Participation of appanage peasants of the Vologda Province in the Patriotic War and the Crimean War

The article is aimed at studying the participation of rural workers in the struggle against Napoleon during the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813 and the Crimean War of 1853–1856, focusing on the case of the appanage peasants of the Velsk and Totem uyezds of the Vologda Province. After Napoleon’s army invaded Russia, a battalion of volunteers was formed from the appanage of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, which participated in all major battles of 1813 in Europe. Peasants from the Spassky Prikaz of the Totem Uyezd participated in these campaigns of Russia’s first volunteer-based military unit, with one-third of them perishing. Building on the experience of 1813, a rifle regiment was established during the Crimean War, consisting primarily of volunteers from the appanage peasantry. Many villagers from the three appanage prikazs of the Velsk Uyezd also served as riflemen in this regiment. The rifle regiment was sent to guard the northern Black Sea region against possible enemy landings. However, typhus broke out in the unit, leading to significant casualties. As a result, more than half of the volunteers from the appanage peasantry of the Velsk Uyezd never returned to their families. Along with the riflemen, several hundred appanage peasants from the Velsk Uyezd volunteered as warriors, who were expected to be deployed in the event of a major British and French invasion of the White Sea coast. The mortality rate among these warriors was one in twenty, which was significantly lower than the losses among the volunteers of 1813 and 1855–1856. Furthermore, the youngest volunteers were the appanage warriors of 1813, while the oldest were the riflemen and warriors of 1855–1856.