Jämtland's Dragoon Regiment

The Swede's occupied Jamtland in 1645. Two years later a contract between Queen Kristina and the Jamts where signed to establich a Swedish regiment in Jamtland. The cavalry regiment of Trondheim was then at first incorporated in Bohuslän-Jämtland´s dragoon regiment - the region of Bohuslän also became Swedish as a part of the peace-treaty in 1645. Jämtlands Dragoon Regiment with 800 soldiers was founded out of this, with a cavalry company partly detached.

At first the troops in Jamtland were manned by Swedes, because the Jamts were not considered dependable - the Jamt-troops never should be used outside Jamtland. According to the Swedish melitia system the cavalry should be recruited from Storsjönbygden, wich includes Haga in Lockne. Despite this, more than seventy percent of the cavalry soliders were still not borne in Jamtland as late as in the nighteenth century - half of them were from Norway.

Jämtland´s Dragoon Regiment was not of high priority, although the Swede's placed it in their new border-province. The inspection in 1715 mentions 20 year old worn out cavalry uniforms. Three years later the regiment was forced to invade Tröndelag in Noway. In Trondheim there were 5 000 soldiers and many refugees. Infections killed more than 3 000 in and around the sieged city. And over 3 000 Swedish and Jamtish soldiers froze to death under the retreat over the mountains.

In 1720 the regiment was partly exempted using Swedish uniforms - they could use clothing manufactured in Jamtland, wich the Swedes looked at as being abroad. The inspection in 1788 showed once again that the uniforms from 1743-1756 were useless. The inspection in 1808 established that the regiment had uniforms that were older than fifteen years.
Despite this, Jamtland belonged to Sweden and had its own regiment - although the Jamtish redoubt of Kårböle was maintained by the Swedes up to the eighteenth century, to defend the main land of Sweden from invasion particularly from Jamtland. There were also two Norwegian infantry regiments located in Trondheim, as well as an artillery regiment, for the Sweds to consider. The border between the ocupied Jamtland and Norway was not finally settled until 1751.

In the lifetime of Olof Hagblom, Jämtland´s dragoon regiment was stationed at the West-coast of the Baltic sea in 1788-1790, for the defense of Sweden against Russia. During the Swedish war against Denmark and Russia in 1788-1790, the regiment also patroled the Swedish (Jamtish) border to Norway.

In the war against Russia 1808-1809, where Sweden lost Finland, Jämtland´s dragoon regiment belonged to the Northern division of the Swedish army. The regiment mainly patroled the East border of todays Sweden - partly by foot, some of them also in combat in Österbotten in todays Finland. They also participated in the battle of Hörnefors - just South from Umeå - in july 1809. In October 1809 the regiment demobilized, but was at service again in 1812 and 1814, to patrol the border to Norway under the Swedish-Russia war against Napoleon.