The Nyland and Tavastehus County Cavalry Regiment () was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

located in the county of Nyland and Tavastehus that traced its origins back to the 17th Century. It was split in 1791.

History

The regiment has its origin in the Nyland cavalry () raised in 1618. In 1632, this unit was organized into a cavalry regiment. The regiment's soldiers were conscripted mainly from the county of Nyland and Tavastehus. It was one of the original eight

Swedish cavalry This is a list of Swedish cavalry regiments, battalions, corps and companies that have existed in the Swedish Army. They are listed in three ways, first by the actual units that have existed, then by the various names these units have had, and l ...

regiments mentioned in the

Swedish constitution The Basic Laws of Sweden () are the four constitutional laws of the Kingdom of Sweden that regulate the Swedish political system, acting in a similar manner to the constitutions of most countries. These four laws are: the Instrument of Governmen ...

of 1634. The regiment's first commander was

Torsten Stålhandske Torsten Stålhandske (1 September 1593 – 21 April 1644) was a Swedish officer in the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War. He was the son of Torsten Svensson (), a noble military officer of Swedish ancestry from West Gothland, and Carin ...

. Finnish horsemen were also known as " ''Hakkapeliitat''". In the spring of 1700, the regiment was transferred to General Wellingk's army corps in

Swedish Livonia Swedish Livonia () was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northe ...

. From 1702 on, the regiment, with six of its eight

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

, had joined the main army. In 1705–1706 it was part of

Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

's corps. After the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

in 1709, the regiment was present at the capitulation in

Perevolochna Perevolochna () is a former fortress and town in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Cossack Hetmanate, and later a village in Poltava Oblast. Before the establishment of Kamianske Water Reservoir in the 1960s, here also existed a river cr ...

. The regiment had to be completely reraised. It was then stationed with the army in Finland. The regiment was part of General Armfeldt's army of 7,500 men which invaded

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

through

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

in August 1718. The cavalry regiment was reorganized into Nyland and Tavastehus

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

regiment in 1721. In 1791, the regiment was converted to infantry. The northern battalion was incorporated into Tavastehus county infantry regiment as its third

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

, while the southern battalion was incorporated into Nyland Infantry Regiment.

Campaigns

* The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

1630–1648 * The

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

1700–1721

Organization

1690(?) * ''Södra bataljonen'' ** '' Livskvadronen'' ** ''Majorens (Borgå) skvadron'' ** ''Helsing skvadron'' ** ''Raseborgs skvadron'' * ''Norra bataljonen'' ** ''Överstelöjtnantens skvadron'' ** ''Nedre Hållola Skvadron'' ** ''Övre Hållola Skvadron'' ** ''Säxmäki Skvadron''

Commanding officers

*1625–1632

Åke Tott Åke is a Male, masculine Sweden, Swedish given name, possibly derived from the Germany in the Middle Ages, medieval Germanic name ''Anicho'', derived from ''ano'' meaning "ancestor". In Sweden, May 8 is the Name day for Åke. There are variant ...

*1632–1644

*1644–1656 Henrik Horn *1656–1669 Johan Galle *1669–16?? Claes Uggla * Baranoff. *1678–1687

Otto Vellingk Count Otto Ottoson Vellingk (1649–1708) was a Swedish general during the Great Northern War. Biography He was born in Jama in Swedish Ingria to Otto Gotthardsson Vellingk and Christina Nilsdotter Mannersköld. In 1664, Vellingk became a li ...

*1687–1700 Johan Ribbing *1700–1701 Adrian Magnus Klingsporre *1701–1706 Didrik Fredrik Patkull *1707–1709 Anders Torstenson (1676-1709) *1709–1713 Anders Erich Ramsay *1713–1724 Reinhold Johan De la Barre *1725–1728 Axel Erik Roos *1728–1739

Carl Henrik Wrangel Carl Henrik Wrangel, friherre Wrangel af Adinal (28 January 1681 – 23 March 1755) was an officer of the Swedish Army, attaining the rank of Field Marshal. Biography He was born in Haapsalu in Swedish Estonia as the son of Reinhold Wrangel. ...

*1739–1742 Johan Carl Ramsay *1743–1746 Gustaf Gynterfelt *1746–1759

Lars Åkerhielm Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel", and is therefore related to the name ...

*1759–1762 Herman Fleming *1762–1767 Gustav Crispin Jernfeltz *1768–1769 Casimir Lewenhaupt *1769–1772 Jakob Magnus Sprengtporten *1772–1776 Johan von Schwartzer *1776–1777 Erik Johan Stjernvall *1777–1779 Georg Gustaf Wrangel af Adinal *1779–1791 Robert Montgomery

Various

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Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

, , width="24%", , , width="2%", –, , width="24%", 1791

References