The Old Country Newsletter – Sweden On The Moon?

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Statistics you didn’t ask for

Sweden typically has 13 public holidays, known as "röda dagar", each year. These days include religious celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, as well as secular holidays like New Year’s Day, National Day (June 6), and Midsummer’s Day. Depending on the calendar, some röda dagar fall on weekends, reducing the number of extra days off.

In addition, many Swedes enjoy shortened workdays on the eves of major holidays, such as Christmas Eve and Midsummer’s Eve, which are not official holidays but are widely treated as such. This tradition makes Sweden's approach to holidays unique and culturally significant.

In other news

💸 Football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson passed away in August at 76, leaving significant debts despite having substantial assets. His estate showed assets of 66 million SEK and debts of 118 million SEK, partly attributed to poor financial oversight and a fraudulent advisor who mismanaged over 100 million SEK.

👕 An Aftonbladet investigation revealed that three returned garments from the Chinese retailer Shein ended up in Bolivia's illegal black market, a network tied to gangs and drug smuggling. Despite Bolivia's ban on secondhand clothing imports, these items traveled through multiple countries before entering the dangerous underground trade.

🚑 A teacher at Runby School in Upplands Väsby was seriously injured in a stabbing incident on school grounds. The suspected perpetrator fled after the attack, and police are investigating the case as an attempted murder, working to identify the individual and determine the motive.

A Classic Swedish Red Cabin Heads to the Moon: "Magnificent"

Legacy Lanterns – shedding light on the stories of the past

Swedes in the American Civil War, Final Part

Opinions about the war were divided in Sweden. Many liberals considered the United States to be a democratic model country. From a conservative perspective, however, there was a general and widespread mistrust of everything American, as the country was regarded as an expression of unrestrained mob rule. In the conservative press, Americans were described as a people without manners and traditions.

The American “ideal state”

That the young republic in the West now seemed to be tearing itself apart was therefore taken by many conservatives as confirmation that their earlier views had been correct.

In a letter to Foreign Minister Ludvig Manderström, for example, Prince Oscar II noted with a shrug that he had always known this was precisely how the American "ideal state" would meet its end.

The Southern states had few sympathizers among Swedes, regardless of which side of the Atlantic they were on. But there were some supporters. In Sweden, sympathy for the South could be found in certain noble circles and in textile regions.

The Swedish textile industry was highly dependent on cotton from the American South, and it was severely affected by the naval blockade the Union established around the Confederacy at the beginning of the war. After two years, cotton imports from the United States to Sweden had dropped to only fifteen percent of what they had been before the outbreak of the war.

Defended slavery

In the textile city of Borås, Sweden, Borås Tidning (newspaper) therefore launched harsh attacks on the Northern states, while praising the rebels in the South. There were even some tentative attempts to defend slavery.

It was argued, among other things, that the Black population had it far better as slaves than they would ever have as wage laborers, as it was assumed they would never be able to obtain any kind of well-paid employment.

From an official standpoint, Sweden supported the Northern side in the Civil War. When the fighting broke out, for example, Foreign Minister Manderström assured the United States’ diplomatic envoy in Stockholm that he and the entire Swedish people stood behind the government in Washington. The two countries thus continued to exchange diplomatic courtesies with each other.

Purchased weapons and ships in Sweden

This was exemplified by President Lincoln gifting two ornately decorated revolvers to King Karl XV, a gift that (judging by official documents) was highly appreciated. Otherwise, official contacts between the two countries were sparse during these years.

An exception occurred in 1864 when the American government anxiously received rumors that an agent from the Southern states was in Munich, heading north to purchase weapons and ships in Sweden.

The U.S. diplomatic envoy in Stockholm, however, was able to assure his government back in Washington that "the Scandinavians are good friends of our government, our institutions, and the Union."

"We have had their sympathies from the beginning, and we still have them." In other words, the Swedish government had no intention of approving any such potential deals.

Purchased weapons and ships in Sweden

Some Swedish professional soldiers saw the American Civil War as an opportunity to gain valuable experience and credentials for their continued careers in Sweden, and therefore applied for permission to enlist on the Northern side.

U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward wrote to the American diplomat in Stockholm that it was gratifying that so many in Sweden were eager to fight for the Union, but that there was hardly room for all the volunteers.

Among those who managed to enlist was the Gotland-born captain Ernst von Vegesack (born in Hemse, Sweden in 1820). Vegesack quickly rose through the ranks in the Union Army. After some time, he was given command of New York’s 20th Volunteer Regiment, which included about twenty other Swedes.

Vegesack then fought in many well-known battles during the Civil War, including those at Antietam (September 17, 1862) and Chancellorsville (April 30–May 6, 1863).

For his actions during the "Seven Days Battles" near Richmond, Virginia (June 25–July 1, 1862), he was awarded the highest American military honor: the Medal of Honor.

When news of the Union's victory arrived in April 1865, it was generally well received by Swedes—both in the United States and in Sweden. For Swedes in America, the end of the war also meant that the soldiers could finally return home.

Some officers continued their military careers in the United States, while others pursued political paths or took on various administrative assignments.

Most Swedish emigrants who had participated as soldiers in the bloody fratricidal war returned, once the smoke of battle had cleared, to their homesteads in their equally new homeland.

This ends our story about the Swedes in the Civil War. Feel free to reach out on Facebook, Instagram, or via email if you have ideas about other historical or modern stories you think are worth highlighting!

Do you have a story from the past that could be worth sharing? I bet you do! Or would you like to see something else in the newsletter and have suggestions for topics? If so, please reach out!