New reality day 248

We are on our way back home. Amadeus is better and hopefully not in terrible pain. The meds are helping better, but clearly he’s having difficulties. I’m glad he is now sleeping soundly in the backseat between Nelson and Buddha.

In the picture is statue from Iisalmi called Battler / Soldier of Skull Flow. Underneath is some history of the famous battle. There’s a legend of soldier called Sven Dufva who supposedly killed lots of Russians on the bridge of Koljonvirta (= Skull Flow).

Battle of the Skull Flow
27.10.1808
The battle begins
The ceasefire was announced to end at noon on October 27, and on the morning of that day, troops from both sides were ordered to prepare for battle.  In Iisalmi, the line of arms ran next to the church (now the Church of Gustav Adolf).  Finnish-Swedish troops were stationed on the west bank of the Koljonvirta bridge.  Sandels and his staff had settled in Fredriksdal manor (the current area of Koljonvirta Hospital).  The leader of the Russian troops in Koljonvirta was Prince Dolgoruki, who was prepared to attack the Koljonvirta as soon as the ceasefire ended.  At noon, the first shots and a trumpet from Iisalmi Church were heard.  The first attempt by the Russians to cross the bridge was stopped by Savo Jaegers.  Similarly, the plan of the Finnish-Swedish troops to completely destroy the Koljonvirta bridge failed.  The bridge had been set to be demolished in half, but loose planks had been placed on it so that the outposts could still pass through the bridge.

Dolgoruk's death
In the afternoon, the Russian pioneers managed to repair the bridge and move troops to the west side of the bridge, at which point the Savo Jaegers had to retreat towards Castle Hill.  More and more troops were allowed to be brought across the bridge by the Russians.  Prince Dolgoruki stopped with his horses in the middle of the battle waiting for the courier's letter.  The commander in place was the target of the Finnish-Swedish artillery fire.  It is probable that the cannonball shattered the prince in half, and his white cavalry took a message of mourning to the Russian troops.  The fall of the prince had a crippling effect on the fighting spirit of the Russian army.

Sandels' victory
Sandels allowed Russian troops to continue their advancement in the post-bridge bottleneck until they issued a counter-attack command at almost the last minute.  After the joint shooting of artillery and infantry weapons, three rows of Finns hiding behind Castle Hill struck the enemy and managed to defeat the Russian troops.  The attack was carried out with so-called cold weapons, a man struggling against a man with stabs.  The battle turned to Sandels' victory, but the artillery fire subsided on the bank of the stream only in the evening at 7 p.m.  The parties agreed on a 36-hour ceasefire and set out to mobilize their troops and care for their wounded.  After the Battle of the Skull Stream, the Sandels Brigade began retreating to Vieremä and Salahm on the morning of October 29, 1808.