So I went to an old music store a few miles from my house. The guy trades in all kinds of old sheet music, and what not. So I'm digging through the bins he has stacked against a back wall. I had gone through four or five of them. I asked the old guy behind the counter if he had some old marching songs in sheet music. He says" Sure should be in the bottom crate in the corner over there." So I remove the 5 crates stacked on top and start digging. Most of it was Sousa but then I found this march called the Battle of Narva, I almost fell over it mentions Sweden! So I asked the guy if he can hold it for me and rushed home to look it up and this is what I have found!
"On
November 30,
1700 (November 20 in the Swedish transitional calendar), Charles XII positioned his 8,140 men opposite the besieging Russian army of about 37,000 troops. The Swedish army was commanded personally by Charles XII, assisted by General
Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld. The Russian forces were commanded by Tsar Peter and
Charles Eugène de Croy. Claiming important "domestic events" in Russia to attend to, Peter had left Narva in fear just days before and was therefore not present during the actual fighting.
For much of the day, a blizzard engulfed both armies, making attacks impossible. However, at midday, the winds changed and the snowstorm blew directly into the eyes of the Russians. Charles XII saw his opportunity and advanced on the Russian army under cover of the weather. The Swedes quickly broke through the Russian lines in several places, scattering their opponents, who could offer little resistance. In the chaos, some of the Russian soldiers killed their foreign officers, whom they hated. At one crucial point, a bridge over river Narva collapsed under retreating Russian troops. The bulk of the Russian army was trapped on the Estonian side of the river.
At dawn, it was clear that the Swedish army had won a stunning victory, but the force was relatively small and they had advanced on Narva in marches with scarce supplies for two days. One Swedish cavalry officer suddenly found himself in front of a fully armed Russian infantry company. He signed to them to lay down their arms, and they obliged. The Swedish troops discovered not only food in the Russian camp, but also liquor. Drunkenness broke out in the Swedish ranks. Nevertheless, the Swedish command managed to retain basic control of the army, however the overall number of Russian prisoners of the war were far to great to handle for the Swedish force. Consequently, common soldiers and NCO's were disarmed and sent back to Russia. Only Russian officers were made prisoners of war. In the end the Russian army was utterly defeated and the Swedes retained Narva.
The Russian surrender brought to Charles XII's army all of Peter's cannons, muskets and military supplies. This left Russia's remaining armed forces with essentially no equipment. If Sweden, or any other aggressor, had invaded Russia immediately after Narva, Peter would have been almost powerless to stop them."
So I went back to the store to buy it for a dollar!! Now my question is, would this be ok for a Sweden's field march? If not I only spent a buck, and it will add to my research. Let me know what you guys (and Gals) think!