6,500 horse under his command; Wallenstein's army is believed by good authorities to have been considerably superior in numbers. The night was spent in preparation for battle. The morning of the 6th broke foggy, and when the mists rose, about 10 o'clock, the Swedes were seen kneeling in their ranks. They sang Luther's hymn, Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott, and a hymn composed by the king, and then charged the enemy, Gustavus leading the right wing and Bernhard of Weimar the left. The imperialists were driven from their strong intrenchments, but meanwhile Pappenheim arrived with a body of cavalry from Halle, and the Swedes were turned back in confusion. Gustavus rallied them, and with a small body of horse rode forward to support the infantry in a fresh attack; but approaching too near a squadron of imperial cuirassiers, he received a shot in the arm, and as he turned to be led away another in the back which caused him to fall from the saddle. His horse, which had been wounded in the neck, dragged him some distance by the stirrup, and galloping riderless back to the ranks roused the Swedes to fury. Led by Bernhard of Weimar, they rushed forward with an impetuosity which nothing could resist. Pappenheim fell mortally wounded, and Wallenstein at last ordered a retreat. The dead body of the king was found covered with wounds. After having been embalmed at Weissenfels, it was carried to Stockholm, and there interred in the church of Riddarholms. It was believed that the duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, the king's cousin, who was with him when he fell, and a few days afterward went over to the Austrians, inflicted the wound in the back of which Gustavus died.—Gustavus inherited the commanding presence, eloquence, and accomplishments of his grandfather. He aimed at great conquests, but the extent of his ambition can hardly be conjectured. He owed his success in battle to strict discipline and the ardor with which he inspired his soldiers. His magnanimity, clemency to the vanquished, and respect for the religious opinions of others, compelled the esteem of his enemies. Though eminently a warlike king, he devoted much time to the internal affairs of Sweden; he encouraged commerce and manufactures, made excellent regulations for the mines, and endowed the university of Upsal. He is regarded as the Protestant hero of Germany, and in 1832, on the 200th anniversary of his death, was founded the “Gustavus Adolphus union.” Up to the close of 1868 this society had expended about 2,325,000 thalers in the support of new and poor Protestant congregations. Gustavus was married in 1620 to Maria Eleonore of Brandenburg, whose court he had visited in disguise for the purpose of choosing a wife. Their daughter Christina was his successor.
GUSTAVUS III., king of Sweden, eldest son and successor of King Adolphus Frederick and Ulrica Louisa, princess of Prussia, born in Stockholm, Jan. 24, 1746, died there, March 29, 1792. He was educated under the superintendence of Counts Tessin and Scheffer. His ambitious tendencies early awakened the anxiety of these noblemen, who vainly attempted to restrain and correct his disposition. On his accession to the throne, Feb. 12, 1771, the state was divided between two sordid and corrupt factions. They were the “Hats” and “Caps,” or “France and Commerce,” against “Agriculture and Russia.” Under Adolphus the Hats had obtained the predominance, and proposed to subvert the constitution by force, and to rescue the country from the domination of the nobles. Gustavus, who at the time of his father's death was travelling on the continent, procured from the French government a promise of aid and support against the aristocratic party. Hastening to Sweden, he labored to obtain popularity, while his emissaries propagated disaffection to the diet. Having matured his scheme, Gustavus confided the secret to a favorite officer, Hellichius, who shut the city gates of Christianstad, and published a manifesto against the diet. The place was immediately invested by government troops, while Stockholm was declared under martial law. Gustavus, having secured the support of the troops, posted a guard over the assembled senators, harangued the people on the great square, entered the hall with a strong guard, and produced a new constitution, which was immediately approved and confirmed by subscription and oath. The diet acquiesced; and thus, on Aug. 21, 1772, without the loss of a single life, a revolution was accomplished. The government he created was better than that of the oligarchy he had overthrown, though the royal power was increased. In 1783 he went abroad again, visited Italy, and passed some time in Paris. During his absence a famine made great havoc, the people were disturbed, the nobility rose against him, and the diet forced him to make concessions. The king, who in 1772 was the idol of the nation, had become in 1787 an object of detestation. War was now employed to stimulate loyalty. Gustavus secretly ordered a march upon St. Petersburg, and, having quelled an uprising of the nobles, secured extraordinary powers, and at the head of a body of Dalecarlian peasants repulsed the Danes who menaced Gothenburg, he began in person a vigorous campaign against Russia. The war continued with varying success for upward of two years, and was terminated by a peace on terms honorable to Gustavus after the Swedish naval victory of Swenkasund, July 9-10, 1790. Dissatisfied, however, with the result of the war, he resolved to take part in restoring the power of Louis XVI., and aimed at heading a Swedish, Russian, Prussian, and Austrian coalition for the invasion of France. He went to Spa and Aix-la-Chapelle to concert measures, but before his plans were matured he was shot at a bal masque in Stockholm by Anckarstroem, the instrument of a conspiracy
