FORTRESS SECURITY AND MILITARY JUSTICE AT LOUISBOURG, 1720-45

BY

MARGARET FORTIER

1980

Report H E 14

Fortress of Louisbourg

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PROCEDURES FOR SELECTING GUARDS

Each night when the password and orders were being given to the sergeants of each company and guardpost, the major would call out the names of the officers who would form the next day's guard. [1] Strictly speaking, the daily guard should have included a captain and a subaltern officer at each post. This was impossible, and probably not even necessary, at Louisbourg. However, while captains were permitted to rotate with the subalterns when circumstances warranted, there is no explanation of how this was done. It is likely that a list of all available officers was maintained, arranged in such a way that not more than one officer from any one company would be on guard duty on a given day. Five officers would be taken from the list in turn each day, starting over again at the top when the names were exhausted. No officer, however, would stand guard twice until all others had had a turn even if this meant that more than one of a company's officers was included in the guard roster.

The officers who were to mount the guard would go an hour before the guard change - that is, they would go at 2 P.M. in winter and 3 P.M. in summer to draw lots for the post they would command. The names of the various corps de garde were written on pieces of paper, and each officer selected one from a hat presented by the most junior officer present. The most senior officer picked first, but no-one was permitted to exchange posts among themselves. When the selection of a post was made, the major entered the name of the officer and the post he was to command in a register. Later that night the major, during his ronde major, would verify that each officer was where he was supposed to be. If an unauthorized change was discovered, the officers responsible were to be put in prison and ultimately cashiered. [2]

Similar procedures were followed by the non-commissioned officers. Those scheduled to mount the guard on a given day reported at 9 A.M. in order to draw the name of their post. As with the officers, their names and those of their posts were also entered by the major in his register. Similarly, if any changes were discovered, the offenders were to be tried by court martial and, if found guilty, sent to the galleys for life. Drummers mounted the guard with their captains, but those whose captains were not part of that day's guard drew lots for their posts in the same manner as non-commissioned officers. [3]

According to the ordinances, one-third of each company was to mount the guard each day. When a corporal drew lots for his guardpost, he was also drawing for that section of his company which was to be part of the day's guard. [4] In Louisbourg only a part of each company mounted guard while the rest worked on the fortifications. Whether or not the soldiers of each company who did guard duty were divided into three sections is not known. The limited number of available corporals would have further complicated the issue.

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