Lennart Torstensson (1603-1651) became one of Sweden's greatest military heroes during the Thirty Years' War. He led Swedish artillery forces at two notable battles in the early 1630s. For the next several years, Torstensson commanded vast numbers of troops during battles and sieges stretching from the forests of Silesia (now Poland) to the Danish peninsula to as far south as Vienna. In his native land he was the celebrated war hero called "Blixten," or "lightning" in Swedish.

Torstensson was born on August 17, 1603 at his family's castle, Torstena, in West Goteborg, the southern part of Sweden. Torstena was near Vanersborg, a town on Lake Vaner. Adopted as an infant and raised by his grandmother, as a result of his father's forced exile, Torstensson was also brought up by a paternal uncle who paid for his schooling. He proved to be an intelligent youth, as well as disciplined and obedient...