Back from Norway
Topic: Archives
On 26 May I made a presentation in Stugudal, Norway about the de la Barre papers in Tartu. As I have previously touched upon they contain a number of previously unknown letters and other documents from Armfeldt's campaign in 1718. Most notable are a few letters sent by Armfeldt to Lt. General Reinhold Johan de la Barre in December 1718 during the latter's successful enterprise against Röros.

The reception was very positive and plans to publish the material in some suitable regional publication were tentatively discussed. After my presentation there were several questions and later one participant said (roughly) that he was used to hearing things he had heard before, so it was refreshing when some entirely new appeared.

The other presentations were quite interesting, although one or two of the Norwegians were not so easy to understand...

To Norway
Topic: Miscellaneous

On Thursday I will go to Östersund for the "Jämt-trönderska historiedagarna" 2018 in Stugudal, Norway. On Saturday I will speak about previously unknown sources for Armfeldt's campaign, which I came across when browsing the catalogue of the Estonian National Archives. These records should, I believe, change quite a few perceptions of this campaign and most notably how the events leading up to the disastrous retreat at the beginning of January 1719 are interpreted. 

I have also spent some time going over the debate in 2005-2006 about the death of Charles XII and the "grapeshot theories" brought forward by Svante Ståhl and his Norwegian colleague Odd T. Fjeld. I found them completely untenable then and after going through the same sources once more (and adding some more) I remain convinced that they are both easily disproven. Time will tell if the 300th anniversary reignites the debate. 

 

Olof Sandberg writes from Lund : part 2

On 2 December 1717 Sandberg wrote his second "coded" letter. There was, he wrote Barck, no indications of dismissals. Gustaf Adam Taube, Governor of Stockholm, had nothing to fear and he should not believe rumours flying around. 

The next letter was sent on 9 December. Goertz could, Sandberg wrote, possibly help himself through a new scheme. Nobody could understand what the Czar was up to. It semmed likely he wanted something in return for helping the neighbour across the river (Danish forces across the Sound?).

No military campaign was likely until next year. Goertz actions were suspicious, but it was uncertain what he was attempting.

Source: Riksarkivet, Ericsbergsarkivet, Autografsamlingen, Vol. 182

Olof Sandberg writes from Lund : part 1
Topic: Archives

The first "coded" letter from Olof Sandberg to Samuel Barck is dated Lund 25 November 1717. Lennart Thanner appears to have considered the code as an attempt to cover the presumably sensitive content. This appears very unlikely as it would probably have taken a contemporary reader only a few seconds to figure out the meaning. It seems more likely that Sandberg tried to amuse Barck. 

Sandberg starts out by saying that the knight "Sankt Jörgen" (Goertz) appears to have lost favour with the King. He then mentions "Pehr Speleman i Gårdarijke" (the Czar), who in Sandberg's opinion has bitten off more than he can chew. Sandberg then goes on to say God bless "Far" (the King) as things will then go well for "ungefar och ungemor" (Frederick of Hesse and Ulrika Eleonora). If "far" dies they will inherit the farm, which has fared poorly lately. They will have to spend time on repairs etc. Pretty standard stuff and certainly not a code that would have been of any use if the intent was to keep the content secret.

 

Source: Riksarkivet, Ericsbergsarkivet, Autografsamlingen, Vol. 182

 

 

The revolution and some odd letters
Topic: Literature
In 1953 Lennart Thanner published a voluminous dissertation called Revolutionen i Sverige efter Karl XII:s död. Thanner concluded, based on his interpretation of events after the King's death, that Charles had likely been murdered. In a footnote on page 366 Thanner mentions a series of rather peculiar letters sent from (mostly) Lund in 1717-1718 by the Chancery official Olof Sandberg (1679-1750). They are written in a peculiar type of "cipher", i.e. the author uses other names for the main characters. The purpose is unclear as it's quite simple to understand who he is thinking of. It's likely they were written like that for amusement rather than for covering up important information or political views. Thanner writes that the archivist Olof Jägerskiöld intended to publish them, but that apprently never happened. So if time permits I will put at least a few summaries online during the next weeks.

Hugo Hamilton
Topic: Generals

Hugo Hamilton (1655-1724) served in various capacities during the GNW. He is perhaps most known as County Governor in Gävle 1716-1719, but before that he had served in Göteborg and had also taken part in the battle of Helsingborg. In the Ericsberg autograph collection (Riksarkivet) there is a series of letters from him to Magnus Stenbock. The last of them, written as late as 24 March 1714, is very detailed despite the intended recipient being a prisoner of war in Denmark. 

Hamilton starts out by outlining how the Swedish forces were to be used during the coming campaign. Nils Gyllenstierna would be in charge in Scania, supported by Skytte, Örnestedt and Sinclair. General Spens would command near Stockholm, supported by Taube, Palmquist, Köhler and Tschammer. Mörner would be in charge at Göteborg and have a force of 40,000. Hamilton would serve under him. The naval squadron for the Gulf of Finland would be under the command of Admiral Wattrang. 

The Diet had been complicated, Hamilton wrote. There had been too much interest in the peace issue, a matter best left to the Council and Princess Ulrika Eleonora. Hamilton felt very strongly that peace could only be obtained with military means. The matter was most delicate as the absent King could well take issue with the whole thing, i.e. conclude that the Council and the Diet had overstepped their authority. 

All true patriots were very sorry for Stenbock and hoped that he would soon be released. 

Source: Riksarkivet, Ericsbergsarkivet, autografsamlingen, vol. 92 

A false lead
Topic: Factoids

I have just spent a day in Krigsarkivet, in preparation for my May talk about some overlooked sources concerning Armfeldt's campaign in 1718. One of the volumes I looked at contains incoming letters to Lt. General de la Barre. According to Svante Hedin's bibliography Armfeldts fälttåg mot Trondheim 1718-1719 (1986) it should contain no less than ten letters from Charles XII, dated 1 October 1717 to 19 May 1718. 

This sounded rather curiuos to me and turned out to be incorrect. The letters were not signed Carolus but rather C. Feif...

Despite the fact that the field archive of Armfeldt's army appears to have been lost the records from the campaign are very extensive. The documents concerning supply matters are very informative and detailed to the last penny.

Johan Palmquist 23 June 1703
Topic: Diplomacy

On 23 June Palmquist reported that Nils Lillieroot had returned to the Hague, but was too fatigued to write himself.

News from the War of the Spanish Succession spoke of disaster having struck the Dutch commander Opdam during the battle of Ekeren. An official report from the Dutch camp suggested that Opdam had been captured, but news from Breda claimed that he had arrived there accompanied only by one man. The Dutch army had escaped, but the losses seemed to have been severe. The first reports arriving in the Hague had spoken of disaster, so the States General had been relieved to hear that the army had been saved. 

Some French privateers had reportedly captured one hundred Dutch fishing boats. 

The English had raided an island just off La Rochelle. 

Palmquist had through the envoy Friesendorff in Lüneburg received copies of Cardinal Radziejowski's letter to Charles XII, dated 2 June 1703 and the King's answer. Palmquist had sent a copy to Leijoncrona in London and promised he would make every effort to use these letters advantageously.

Source: Riksarkivet, Diplomatica, Hollandica, vol.  229.

 

Back
Topic: Miscellaneous

During the last few weeks I have had the flu and then moved to a new flat. Very hard work to pack about 2,500 of my 4,000 volume library (the rest is still in my office at work) and all other stuff...

Meanwhile it has been confirmed that I will appear at the yearly "Jämt-trønderska historiedagarna", this year held at Vaektarstua in Tydal, Norway. I will get an hour on Saturday 26 May to speak about about a completely overlooked collection of letters from Armfeldt's campaign in 1718 - a rather amazing discovery considering the huge amount of literature on the topic.

Apparently a conference about 1718 is planned for Stockholm some time in the autumn. My intention is to present a paper on the same subject then. And then of course this.  

 

 

Johan Palmquist 12 June 1703
Topic: Diplomacy

On 12 June Palmquist wrote that he had met with Heinsius. The Grand Pensionary told the Swedish envoy that he had spoken with the Russian ambassador abolut the Swedish complaints. The latter had said that the ships being built in Arkhangelsk were not for use in war, with the exception of the frigate. This vessel was however very small. One captain of infantry, who had served in the Russian army before, had been recruited. Heinsius told Palmquist that he knew the man and he was quite pitiful. Others had attempted to join, but they were of similar poor quality. The Russian ambassador had admitted that ships were being built at Nöteborg, but they were too small for use in the Baltic. Heinsius told Palmquist that it was important to keep the Czar from the Baltic and the North Sea. The Swedish envoy replied that he had received information from the Swedish Admiralty about a privateer equipped in Copenhagen, which had received a letter of marque from the Russian ambassador. Heinsius said the ship could be viewed as a pirate and its crew hanged as such a letter was invalid.

 

Source: Riksarkivet, Diplomatica, Hollandica, vol. 229