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Info-Research Solutions
Researching the
Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada
FORTRESS SECURITY AND MILITARY JUSTICE AT LOUISBOURG, 1720-45
BY
MARGARET FORTIER
1980
Report H E 14
Fortress of Louisbourg
DUTIES OF THE GUARD
Officers
At all posts
- to inspect the soldiers going to or returning from
sentry duty
- to call the roll of the guard hourly
- to send a sergeant and corporal to receive the
password and orders
- to receive evening rounds of officier's majors
- to remain at post, at all times fully clothed
At gates
- to order a sergeant or corporal to mount the
ramparts at daybreak to determine if all was quiet
outside before the gates were opened
- to order drummers to beat reveille and retreat,
as well as the signals for the opening and closing
of the gates
- to assist the capitaine des portes at the opening
and closing of the gates
- to question foreigners seeking admission to the
pity
- to order the barriers closed and the advance
drawbridge raised at the sounding of an alarm or
at the outbreak of a fire in the city [1]
Sergeants
At all posts
- to see that each soldier's
cartouche contained the
proper utensils and sufficient powder and cartridges for three shots
- to oblige each soldier at their posts to remove his hat when going to
sleep in the guardhouse and put on "hip cap, which he must put through the belt beside his cartridge
pouch ,at the time of inspection by the major of the regiment ..." In
the morning he would remind the soldiers to fix their hair and
straighten their clothing
- to go to receive the password and orders from the major and to report
them to the officer of the guard
- to recognize officers making evening rounds
At gates
- to mount ramparts in the morning to determine if all was quiet outside before the gates were opened
At corps de garde of barracks (or at Place D'Armes if there were no guard at the barracks)
- to receive the roll of the troops identifying any not present in their quarters within one hour after the retraité générale of the garrison
At all posts
-to command soldiers sent from the guard to clean the powder magazine or move pieces of artillery and munitions [2]
Corporals
At gates
- to mount the ramparts in the morning to determine
if all was quiet before the gates were opened
- caporal de consigne - with 5 or 6 soldiers to
inspect all vehicles seeking to enter the city
- caporal de consigne- to hold the light for the capitaine des portes while the gates are being closed
At all posts
- caporal de consigne - to carry the "pieces de Rondes" and
register signed by the officers on their rounds to the major at 9 A. M.
- caporal de consigne - to care for all utensils at each guardpost such
as "shovel, lantern, overcoats, etc."
- caporal de consigne - to send soldiers for firewood, coal, peat or
candles, as required in the guardhouse
All posts
-
caporal de consigne - to recognize all rounds except those
of the officiers majors
- caporal de consigne - to see that a candle remained lit all night for
the soldiers coming and going from sentry duty
- caporal de pose - to post all sentries, relieving them every two
hours (during periods of extreme cold, the major could order that
sentries be relieved hourly). Additional night sentries were to be
posted as soon as the gates were closed or at an hour set by the major
- caporal de pose - to accompany any artillery officer or engineer whose
duties called for him to visit the barbette of the bastion
- caporal de pose - to see that the soldiers inside the guardhouse
remained quiet during the night so that sentries might be heard
- to guard any persons held at the corps de garde for some infraction
At Place D'Armes
-
caporal de consigne - to hold the lantern for the
major during the orders ceremony
- caporal de pose - to hold the register for the major while he read the
orders to the sergeants during the orders ceremony
Near Prison
- caporal de garde - to have charge of the prison and its occupants, and to escort prisoners to and from their court appearances
All Corporals - to guard the grand circle while the password and orders were given to the sergeants by the major [3]
Sentries
At all posts
- to remain at their posts unless relieved by an officer,
sergeant or corporal of the guard
- to remain standing at all times with fully charged muskets either on their arms or "hanging from the
sling." Sentries were permitted to walk around
in the environs of their guérites.
- to stop whenever an officer or a troop passed or
whenever the corporal came to relieve them. They
were to remain still, facing in the same direction
as the guérite with their guns on their shoulders,
until the officer or troop had passed.
- to fix bayonets to their muskets at night as soon
as the gates were closed
At gates
- to stop all vehicles entering or leaving the city
- to alert the corps de garde of the arrival of the
governor
At gates or on the ramparts
- to cry "qui va là" to those who approached after the gates were closed
Under the vault of the gate
- to relay to the corps de garde all information passed on by the forward sentries
Before the arms
- to call out each time the clock struck so that the caporal de pose would know when it was time to relieve the sentries
On the ramparts
- to challenge all officers on rounds and oblige them to
enter the guérite to look into the ditch
- to challenge all who approached whenever ordered not to allow anyone
to pass
- to allow no bourgeoisie or foreigners on the ramparts unless they were
expressly permitted by the governor or commandant and were accompanied
by fusiliers
At a drawbridge
- to insure that all those entering or leaving the city (or presumably the interior of the Bastion Du Roi) remained on the drawbridge no longer than the time required to cross
Before the arms at the corps de garde
- to see that no soldier took a musket except in the presence of the caporal de pose
At the salient angles of the bastion
- to observe all that was happening outside the walls and to guard the cannon on the barbette, allowing no one to mount the barbette unless his duties required it, such as an artillery officer or an engineer (even these had to be accompanied by a caporal de pose).
In interior - to cry "qui va là." to those who approached after the retraite générale [4]
Soldiers of the Guard - not on sentry duty
- To put themselves under arms before the
corps de garde at the approach
of any troop at the sounding of the alarm, during the opening and
closing of the gates, and when honours were to be rendered to the
Blessed Sacrament or a person of high rank
- To go for firewood, coal, peat or candles needed for the corps de garde
- To fetch the keys for the opening and closing of the gates
- To escort the governor and lieutenant de roi on the next leg of their
rounds.
- To guard persons left in the corps de garde
- To quell disturbances or assist citizens in distress
- To patrol the streets during night-time hours
- To remain quiet while in guardhouse so that sentries might be heard
- To clean the powder magazine or move artillery and munitions when
necessary, in return for which they were dismissed from the remainder of
their tour of duty.
Drummers
At all posts
- to beat Aux Champs whenever a troop passed the guardhouse
- to render honours to the Blessed Sacrament or a person of high rank
- to beat Aux Champs during the changing of the guard
- to beat La Générale as an alarm whenever necessary
At gates
- to beat reveille (La Diane) for 15 minutes at
sunrise or the hour set by the major
- to beat La Rétraite for 15 minutes at sunset or
the appointed hour
- to beat L'Appel as a last warning to those wishing
to enter or leave the city immediately before the
closing of the gates
- to beat Aux Champs all the while that the gates
were being closed
At Place D'Armes
- to beat L'Ordre to summon the sergeants and corporals to the grand circle [6]