Danish Army Records Background

Background
Only since King Christian IV's Kalmar War (1611-1613) has Denmark had a peace time army. Prior to this, the King relied upon the nobility to furnish from the peasantry the necessary troops for the various wars. In 1614, from his own royal estates, Christian IV raised the first permanent troops, from which some of the present Danish Army Regiments trace their beginnings.

In the following century, the Danish kings raised additional regiments on a recruited as well as a levied basis. These units often were released or consolidated after relatively short existence. The king more commonly commissioned various experienced men to raise additional regiments for the major wars of this period: The Thirty Years War (Danish periods 1618-1629 and 1643-1645), the Scania War (1657-1660), The Spanish Succession (1678-1679), the Disputes with the Dukes of Holstein (1689 and 1699-1700), and the Great Northern War (1709-1720).

King Frederick III formed a standing army of recruited regiments in 1660. Shortly thereafter, he raised additional levied regiments of infantry and cavalry. The levied infantry militia saw periods of activity, as well as times when they did not exist as organized units. The army reduction and reorganization in the early 1720s again resulted in the retention of the old tried units. Most of the Units that existed after this period have some of their records existing today.

Both Kings Christian VI and Frederick V had peaceful reigns. Only the threat of war with Russia (which did not materialize) in the period 1756-1763 gave cause to any great change. This occurred in the so-called "Saint Germain" period (1761-1767), when all the levied units were disbanded, and each recruited regiment received a definite levying district. Several older units were released, and a smaller number of newer units were formed to replace them.

Under Kings Christian VII and Frederick VI (the latter both as Crown Prince Regent and King), there was a long period in which the country maintained a status of armed neutrality (essentially 1780-1806) except when at war (1788, 1801, 1806-1814). During this period a number of changes of interest were made, besides the raising and releasing of units.
 * The "Annexed" Battalion from the Regimental Levying District was totally incorporated into the regiment in 1784. Instead of the previous three regular and one "annexed" battalions, the regiment was now to become comprised of two regular battalions only.
 * The cessation of active recruiting of foreigners began in 1774, and culminated in 1803 when each regiment was to drawn henceforth upon national levied men.
 * The reduction of the national militia in 1808 (raised first in 1801) was compensated by newly formed third and fourth "annexed" battalions of reservists for each regiment.

Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, a major army reorganization was made in 1817. Again, the old tried units were retained and most of the new war units were released.

Under Christian VIII, the army reorganized again in 1842. The old named units were abolished, with the infantry becoming numbered battalions, and the cavalry numbered dragoon regiments. Only the guard units avoided drastic alteration of designation.

Kings Frederick VII and Christian IX each saw a bitter war with the duchies - the Slesvig-Holstein Wars. While the first was won (1848-1850), the second was lost (1864) as well as the duchies. Various reserve units were raised during these wars, and some after.

The number of the various army units (infantry and cavalry being the most important) varied at different times as the following table will show:

Levied Units in Denmark have existed in the following periods:

For additional details, and further information see the historical supplement on "The Danish Army's Development" in the 1923 "Haandbog for Hæren" (FHL call no. 948.9 M23k).

Copenhagen in Denmark and Rendsborg in Holstein have long been the two main garrison towns of the Danish Army, but not exclusively so. The infantry, except the levied units, have always been garrisoned in the cities, as too many recruited soldiers found opportunities to desert otherwise. The city magistrates were early charged with making the rules for placing the soldiers with various families. In 1694 the king changed this to a uniform code. These rulings, in either case, usually left the poorest people with the greatest burden of harboring the soldiers. Fortunately, in Copenhagen in the 1700s, several barracks were built by the troops, and others purchased by the crown. In the other major garrison cities this policy was also carried out. This helped considerably in improving the relationship of the army with the citizens.

The levied infantry units were, of course, militia soldiers who served only a relatively short time with their units. For all practical purposes, most soldiers mentioned in rural parish registers are found to be local militia, or discharged soldiers, while soldiers mentioned in city registers will be active militia and the recruited soldiers of the then existing regiments. One should note also that both the officers and the non-commissioned officers of the levied militia units were required to reside in their levying districts.

The cavalry was mostly national militia in the earliest period, with only a few recruited units probably stationed in the cities.

These militia cavalry soldiers lived on farms or in cottages belonging to the crown, and were organized into the various royal cavalry districts until 1718. The active cavalry companies were garrisoned upon various royal manors in more restricted cavalry districts which were formed at this time. Among these manors, the following were included:
 * On Sjaeland: Esrom; Jaegersborg; Gjorlev; Ringsted Closter; Vordingborg Slot Ladegaard.
 * On Lolland-Falster: Skorringe; Nykobing Slot Ladegaard
 * On Fyen: St Hans Closter (in Odense City)
 * On Jutland: Koldinghus Slot; Skanderborg; Sobygaard; Silkeborg Slot Ladegaard; Marriager.

There were others. In 1740 this practice was dropped, and the cavalry regiments were assembled in garrisons in the cities. The artillery and the engineers have been mainly connected with Copenhagen and Rendsborg.

For additional details, and specific locations of units, see the annexes covering the specific units as well as the historical supplement on "Garrisons" in the 1925 "Haandbog for Hæren" (FHL call no. 948.9 M23k).

The Regimental Records
Essentially, the regimental records of all branches of the army were the same. Only in minor details will the other services differ from the infantry, which records we will use as an example.

The most important records are the regimental muster rolls (stambøger). While in the earlier periods the whole regiment is often included in one book, in the 1800s the tendency was to have a separate book for each company. Commonly, there may be found periods in which both types were maintained. The keeping of these records became compulsory with the army regulations of 1746. However, they have only been preserved, as a rule, from 1765 or later. Although the 1746 regulations required an index to be kept for the muster roll, it was very seldom done.

Each man was listed with information pertaining to his name, birthplace, age, religion, marital and family status, previous military service, and re-enlistments. His record also carried several purely military items, such as his company identification number, punishment record, etc. Because the birthplace was usually given only as a county or region such as "Fyen", "Saxony", "Holstein", etc., one should investigate all references to a person in all records of that particular regiment. Often at other times, additional information was given including actual birthplaces, such as "Berlin", "Haderslev", "Odense", etc. The age given in most cases was that of the individual when he joined that particular regiment.

When the muster rolls are missing, several other regimental records can supplement them, who of which are the enlistment and discharge books (Til-og af Bøger) and the commission books (Kommission Bøger). (The latter were made when the regiment received a new chief.) Both show essentially the same information as the muster rolls. The enlistment records of the 1800s refer to the levied men, and show the references to the levying rolls from which they were called up. Those in the earlier 1700s, of course, are nearly all recruits, and often indicate where the enlistment took place. In the 1780s to 1800s, often both types of records will be found.

Further, the report and company catalogs (Rapport Bøger and Listebøger) give some of the previously mentioned essentials. Other records have fewer items of genealogical material. (See Haandbog i Slaegtsforskning pp 258-261) (1942 Edition); (FHL Ref. 929.1 F115h 1933 Edition pp 261 following).

Regrettably, many of the title pages to the regimental records were not photographed, and one must guess many times as to what type of record he is searching.

One of the most confusing problems encountered is the proper identification of the regiment to which a man belonged. The designation at FamilySearch is the name used in 1842 or when the unit was disbanded. A list of the various names and their changes has been worked out by the Danish Army Archive. A somewhat comparable list has been partially worked out (see annexes of specific units and above reference).

Most of the cavalry regiments had a relatively stable identification name after 1763. While the types of cavalry designation would change, the identification name rarely did. Prior to that year, the designations are much more complicated as many regiments had both a number (which sometimes changed) as well as a name (which may also have changed). Many regiments in their earlier periods were known by their commander or chief, and this would change with a new appointment. This characteristic is true also of the infantry.

The infantry regiments are even more difficult to keep track of. Various naming systems were used. Two regiments essentially kept their names, viz. the "Life Guards" and the "Queen's Regiment." Some had royal designations which would change in a specific pattern.

An example of this is the change in name of the then-designated "Fyenish Regiment" in 1749 to the "Crown Prince Regiment" when Crown Prince Christian became its chief. When Christian became king in 1766, the name was changed to the "King's Regiment." When he died in 1808, it changed to the "Crown Regiment." When his successor, King Frederick VI died in 1839, the name became the "Third Life Regiment."

Most of the other regiments carried names of parts of the Danish territories, but often changed their names whenever a change in garrison was made. Fortunately, the name changes of these regiments was made in groups, so that no duplication of names occurred. All these units, except the "Life Guards", lost both their names and regimental designations in 1842, when they were all changed into numbered battalions or rifle corps (which later became numbered battalions). These designations were kept until 1951 when named regiments again appeared for the old units.

The artillery and the engineers have had relatively simple designations, carrying the names of the area in which they were garrisoned. Only the titles of "Danish" for those in Copenhagen, etc., "Holstein" for those in Rendsburg, etc., and "Norwegian" for all those in Norway (all of which were lost in 1814), were used at all.