Gustav Evertsson Horn: Governor General of Ingria (1654-1657), Governor General of Finland (1657-1658), Commander-in-chief of the Military Forces in Finland (1657) and Governor General of Bremen-Verden (1663-1666)

(28 May 1614 – 27 February 1666)

Biography

Horn, the son of Field Marshal Evert Horn, was born in 1614 in Southwest Finland, at the time a part Sweden. Like many other young people in the high nobility, Horn honed his education through a multi-year trip abroad that included studies in Leiden from 1630. In 1633, Horn's fellow student Johan Oxenstierna was appointed Swedish ambassador to the English court. In March 1633, the two young people were honored at Oxford University with the master's degree, Oxenstierna for the sake of his father the Chancellor and Horn for the sake of his uncle Gustaf Horn. A week later they were admitted to the bar at Lincoln's Inn. Horn had been appointed chamberlain at Gustav II Adolf's court and in 1634 advanced to chamberlain. In the same year, he was appointed deputy governor for the then eight-year-old Queen Kristina. He taught her the basics of the French language.

The thirty-year war

In 1635, Gustav began his military career as a captain in the Uppland regiment. The regiment took part in the war in Germany but was often badly treated. In 1637, Horn advanced to major over Uppland and Östgötaknekts in Germany. The following year he was made lieutenant-colonel of Alexander Leslie's enlisted regiment which fought in Westphalia. In 1640, Horn was appointed colonel in Arvid Wittenberg's enlisted cavalry regiment. In April of that year, Horn was captured at the Battle of Plauen but was soon released. If Horn went with Wittenberg, he must have been there in the fall of 1642 when the Swedes defeated the imperial troops in the battle of Leipzig and in 1645 at Jankowitz. Horn wrote reports from Germany to the Chancellor that have been preserved. In 1647, Horn was appointed major general of the cavalry and left Germany. His contacts with Germany continued, however, and he was one of the major shareholders in the Swedish Afrikakompaniet, which received its privileges in 1649 and had its seat in Stade.

The War in the East

In 1651, the uncle Gustaf Horn was elevated to the count of Pori and a little later his fief Marienburg was made a baronship. As he lacked adult sons, it was decided that his nephews Gustaf and Henrik Horn would inherit the Barony of Marienborg in turn. In 1652, Gustaf Evertsson Horn was promoted to lieutenant general of the cavalry and member of the military college. In 1654, he became a member of the Riksrådet and governor-general of Ingermanland and Kexholm county. The mission included trying to convert the peasants to the Lutheran faith, spying on the Russians and inspecting fortresses and local troops. His residence was moved to Narva. In the spring of 1655, Horn had Kexholm's fortress refurbished and Narva and Ivangorod were also strengthened. The expected Russian attack came in June 1656 but was a minor part of a larger operation whose main target was Riga. The attack on Ingermanland and Kexholm county was intended to bind Swedish troops there. The Swedish war command sent troops and naval units there and Horn was promoted to general of the Swedish and Finnish cavalry.

At the beginning of 1657, Horn was appointed commander-in-chief of the military forces in Finland and the eastern provinces. Horn would also manage the civil affairs of the Finnish General Government. In the spring he saw to it that troops were discharged in Finland but, in Horn's opinion, they could not be sent away from the area despite the king's request for this. The second summer of the war increased the Russian threat again and Horn was promoted to general of the Swedish militia. At the end of the year, the king appointed Horn as commander-in-chief of the Finnish, Norwegian, Estonian and German military forces, but in practice he only came to function as such in Finland. On the civilian side, his responsibilities were extended with Ostrobothnia. Peace negotiations were then opened with Russia and they led to an armistice at Vallisaar, near Narva, in 1658 and the peace of Kardis in 1661. Horn was again called upon in the spring and winter to send troops from Finland to the Baltic provinces. However, the king needed his troops in the war against Denmark. The conflict over the use of the Finnish troops continued throughout the war in the east and finally led to Horn requesting relief from his duties in the east.

The administrator

After being released from his duties in Finland, Horn took his place in the military college as rikstigmeister or head of the kingdom's artillery from the new year 1660. As the war with Denmark soon ended, Horn could concentrate on leading the artillery in peacetime. The guardian government appointed him the same year as lawman in Närke, but he seems to have paid the lawman's rate as early as 1658. In 1663, Horn was appointed governor-general of Bremen-Verden and field marshal, thereby leaving work in the military college. Horn, who was already ill upon his arrival in Stade, died there in 1666. He is buried in the Kanka Choir, which he built himself, in Turku Cathedral.