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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)

1753 - 1754
 

• Procédure criminelle instruite au Bailliage Royal de Louisbourg contre le nommé Yacinthe Gabriel LeBon, accusé et convaindu de profonation et sacrilège pour s'être introduit de nuit dans la chapelle du Fort alors qu'il était ivre. Condamné à être pendu par le Bailliage, sentence maintenue par le Conseil le 25 octobre 1754. ( Pièces cotées de 1 à 25 pour le procès au Baillages et 6 pièces non cotées pour l'appel au Conseil.) 1753, janvier à 1754, octobre G2 189 Folios 148-269 H J 31 Archives Nationales, Section Outre-Mer, G2, Volume 189

• Procédure criminelle contre Hyacinthe Gabriel Lebon, accusé de vol et profanation dans la chapelle du fort et absous. 17 janvier 1753- 28 septembre 1754. 24 pièces. G2 201 Dossier 260 H J 31 Archives Nationales, Section Outre-Mer, G2, Volume 201

• Certificat de dépot au Conseil Superieur de Louisbourg de la procédure criminelle contre Jacinthe Gabriel Le Bon, accusé de vol et profantation 3 & 11 octobre 1754. 1 pièce. G2 209 Dossier 514 H J 31 Archives Nationales, Section Outre-Mer, G2, Volume 209

• An even choicer scandal occurred here in 1754 when the verger entered the Chapel one morning to find the altar in disorder. The altar cloth was bloodstained and dirty with footmarks and there were onion peels and bread scattered about. A crucifix was broken and there was blood on a picture frame above the altar. The culprit was an unemployed school teacher who had come from another colony looking for work. As a last resort, he had decided to become a soldier. On the night in question, he said he had gone to the barracks to get back an arithmetic book he had lent a soldier. He was quite drunk, and as he walked in the terreplein, he noticed the Chapel door was open. He went in and climbed the stairs to the balcony. He jumped down from there to the floor and said he wanted to get near the altar to pray. As he did so, he noticed that he didn't like the flower arrangement on the altar, so he climbed on the altar to move the bouquets, in the process of which he cut his face. While taking out his handkerchief to wipe the blood away, the bread and onions fell from his pocket. His bloodied hand, meanwhile, left stains on the tabernacle and picture frame. He finally staggered out, feeling he had done quite enough.

When he was apprehended, the death penalty was sought, but in the end he was ordered to march barefoot, wearing only a shirt, to the Chapel door to ask the forgiveness of God and the King, while carrying a sign which read "Profaner of Sacred Places". He was then ordered to pay a small fine and was banished forever from Ile Royale. [R. J. Morgan, Gossips' Tour of Louisbourg, Unpublished Report H F 30 (Fortress of Louisbourg, July, 1975), pp. 10-11]

• The second incident, equally bizarre, took place in 1754. At 8:30 in the morning the verger entered the chapel to find the altar in disorder. The altar cloth was bloodstained and dirty with foot marks, and there were onion peels and bread scattered about. Blood was smeared on the tabernacle and on the frame of the picture on the wall above the altar. A crucifix was broken and a small niche containing statues was damaged. The small drawers of the altar had been rifled and various ornaments displaced. Two candles and a small purificator were missing.

The culprit was revealed to be an unemployed school teacher who had come to the colony looking for work but had had to take up fishing and woodcutting, for which he was not suited. As a last resort he had decided to become a soldier. On the night in question he admitted going up to the barracks to get back an arithmetic book he had loaned to a soldier. He admitted he was quite drunk at the time, and, the door of the corridor of the soldier's room being closed, he walked about in the courtyard until he noticed the chapel door open. He went inside, and! since there was a partition with a locked door which separated this entrance from the body of the church, he climbed up to the balcony and jumped down. He said he only wanted to get nearer the altar to pray, and after a while it occurred to him that the two bouquets of flowers on the altar were not placed as they were in France, between the candle sticks, but rather they were to one side. He took it upon himself to correct this divergence from orthodoxy and found himself climbing on the altar, in the process of which he cut himself on the face. While taking out his handkerchief to wipe the blood the bread and onions fell out, He then claimed to have dropped the handkerchief and, while retrieving it, inadvertently picked up the purificator as well. His bloodied hand left the stains on the tabernacle and picture frame. Having decided that this was enough he took two small candles to light his way out through the town, and, placing a board against the partition, climbed back to the gallery and then out into the courtyard. He stopped at the guard-house to get a light and then left. It was observed that the tabernacle had not been forced and the protagonist, Le Bon, was vigorous in denying that he had tried to open it.

In all it was a very strange case and despite more than two hundred pages of testimony it appears that the full story was not revealed. The death penalty was sought, but in the end Le Bon was ordered to march barefoot with only a shirt to the chapel door and ask forgiveness of God and King, while carrying a sign which read, front and back, PROFANER OF SACRED PLACES. He was then fined the sum of three livres and banished perpetually from the colony ... [Blaine Adams, The Construction and Occupation of the Barracks of the King's Bastion, Unpublished Report H A 13 (Fortress of Louisbourg, July 1971), The Chapel]

• A King's Bastion sentry met Gabriel Hyathinthe LeBon as he left the chapel towards midnight and insisted that he go to the guardhouse to light a tallow candle before going on. Because LeBon was drunk and also bleeding, the guards persuaded him to spend the night at the guardhouse. He was later charged for damage he had done in the chapel, but keeping him at the guard house seems to have been done on the initiative of the guards. [Source: Christopher Moore, "Law. Order and Street Life," (March, 1977) in Second Draft Report, Contract Research 1977, Unpublished Report H F 39R (Fortress of Louisbourg, 1977), p. 4.]
    

• Woeful though the state of religious affairs was in the colony in mid-January 1753, the inhabitants of Louisbourg had their attention shifted from that concern to a much more controversial matter when a case of alleged profanation occurred in the Chapelle de Saint-Louis. Profanation was regarded by both church and state as an extremely serious crime in the eighteenth century. According to the king's ordinance of 1728 on military crimes, soldiers who swore or blasphemed were to have their tongues pierced by a hot iron; those who stole from a church were to be hanged and strangled; those who profaned holy objects while stealing were to be burnt at the stake. ... The punishments for civilians guilty of such crimes were not as cut and dried, but they could be equally harsh.

  The alleged profanation case at Louisbourg involved a civilian drifter named Yacinthe Gabriel Le Bon ... Aged thirty-three at the time of the incident, Le Bon had sailed to Louisbourg from Brittany in 1752 without any trade but with the hope of teaching the colonists and their children "how to read and write and also arithmetic." Yet he never got around to doing any teaching, opting instead to work at sea for a short while and then at cutting firewood in the forest. Finally, "not being able to earn his keep otherwise," he thought about becoming a soldier. For all of his apparent irresolution, Le Bon seems to have been a religious man. On Christmas Eve, 1752, he helped the chapel verger (bedeau) set up the parish church for the midnight service, even staying afterward to extinguish the candles. Three and a half weeks later, however, he would return to the chapel in a drunken state to commit "attrocious acts" that would shock the Louisbourg community.

  On the night of 16 January 1753, le Bon went to the soldiers' barracks in the King's Bastion to pick up a book on arithmetic he had earlier left in one of the soldiers' rooms. Intoxicated and unable to open the door leading to the barracks rooms, Le Bon noticed that a nearby door to the Chapelle de Saint-Louis was open. Entering, he climbed the stairs to the balcony and then down into the body of the church by slipping over a partition wall on the ground floor level. Intent on praying, or so he claimed later, he was approaching the altar when he noticed the flower arrangement was not the same as he was familiar with in France (the bouquets were to one side rather than between the candlesticks). Climbing on the altar to shift the flowers Le Bon accidentally cut himself, leaving blood-stains on the purificator, tabernacle, and picture frame. The intruder also dropped some bread and onions in the general area of the altar when he withdrew a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his face. Then, tired of stumbling around in the chapel, Le Bon took two small candles, climbed back out the way he had entered, and left the chapel.

  Le Bon's nocturnal visit to the parish church was not discovered until the following morning when the verger arrived at the chapel around 8:30. The scene that greeted him was one that indicated a serious profanation of a holy place. There was mud and blood splattered all around, evidence that someone had walked on the altar, a niche was broken off the tabernacle, two candles had been stolen, and food [bread and onions] had apparently been consumed in the altar area. The desecration was reported immediately to the parish priest, Isidore Caulet, who in turn notified the royal officials. An investigation was begun which quickly led to the arrest of Yacinthe Gabriel Le Bon, for the night before he had stopped at the King's Bastion guardhouse to obtain a light for the chapel candles he had taken. The case dragged on for twenty-one months with witnesses being called and several interrogations of Le Bon taking place. The prosecutor, arguing that "it is important to make an example" of the accused to protect God's temple and religion, urged that Le Bon be punished with the full rigour of the ordinances. He advocated that the young man be hanged and strangled until dead with his corpse being left at the town square for twenty-four hours, and then transferred to the fork in the roads of the fauxbourg for a further period of public display. The court's decision, however, was more lenient, as it obviously took into account Le Bon's drunkenness and the fact that he had not tried to force the tabernacle. Le Bon's punishment was to be led to the main door of the Chapelle de Saint-Louis, dressed only in a chemise and with a rope around his neck and a candle in his hands, to make an amende honorable, asking on his knees for the forgiveness of God and king. On his front and on his back were to be signs that read "profaner of Sacred places." Following that act of atonement he was to be fined three livres and banished from the colony for the rest of his life.

  The way in which the royal officials handled the Le Bon case - the prompt arrest, thorough investigation, and harsh judgment - provides yet another illustration of the close ties that existed between church and state in eighteenth-century New France. A desecration of a chapel was viewed by both as a heinous crime that had to be dealt with quickly and severely. That Le Bon got off as lightly as he did was fortunate for him, as he could have easily been executed for his drunken misadventure. That possibility, or lesson, would not have been lost on most of the inhabitants of the town. [A. J. B. Johnston, Religion in Life at Louisbourg, 1713 - 1758 (Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1984), pp. 58-60]

[148-269] Les extraits qui suivent ont été empruntés à un procès criminel instruit contre Hyacinthe LeBon, accusé et convaincu de profonation et de sacrilège, pour s'être introduit dans la chapelle du fort durant la nuit, alors qu'il était ivre, et y avoir causé certains dommages. Le procès au Baillage débute en janvier 1753, le condamné en appelle au Conseil Supérieur en septembre 1754. La sentence du Baillage (peine de mort) est maintenue et exécutée en octobre 1754.

[149-150] Procès-verbal de la descente dans la chapelle du fort: L'an mil sept cent cinquante-trois, dix-sept du mois de janvier, sur les onze heures du matin nous Laurent de [Dominique] Meyracq, conseiller du Roy baillif juge civil et criminel du baillage royal de Louisbourg, Ile Royale, sur l'avis qui vient de nous être donné qu'il aviat été commis un vol la nuit dernière dans la chapelle du fort.(...) par un quidam, nous nous sommes transportés avec le procureur du Roy et le greffier dans la dite chapelle pour dresser procès verbal de l'Etat des fractures s'il en a été faitte vu les autres circonstances qui peuvent avoir du rapport au dit vol. Etant dans la dite chapelle nous avons remarqué sur la nappe qui couvre l'autel plusieurs taches de sang de même que plusieurs taches de boue (...) Nous avons en outre remarqué une tache de sang au bout de la corniche qui est au haut du tabernacle de même qu'une autre goutte de sang sur le cadre du tableau qui est au-dessus du tabernacle, la niche cassée en plusieurs endroits et un crucifix de cuivre jaune dedans ayant le pied écrasé et ayant ensuite regardé si le tabernacle avait été forcé, nous n'avons point trouvé aucune fracture. .... apres quoi le nommé marc Bedau de la dite chapelle nous aurait dit qu'il était venu ce matin à l'église sur les huit heures et demi, il aurait trouvé la nappe de l'autel (dans l'état actuel), ... qu'il a également trouvé la porte du tabernacle ouverte; ... aussi trouvé par terre sur la marche de l'autel un St-Esprit qui était en dedans de la niche, que les deux petits anges qui étaient ordinairement à cotté de la niche, il les a trouvés au dessus du tabernacle à la place de la niche que les quatre petites chandelliers et les Bouquet qui étaient au dessus du tabernacle.... que le voleur s'est introduit dans l'église par la porte qui monte à la tribune qui est ordinairement ouverte faute de clef. Ayant remarqué que le voleur aurait placé une planche qui était par terre au bas de l'église, contre la cloison qui donne sur l'escalier de la tribune au moyen de laquelle il est remonté pour sortir par la dite porte.

[195-247] Extraits d'interrogatoires: ...répond (l'accusé) qu'il s'y est introduit... par la porte de la cour qui donne sur lescalier montant à la tribune, l'ayant trouvée ouverte qu'il est descendu dans l'église par la cloison qui donne dans lescalier... ...il aurait ouvert la petite porte qui est au dessus du tabernacle en forme de tiroir qui se ferme avec un taquet. ...il descendit par l'ouverture de la cloison qui est au-dessus de l'escalier.

[197v: Repond que la nuit du seize au dix Sept de Janvier dernier ...]

[198: passant devant la porte de la Chapelle du fort qui donne sur la Cour ouverte il auroit monté a la tribune quensuitte il auroit descendu [198v] par louverture qui est audessus dela Cloison de LEscallier ...]

[200: ... et que pour monter audessus dela Cloison qui est contre Lescallier dela tribune [200v] il prit une planche qui etoit a terre et layant mise debout Contre La Cloison il monta au moyen de Cela ...]

Interrogation de l'accusé, September 28, 1754

[247] ... queffectivement il monta ala tribune ou il resta environ un quart dheur [247v] a prier Dieu quensuitte pensant dans letat dhivresse ou il etoit que Dieu lecouteroit de plus pres que de loin, il luy prit envie d'aller prier Dieu au bas del'autel que pour cet effet il Descendit par louverture de la Cloison qui est audessus de lescalier ...]

[251v] ... Repond quil en Sortit par le meme endroit dou il avoit descendu au Moyen dun bout de planche quil mit contre La cloison]

[261-267] Défense de LeBon au Conseil Supérieur: ...l'accusé se ressouvint qu'il avait aidé le sacristain peu de jours avant à accomoder l'autel, qu'elle n'était pas rangée à la mode de France et que si on y donnait les mêmes décorations, elle en serait plus édifiante. Persuadé de ses chimères, il descendit dans l'Eglise même, montant l'autel, il voulut attraper un Coeur qui était attaché à la niche, la niche tombe et luy... (le blessa) ...A cella Il y a Bien des suspicions on peut penser que la niche étant otée de sa place, il a crû qu'il pourrait par le Haut du Tabernacle passer sa main au-dedans et en retirer les vases sacrés, mais ce soupçon tombe de Luy même car s'il avait eu ce dessein en otant la niche, pourquoi l'aurait-il...(remise en place). Interrogé, puis qu'il était ivre, comment il put faire de remonter dans la tribuen par le même endroit(?) A répondu qu'il est vray qu'il eut beaucoup de peine a y remonter et que ce fut au moien du morceau de bois. Et sur ce qui luy a été représenté qu'il étoit plus naturel de chercher à sortir par la porte, a répondu qu'il voulait s'en [retourner] par le même endroit parce qu'il sentoit qu'il avait fait une faute.

Interrogation de l'accusé, October 28, 1754

[264] Interrogé pourquoy il Entroit dans laditte chapelle pour prier dieu et qu'il descendit par La tribune voyant que Les portes Etoient fermé ...

Interrogé, puisqu'il etoit hivre, comment il put faire de Remonter dans la tribune par Le même Endroit

a Repondu qu'il est vray ou'il Eut Beaucoup de peinne ay Remonter Et quile fut au moien dun morceau de Bois

Et Sur Cequi Luy Eté representé quil Etoit plus naturel de chercher a Sortir par La porte a Repondu qu'il vouloit Sen Retourner par Le même Endroit par cequ'il Sentoit qu'il avoit fait une faute

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