The Swedes had made a camp for themselves at the cemetery of Vittsjœ, when suddenly surprised by a force of Danish cavalry. The Swedes fought with determination, but found it necessary to leave their camp. They took a firm stand on the frozen waters of the adjoining lake, but were forced to leave that position also. A tumult ensued, during which the ice gave way on the spot where the king found himself, for the moment, alone and without an escort. Per Banér, a son of Gustavus Banér, who was executed at Linkœping at the command of Charles IX., perceived the king in the moment of greatest danger, and hastened with Thomas Larsson, a trooper from Upland, to rescue him. When in safety, the king at once unbuckled his silver belt, and, handing it to the trooper, said: “I shall remember thee with a piece of bread, which neither thou nor thy children shall ever find lacking.” Thomas Larsson received in the following year a farm in the province of Westmanland, which has remained in the possession of his descendants to this very day. Per Banér received in fief the estates which had been in the possession of his uncle, Sten Banér, also executed at Linkœping, and rose to the dignity of a state councillor during the minority of Queen Christine.
It was the ambition of Christian IV. of Denmark to cut Sweden off from any communication with the North Sea. As Bohuslæn and Halland both were parts of the Danish dominion, there was only the small strip of territory surrounding the mouth of the Gotha River to conquer. The island of Hising constituted the larger part of it, and was the site of the new town of Gothenburg, which was defended by the fortress of Elfsborg. The town of New Lœdœse was situated on the opposite shore, some few miles up the river, defended by the fort of Gullberg. The Danish king approached Gullberg from Bohus, having with him a smaller force, which he considered sufficient in numbers. Gullberg was only a poor little nest, but it was valiantly defended by Morten Krakow and his wife, the stanch Lady Emerentia Pauli. One day the Danes made a violent attack. The ladders which they placed against the walls were crushed by heavy beams which the Swedes let fall down on them. In spite of this, the Danes succeeded in forcing the gates of the place. The position was a critical one for the Swedes. The commander had met with an accident and was unable to lead the defence. But Lady Emerentia resolved to take the command. She gave orders to the wives of the soldiers to fill up the vaulted passage of the gates with barrels, washtubs, timber, etc. When the Danes stormed on in a compact body, they were received by a downfall of scalding-hot lye, which the women kept pouring down on them from behind their barricade. The daughter of Lady Emerentia thus graphically describes the effect: “They lay in the vault and around the gates like scalded hogs.” Lady Emerentia had placed two pieces of artillery on the top of a small building fronting the gates. They were loaded with broken horseshoes and the like and sent out a disastrous fire. The few surviving Danes fled hurriedly for their lives, leaving Lady Emerentia in proud possession of the fort. A second attack which was made later on proved as futile as the first. King Christian then gave command to abandon the plan of taking the fort. The Danish army collected in a field in front of Gullberg. But Lady Emerentia was vigilant. From the walls of the fort she espied a man of prepossessing appearance who rode a white horse. “Shoot that man!” was her immediate command to the nearest soldier. The shot took effect, killing the white horse, whose brains and blood spattered the king. For the man on horseback was King Christian. “That devilish crow does never sleep!” exclaimed the king, referring to the commander.
King Christian turned on New Lœdœse, killing without mercy all the male inhabitants of the town. West Gothland was invaded, the province appearing to be an easy prey because the Swedish army, commanded by Duke John, had just left it to march into Halland. But the bailiff of Hœjentorp called on the peasants to rise, which caused the Danes to recede. The Danes next made an attack on the fortress of Elfsborg, commanded by Olof Strole. Elfsborg was defended with heroism, but when fire threatened to destroy the towers, Olof Strole at last surrendered. On account of their valiant conduct the commander and his men, who were reduced to 200, were granted free passage with their music and banners. The able Morten Krakow of Gullberg had been promoted to the fortress of Vaxholm. His successor surrendered Gullberg to the Danes shortly after the fall of Elfsborg. King Christian planned a series of invasions in the year 1612, but, thanks to the vigilance of Gustavus Adolphus, he failed to accomplish the desired effect.
Gustavus Adolphus wanted peace with Denmark, and such was made at Knerœd in 1613, after a war of mutual invasions and without any decisive battles or conquests of territory. The frontiers were to remain the same as before the war; the Danish king was allowed to keep the emblem of three crowns, but had to resign his claims upon the Swedish crown. The fortress of Elfsborg remained in the hands of the Danes for six years, until $1,000,000, an exorbitant sum in those days, was paid for it. It cost the people of Sweden very dear to pay this sum, sacrifices being made by the king and his friends to contribute to it. But Elfsborg, the only approach to the North Sea, was indispensable. It was returned in a miserable condition, and Gothenburg, on the opposite side of Gotha River, destroyed. Gustavus Adolphus ordered Gothenburg to be moved to its present site, on the mainland, and endowed it with extensive commercial privileges, encouraging Dutch merchants to settle there.
The war with Russia began once more in 1614. Gustavus Adolphus not having been found willing to accept the crown for his brother Charles Philip, the negotiations were dropped. Count de la Gardie resumed control of the movements, although the king was present in person. The Swedes won a great victory at Bronitz and captured the fortress of Augdof. An attempt to take Pskof was unsuccessful, Evert Horn, the hero of a hundred battles, losing his life; but the Russians were willing to make peace. Through the honorable peace of Stolbova, in February, 1617, Russia gave up all claims on Esthonia and Livonia, and ceded to Sweden Ingermanland and Kexholm. This cut off the Russians from the Baltic, fixed the Swedish frontier on the lakes Ladoga and Peipus, and left Sweden in peace with the mightiest of her enemies during almost a century. The armistice with Poland ended in 1616, but after two years of insignificant movements it was continued up to 1620.
Gustavus II. Adolphus with untiring energy continued the work of building up the new state founded by Gustavus I. At the death of his father, the royal youth had won everybody by his gentleness and generosity. His first act was perhaps the wisest of all, in selecting among the councillors the young, highly talented Axel Oxenstierna as his chancellor. This couple have no peers in history, being united by the firmest of friendships and rising simultaneously to the highest ability of statesmanship, the gifts of the one wonderfully supplementing those of the other. The chancellor was cooler and slower than his royal friend. He placed supreme the duties to his country, but was of very aristocratic tendencies, through his influence leading the king still further away from the democratic principles of his father. To the nobility were granted the old privileges, with others in addition, which became menacing to the ancient freedom of the peasantry. The management of internal affairs and all branches of the administration were placed under various departments. They were presided over by the high functionaries and their offices chiefly filled by noblemen. A permanent supreme court was established in Stockholm, with the Drotsete as president, in 1614. In 1623, a supreme court for Finland was established and a governor-general for that grandduchy appointed, who was also to be president of the court. In 1630, a supreme court for the Baltic provinces was established at Dorpat. The Riksdag, governed by the new rules of 1617, was to convene yearly, and to consist of the four Estates of the kingdom: the nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and yeomanry, each divided into various classes. These latter were as yet not quite distinct or organized, except those of the nobility, who, in 1625, formed a knightly chapter, the Riddarhus, which kept a register of the legitimate noble families of Sweden and Finland and watched over the interests of its members. The Estate of the nobility was divided in three classes, lords, knights and squires. To the first belonged the holders of counties and baronies, to the second those whose ancestors held the rank of state councillors, and to the third the rest of the nobility. As each class had one vote in the Riksdag, the supremacy of lords and knights, called the “higher nobility,” was secure, when standing united, over the more numerous third class, the “lower nobility.” The king appointed the speaker of the nobility, the landtmarskalk, who also was the president of their chapter. The Swedish church had its greatest epoch during the period of political grandeur, being characterized by a remarkable strength of faith and by a praiseworthy energy and earnestness. The clergy, high and low, set beautiful examples of piety, learning and patriotism. It was beloved by the people and spoke in their behalf with authority and courage. Not able to win Gustavus Adolphus over to more democratic views, it won his admiration, and he surnamed the ministers “tribunes of the people.” The burghers, touched by the patriotic spirit, developed great energy during this period, trade and commerce having a devoted patron in the king, who, besides the new Gothenburg, founded twelve other towns in Sweden and Finland. The miners occupied of old an uncertain position between burghers and yeomen. They were strengthened and encouraged by the personal interest which the king took in the mining industry. He visited the mines repeatedly, descending into the bowels of the earth to inspect the ore and the new methods introduced from abroad by foreign miners. Among the latter the immigrated Dutchman, Louis de Geer, exerted a beneficial influence upon that industry. The factories producing clothing and weapons for the army were also encouraged. The yeomen occupied a difficult, almost desperate position between the increasing privileges of the nobility and the increasing taxes of the crown. Their burdens were doubled and their rights reduced; yet sustained by the church, and believing in the lofty ideals of the king, they persevered, fulfilling their duties with a high degree of patriotism.
No Swedish king has done so much for education as Gustavus Adolphus. To the University of Upsala he donated 300 of his hereditary estates, founding its library, improving its courses, banishing misrule, and appointing his old teacher, John Skytte, its chancellor. He created the German University of Dorpat in Esthonia, in 1632; later for some time moved to Pernau. Colleges were established in the larger towns. The king was, through his thorough studies of Swedish laws and conditions, in a position to take an active part in the reforms which he promulgated, never resting long in one place, but travelling from one point to another, where his presence was most necessary; shaping plans and reforms by his own judgment, to have them indorsed by the next Riksdag, and then enforcing them himself. Especially the army passed through an evolution, thanks to new methods, devised by the king, who was to win his victories through the introduction of improved tactics and divisions, by means of which the troops were easier to move and the co-operation between the various weapons increased.
In 1618 the “Thirty Years’ War” began. The dethroned Frederic of the Palatinate turned, among others, to Gustavus Adolphus for support, which the latter was not able to give in a direct way. But he promised to attack Poland as soon as the armistice was at an end, thereby making it impossible for Sigismund to support Emperor Ferdinand with troops. In 1621, Gustavus Adolphus commenced operations against Poland, taking the command himself. Riga and Mitau were captured, the former important commercial centre regaining its privileges, but sending representatives to the Swedish Riksdag and accepting a Swedish governor. After having conquered Livonia, Gustavus Adolphus entered Courland the following year, when an armistice was agreed to. Gustavus followed the events in Germany with increasing interest, forming the plan of an alliance between the Protestant powers. Learning that the emperor was willing to support Sigismund, Gustavus Adolphus offered to invade Silesia. But as Christian IV. of Denmark was anxious to lead the Protestant forces, Gustavus Adolphus quietly withdrew, resuming action against Poland. After a victory at Wallhof, he entered Polish Prussia, where he was dangerously wounded at Dirschau. The Poles were reinforced by imperial troops, but suffered a defeat at Gurzo; the Swedish general, Herman Wrangel, winning the day. When the considerable reinforcements of 10,000 men joined the Poles, the Swedes receded in good order. A smaller conflict occurred at Stuhm, famous because Gustavus Adolphus was twice in danger of his life during the struggle, which otherwise was of no importance. An imperial trooper caught him by the belt and tried to drag the king with him. According to the report of Axel Oxenstierna, the king loosened the belt and let it go. In so doing, he also lost his hat, which was carried to Vienna and preserved as a token of the “great victory.” Another trooper, shortly afterward, caught the king by the arm, aiming at the head with his sword. In the critical moment, Eric Soop, the colonel of a Swedish cavalry regiment, appeared, killing the trooper with a pistol-shot. Gustavus Adolphus referred to this struggle as the “hottest bath” that he was ever in.
In September, 1629, an armistice was agreed to, at Altmark, to last for six years, during which period Sweden was to keep Livonia and the Russian towns of Elbing, Braunsberg, Pillau and Memel. The new acquisition of territory was small, but the revenue from these commercial towns, and from Dantzic, Libau and Windau, was considerable, and went to pay for the army expenses of the German campaign. The new temporary possessions in Prussia were formed into a Swedish governmental section, over which Axel Oxenstierna was appointed governor-general.
What follows belongs to one of the most noted chapters of universal history. The unbroken chain of Swedish victories, the noble character of the king and the severe discipline upheld among his men, who commenced and ended their battles with prayers and hymns, astounded the world. The exalted nobility of Gustavus Adolphus appears to us all the more striking, contrasted with the faithlessness, vanity and cowardice of the contemporary reigning princes of Germany and Denmark. His victories appear all the more remarkable because the greatest warriors of the age—Tilly, Wallenstein and Pappenheim—were his adversaries. He was received by the people of Germany as a liberator, and his memory is blessed by every thinking German, who admits that the Swedes, Gustavus Adolphus and Axel Oxenstierna, completed the work which the Germans, Luther and Melanchthon, created. The loftiness of the ideals which inspired Gustavus Adolphus have been doubted, but not with justice. He was brought up in a severely Christian home and the sincerity of his piety is unmistakable. His father’s clairvoyant views upon the coming religious conflict were familiar to him since his early youth, while he was, through his mother, related in blood to the majority of Protestant princes. Thus apparently predestined, as the greatest statesman and warrior of his age, to take up the cause of his persecuted brethren, he did not do so before the ambitious Christian IV. had utterly failed in his attempts and with contumely been forced to retire. It is not probable that Gustavus Adolphus ever thought of placing the crown of the Roman empire upon his head, but plausible to suppose that he had in view the formation of a strong union of the Protestant countries of Northern Europe.