Justice
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Researching the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of
Canada
Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du
Canada
The Administration Of Justice At The Fortress Of Louisbourg (1713-1758)
Punishments
According to the Encyclopédie of Diderot and D'Alembert, military punishments had once been very severe, but "this severity has gradually reduced". [1] By 20th century standards those punishments imposed in the mid-18th century still seem extremely harsh, yet they were not inflicted out of a sense of cruelty, but rather in the belief that such penalties were absolutely necessary in order to maintain discipline within the ranks. Deterrence by example was the primary motive behind all corporal punishment. It was for this reason that comrades of the accused were usually made to carry out the sentence before the assembled garrison. Both this witnessing of the punishment by the troops and the display of an executed soldier's corpse were to permit the victim's comrades to "learn from his example" and thus avoid the same fate. [2]
While the penalties were rigorous, excessive bloodshed was frowned upon. For this reason the ordinances provided that whenever more than two deserters were to be executed at one time, the men should draw lots; the unhappy loser being executed as sentenced, while the "winners" were sent to serve on the galleys for life. [3] Such a situation occurred in Louisbourg in 1736 when three men who had deserted in June were captured and tried for their crime. One was executed, two went to the galleys. [4]
Executions and lesser corporal punishments in the military were generally carried out by soldiers, except when the sentence was hanging. For this the services of an executioner were required. If none was available, the accused would be shot by a firing squad of his fellow soldiers and his dead body placed on the gallows for exhibition. The only other occasion on which the executioner was required was when the condemned man was to have his hand cut off prior to his execution, a circumstance which arose when a soldier struck or physically threatened an officer. [5]
Between 1720 and 1745 at least eight soldiers were executed for the crime of desertion at Louisbourg, while three were sent to the galleys for life - two for desertion, one for threatening his sergeant with a gun in the guardhouse. All those executed seem to have been shot. There is no way of determining to what degree punishments were imposed for less serious crimes, but there is mention of soldiers being put in the dungeon with their legs in irons, being made to pass "par les baguettes," and being made to mount the wooden horse. [6]
Passer par les armes - this was one of the most common
sentences imposed on soldiers convicted of desertion or other c4pital
offenses. It was, in reality, death by firing squad. Once the Conseil
de Guerre had reached its decision with regard to punishment, the
order would be given for the drummers to sound La Générale to
assemble the troops to witness the execution. When the troops had
gathered, the drums would beat Le Ban after which the major,
with his hat off, would warn in a loud voice: "De par le Roy,
defense sous peine de la vie de crier grâce." The sentence would
then be read at the head of the troops. The sergeant of the convicted
man's company would blindfold his eyes while six or eight soldiers
removed the bayonets from their guns. On the major's command, those
soldiers standing to the victim's right would fire at his head, those
to his left , at his heart. All the troops would file past the corpse
before returning to their quarters. [7]
Casser la tête - according to Wilcox' dictionary of
French military terms, this expression meant "to shoot a
soldier," and it does seem to have been used interchangeably with
"passer par les armes" by the French at Louisbourg. [8] How
the expression originated is not known, but it does not refer to
breaking the head of a man with the butt ends of muskets as is
sometimes supposed.
Hanging - soldiers were sentenced to be hanged only if
the services of an executioner were available. In such cases the
troops would be assembled by La Générale and the sentence
would be read. As the soldier to be hanged was brought before the
assembled garrison, the drums would sound Aux Champs. The sergeant of
the man's company would arm him "from head to foot; he holds the
butt of the musket in his right hand and says: Finding you unworthy of
bearing arms , we degrade you therefrom...." The sergeant would
then take the soldier's musket from him from behind and require him to
pass his accoutrements to him with his feet. This done, the sergeant
would retire and the executioner would proceed with his job.[9]
Galleys - after the death penalty, the most dreaded
sentence a soldier could receive was perpetual servitude on the French
galleys in the Mediterranean, a sentence which carried "civil
death" and the confiscation of all the man's possessions. Those
condemned to the galleys were branded with the letters GAL so that
they might be recognized as "previous- offenders" should
they escape. Any man who mutilated himself in order to be physically
unable to serve on the galleys was to be put to death. A limited term
on the galleys did not carry the same "civil death" or
confiscation of property, but it is not clear if those receiving such
a sentence were also branded. [10]
Banishment - like a life sentence to the galleys,
banishment from France meant "civil death" and loss of
property. [11] It is not certain under what circumstances such a
sentence was imposed. Several people, military and civilian, were
banished from Ile Royale for civil offenses, but there was no
indication if they were also forbidden to go to France or if they
would suffer the loss of any possessions other than those in the
colony. However, one soldier, Pierre Cournoyer, whose offence was not
specified in the correspondence, was banished from Ile Royale to the
Windward Islands and told that he could not, under any circumstances,
return to France. If he attempted to return, the authorities warned,
his original sentence, presumably death, would be carried out. It is
likely that Cournoyer came from an influential family who had been
able to have his sentence commuted. [12]
Passer par les baguettes - since it did not ordinarily result in death this punishment could be imposed without recourse by a Conseil de Guerre. Depending on the severity of the soldier's offence, the penalty could be inflicted once or on several succeeding days. It was not thought necessary to call out all the troops to witness this punishment; it was sufficient to have a detachment of men there to report back to their comrades. 13
To carry out the punishment a corporal "de corvée" and
two soldiers of the guilty man's company were commaded
beforehand to to "couper les baguettes," which they carried to
the corps de garde or guérite nearest the place where the
punishment was to be meted out. The victim was then led to the spot by a
sergeant and four soldiers. Each soldier in the two lines through which
the man was to pass either picked up a "baguette" or removed the
sling from his gun, which might be used instead. [14] When the soldier to
be punished arrived at the end of the double line, he would strip to the
waist. The extremities of the lines would be closed by the soldiers who
had escorted him there. While he passed between the lines the drummers,
standing behind the escorts at either end of the lines, would beat La
Charge. When, instead of a soldier, this penalty was administered to a
fille de mauvaise vie, the drums would beat Les Marionettes.
[15]
Cheval de Bois - for minor offences a soldier might be given the uncomfortable penalty of sitting for a period of time each day for a month on a device which resembled a wooden horse. According to the Encyclopédie, this device sometimes had a carving of a horse's head attached. The cheval de bois was constructed of two planks which were joined in such a way as to form a point in the middle atop two tressles of sufficient height to prevent the "rider's" feet from reaching the ground. On some occasions, guns would be hung from the man's legs, the extra weight making the experience even more painful. The soldier, punished in this way, was exposed to public view and ridicule. To assure maximum exposure as a public spectacle, the soldier so sentenced would mount the wooden horse each day at the hour the guard was mounted; 4 P.M. in summer and 3 P.M. in winter. [16] The cheval de bois in Louisbourg was probably located somewhere near the guardhouse of the Place D'Armes.
[Endnotes: Puinishments, 1 Diderot et D'Alembert, Encyclopédie ..., Tome 3, p. 250. Original quotes: "cette sévérité s'est insensiblement adouci"; "prend exemple"; 2 D'Hericourt, Elemens De L'Art Militaire, Vol. 2, pp. 234-35; A.N., Colonies, C11B, Vol. 23, fols. 60-64, 19 octobre 1741; ibid., B, Vol. 74, fols. 557-57v., 6 juin 1742; A.N., Marine, C7-50, dossier personnel of François Joseph Cailly, fols. 18-19, 22 décembre 1741; A.N., Colonies, B, Vol. 48-2, fols. 964-65, 25 juillet 1725; ibid., Vol. 74, fol. 579v., 11 juin 1742; 3 Côde Militaire, Vol. 1, pp. 159-60; D'Hericourt, Elemens De L'Art Militaire, Vol. 2, p. 233; 4 Côde Militaire, Vol. 1, p. 281*; D'Hericourt, Elemens De L'Art Militaire, Vol. 2, pp. 156, 234; Diderot et D'Alembert, Encyclopédie .... Tome IV, p. 800; 5 A.N., Colonies, C11B, Vol.,5, fols. 242-60, 26 janvier 1720; ibid., Vol. 7, fols. 14-19v., 16 novembre 1724; ibid., B, Vol. 59-2, fol. 540, 2 juin 1733; ibid., C11B, Vol. 18, fols. 357-60v., 4 août 1736; ibid., fols. 289-94, 6 novembre 1736; ibid., B, Vol. 74, fol. 579v., 11 juin 1742; ibid., C11B, Vol. 22, fols. 128-31v., 1 novembre 1740; 6 D'Hericourt, Elemens De L'Art Militaire, Vol. 2, pp. 234-35; William Duane, A Military Dictionary. (Philadelphia, 1810), Vol. 2, p. 513; Willcox, A French-English Military .. Dictionary, p. 313; 7 Willcox, A French-English Military ... Dictionary, p.449; Diderot et D'Alembert, Encyclopédie ..., Tome IV, p. 880; A.N., Colonies, C11B, Vol. 6, fols. 79-96v., 7 juillet 1722; ibid., Vol. 7, fols. 78-93, 18 octobre 1724; 8 D'Hericourt, Elemens De L'Art Militaire, Vol. 2, p. 234; 9 Diderot et D'Alembert, Encyclopédie ..., Tome VII, pp. 440-41. Quote: "de pied en cap; il tient de la main droite la Crosse du fusil & lui dit: te trouvant indigne de porter les armes, nous t'en degradons; 10 Ibid. Quotes: "mort civile"; "repris de justice"; 11 A.N., Colonies, lE, Vol. 101, fols. 499-500, 7 mai 1723; 12 D'Hericourt, Elemens De L'Art Militaire, Vol. 2, p. 236; 13 Ibid., pp. 236-37; 14 Ibid., p. 237; 15 Ibid.; Diderot et D'Alembert, Encyclopéie ..., Tome III, p. 250; 16 Diderot et D'Alembert, Encyclopéie ..., Tome III, p. 250, 308; ] [Margaret Fortier, Fortress Security and Military Justice at Louisbourg, 1720-45, Unpublished Report H E 14 (Fortress of Louisbourg, 1980), pp. 63-66]