FORTRESS SECURITY AND MILITARY JUSTICE AT LOUISBOURG, 1720-45

BY

MARGARET FORTIER

1980

Report H E 14

Fortress of Louisbourg

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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]

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