ONLY THE GOOD LORD KNOWS
- the death of a Swedish volunteer
by Benjamin T. Christensen

As a small follow up to yesterday’s article about the battle of Lundby on July 3rd 1864, today we bring you the story of what happened to one of the participants after the battle had ended.

Robert Emil Ekström was born in Värnersborg, Sweden on the 23rd of February 1840. He grew up in Göteborg, to where his parents moved just a few weeks after his birth. As one of the first Swedish officers he volunteered for the Danish army on the outbreak of the war against Prussia and Austria-Hungary and was accepted for duty on January 2nd 1864.

On the morning of July 3rd he was seriously injured at the battle of Lundby when hit in the head by a bullet, but was not taken prisoner by the Prussians who, in their hurry to leave the place after the battle, probably assumed him to be dead. Instead he and many other Danish soldiers who had hidden nearby in the fields and high grass, some even taking advantage of the chaos following the battle to sneak behind the enemy lines and hide inside a chicken house, were by the locals put on wagons and taken to the Danish field hospital in Nørresundby where he was nursed by the staff as well as several locals who took great interest in the wounded men, and did all that was possible to ease their suffering.

One local, the wife of factory owner Galster, writes in her diary:

“The shop and all of the adjoining apartment is filled with wounded, suffering, moaning men, of which a Swedish man appeared to be dead, doctors and everybody thinking him dead, as a bullet had gone through his head, and the bullet was cut out of the back of his head; but believe it or not, the poor man still lives and shortly another piece of iron was cut out of his head, and one piece of bone after the other is now coming out. Often the doctor assures of that he cannot live, and only the good Lord knows whether he will ever fully recover, whether he shall remain among the living.”

As it is obvious from the above quote Ekström’s injuries were too serious for him to survive. Never the less he held on for 6 weeks before died at 6 in the evening on August 15th. His battle against death had been followed by the whole town, who when death finally occurred collectively gathered the money needed for the funeral, and followed him on his last journey.

As a sign of gratitude his family in Götheborg, Sweden helped collect money for Nørresundby when large parts of the town burnt to the ground the following year.

Newspaper note. The text reads:

Notice

Let it hereby be brought to general knowledge that the Swedish volunteer Robert Emil Ekström who was seriously wounded at the skirmish at Lundby on 3 July, after six weeks of painful sufferings departed this life here in Nørresundby on Monday 15 August.

The funeral will take place at Nørresundby Church on Friday 19 August in the morning at 11 xxx [unreadable]

Nørresundby Vickarage

16 August 1864
T. Walter

Newspaper notes. The text reads:

Emil Ekstrøm

Swedish volunteer at the 1 regiment’s fifth company, seriously wounded at Lundby on 3 July, died in Nørresundby on 15 August 1864.

Never he in fight shall succumb
whom the Lord in his safe-keep has had;
Pray and love, and in hours of trial
you shall reap the victorious power of grace.

________

Nocices

My heartfelt, my innermost thanks to all who both in Nørresundby and Allborg and other places have shown my departed son, Robert Emil Ekström so much compassion and friendship! The memory of this will truly be kept with both me and my family and will be of great comfort to us in our deep grief.

Aalborg, 19 August 1864

Robert Wm. Ekström

of Göteborg.

The tombstone of Robert Emil Ekström.

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