The Östergötland Cavalry Regiment (Swedish: Östgöta kavalleriregemente) was a Swedish Armycavalryregiment. Its origin came in the 16th century. In 1791, they were merged with another unit. The regiment's soldiers were recruited from the province of Östergötland.
History
The regiment has its origins in fänikor (companies) raised in Östergötland in the 16th century. In 1619, these units—along with fänikor from the nearby Jönköping County—were organised by Gustav II Adolf into Östergötlands storregemente. Sometime between 1623 and 1628, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller regiments, of which Östergötland Cavalry Regiment was one.
The regiment was officially raised in 1636 although it had existed since the 1620s. Östergötland Cavalry Regiment was one of the original 8 Swedish cavalry regiments mentioned in the 1634 Swedish constitution. The regiment's first commander was Hans Rotkirch. It was allotted in 1687.
Östgöta Cavalry Regiment merged with Östergötland Infantry Regiment in 1791 to form the Life Grenadier Regiment. The reorganisation and renaming to a "life grenadier" title of honour came in regard to the regiment's achievements during Gustav III's Russian War. Östgöta Cavalry Regiment was renamed to Livgrenadjärregementets rusthållsdivision and retained a degree of semi-independence.
^Östgöta Cavalry Regiment was never awarded any battle honours, but the successor unit 2nd Life Grenadier Regiment was awarded five such honours, of which all five battles were fought under the name of Östgöta Cavalry Regiment. These five battle honours were Breitenfeld (1631), Lützen (1632), Kliszow (1702), Warszawa (1705) and Malatitze (1708). The successor unit to 2nd Life Grenadier Regiment, Life Grenadier Regiment, in turn was awarded another six honours for battle that were fought under the name of Östgöta Cavalry Regiment. These six battle honours were Wittstock (1636), Leipzig (1642), Warszawa (1656), Fredriksodde (1657), Tåget över Bält (1658) and Svensksund (1790).