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)
Military Crimes and their Prescribed Punishments
At the time of Ile Royale's establishment the ordinances which governed the conduct of soldiers in the service of the king dated, for the most part, to the middle of the l6th century. Reaffirmed in 1651, the ordinances were badly in need of updating when Louis XV issued the "Ordonnance Du Roy Concernant Les Crimes & Délits Militaires" on 1 July 1727. [1] A copy of this ordinance was received in Louisbourg in 1728. St. Ovide and De Mézy reported that it was published at the head of the troops and posted in the corps de garde in Louisbourg and its outposts.[2]
As the ordinance of 1727 contains numerous offences which the troops of the Louisbourg garrison would have had no occasion to commit due to the nature of the establishment and its location, the list below includes only those crimes which the soldiers of Ile Royale could conceivably have committed. This list, moreover, includes only crimes which were considered military matters, such as the failure of a soldier to do his duty or a dispute between two soldiers. Crimes committed by soldiers against the civilian community were not controlled by the military law, but were under the jurisdiction of the juges ordinaires. [3] The punishments stipulated for military crimes were, in many cases, the maximum penalties applicable. Mitigating circumstances could be taken into account. However, some infractions, such as desertion while standing watch, were considered so serious that the punishment would be administered "sans remission."[4]
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[Endnotes: Military Crimes and their Prescribed Punishments, 1 Côde Militaire, Vol. 1, p. 279*; 2 A.N., Colonies, C11B, Vol. 10, fols. 41-57v., 3 novembre 1728; 3 Côde Militaire, Vol. 1, p. 279; 4 Ibid., pp. 264-78; 279*-94*; D'Haricourt, Elemens De L'Art Militaire, Vol. 2, pp. 156-204; Guignard, L'Ecole De Mars, Vol. 1, pp. 534-56]
[Source: Margaret Fortier, Fortress Security and Military Justice at Louisbourg, 1720-45, Unpublished Report H E 14 (Fortress of Louisbourg, 1980), pp. 50-53]