Portrait

The portrait was acquired by the Armémuseum in 1993. The man in the picture was then unknown and the portrait undated. The question was whether it would be possible to identify the man only from the details visible on the portrait. Using the uniform and the man’s medal, former Superintendent Leif Törnquist has found a very likely candidate. The portrait depicts a man of a captain’s degree in an officer’s uniform. The uniform belongs to Major General Johan Psilanderhielm’s venerated garrison sergeance in Stralsund. The model is continental to design and consists of breeches, vest and knee-length rock with a folded harvest. It is different from the Gustavian uniform model introduced in 1778, a model that is not said to have been particularly popular. On the portrait, a small part of the armband carried by officers from Gustav III’s State Commitment from 1772 to 1809 also glimpses. Possibly it was to facilitate recruitment that just hosted the regiments were allowed to wear a more continental uniform model. Both the Gustavian model and the Continental uniform are found in a series of coloured engravings from 1782. (Pictures CG Roos, uniform after the Swedish model and Psilanderhielm’s uniform). You can call in the time of the portrait using the epålets. In 1792 it began to use epalets as a grade designation. The epalets worn by the man on the portrait are of silver thread and the design shows his degree of captence. In 1795, however, the apples were changed by insulting gold or silver thread to silk in yellow or white. This means that the portrait must have come about between 1792 and 1795. The Medal The man in the picture bears the Fredrikshamnsmedal. It was distributed in 1791 and the text visible on the portrait reads: 40 enemy ships were made on 15 maii in 1790. The Battle of Fredrikshamn is very sparingly mentioned in the literature but preceded the more famous Battle of Svensksund on 9 July 1790. After both teams, three types of commemorative medals were awarded, and medals for the respective teams, and one combined to show participation in both teams. They did not have the task of rewarding bravery in fields, but only showed that the recipient had participated. Of the people who had a degree of captain at Psilanderhielm’s regiment at the time of the Battle of Fredrikshamn, three were not involved in the battle and three were awarded the combined medal for Fredrikshamn and Svensksund. There were two more captains, one of whom, Johan Georg Bödker, died in June 1792. This is only a little over a month after the imposition of the trials. At the time of his death, he was a major in the army, and the time of his appointment is unknown. The short time between the imposition of the pallions and his death makes him a less likely candidate. The person who fits in with time, degree and age is Captain Alexander Moritz von Schmitterlöw. He was born in Pomerania in 1750 and began his military trajectory as a volunteer at the age of 17 at the Queen’s live regiment stationed in Stralsund. In 1785 von Schmitterlöw was appointed captain, and a couple of years later he became chief of the company at one of the twelve companies on Psilanderhielm’s regiment. After the Battle of Fredrikshamn on 6 May 1790, he was pardoned with Medaille. At the time of the portrait, von Schmitterlöw is thus just over 40 years.