Commander of Svartholm before the war had been Captain Carl Gustaf von Schoultz who had to tend with badly trained garrison of which only third could be armed with a functional weapon. Garrison had low morale and bad discipline which was not improved by the sudden change of commander as Major Carl Magnus Gripenberg assumed command on 15 February. However Gripenberg was not highly appreciated by his superiors or his subordinates. Effort was however made to prepare the fort for the war but war started long before work on the fortress would have been completed. Ammunition was in short supply especially for 12- and 18-pounder guns. There was also shortage of food which was further complicated by the fact that the drinking water was also limited as several of the wells had been found unusable.