruit Per Erik Kämpe.

Extract from the Life Regiment Hussar Corps's General Muster on September 10, 1838

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 829 (1838-1841) Image 620 (AID: v376235a.b620, NAD: SE/KrA/0023). Browse through the muster roll until you find the Life Squadron (Livskvadronen). This section begins with the squadron commanders followed by the cavalrymen. Continue browsing until you find hussar 30 PerErik Kämpe at Öster Sörby rusthåll. The above entry for rusthåll 30 Öster Sörby tells us that the former cavalryman at the rusthåll was discharged on December 6, 1837. The rusthåll got a replacement cavalryman on February 20, 1838, the new recruit Per Erik Kämpe. The 5th column above holdes iformation about Kämpe as well as his predecessor at rusthåll 30. A notation about Kämpe "Född i Närke" tells as that he was born in Närke province. The next column is his age at the 1838 muster, 18 years old. The last two columns holds information about his height; he height was 5 feet 7 inches. The soldier number To the far left we have the soldier numbers. It can be one or two columns of soldier numbers. A cavalry regiment had normally 1,100 cavalrymen organized into 8 companies/squadrons of 125 cavalrymen each. The soldier number that normally is listed are the numbers within the company (1 - 125). However, it is also common that the number within the regiment (1 - 1,100) is listed in the GMRs. The image above has two columns, one for each series of numbers. Note, the soldier number belonged to the rote/rusthåll. If a soldier was transferred from one rote/rusthåll to another he was always given a different soldier number, a number that belonged to the new rote/rusthåll. Per Erik Kämpe above served in the 1st squadron (Life squadron) and the two series of soldier numbers are always identical for the 1st Squadron. Kämpe's number was 30 both within the squadron as well as within the regiment.

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 829 (1838-1841) Image 620 (AID: v376235a.b620, NAD: SE/KrA/0023) - right-hand side. The column to the far right in the GMR contains notations regarding the current general muster (Nävarande generalmönstrings anteckningar). The notation for Per Erik Kämpe in the image above is Rekryt approberas. Rekryt means recruit. Approberas means Approved which tells us that recruit Kämpe was approved of as a cavalryman at the 1838 general muster. The second column from the far right contains notation from the previous general muster.

Per Erik Kämpe's Military Career

We now know that Per Erik Kämpe was enrolled as a recruit on February 20, 1838, in the Life Squadron of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps, and was approved as a cavalryman in the following general muster on September 10, 1838. What was his military career like and when was he discharged? To get answers to these questions we have to browse through the following general muster rolls for the Life Regiment Hussar Corps (Livregementets husarkår) until we find a notation about his discharge.

Extract from the Life Regiment Hussar Corps's General Muster on June 18, 1845

The regiment's next general muster was held in 1845. This muster roll lists a new Squadron Commander of Life Squadron, Captain Gabriel Adolf Köning. 1845 GMR - left-hand side:

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 830 (1845-1845) Bild 560 (AID: v376236a.b560, NAD: SE/KrA/0023) - right-hand side. The column to the far right in the GMRs contains notations regarding the current general muster (Nävarande generalmönstrings anteckningar). The column second from far right contains information about the previous general muster (Sista generalmönstringens anteckningar). Kämpe has the notations "Presens" respective "Pr" which means he was present at the two general musters. "Gift" in the left most column means that he was married at the time of the 1845 muster. • Gift = Married • Ogift = Unmarried The 1848 General Muster: The next general muster of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps was called on June 13, 1848. There is no new information about Per Erik Kämpe in this muster roll. Kämpe was present at the muster which is noted as "presens" and means he was present. This notation was found in the column to the far right, Nävarande generalmönstrings anteckningar, which contain notations regarding the current general muster. There are new rusthåll holders though; Anders Larsson (1/4) and Olof Ersson (3/4). The 1851 General Muster: The general muster following the 1848 muster was held on June 27, 1851. This muster roll is damaged and a major part of the Life Squadron section is missing.

Extract from the Life Regiment Hussar Corps's General Muster on July 13, 1855

The next general muster of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps was called on July 13, 1855.

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 838 (1876-1879) Bild 430 (AID: v376244.b430, NAD: SE/KrA/0023) - right-hand side. The right-hand side of the GMR page holds information about Kämpe's discharge. The column to the far right in the GMRs contains notations regarding the current general muster (Nävarande generalmönstrings anteckningar). Kämpe requested to be discharged which was granted and he was recommended a pension. In other words, Kämpe's was discharged in honor. • Anmälan till underhåll = recommeded a pension from the military • Tjent utmärkt väl = a phrase stating that he had a good service record and was discharged in honor.

Per Erik Kämpe and His Family Moved Out of the Soldier Croft (ryttartorp) in 1876

Soldier Crofts: During the time of the allotment system, the holder of the rusthåll had contractual responsibility to provide a dwelling for its soldier and his family. The soldier croft (ryttartorp) was a cottage on the property of one of the farms in the rusthåll. Use of the dwelling was part of the soldier’s pay. The ryttartorp also included a small field (1-2 acres), some farm animals and a few outbuildings. The cavalryman could live at the ryttartorp only while he served in the military. When a cavalryman retired (or died) he and his family had to move out. The rusthåll holder was then required to provide a new cavalryman, who would take over the soldier croft. If the cavalryman died his family had to vacate the croft within three months. Cavalryman Per Erik Kämpe: Per Erik Kämpe was enrolled as a cavalryman on February 20, 1838, and was discharged on June 26, 1876. He had then served for 38 years for 30 Öster Sörby, in the Life Squadron, Life Regiment Hussar Corps. When Kämpe was discharged he was obliged to move out of his soldier croft, 30 Öster Sörby. The new cavalryman of the rusthåll, Erik Lundstedt Österholm, moved in to the soldier croft on October 20, 1876. So, the Kämpe family had to move-out of the croft. Per Erik Kämpe was granted a pension from the Army since he had fulfilled the stipulated 30 service years. In order to receive a pension, the retired soldier had to be 50 years old (or older) and have at least 30 service years. The household examination roll (parish record) has a notation that the family moved out of the croft in 1876. Source: Fellingsbro AI:23b (1872-1878) Image 51 / page 43 (AID: v51139.b51.s43, NAD: SE/ULA/10244) and the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 839 (1882-1882) Image 560 (AID: v376245.b560, NAD: SE/KrA/0023). See below: Fellingsbro household examination roll (husförhörslängd) AI:23b:

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 838 (1876-1879) Image 710 (AID: v376244.b710, NAD: SE/KrA/0023) - right-hand side. The above extract shows the horse's gender and height. Kämpes horse in this muster was a gelding (valack). A gelding is a castrated male horse. The horse's height from withers to front hoof was 4 feet 9 inches. The two columns to the far right above shows that the horse was present at the previous muster as well as at current muster. • Kön = Gender • Storlek = Height • Valack = Gelding

The Uniform

What type of military uniform did our cavalryman, hussar Per Erik Kämpe, wear?

What type of military uniform did our cavalryman, hussar Per Erik Kämpe, wear when he served in the Life Regiment Hussar Corps 1838 - 1876? Which uniform did the Life Regiment Hussar Corps wore at this time? We can start by looking at the uniform Kämpe wore at the end of his career as a hussar. The cavalrymen in the Life Regiment Hussar Corps wore from 1870 the dolman, m/1870. This dolman had three lines of buttons with 8 buttons each. The Life Regiment's dolman was dark blue with white braids and a white collar. Dolman was the uniform jacket worn by hussars. The close fitting, short-cut coat was heavily braided. The front of the jacket was distinctive and featured several rows of parallel frogging and loops, and either three or five lines of buttons. It was usually worn under a pelisse, a similar coat but with fur trimming, usually worn slung over the left shoulder with the sleeves hanging loose, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. See images of the dolman m/1870 below:

Hussar uniform m/1870 used by the Life Regiment Hussar Corps (white collar and white braids. The hussars on the image are wearing dolmans and pelisses.

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 830 (1845-1845) Bild 560 (AID: v376236a.b560, NAD: SE/KrA/0023). The above extract shows that cavalryman 30 Kämpe was 26 years old at the general muster in June 1845. The far most two colums shows Kämpe's height: 5´8". The cavalry general muster rolls contains also information about the rusthåll holders. According to the above extract were the rusthåll holders of 30 Öster Sörby in 1845 Anders Larsson (1/4), Olof Ersson (1/2) and Anders Jonsson (1/4). • Nummer = Number (Soldier number) • Rusthållens namn = Names of the rusthåll • Rusthållares namn = Name of the rusthåll holders • Manskapets namn, födelseort och sedan sista general mönstringen med varje nummer skedda förändringar = The soldiers name and place of birth and changes made after the previous general muster • Ålder = Age (26 years) • Tjänsteår = Service years (7 years) • Längd, fot = Height, foot (5 feet) • Längd, tum = Height, inches (8 inches) 1845 GMR - right-hand side:

Extract from Fellingsbro household examination roll (parish record): Fellingsbro AI:23b (1872-1878) Image 51 / page 43 (AID: v51139.b51.s43, NAD: SE/ULA/10244), Öster Sörby. This extract shows the Kämpe family as of 1872 - 1878, in other words the period when Per Erik Kämpe was discharged. At the top of the extract we have the notation "f. husaren No 30" (former hussar No. 30), i.e. a notation that he no longer served as a cavalryman (hussar).

Above, Extract from Fellingsbro household examination roll (parish record): Fellingsbro AI:24b (1878-1887) Image 79 / page 72 (AID: v51144.b79.s72, NAD: SE/ULA/10244). The above extract of the parish record holds a notation about Per Erik Kämpe's death on February 21, 1880. See the right-most column labled "Död".

The Cavalry Horses in the General Muster Rolls

Army units periodically called a “general muster,” an official gathering of all its service members at one place so everyone could be counted and inspected. The results were written down in a “general muster roll” (GMR). General musters were often recorded in great detail. Cavalry regiment muster rolls included also information on each cavalryman's horse such as age, years of service and coat color. The horses were a very valuable resource the cavalry and the horses were carefully inspected and the results were recorded in the muster rolls. The horses were kept company by company in the muster rolls and were assigned the same soldier number as respective cavalryman which makes it easy to match a cavalryman to his horse. Per Erik Kämpe's soldier number was 30 and the cavalry horses he used during his career as a cavalryman carried the same number. The horses are normally found after the cavalrymen section in respective company/squadron in the general muster rolls.

General muster rolls - Left-hand side

Hussar uniform m/1870 used by the Life Regiment Hussar Corps. The hussars on the image are wearing dolmans and pelisses.

Tutorials:

Contents this page:

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 833 (1855-1855) Bild 590 (AID: v376239.b590, NAD: SE/KrA/0023). This GMR holds some further details about Per Erik Kämpe. His patronymic is listed; Ersson. The 4th column reads: Per Eric Kämpe, formerly known as Ersson, born in Lillkyrka parish in Örebro Län (County) on 4 October 1819. Enrolled on 20 February 1838. At the time of the muster, July 1855, he was 36 years old. "Gift" in the right most column tells us that he was married at the time of the 1855 muster. The rusthåll holders of 30 Öster Sörby in 1855 were Anders Larsson (1/4) and Olof Ersson (3/4). The column to the far right in the GMRs contains notations regarding the current general muster (Nävarande generalmönstrings anteckningar). The column second from far right contains information about the previous general muster (Sista generalmönstringens anteckningar). Kämpe has the notations "Presens" respective "Pr" which means he was present at the two general musters. The 1858 to 1870 General Musters: The next general muster of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps was called on September 9, 1858. There is no new information about Per Erik Kämpe in this muster roll. Kämpe had at the time of this muster served for 20 years. The Commander of the Life Squadron was Captain Carl Gustaf Granath. The Life Regiment Hussar Corps's general muster rolls on June 21, 1861; June 20, 1864 and June 27, 1870, holds no further details about Kämpe.

Extract from the Life Regiment Hussar Corps's General Muster on June 26, 1876

The next general muster of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps was called on June 26, 1876. Captain (Ryttmästare) Hjalmar Mauritz Ludvig Holst (age 51) was the Commander of the Life Squadron in 1876. This general muster roll holds a notation that cavalryman Per Erik Kämpe was discharged on June 26, 1876.

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 838 (1876-1879) Bild 430 (AID: v376244.b430, NAD: SE/KrA/0023) - left-hand side. On the left-hand side of the GMR are no new details about Per Erik Kämpe. He was at this general muster 57 years old and had served for 38 years.

Hussar / cavalryman Per Erik Kämpe was born on April 10, 1819 in Lillkyrka parish and died on February 21, 1880, in Fellingsbro parish. His wife Maja Greta Andersdotter is noted as a widow in the Swedish Census 1880 (as of December 31, 1880). Fellingsbro household examination roll (husförhörslängd) AI:24b:

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 838 (1876-1879) Image 710 (AID: v376244.b710, NAD: SE/KrA/0023) - left-hand side. The extract above shows the horse (No 30) Per Erik Kämpe used at the time when he was discharged in 1876. It was a 10 year old chestnut horse (fux) with white markings. Color: Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs. It is one of the most common horse coat colors, seen in almost every breed of horse. Markings: Facial markings are usually described by shape and location. The above text "med skjuten stjern och hvita bakfötter" are special markings of the horse. "Skjuten stjern" (Skjuten stjärn) is a facial marking and means that the horse had a white spot (star) on its forehead. I believe this special spot is called "Star and strip" in English. "Hvita bakfötter" (Vita bakfötter) are leg markings and means white hind legs, probably what is known as stocking or sock in English. • Rusthållens No = Rusthåll numbers • Rusthållens namn = Rusthåll names • Rusthållarnas namn = Name of the rusthåll holders • Färg och tecken = Color and markings • Ålder = Age • Fux = Chestnut (color) The image of the horse is having a facial marking called "Star and strip".

Right-hand side:

Images

Images Hans Högman, 2015.

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How to Research Cavalry Soldiers

in the GMRs - Sweden (2a)

Introduction

Rote and Rusthåll

The Parish Records -

Husförhörslängd, HFL

Allotted Units

1

Tutorial 2: How to

Research Cavalry Soldiers,

Sweden (2a)

Matching a Soldier to a Regiment

and Company by the help of Grill's

work

Grill

Note, Claes Grill's work "Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket" is a detailed analysis of the allotment system regiments as they existed in the 1850s. Many regiments have been carrying different names throughout the centuries and the regimental names in Grill are the names the units had in the mid-1800s. Further, regiments have been divided or been consolidated into new units. An example of a regiment that has been divided into two new independent units is the Närke-Värmland Regiment which in 1812 was divided into the Närke Regiment and the Värmland Regiment. It is these two regiments that are listed in Grill's work, not the original Närke-Värmland Regiment. If you do research of soldiers in the Närke- Värmland Regiment prior to 1812 you don't have much help of Grill's work since the rotar in the Värmland Regiment do not match the rotar in the Närke-Värmland Regiment. Even if many rotar have the same name they have different rote numbers. When the Närke-Värmland Regiment was divided all rotar were renumbered. More information about the different military unit's names and history. Note, Grill's work only lists the allotted units in the army and navy. Enlisted units are not listed in Grill!

The images below show in detail how to locate the military unit in Grill with the help of the parish index.

Above, page 125 of volume I of Grill; Tryckt litteratur Grill:1 (1855-1855) Image 680 / page 125 (AID: v792653.b680.s125, NAD: SE/AD/00001). The above image is an extract showing the Life Regiment Hussar Corps's rusthåll in Fellingsbro parish (socken). The second column is the parish column (Socken). In the lower part of the image we find Fellingsbro parish. To the right of the parish name we find the names of the rusthåll in this parish. They are numbered from 26 to 30 plus 61, in total 6 rusthåll. Ö. Sörby was rote 30. Ö. Sörby is short for Öster Sörby which means East Sörby. See the red ellipse in the image above. To the right of the listing of rusthåll there is a column for each company of the regiment. Number "6" for Fellingsbro is the total number of rusthåll in Fellingsbro and it is in the first column which is the column for the Life Squadron (1st Squadron) - N:o 1 Lif-Skvadron. In other words, all of the 6 rusthåll in Fellingsbro belonged to the Life Squadron . Note, only the first five squadrons are visible in the extract above. Now we know that cavalryman Per Erik Kämpe served in the Life Squadron of the Life Regiment Hussar Corps.

The General Muster Rolls, GMR

Cavalry Regiments

The basic unit of the Swedish army was the regiment. A cavalry regiment generally comprised 1,100 cavalrymen (soldiers of rank-and-file and Corporals). Beside the 1,100 cavalrymen there were a great number of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) per regiment. Each regiment was divided into smaller units called companies/squadrons. Most cavalry regiments had eight companies of roughly 125 men. The 1st Company was always called the Life Company/Squadron (Livkompaniet/Livskvadronen). The regiments were organized into two battalions which were the combat units. Each battalion consisted of 4 companies (550 men). A company/squadron was subdivided into 6 "korpralskap" of 24 men led by a corporal (in total 25 men). The Regimental Commander normally held the rank of Colonel. The rank of a Company Commander was normally Captain.

The General Muster Rolls

Extract from the Life Regiment Hussar

Corps's General Muster on September 10,

1838

Per Erik Kämpe's Military Career

Extract from the Life Regiment Hussar

Corps's General Muster on June 18, 1845

The regiment's next general muster was held in 1845. This muster roll lists a new Squadron Commander of Life Squadron, Captain Gabriel Adolf Köning. 1845 GMR - left-hand side:

Extract from the Life Regiment Hussar

Corps's General Muster on June 26, 1876

Above, extract from the GMR: Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementets husarer 838 (1876-1879) Image 710 (AID: v376244.b710, NAD: SE/KrA/0023) - right- hand side. The above extract shows the horse's gender and height. Kämpes horse in this muster was a gelding (valack). A gelding is a castrated male horse. The horse's height from withers to front hoof was 4 feet 9 inches. The two columns to the far right above shows that the horse was present at the previous muster as well as at current muster. • Kön = Gender • Storlek = Height • Valack = Gelding

The Uniform

What type of military uniform did our

cavalryman, hussar Per Erik Kämpe, wear?

Hussar uniform m/1870 used by the Life Regiment Hussar Corps (white collar and white braids. The hussars on the image are wearing dolmans and pelisses.

Parish Records, Grill, General Muster Rolls, The Horses, The Uniform, Other Rolls, Registers

Above, extract from Fellingsbro parish book, Fellingsbro AI:19b (1836-1845) Image 69 / page 62 (AID: v51119.b69.s62, NAD: SE/ULA/10244), Öster Sörby. The above image lists hussar (huss.) Per Erik Kämpe (Kjempe) and his family. Kämpe was born on 1819- 10-04 in Lillkyrka parish, Örebro län (T). His wife is Maja Grea Andersdotter, born on 1821-05-15 in Lillkyrka parish. The couple was wedded in 1840. Per Erik Kämpe moved to the soldier croft in 1838. • Född = Born • År och dag = Date • Ort = Place (of birth) • Gift = Married • År = Year • Ankom = Moved-in from • År = Year • Ifrån = Place (previous parish)

Hussar uniform m/1870 used by the Life Regiment Hussar Corps. The hussars on the image are wearing dolmans and pelisses.