Peter Englund, peter.englund@draminst.se
CH-344
Bilthoven, 16 juli 2003
Dear Mr. Peter Englund,
Excuse me for addressing you in the English language, but I assume it’s the best compromise between a Swedish and a Dutch person. I am Hugo von Meijenfeldt from Bilthoven, the Netherlands. My family has always claimed to be descendents from the Swedish noble family Meijerfeldt. Being a law student in 1978, I decided to look into this claim, and I more and more got interested in the history of the northern part of Europe. Finally I wrote a book in 1990, called in Dutch “Het Zweedse geslacht Meijerfeldt”, using a lot of Swedish book in the Kungliga Biblioteket and Swedish documents in the Riksarkivet. My book is in the collection of the KB. Quite a long part of the book deals with the Russian Campaign of 1708-1709, particularly the days after Poltava, when Meijerfeldt was sent on a mission to the Moskovian headquarters.
While participating in a conference in Kiev two months ago, I told my Ukraine, Russian, Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian colleagues of my history and we decided to visit Poltava that same weekend. Because our Ukraine guide suddenly had family commitments, I ended up visisting the battle museum only together with a lady from the Dutch embassy in Kiev. In my report afterwards to my colleagues, I inter alia concluded that the Ukrain (Kozak) element was missing in the museum (I believe there are only 2 pictures of Mazepa). I’m afraid this remark will lead to a national initiative with perhaps a request for Swedish money.
I’m sorry to take such a long introduction, but my nordic colleagues said to me there is only one book to read about Poltava, and that’s your book. Although I am used to reading old Swedish documents, I have to admit that it would take me a year reading a book in modern Swedish. I typed your name in Google and found your very informative and entertaining homepage. My first question is if there is an English tranlation (coming up)?
Since you are such a well know expert on the Swedish ‘Golden Ages’, and since the rise, greatness and fall of my Swedish ancestors coincide with that, I would like to seek your advice on further research in the Baltic episode of my family (1510-1710). I’m leaving for holidays next Monday on an anti-clockwise tour by car around the Baltic Sea, e.g. staying in Tartu on 31 July and in Stockholm 7-9 August (also to visit my Swedish colleague mentioned above). If there is any chance of responding to me before 31 July I would be most delighted, but I’m aware of the holidays on your side as well.
I have attached an English summary of the chapter in my book about the Russian campaign. I’m sure this all will stay with the 1 MB you required.
Thank you very much in advance for the attention given to this e-mail.
Yours sincerely,
Hugo von Meijenfeldt
Bilthoven, 11 september 2003
Dear Prof. Englund,
Let me start by offering my condolences with the shocking death today of Mrs. Anna Lindh. I have known her as a very pleasant person for several years in her position as Swedish Environment Minister in her active membership of the EU Council meetings in Brussels. I hope your country will overcome this and nevertheless have a serious Euro referendum on Sunday.
On 16 July I forwarded you an e-mail about the Battle at Poltava and the role of my ancestor Johan August (von) Meijerfeldt played the day after.
In the mean time I have visited Stockholm and was able to buy and read an English copy of your book. Although I’m not born with the feeling I “belong” to the Swedish side and although I knew in advance how the battle would end, for a long time you were able to keep my hopes alive that the battle would end properously. It reads like an eye witness story. On top of that you have included a lot of extremely interesting military and social background facts about warfare in those times.
Thanks to your detailed mentioning of officers and movements from hour to hour I was able to reconstruct how Carl Fredrik Meijerfeldt – the brother of Johan August – died in the fierce shooting in the carré under major-general Roos around 7:00 hrs in the morning. Carl Fredrik was – like his brother – coming from Livland (not Finland), volunteer in the eighties under Königsmarck in the Southern Netherlands (for me – being Dutch – on the wrong, French side), since then in the Österbotten regiment. He followed Lewenhaupt to the army in Russia. In the battle he was 47 years old, colonel and commanding the Österbotten bataljon. His widow was countess Anna Christina Hastfer, daughter of the governor-general in Livland.
With regard to Johan August Meijerfeldt I corrected some mistakes I made in my summary, e.g. the time of the battle. I take the liberty to comment on his mission after the battle. Like you wrote there were more reasons for him to go over to the other side than to arrange for the burial of Swedish soldiers. According to Jägerskiöld KFA 1937 p. 173, Nordberg II p. 352-353, Carlsson KFA 1940 p. 147-148 and Von Siltmann KKD III p. 312, the assignment of the major-general was (1) to check if Piper was alive and if so (2) to let him go over to the Swedish King for 4 hours in his place to discuss peace and if not allowed (3) to give him mandate to start peace negotiations with Golovkin on the basis of the weak Russian proposals of several weeks before, and if all this did not work (4) to return to Charles in Kobel’aki. Lyth (Aaberg 1958 p. 83) wrote that he went to get a pass for Charles to travel to Poland, but Nordberg (II p. 352-353) comments “Quelle Absurdité!” The assignment has not been written down due to lack of chancellery clarcks, and this was the reason why Meijerfeldt had difficulty to proven to the Russians (and to his hostile Swedish colleagues) that he had become a diplomat. Anyway, his official assigment does not seem very seriously meant.
Indeed, like you wrote, the real intention was to slow down Mensjikov, but also to prevent Piper from making too hasty compromises. Tengberg (HT 1952 p. 270-273) thought Meijerfeldt slowed down the Russian persuit with a full day (because he took his time to visit Piper first), which would make him the main person that made the king’s escape to Bender possible. Scherer (1788, II p 228) provides us with yet another – more dreadful – detail. Meijerfeldt would have thought it wise to try to convince Peter the Great that he should stick to his former peace offer, by explaining that the Swedes still had an army of 15.000 men intact. Mensjikov was ordered to strengthen his group and afterwards thanked the capitulation of the Swedish army to Meijerfeldt’s information.
With regard to the capitulation Meijerfeldt was most influential to the king’s dismay towards Lewenhaupt. Meijerfeldt was the first arriving person in Bender to affirm the capitulation. Lewenhaupt said that Von Siltmann illegally went over to the Russians side to negotiate peace, but Meijerfeldt believed his deputy Trautvetter, who claimed that L. ordered to send a tambour along with Von S. (Tengberg 1953 p 4 note 3; Villius 1951 p 142 and 221).
I’m sorry to have bothered you with my ancestors once again, but I couldn’t resist answering to your call on the website to comment on your book.
Yours faithfully,
Hugo von Meijenfeldt