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Kronoberg Regiment

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Surnames/tags: Military_and_War Sweden
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The regiment has its origins in companies (fänikor) raised in Kronoberg County in the 16th century. At that time Kronoberg and Kalmar counties formed the southern border of Sweden; land to the south was held by the Danish crown.

Gustav II Adolf organized these units — along with fänikor from the nearby Kalmar County — in 1616 into Smålands storregemente (Småland's Grand Regiment), of which twelve of the total 24 companies were recruited in Kronoberg County. Smålands storregemente consisted of three field regiments, one of which was the Kronoberg Regiment. Some time around 1623, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller (county) regiments.

Kronoberg Regiment was one of the original 20 Swedish infantry regiments mentioned in the Swedish constitution of 1634. The regiment's first commander was Patrick Ruthwen.

Prior to 1682, the system for recruiting soldiers used forced conscription, but soldiers were given a means of subsistence between campaigns by making a group of farmers (a rote) responsible for the upkeep of each soldier. While the soldiers would be hired and salaried full-time if at war, they lived at home and off duty in peacetime. This system allowed Sweden to keep an easily mobilized army available in case of war, without the level of expense required to maintain the men solely as soldiers.

The system was reformed in 1682 and the reform remained in effect for over 200 years. From 1684 recruitment to the Kronoberg regiment was through the allotment system (Swedish: indelningsverket; Finnish: ruotujakolaitos). Soldiers were no longer forcibly conscripted, but were recruited. Each county or province had a contract to supply a regiment of between 1000 - 1200 men. A group of farms (usually four, the rote) would join forces and equip a soldier and provide him with a croft (soldattorp – a small area of farmland with which to support himself and his family and a simple house). His duties were to attend regular military drills and in time of war to report for duty. He often owed some days of work to the rote, though this obligation could be filled using members of his family. Terms were normally for 20 years, so he was effectively a career soldier. He had to leave the croft upon retirement, and if a soldier were killed it was often the case that his successor, if single, had to agree to marry his predecessor's widow. This also had implications for names: a soldier would be given a "soldier name" that he used during the term of his service. [1]. At some times and in some areas these were fixed: a particular 'slot' went with a particular soldier name. In other instances the officers chose a name or even allowed the soldier to choose a name.

The Kronoberg regiment was given the designation I 11 (11th Infantry Regiment) in a general order in 1816.

Kronoberg Regiment was garrisoned in Växjö from 1920. In 1974, the regiment gained the new designation I 11/Fo 16 as a consequence of a merger with the local defence area Fo 16. The regiment was disbanded in 1997.[2][3][4]

Sources

  1. https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Sweden_Soldier_Names Information on soldier names and customs
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronoberg_Regiment Wikitree Kronoberg Regiment
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotment_system Allotment System
  4. Wernstedt, Kapten F. (1923) Kungl. Kronobergs Regemente 1623–1923, Stockholm


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Categories: Kronoberg Regiment