FORTRESS SECURITY AND MILITARY JUSTICE AT LOUISBOURG, 1720-45

BY

MARGARET FORTIER

1980

Report H E 14

Fortress of Louisbourg

Return/retour

GUARD RELATED OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENTS

Aside from actual combat, one of the principal duties of a soldier was standing sentry duty. Because of the importance attached to his assignment, a sentry was "si respectable" that no officer was permitted to strike him and stern punishments were meted out to any soldier or civilian who interfered with the performance of his duty. Likewise, any sentry who was derelict in his duty could expect to be dealt with severely. [1] The following are some of the offences connected with sentry duty and the punishments which were to accompany them.

1. Any soldier who failed to stand sentry duty when he was supposed to, unless he had been excused by the officer of the guard or had some legitimate reason, was to be put to death. [2]

2. Any soldier getting drunk on the day he was to stand guard was to be placed on the wooden horse each day for a month at the hour the guard was mounted. [3]

Being drunk while on duty was the undoing of at least one sentry at Louisbourg who, instead of suffering the discomfort of the wooden horse, found himself sentenced to death. La Brie, a soldier in, De Renon's company, was on guard at the door of the treasurer's house in 1720 when he left his post and "pour rire" took some dirty linen from the house. Hearing a noise, a servant girl went outside where she found a handkerchief on the ground. She entered the guérite and found the rest of the stolen items. Undisturbed by having being caught, La Brie helped the servant close the window through which he had made the theft. Both the girl and another servant later testified that La Brie was drunk and "hors d'raison." The accused further complicated his predicament while in prison by stealing an écu from an inebriated comrade, forcing the prison door, and making his escape. Arrested at Port Dauphin, La Brie was returned to Louisbourg for trial. [4]

The commissaire-ordonnateur, De Mézy, maintained in a letter to the minister that La Brie should have been given a civil trial since the stolen items came from a civilian residence. Governor St. Ovide, however, had ordered a court martial since he had been on duty at the time of the offense. De Mézy argued that there had been "a good deal of pique" in this decision since four of the seven members of the Conseil de Guerre were relatives of the treasurer. He also noted that it was La Brie's first offense and a minor one at that. St. Ovide's decision to have the soldier tried by the military was upheld by the Council of the Marine. De Mézy was informed by the Council that it did not approve his pretensions in the matter and that in the future he was to conform to the ordinance of 1685 dealing with the Conseil De Guerre. The decision of the Louisbourg military tribunal was that La Brie should face a firing squad. [5]

3. Any soldier found asleep while on sentry duty was to be put to death, according to the Côde Militaire. However, D'Hericourt states that a soldier found sleeping while on duty was to be either sent to the galleys or be made to pass by the arms, depending on the circumstances. [6]

4. Any soldier who left his post while on sentry duty was to be sentended to death "sans remission." [7]

In 1722 a Compagnies Franches soldier, Etienne Nobelin dit Tourangeau, testified that at 6 A.M. on 15 February he had deserted while on guard duty because he was afraid of being punished for stealing 800 nails from De Lesson. When asked if he did not realize that deserting while on duty was a much more serious crime than the theft of some nails, Tourangeau stated that he knew two soldiers who had been executed the year before, but that he had believed that their punishment was as much for thefts they had committed as for desertion. He too was sentenced to be shot. [8]

5. Any soldier who allowed himself to be relieved by anyone other than the officer, sergeant or corporal of his guard was, according to the Côdé Militaire, to be executed. Again D'Hericourt cites a lighter sentence, stating that a sentry guilty of this offense should be sent to the galleys for six years. [9]

6. Anyone guilty of revealing the password to the enemy or to anyone other than those to whom it was given, was to be hanged. [10]

7. Any guard whose negligence enabled a prisoner entrusted to his care to escape was to be sent to the galleys for three years. [11]

Governor De Forant reported in 1739 that a soldier on guard at the powder magazine had had as his consigne two civilian prisoners who were apparently being held in the barracks of the Demi-Bastion Dauphin. When the two escaped the soldier was made to face a Conseil De Guerre. Since none of the 11 judges felt that the soldier had contributed to the prisoners' escape, he was absolved of any blame. A sergeant in the Karrer Regiment who had opened the door in order to allow some relatives and friends of one of the prisoners to enter was similarly found innocent of any wrongdoing by a Swiss Conseil De Guerre. [12]

8. Anyone firing a shot or making any noise after the night guard had been posted, thus causing a false alarm, was to be set on the wooden horse every day for a month at the hour the guard was mounted . [13]

9. Any soldier of the guard who did not have his weapons in good condition or who did not have his musket charged and his cartridge box filled with enough powder and balls for three shots was to be put in prison for one month, during which time one sol per day would be withheld from his pay "to be used to buy some for him." [14]

10. Any soldier who abused or reviled another who was on sentry duty was to be put to the pikes. [15]

11. Anyone attacking a soldier on sentry duty, whether with sword, musket, stick or a stone, was to be shot. [16]

In the event that it was discovered that a sentry had committed some offense which merited punishment, whether the offense took place while he was on guard or at some other time, the soldier was to be relieved as soon as possible so that he might be "punished as may be required." If his offense were a serious one which called for imprisonment, the soldier could be taken only after the guard had changed in the afternoon - or a replacement for him was furnished. [17]

When a soldier standing sentry duty found himself too cold, ill or frightened to properly discharge his duty, he was to summon the sergeant of the guard who would determine if he were telling the truth. The soldier could be relieved, but he would have to remain in the corps de garde. If his superiors decided that he had been guilty of some "malice or ... cowardice" in seeking to be relieved, he was to be punished, though by what means was not specified. [18]

No soldier or non-commissioned officer was to be permitted to leave the corps de garde to take meals in town or for any other reason. Officers who authorized such absences were to be placed under arrest for 15 days. Sergeants, corporals or anspessades guilty of leaving their posts were to be placed in prison for one month, while soldiers who did so were to be placed "in the dungeon" for the same period. [19]

In Louisbourg in 1740 a drumuner of De Gannes' company, on guard at the Place D'Armes, became involved with a man accused of theft while in town having his supper. When questioned as to why he had been in town when he was part of the guard, the drummer stated that he had been given permission to go by tpe sergeant of the guard. He had been told to be back at the corps de garde in time to do his duty, presumably to sound L'Ordre for the orders ceremony later in the evening. The sergeant's easy acknowledgement of having given permission to the soldier seems to indicate that he was not afraid of being punished for his action. Unfortunately, the dossier on this case is incomplete, and the decisions and recommendations of the court are not known. It is possible that such absences were routinely tolerated in Louisbourg, provided permission had been granted. It is also conceivable that since a drummer at this post was not as important as those at the gates, his absence for a few hours in the early evening might be overlooked. However, since we have no way of knowing the outcome of the trial, it is possible that the sergeant found himself in prison, and the drummer in the dungeon, for one month. [20]

Return/retour