History of the Life of Gustavus Adolphus II., the Hero-General of the Reformation

Under the stress of war, trial and great exposure of his life, the piety of Gustavus Adolphus became more marked. On his long campaigns he read and studied the Bible. He said: "I seek to fortify myself by meditations upon the Holy Scriptures." No one ever studied God's word, that is able to make us wise unto salvation, without also gaining worldly wisdom, and perceptibly increasing in moral beauty of character.

He regarded his high position as a great trust, given to him by his God. He was not actuated by a love of conquest, but felt that the defence of his throne and of his country also meant the protection of the Protestant faith. He waged war to bring about peace.

He repressed all acts of vengeance among his soldiers, he tolerated no licentiousness, and upheld religion and good morals in the camps of his army. Divine service was held morning and evening, at which time the king and the whole army knelt before God, asking His blessing and guidance.

He was a strict disciplinarian, but banished the bastinado, which not only punished but degraded men. He took counsel with his generals, and made no important move without consulting the Estates of his kingdom.

His physical strength was very great. Once when ordered to bed for fever by his physician, in the Russian campaign, he went to fencing with one of his officers. This caused such profuse perspiration that his disease was cured.

God seemed to visibly protect his life, even as we think He did the life of General Washington. During the campaign against Poland, a bullet struck the place that he had just left. At another time his garments were spattered with blood from men who fell at his side. Again, a bullet went through his tent just above his head.

At Dantzig seven boats were to take a redoubt. Gustavus commanded one of them and was shot in the abdomen. He wrote the Estates: "The engagement was a warm one, and I was wounded, but not unto death. I hope in a few days to resume my command."

His recklessness in danger greatly distressed his friends, and they sent Oxenstiern to ask him not to expose his life again in battle. Gustavus answered: "As yet no king has lost his life by a bullet, moreover, the soldier follows the example of his leader, and a general who shrinks from danger will never cover himself with glory. Cæsar was always to be found in the front rank, and Alexander moistened each battlefield with his blood."

He was wounded three months later in a battle in Prussia against his brother-in-law, the Duke of Brandenburg. On this occasion he wrote home: "We met the enemy on foot and horseback, and our artillery made such execution that we thought we had put him to flight, but God would not have it. When we were about to dislodge him, a musket ball struck me at the shoulder near the neck, and was the chief cause of our losing the battle. I thank God in my misfortune for the hope of speedy restoration to health."

Now the officers of his army remonstrated, through Oxenstiern, and entreated him not to expose his person, calling his attention to the importance of his life to his country. He replied: "My friends, I cannot believe my life is so essential as you seem to think, for should the worst befall me, I am fully convinced that God would watch over Sweden as He has done hitherto. As God has made me king, I dare not permit myself to be frightened or to be actuated to my own advantage. Should, in the vicissitudes of war, death be my lot, how can a king fall more honorably than in the contest for God and His people?"

Even the surgeon rated him soundly for exposing his life. He replied: "Ne sutor crepidam!" "Everyone to his trade."

During the war with Poland, Austria sent against the Swedish an army of eight thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry, under the famous Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland. Gustavus asked him what motive actuated Austria to meddle between two foreign countries. Wallenstein insolently answered, "The emperor, my master, has more soldiers than he wants for himself, he must help his friends."

Gustavus meant to take Spelter, in Marienburg, which he had conquered from the Prussians. One of his generals was prematurely attacked by the Imperial forces, and his division seemed near destruction, when Gustavus hastened to his assistance. In the midst of rout and loss, he was in danger of being made a prisoner by one of the enemy's cavalry. His hat was knocked off and a sword grazed his head. On the other side he was seized by the arm, when a Swedish dragoon killed his assailants, and led the king's horse to another part of the field.

Gustavus was deeply grateful to God for sparing his life, and more than once said in substance: "God has given me a crown, not to dread or rest, but to devote my life to His glory and to the happiness of my subjects."

Wherever he went he expelled the Jesuits, and required the governors of the conquered countries to restore to the Protestants the places of worship which the Catholics had taken from them. He admonished the Protestant clergy to preach the plain gospel, to administer the communion, using both bread and wine, and he insisted that the clergy should see that the people led honest, godly lives, consistent with the faith they professed.

He provided that a synod should meet each year to consult as to church affairs, in order to provide common schools for the people, and also for the higher education of the youth of the country.

The following great principles, showing that Sweden was in advance of other nations in securing the rights of the citizen, and limiting the rights of the crown, were incorporated in the king's oath, and placed on the statute books. No one should be apprehended or condemned upon a mere assertion, or without knowing his accuser and being brought face to face with him in a fair trial.

No man was to be degraded from office without a fair trial. The land's law provided that, without the consent of the people, neither a law should be made, nor a tax imposed, without the consent of the council and of the Estates. It took the combined authority of Duke John (during his life), of the council and of the Estates, to endorse the wish of the king to make war, peace, a truce or an alliance with a foreign nation. Think how this law safeguarded the rights of the people in a century when great absolutism prevailed.

Under Gustavus the council was reinstated in its position as mediator between king and people, as the Estates deprecated their being burdened with too frequent Diets or Congresses.

The oath taken by Gustavus had eliminated that part which forbade the king to alienate or diminish the property of the crown. One of the first things Gustavus did was to sell the gold and silver plate and all the jewels of the royal family he could obtain. Many of the nobility did the same to provide money for his wars.

The winters of Sweden are long, and the roads at that time were bad, and, of course, no railroads existed, so that it was no wonder the people of the realm disliked being frequently convened, aside from the great expense of such convocations. Among the demands of the nobility at the accession of Gustavus was that, before each Diet, they should be made acquainted, with the great matters to be discussed, in order that they might consider them at leisure and without influence from others, also that they might hold neighborhood conclaves and come to decisions, so that all need not attend the Diet.

Afterward the presence of military officers at the Diet was ascribed to Gustavus Adolphus.

In 1664 the knights and nobles, long after the death of the king, say, "Among other benefits of his reign, he gave us the deputies of the army for our assistance, who, without votes of their own, have stood so that, in conjunction with the councillors of state, we have been able to balance the other orders."

Axel Oxenstiern remarks: "The presence of the military, though having no votes, strengthened the nobility at the Diets where every nobleman, come to lawful years, was bound to give attendance."

The spirit of militarism pervaded all Sweden at that time. The writers of the period speak disparagingly of "old lords reared away from war in easy lives, who are no soldiers, and have in their councils only a heap of economists and literates." With such a spirit among the people, and with a king who felt called of God to stop the extermination of Protestants, was it any wonder, with the deck cleared for action, and the wars for his crown ended, that both he and his people should feel called to study, not local, but European conditions, and to inquire, "What is our duty in the premises?"

While the thoughts and plans of Gustavus were ripening for action in Germany, for a few short months he devoted himself to the business of his kingdom.

In 1627 the king organized a company for work in America.^[1] He sent a small fleet to the West Indies. He encouraged emigration to a New Sweden, which extended from the mouth of the Delaware to Trenton, New Jersey.

In 1624 the Swedish West India Company had been formed, with the hope of enriching Sweden and lessening local taxation.

In 1638 two Swedish vessels entered Delaware Bay and founded New Sweden. They built a fort at what is now Wilmington, Delaware. The most interesting relics yet remaining of that company are the Old Swedes Church, in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Gloria Dei Church, in Philadelphia, in the southern section of the city. They constitute lasting memorials of the great Swedish king. Unfortunately these two famous historical buildings have passed out of the possession of the Lutheran Church. The Swedes had small colonies and strong churches from the mouth of the Delaware to Trenton, New Jersey. New Sweden existed under that name for seventeen years, when it was incorporated in the William Penn possessions.

The Swedes lost their language in America, but kept their sturdy Christianity. Their fair dealings with the Indians prepared the way for William Penn to have the name of founding a colony in peace, for which the Swedes should receive much of the credit.

Gustavus also devoted himself to the improvement of Stockholm, now one of the most beautiful cities of the world. It is often called the Venice of the North, being situated on a group of nine islands, connected by picturesque bridges. Its streets are wider than those of Venice, and the canals have none of the vile odors of the southern city.

Sweden has been called Sweden ever since people inhabited its territory. At different periods it has been united to Norway and Denmark, under the same ruler. It has never been invaded or conquered, or had its boundaries changed by a foreign power.