Kronobergare i fält : En prosopografisk studie av det sjätte korporalskapet i Kalmar regementes andra majorskompani under åren 1812-1815

Sammanfattning: This bachelor’s thesis uses the prosopographical method of historical enquiry to examine the social composition of the sixth corporalship of Kalmar regiment’s sixth company during the period 1812-1815. Furthermore, the thesis aims to examine how the War of the Sixth Coalition affected the composition of the corporalship. The social composition of the soldiers is examined by studying their ages, birth places, service lengths, social backgrounds, marital statuses and family structures. Additionally, the impact of the War of the Sixth Coalition upon the corporalship is studied by examining how many of the soldiers died as a result of the war and how these soldiers were replaced. The information needed to study these factors are collected from source material consisting of army muster rolls and parish registers. Through analysis of this material this study shows that the majority of the soldiers were married men in the ages of 25-34 with 1-3 children. Furthermore, the majority of the soldiers were conscripted in their early 20’s and had, by 1812, already served for several years. Most of the soldiers were sons of former soldiers and were born in the same parish in which they later served as soldiers. The study also shows that several changes occurred in the composition of the corporalship during the studied period. Two of the soldiers were dismissed and replaced in 1812 and four of the 23 soldiers making up the corporalship died during the war, thus resulting in a change in the social composition of the corporalship.