Sven Svensson Skute Historical Background

Sven Svensson Skute, was an ambitious young Swedish commander who rose to prominence at a young age. Known for his strategic prowess and battlefield bravery, Skute played a pivotal role in several regional conflicts. Later in his career, he changed loyalties to the Dutch. Sven Svensson Skute’s legacy lives on as a skilled military leader whose contributions left an indelible mark on Sweden’s history in the colonies.

Life Events & Timeline of Sven Svensson Skute

• 1623: Born in Kronoby, Österbotten, Finland
• c. 1641 Sven Skute serves as a lieutenant with the Åbo and Björneborg County cavalry in Sweden. 
• August 17, 1642: marries Anna Johansdotter Skute in Stockholm, Sweden
• At 20, leaving his wife behind, he accompanies Governor Printz to New Sweden and receiving his first command of 50 soldiers, and is charged with building Fort Elfsburg.
• 1644 At 22, he fires on and boards English Governor Winthrop’s ship from New England. 
• 1648 Skute leads a militia force to prevent a Dutch settlement on the Schuylkill River.
• Summer of 1650, Governor Printz orders Sven Skute to return to Sweden with letters pleading for assistance.
• Arriving in November 1650, he didn’t secure an audience with Queen Christina until March 1651. He reports only 70 men remain in New Sweden and more settlers and supplies were desperately needed.
• Queen Christina is slow in responding to the plea. Finally, in August 1653, she charges him to find 250 new settlers and rewards him for his service. Promoting him to captain she also issues him extensive land patents in present day South and West Philadelphia. She also appoints Johan Classon Risingh, to take over as Governor of the colony.
• May 20th, 1654 his ship reaches Fort Elfsborg, finding it in ruins and deserted. The next day, Skute led three squads of musketeers ashore and captured Fort Casamir (New Castle) without resistance from the Dutch who were out of gunpowder.
• June 1654, Governor Risingh refuses to honor Skute’s land grants.
• Sept 4, 1654, His son, Johan Swenson Skute, is born in New Castle, Delaware
• 1655. Outnumbered 5 or 6 to 1, Captain Skute surrenders Fort Trinity to Dutch commander Peter Stuyvesant. Having acted honorably, the Dutch allowed the Swedish officers to remain after swearing a new oath of allegiance to Holland. They also confirm Skute’s land deed from Queen Christiana.
• March 25, 1660: Skute’s daughter, Magdalena Rambo Schuylkil, is born in New Sweden, New York.
• 1664: Skute’s daughter, Gertrude Skute, named after his half-sister, is born.
• 1665: Skute dies at only 43 in Philadelphia.

The Historical Fort Älvsborg (aka Elfsborg)

Skute helped to build and later garrison  Fort Älvsborg along the Delaware River. It was meant to serve as a deterrent to incoming English or Dutch ships.

“[We] sailed landward, to the fort, which was not quite completed; it was made in the English fashion, with three points close by the side of the river and there lay six or eight metal pieces on it, of twelve pound iron.”

written by David Pietersz de Vries when he visited Delaware in 1643

A year later, in 1644, Johan Printz reported that “Elfsborg [was] now (especially on the one side) [..] so secure that there is no need to fear any attack (if it is not entirely too severe).” At this point, the fort had a garrison of 16 men, commanded by Sven Sküte. Enough to deter skirmishers, but not enough to hold off a full-scale invasion.

Fort Nya Elfborg was “ordinarily garrisoned with twelve men and a lieutenant; four twelve-pounders, both iron and brass, and one pots-hooft [an artillery piece fashioned from iron instead of being cast].” … “[It was] constructed of earthworks.” 

A report by Andries Hudde

Unfortunately, the land selected for the original fort was located on low, marshy ground. It was ridden with mosquitos and gnats to the point that the garrisoned soldiers nicknamed it Myggenborg, or Mosquito Castle. the infestation led to several soldiers becoming afflicted with disease. It was later abandoned and rebuilt elsewhere.

I was unable to find artwork or blueprints for the fort. However, it is likely similar to Fort Casimir, a Swedish fort built further upriver.

It may also have been similar to Fort Orange. While Fort Orange was built by the Dutch, it was built in a similar design common for the era.

Sven Svensson Skute Artwork

Try as I may, I was unable to find any artwork that featured poor Sven. If anyone knows of the existence of anything, let me know in the comments below. As a substitute, I tried to pull some art from historical Swedish uniforms of the 1600-1650s timeframe as inspiration for painting. Here are a few:

Sven Svensson Skute Miniature

Due to the lack of artwork of this Swedish colonial commander, we’ll have to use some Sherlock Holmes-style deductive reasoning to come up with some ideas on how to build the mini. Here’s a short list of what we can deduce:

Attributes of Sven

• He attacked a British ship belonging to an English Governor and repeatedly stood up to challenges above the norm for someone his age. His Aggressive Commander attribute is well deserved. Because of that, I wanted to use a pose with him running or leaning forward leading the charge.
• As a Militia commander and based on the options available to the Swedish Militia a Musket is probably more fitting than a Brace of Pistols.
• Historically, he was a Swedish Cavalry commander, so I wanted to make him a mounted commander. But after digging into the force building options, you can’t take cavalry as Swedish Militia. You can take Cavalry as the Dutch North American Militia, but only as a Support Unit. And Commanders can’t join support units so there isn’t a legal way to get him into the game as mounted.
• Because of his young age and high rank, I thought he came from privilege and money. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. His father Sven Gunnarsson Skute was sent to to New Sweden in America as punishment. The reason for the punishment is unknown but may likely have been debts/bankruptcy or possibly adultery as Sven has a different mother than his siblings. The lack of wealth steers me from the fancy jackets of a Soldier and toward the Militia models.
• He marries a woman 16 years younger than him. That means he was likely a combination of ambitious, handsome, charming, or… he managed to build up a fair amount of wealth in a short time. The former likely helped with the later since he was given a sizeable land grant by the queen.

How To Kitbash a Custom Sven Svensson Skute Commander Miniature for Blood & Plunder

Sven is a commander in in a minor power, so unfortunately he hasn’t reached the point of having the stature to justify his own miniature sculpt. But that means we get to build our a unique mini with an extra cool factor. This model is pretty simple to make and just uses bits from the Militia and Sailor boxed sets.

Parts List

• Body – Militia E3
• Left Arm – Sailor E5
• Right Arm – Sailor B2
• Pistols – Sailor Pistol P33 or P34
• Head – Militia E8
• Hat – Militia G10
• Musket – Militia, I trimmed the hands and wick off one of a spare Matchlock muskets. If you face it towards his back when you glue it on it can hide any trim markings.

How To Modifications

• Before I got very far in the process (once the right leg was attached, but before the arms were attached) I hit the left leg with a heat gun for 3-4 seconds and pressed the mini against the base so it angled his ankle and gave the mini in a more forward-leaning pose on a single foot. He’s got a bit of that old green army men charging pose.
• Trim the knob on the top of the head and bend the ponytail down so the hat fits.
• Trim both shoulders and the arms a bit to get them to align and point forward.

Assembled Sven Svensson Skute Miniature

Here is the unprimed kitbash:

And here are some some pics of a very poorly primed version:

Painting the Sven Svensson Skute Miniature

Sven starts his history as a Swedish Militia officer before joining the Dutch so I went with the Swedish yellow with a blue accent on his scarf and hat band to match the colors of the national flag.

How To Kitbash a Custom Mounted Sven Svensson Skute Commander Miniature for Blood & Plunder

I know he’s not legal as a mounted commander, but I couldn’t resist.

Parts List

• Horse – Cavalry H1 thru H7
• Body – Cavalry B20
• Rider Legs – Cavalry H1-4 and H1-5
• Right Arm – Sailors A5
• Right Hand/Pistol – Sailors P39
• Left Arm – Sailors P37
• Left Hand/Pistol – Sailors P39
• Head – Sailors P22
• Hat – Militia G10

How To Modifications

This mini is super simple, it’s really just a reassembly of parts with minimal modifications

• I trimmed the back of the jacket off A LOT to be able to sit the model as upright as possible.
• Trim the neck on the Head to get it to line up with the body.
• Trim the knob on the top of the head so the hat fits.

Painted Mounted Version of the Model

Commander Stats Breakdown for Sven Svensson Skute’s in Blood & Plunder

Historically, Sven Svensson Skute was a Sweden Cavalry and Militia commander. In 1655, he surrendered to and changed allegiances to the Dutch. As a Commander in Blood & Plunder, he can lead both the Swedish Militia and Dutch North American Militia.

He is a bit expensive as a commander but has 3 command points and a 16″ Command Radius! Meaning, if he is near the center of the board, he should be able to give command points and invoke his bonuses on almost any unit on the table. A 16″ range is typically reserved for highly effective and legendary commanders so this is a testament to his ability to command men.

Special Rules Breakdown

He has only 2 special rules, but they are perfect for the units he can command.

Aggressive Commander: All friendly units within this Commander’s Command Range gain the Hard Chargers Special Rule. (Hard Chargers – When charging, this unit receives a -1 bonus to the Fight Test for the free Fight action.)

This ability is why I call him a certified butt kicker! All units within his 16″ inch “command range gain the Hard Chargers Special Rule. Deployed and moved properly he gives a -1 bonus to the Fight actions of your ENTIRE army.

While the majority of his troops are “weak”, they are inexpensive and you can make up for quality with quantity. This ability gives both the European Militia and European Pikemen a Fight 5 on a charge.
Tactic 1: Try staggering your Militia in two rows and leapfrogging forward as go. This allows you to recycle the unit at the front so that you are spreading casualties as you close. Unit A does a Move through Unit B to the front, Shoot, Reload. Unit B then moves through Unit A to the front, Shoots and reloads. Then use Command Pointss to do the other Reloads on a different card. Rinse and repeat till you are close enough to Charge.
Tactic 2: Do a more slow as you Half Shoot. You can slowly close on your enemy as you can take a half Shoot. Move, and Reload on an activation. The number of shots down range is lower but with large blobs of 3pt models you can still keep a heavy amount of fire going.

Inspiring: All friendly units within the Command Range of this commander may reroll any failed Rally test results when the commander’s unit is active.

This is a fitting special ability for Skute as he seemed to be able to be well-spoken of by his leaders and capable of leading men, even at a young age. As most of his available units are Inexperienced Militia you will want to Push to give them extra actions. Inspiring will help you periodically Rally to keep the Fatigue down and keep your units shooting at maximum speed.

Force Lists With Sven Svensson Skute

Here are some prebuilt Blood & Plunder forces featuring Capt Sven as the commander that you can use in your own games.

150pts Swedish Militia – Amphibious Force

This a small amphibious assault force that could be used to represent an attack on Governor Winthrops English ship. Historically, Gov Winthrop was sailing up the Delaware in a pinnace (a Tartana is a good proxy) and the conflict was bloodless, but it could have gone VERY differently. So if you wanted to have an ahistorical conflict you could fight it out I’ve made forces for both sides of the encounter below.

Skute is overpriced for a commander at this scale, but if you pair him with the cheaper Militia you can still keep your model count high. And despite them being Inexperienced, the 3 command points and taking Push actions will keep everyone firing.

Force Setup & Strategy

• Longboat 1
  • Skute + a 6 Man Militia Squad and the 5 European Soldiers
• Longboat 2: Two 6-man Militia units one w/a Sharpshooter
  • I like to half shoot so you get the bonus on each Shoot. You may not fire as quick, but it’s better quality.
• Longboat 3: A 6-man Militia Unit

https://forcebuilder.bloodandplunder.com/index.php?builder&forceid=08247c20

Gov. Winthrop’s Force

I couldn’t find specific details to give hints on the governors’s retinue, other than they were traveling aboard a pinnace on a scouting mission.

https://forcebuilder.bloodandplunder.com/index.php?builder&forceid=551cf76f

200pt Swedish Militia – Land Force

In his first command after arriving in New Sweden, Lt Skute receives command of 50 Militia. This force is meant to simulate his first command when he was given command of 50 men and is actually configured with 50 men under his command.

Force Setup & Strategy

• The Standard Bearer with the command unit.
• Put the Officer in one of the other European Militia units deployed away from the main Commader.
• The Grizzled Vet in any one of the European Militia units not containing Sven or the Officer.
• This force features a large number of Inexperienced models. You will be short on actions to be able to reload quickly, but you will make up for it in the volume of fire. Keep your command unit in the center to be able to dole out the command points as necessary.
• Use Push often for extra actions via Fatigue, and Rally regularly to shed Fatigue early in the game.
• Your units have a high Shoot Save and will die quickly when fired upon. I recommend keeping the units in groups of two for mutual support. If one gets chewed up or Fatigued, move the other unit in front to protect it while it rallies and recovers.
• Take advantage of Drilled on the first Shoot, using Clubs and Diamonds for pluses to Shoot Actions, then use command actions to Reload. Alternatively, half Shoot every round for continuous smaller bursts.
• As Militia, your Resolve is low, so Fatigue can accumulate quickly. The Reformado provides Rally actions, and the Standard Bearer, Grizzled Vet, and Officer can help manage Fatigue with Rally actions.

An army with 51 models and 8 activation cards is a force to be reckoned with. You will take casualties, but you will also inflict them heavily. Having 8 Cards helps you control the turn order and ket off key shots when needed or to delay in order to bring the enemy closer.

Alternatively, you can reconfigure this force to combine some of the 6-man units into larger 12 man units. This allows you to take fuller advantage of the Drilled ability. Using a well-timed Club on an initial 12-13 Musket volley can be devastating, especially if you are able to hold out till you are within 12″ of your opponent.

https://forcebuilder.bloodandplunder.com/index.php?builder&forceid=18f34ddf

200pt Dutch North American Militia Land Force

In 1655 Skute was forced to surrender and changed his allegiance from New Sweden to the Dutch. This force is one that embraces the Dutch units. This is a bit of a finesse force with a varied range of units and capabilities.

Force Setup & Strategy

• Sven joins either the Soldaten or Boslopers
• The Officer joins one of the Militie Units and the Grizzled Vet joins the other.
  • As Inexperienced, Push to gain actions for Fatigue. Use the Grizzled Vet to Rally and recover.
• With the Hard Chargers gained from Skute, the Soldaten have a Fight 4 which makes them extremely deadly in close range. Upgraded to Veteran, this unit can move quickly and hit hard.
• The Militie Cavalerie is another specialized unit that should remain in cover or out of line of sight until it’s ready to attack. Once an enemy unit has 2+ Fatigue, race in and finish them off.
• Boslopers are Dutch woodsmen who specialize in hit-and-run tactics. Next to the Enter Ploeg, they are one of my favorite Dutch units. Using Skirmishers (when activated on a spade or a heart) allows you to Move, Shoot, then take a free Move back; or Charge, then Move back after the free Fight action is resolved.

https://forcebuilder.bloodandplunder.com/index.php?builder&forceid=fcacf322

200pts Dutch North American Militia Land Force

This is a very basic and straightforward list without a lot of bells & whistles. It plays very similar to the previous list but instead trades the Fighting Men for more bodies. It comes with a larger single Militie unit and swaps the other for a unit of Boslopers for greater movement.

• Put Sven in with the Soldaten for survivability.
• Keep the Soldaten and Militia in roughly the center pouring large volleys of fire and providing mutual defense and then harass from the flanks or terrain with the other 3 units.
• 1 unit of Boslopers has Thrown Weapons and the other doesn’t. Keep that in mind when deploying. Use one as a harassing unit of muskets and the other ready to charge into Melee.
• The Soldaten have Plud Bayonets to deter enemy melee and lead your own charge once things get going.

https://forcebuilder.bloodandplunder.com/index.php?builder&forceid=29c414e3

300pt Swedish Militia – Amphibious Defense Force

Fort Elfsburg, was a Swedish-style three-cornered redoubt with six to eight iron and brass 12pd cannons mounted on earth and wooden palisades. This force recreates a historical force that could have represented the defense force in the region.

This would be a good force for playing the Amphibious Breakthrough scenario from the Core Rules book or the Raze Scenario featured in the No Peace Beyond the Line Expansion book.  

Force Setup & Strategy

• Create a 3 point redoubt with the center Palisade facing the waterfront.
  • 3 Palisade Corners = 15pts
  • 7 Palisade Straight Walls = 14pts (stretch the rear wall to make an isosceles triangle)
  • Total: 29pts
• Put 2 Heavy guns on the center Bastion and 1 on each of the other two.
• The Master Gunner should go on the center bastion with the largest Artillery Crew.
• The Militia should be dispersed throughout the fort.
• Place Skute and the Officer on opposite walls between the bastions

https://forcebuilder.bloodandplunder.com/index.php?builder&forceid=8efacfc2

BONUS FORCE: Swedish Militia Troop of Horse

By the standard rules, this force is completely illegal and not possible to build. Skute served in the cavalry before coming to New Sweden. He also engaged with cavalry during patrols in New Sweden. This force uses the Dutch Caribbean Militia faction as possible Swedish Cavalry and puts the points for Skute in (pull his stats from elsewhere)

https://forcebuilder.bloodandplunder.com/index.php?builder&forceid=d173b8e2

Final Thoughts on Sven Svensson Skute

In conclusion, Captain Sven Skute is a fascinating historical figure and a formidable commander in the game of Blood & Plunder. His aggressive offensive skill and ability to inspire his men make him a valuable addition to any militia force. If you’re looking for a commander who can lead your Swedish or Dutch troops to victory, consider adding Captain Sven Skute to your roster.

Suggested Additional Reading

• How To Create a custom Benjamin Hornigold commander model
• How To Create a custom Henry Jennings commander model
• Check out this guide to assembling the new multi-part plastic models from Raise the Black
• Building 24 Unique Sailors from the Blood & Plunder Starter Kit

Related Products

• Infantry Kitbashed mini requirements
  • Militia Boxed Set – The core body, head & hat for the model
  • Sailors or the Blood & Plunder Blackbeard vs. Maynard 2 Player Starter Box (Contains Blackbeard, 2 ships, and 24 crew models) – the arms and weapons
• The Cavalry model kitbash requires a box of plastic Cavalry, Militia and Sailor bits.
• Blood & Plunder: No Peace Beyond the Line = contains the rules for Sven Svensson Skute and his factions
• Palisade – If you want to play with the 300pt historical force featuring Fort Elfsborg you’ll need a Palisade Fort and Bastions

The article, kitbashed models, and miniature painted by Jason Klotz

References:

1. Historical biography of Capt. Sven Svensson Skute
   https://www.geni.com/people/Capt-Sven-Skute/6000000004881586590
2. Sven Gunnarsson Skute, Sr. – Sven’s Father’s historical biography
   https://www.geni.com/people/Sven-Skute-Sr/6000000000024957738
3. https://www.philart.net/person/Captain_Sven_Skute/248.html
4. Swedish Colonial News https://colonialswedes.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SCSJournal_1993-Fall.pdf
5. Fort Nya Elfborg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Nya_Elfsborg
6. Atlas of Mutual Heritage “Elfsborg, fort (Salem)”
   https://www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl/en/page/9582/elfsborg-fort-salem