How to Research Soldiers in the

Swedish Military Sources

Introduction

Spend enough time tracing your Swedish ancestors and it's likely you will eventually discover someone who served in 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 seaman in the Navy. The soldier might have been an allotted soldier or an enlisted soldier. See also Allotted vs Enlisted Regiments You may have first become aware your ancestor was a soldier from a notation in the household examination rolls (husförhörslängd, HFL), the parish records. After that you probably will extend your research into the military rolls. However, first you need to find the name of the unit the soldier served in. For the allotted units you will get a great help by Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill's work "Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket" (“Statistical Summary of the Swedish Allotment System.”). With the help of the parish index you will find the names of the different units. Once you know the unit name, independent if it is an infantry regiment, cavalry regiment or a navy unit, you will have a key to the military sources. Swedish military records are not difficult to research.

Allotted units (Indelta

regementen)

How do I know which type of soldier my ancestor was, i.e. was he a soldier in the infantry, a horseman in the cavalry, artilleryman in the artillery or a seaman in the Navy? You will get a clue by the occupational title listed in the household examination roll (Church records) just before of your ancestor's name. Examples of Swedish military titles: • Infantry: Sold. (soldat), Gren. (grenadjär), Knekt, Fältj. (fältjägare) [Soldier, grenadier, rifleman] • Cavalry: Ryttare, Drag. (dragon), Hus. (husar), Hästj. (hästjägare), Lansiär [horseman, cavalryman, dragoon, hussar, lancer] • Navy: Båtsm. (båtsman), Kronobåtsm. (kronobåtsman) [Båtsman = sailor] • Enlisted units (Värvade förband): Gard. (gardist), Livgardist, Hästgard. (hästgardist), Drabant, Art. (artillerist) [guardsman, life guardsman, mounted guardsman, artilleryman, gunner, bombardier] Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill's works will give you information about the allotted units if you use the parish register in Grill to find the unit's name for the parish in question. Use the parish name of the parish where the soldier lived as an allotted soldier. Respective link below contains information on how to use Grill to find the unit. In other words, you can start with any of the links below until you know which branch of the army your soldier served in. Below is a number of links to use depending of the branch of the army or navy when researching soldiers, cavalrymen or navy seamen in allotted units. More information about The Allotment System (Indelningsverket).

How to research:

• Soldiers in infantry regiments Updated: 2017-07-11 • Soldiers in cavalry regiments Updated: 2017-07-20 • Navy sailors (Båtsmän) Updated: 2017-07-26 • Närke-Värmland regiment (How to research soldiers in a regiment which was divided before Grill's work was published in the 1850's) Updated: 2015-12-21 • Soldiers in the regiments in Finland prior to 1809 (Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809) Updated: 2015-12-19 • Soldier research after 1885, i.e. research in the so-called "stamrullor" Updated: 2015-12-21 • Officers and Non-commissioned officers in the military rolls Updated: 2016-01-03 • Information about a soldier's pension (gratialist) Updated 2016-03-29 • How to research the military rolls in the digital archives Updated: 2015-12-20

Enlisted units (Värvade

regementen)

How do i know if my ancestor was an allotted or an enlisted soldier? The allotted army regiments and the navy båtsman companies were established in the provinces, i.e. in the countryside. The soldiers in the allotted units were provided with crofts (cottages, small tenant farms) as an source of income (revenue) instead of a regular payment from the Army when they weren't called up for duty. If you have found a soldier among your ancestors living in a country parish while serving as a soldier he most certainly was an allotted soldier, i.e. served in an allotted unit. The enlisted units were garrisoned in cities or at one of Sweden's defense fortresses. In other words, a soldier lived in a city when he was a soldier he was most likely an enlisted soldier, serving in an enlisted unit. For example, all artillery regiments were enlisted units. For more information about allotted regiments versus enlisted regiments: See Allotted vs Enlisted regiments.

How to research:

• Soldiers in enlisted regiments Updated 2015-12-21

Conscription

When you research the household examination rolls you might, in the 19th century rolls, find a three-part conscript identification number in the column labeled Värnplikt or Värnpliktsförhållande (Conscription). These numbers are military conscription enrollment numbers assigned to the draftees at the time of registration (enrollment). In 1812 an act was passed in the Swedish parliament establishing a Universal Conscript Service (draft system) as a reinforcement of the regular army. This conscript system was called Beväringen or Beväringsinrättningen. The three-part enrollment numbers (inskrivningsnummer) were introduced in 1886 which makes it easier to research draftees in the military sources. In 1901 both the standing allotted army (indelningsverket) and the Beväringen was discarded and in their place Sweden established an army and navy entirely based on a Universal National Service System called Allmän Värnplikt (Universal Conscription). This new conscript system replaced the old standing Army and Navy with a military force fully based on conscription. In a way Beväringen was a forerunner to the National Service System.

How to research:

• Conscripts / Draftees Updated: 2017-07-28

Finland

Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809 when we lost our eastern part (Finland) in a war with Russia. Up until then Sweden kept regiments in Finland. Top of page

Related Links

• Allotted vs Enlisted regiments • The Allotment System • The Navy Allotment System • Swedish Military Research • Map, Swedish counties • Map, Swedish provinces

Sources

1. Soldatforska, Hur finner jag mina militära förfäder. Lars Ericson Wolke, 2012. Sveriges Släktforskarförbunds handböcker 4. 2. Släktforskarna och Krigsarkivet, en vägvisare till de militära källorna. Meddelande från Krigsarkivet XIX, 2000. Top of page