Peter Jönsson Cavat^[1]

Abt 1732 - 1759  (~ 27 years)

• Name	Peter Jönsson Cavat
  Born	Abt 1732	Sweden   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	Gärdserum, Östergötland, Sweden
  	Address: Kamdalen u Svenserum
  Died	1759	Demmin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
  Person ID	I621	Swanstrom
  Last Modified	16 Nov 2021

  
  

  Father	Jonas Persson,   b. Abt 1707, Sweden ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F75246	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Cajsa Ingrid Johansdotter,   b. 16 Aug 1734, Locknevi, Kalmar, Sweden ,   d. Abt 1780, Gärdserum, Östergötland, Sweden  (Age 45 years)
  Married	14 Oct 1753	Gärdserum, Östergötland, Sweden
  Married	14 Oct 1753	Gärdserum, Östergötland, Sweden   [3]
  	Address: Prästgården
  Children	1. Jonas Svanström,   b. 30 Jul 1754, Gärdserum, Östergötland, Sweden ,   d. 1811, Gärdserum, Östergötland, Sweden  (Age 56 years)   2. Annika Petersdotter,   b. 24 Sep 1756, Gärdserum, Östergötland, Sweden ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	8 Dec 2021
  Family ID	F371	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  He was a soldier. In 1752 he joined the army and took the military surname Cavat, which means "plucky" or "brave". He served in the Sevedes Company of the Royal Kalmar Regiment (Infantry). The regiment consisted of 1,184 men in two battalions of four companies. Each company had 137 privates and 11 officers, NCOs and musicians. Peter was assigned to live at Kamdalen (No. 9 Svenserum), a soldier's croft about seven miles southwest of Gärdserum, on the shore of a small lake, Hemgöl. The rusthållare, or man responsible for equipping him as a soldier, was farmer Erik Gerdeman (1710-1779), of Svenserum. Prior to enlisting, Peter Cavat was probably a tenant of Gerdeman's, perhaps a relative. From 1756 to 1763 Europe was disrupted by the Seven Years War with Sweden, Austria, France, Russia and Spain on one side, against England and Prussia on the other. In the North American colonies this conflict was called the French and Indian War. The Swedish name for the war was Pommerska kriget (the Pomeranian War). A military roll dated 1757 says Petter Cavat was 23-1/2 years old and had served 4-3/4 years in the army. Peter's regiment remained in Sweden at the outbreak of the war, but in 1758 six companies (900 men) were sent to Pomerania as reinforcements against the Prussians, probably when Count Gustav David Hamilton took command on June 27. There are few details. On 18 November 1758 some elements of the regiment were present at the Battle of Güstow. On 25 November 1758, 160 men from the regiment were occupying a redoubt outside Werbelow, when a party of 40 men from another regiment took refuge there. The 200 men held off a Prussian assault until reinforcements arrived. Petter Cavat might have been involved in one or both these battles. Gen. Hamilton resigned on 23 November 1758. Jacob Albrecht von Lantinghausen was appointed commander on 19 December. The Swedish forces wintered in Pomerania. On 9 January 1759 Gen. Lantinghausen and the Swedish army retired to Stralsund. The Prussians immediately surrounded Demmin and laid siege to the Swedish garrison there. On 17 January the Prussian battery made a gap in the Swedish defenses around Demmin. The Prussians then launched an amphibious attacked and drove the Swedes out of the outpost on the Meyenkebs side of the Peene. On 18 January, short of ammunition, Col. Lillienberg surrendered the town of Demmin. His troops were allowed to march out of the town with their colors, fifers and drummers before becoming prisoners of war. In 1759 Peter Cavat was taken prisoner by the Prussians at Demmin, probably on 17 January, when the Prussian army captured the town, but perhaps on 22 October when the Prussians surprised the town (which had been re-taken by the Swedes), seized the Swedish war chest, and retired to Malchin. That morning, when the gates of Demmin were opened, the Prussians launched a surprise attack. The town was defended by only 60 men of the Posseska Infantry under the command of Capt. Kjull Kristoffer Baron Barnekow and Lt. Ehrencrona. The Posseska regiment was raised in 1743 at Stralsund, and consisted mostly of Germans. The small garrison threw itself into houses and bravely defended itself for an hour, losing 25 men dead or wounded, and was finally forced to surrender. The Swedish hussar who should have warned the garrison of the Prussian approach had gotten drunk on his way and had been captured by the Prussians. Peter Cavat never returned. The Prussians had a tremendous hatred for the Swedes and he was probably killed by them. He was deleted from military rolls on 30 June 1764. Ancestry DNA testing shows the Svanström family are relatively close relatives of a Briese family in Prussia and Poland, and closer still to a Kruse family from Schleswig-Holstein. Michael Briese, born about 1738 was a property owner (Eigenthümer) at Potzymowo in what is now Poland. Many German families settled in this area in the mid-1700s at the request of the local Polish nobility, who wanted to re-build estates that had been decimated by cholera and war. At the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, this area became part of Prussia. Peter Cavat was not the Per Jonasson, born 14 November 1732 in Kvarntorp, son of Jonas Presser (Behrendtz 2007). He might have been a nephew of the Ingeborg Persdotter Svanström of Åtvid, who was born about 1713, married Nils Vedberg in 1741, and died in 1781 at Sjöbacka, Åtvid. Cavat seems to have been the name used for soldiers at Gårdveda in Målilla in the Royal Kalmar Regiment. The four Cavats listed in the Centrala Soldatregistret all came from that unit. None were named Johan or Jonas, so none would have been father of Petter Jönsson Cavat: - Pehr Pehrsson Cavat, born 1698 - Sune Amundsson Cavat, born 19 September 1705, died 5 july 1742 - Magnus Sunesson Cavat, born 1728 (perhaps son of his predecessor) - Pär Nilsson Cavat, died 19 July 1743 Peter Cavat was not the Peter Johansson, born 21 July 1732 at Målilla to Johan Samuelsson and Christina Jonsdotter (FamilySearch.org). That Peter died 14 Aug 1801 at Målilla. The soldiers known to have served at Svenserum were: - Olof Andersson, unknown - Per Nilsson, unknown - Per Persson, unknown - Per Torsson, unknown - Sven Nilsson Lustig, born 1685, died 10 January 1739 - Joel Broberg, born 1692 - Lars Gerdström, born 1721 - Petter Jönsson Cavat, died 1759 - Jonas Svanström, born 30 July 1754, died 1811 - Nils Andersson Nelli, born 1786 - Carl Berggren, born 1787 - Anders Blücker, born 1793, died 4 March 1850 - Lars Petter Larsson Sund, born 23 January 1821 - Anders Petter Johansson Spjut, born 29 April 1835, died 23 March 1919 - Gustaf Albin Finn, born 21 February 1866 For more on the Pomeranian war, see Project SYW, http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php, visited 17 Sept. 2009. -- MERGED NOTE ------------ He was a soldier. In 1752 he joined the army and took the military surname Cavat, which means "plucky" or "brave". He served in the Sevedes Company of the Royal Kalmar Regiment (Infantry). The regiment consisted of 1,184 men in two battalions of four companies. Each company had 137 privates and 11 officers, NCOs and musicians. Peter was assigned to live at Kamdalen (No. 9 Svenserum), a soldier's croft about seven miles southwest of Gärdserum, on the shore of a small lake, Hemgöl. The rusthållare, or man responsible for equipping him as a soldier, was farmer Erik Gerdeman (1710-1779), of Svenserum. Prior to enlisting, Peter Cavat was probably a tenant of Gerdeman's, perhaps a relative, or at least a resident of the parish of Gärdserum. From 1756 to 1763 Europe was disrupted by the Seven Years War with Sweden, Austria, France, Russia and Spain on one side, against England and Prussia on the other. In the North American colonies this conflict was called the French and Indian War. The Swedish name for the war was Pommerska kriget (the Pomeranian War). A military roll dated 1757 says Petter Cavat was 23-1/2 years old and had served 4-3/4 years in the army. Peter's regiment remained in Sweden at the outbreak of the war, but in 1758 six companies (900 men) were sent to Pomerania as reinforcements against the Prussians, probably when Count Gustav David Hamilton took command on June 27. There are few details. On 18 November 1758 some elements of the regiment were present at the Battle of Güstow. On 25 November 1758, 160 men from the regiment were occupying a redoubt outside Werbelow, when a party of 40 men from another regiment took refuge there. The 200 men held off a Prussian assault until reinforcements arrived. Peter Cavat might have been involved in one or both these battles. Gen. Hamilton resigned on 23 November 1758. Jacob Albrecht von Lantinghausen was appointed commander on 19 December. The Swedish forces wintered in Pomerania. On 9 January 1759 Gen. Lantinghausen and the Swedish army retired to Stralsund. The Prussians immediately surrounded Demmin and laid siege to the Swedish garrison there. On 17 January the Prussian battery made a gap in the Swedish defenses around Demmin. The Prussians then launched an amphibious attacked and drove the Swedes out of the outpost on the Meyenkebs side of the Peene. On 18 January, short of ammunition, Col. Lillienberg surrendered the town of Demmin. His troops were allowed to march out of the town with their colors, fifers and drummers before becoming prisoners of war. In 1759 Peter Cavat was taken prisoner by the Prussians at Demmin, probably on 17 January, when the Prussian army captured the town, but perhaps on 22 October when the Prussians surprised the town (which had been re-taken by the Swedes), seized the Swedish war chest, and retired to Malchin. That morning, when the gates of Demmin were opened, the Prussians launched a surprise attack. The town was defended by only 60 men of the Posseska Infantry under the command of Capt. Kjull Kristoffer Baron Barnekow and Lt. Ehrencrona. The Posseska regiment was raised in 1743 at Stralsund, and consisted mostly of Germans. The small garrison threw itself into houses and bravely defended itself for an hour, losing 25 men dead or wounded, and was finally forced to surrender. The Swedish hussar who should have warned the garrison of the Prussian approach had gotten drunk on his way and had been captured by the Prussians. Peter Cavat never returned. The Prussians had a tremendous hatred for the Swedes and he was probably killed by them. He was deleted from military rolls on 30 June 1764. Ancestry DNA testing shows the Svanström family are relatively close relatives of a Briese family in Prussia and Poland. Michael Briese, born about 1738 was a property owner (Eigenthümer) at Potzymowo in what is now Poland. Many German families settled in this area in the mid-1700s at the rquest of the local Polish nobility, who wanted to re-build estates that had been decimated by cholera and war. At the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, this area became part of Prussia. Peter Cavat was not the Per Jonasson, born 14 November 1732 in Kvarntorp, son of Jonas Presser (Behrendtz 2007). He might have been a nephew of the Ingeborg Persdotter Svanström of Åtvid, who was born about 1713, married Nils Vedberg in 1741, and died in 1781 at Sjöbacka, Åtvid. Cavat seems to have been the name used for soldiers at Gårdveda in Målilla in the Royal Kalmar Regiment. The four Cavats listed in the Centrala Soldatregistret all came from that unit. None were named Johan or Jonas, so none would have been father of Peter Jönsson Cavat: - Pehr Pehrsson Cavat, born 1698 - Sune Amundsson Cavat, born 19 September 1705, died 5 july 1742 - Magnus Sunesson Cavat, born 1728 (perhaps son of his predecessor) - Pär Nilsson Cavat, died 19 July 1743 Peter Cavat might have been the Peter Johansson, born 21 July 1732 at Målilla to Johan Samuelsson and Christina Jonsdotter (FamilySearch.org), but the identification is a long shot. Peter (Per), Jonas and Johan were common names, and the surname Cavat was probably not hereditary. The soldiers known to have served at Svenserum were: - Olof Andersson, unknown - Per Nilsson, unknown - Per Persson, unknown - Per Torsson, unknown - Sven Nilsson Lustig, born 1685, died 10 January 1739 - Joel Broberg, born 1692 - Lars Gerdström, born 1721 - Petter Jönsson Cavat, died 1759 - Jonas Svanström, born 30 July 1754, died 1811 - Nils Andersson Nelli, born 1786 - Carl Berggren, born 1787 - Anders Blücker, born 1793, died 4 March 1850 - Lars Petter Larsson Sund, born 23 January 1821 - Anders Petter Johansson Spjut, born 29 April 1835, died 23 March 1919 - Gustaf Albin Finn, born 21 February 1866 For more on the Pomeranian war, see Project SYW, http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php, visited 17 Sept. 2009.

  
  

• Sources

  [S367] Barbro Behrendtz (2005-2010). [S459] Military record, 1757 (age 23 1/2). [S341] Marriage record.