Copy of the tsar’s rescript for reorganizing the Livonian national defence force

It soon emerged that the manor lords had contributed unfit and poorly armed men and substandard horses to the national defence force. Nor was a proper military use found for the national defence force troops; they were used mainly for building fortifications. On the request of governor general Paulucci, the tsar on 9 November issued an order reorganizing the Livonian national defence force into an 800-man Cossack regiment. Yet neither did the Cossack unit become a significant force and it was officially disbanded in March 1813.