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CHAPTER 4 "Tenir la main" in Military Society MILITARY UNITS, ALL MILITARY UNITS, REQUIRE MEASURES OF ORDER AND control. Obedience and subordination are essential in the eyes of those giving the orders. Without the domination of one level over another, the power relationship that lies at the heart of every military organization, the chain of command would not exist. Put bluntly, a military unit-company, regiment or battalion-requires people who give orders and those who follow them, as well as sufficient discipline and adherence to established rules and regulations. This is not to say that all armies are alike. Yet, they all share the common need for degrees of control and for measures that bring order. The need for controlling measures magnified when standing armies became a permanent feature in early modern Europe. Indeed, Andre Corvisier makes a convincing case that the creation of standing armies in the different nations played a fundamental role in shaping the modern state, by setting examples and working our approaches in such areas as record-keeping, and in placing limitations on individual freedom. 1 The military society at Louisbourg was not a monolith. The demarcation lines between the realms of the officers, the NCOs (sergeants and corporals), and the enlisted men were deep and usually uncrossable. Moreover, there were sometimes sharp differences and divisions among the various units. My focus in the pages ahead is on those topics that lead to a greater understanding of the issues and challenges involved in bringing order to the He Royale garrison. Topics include: the officers and the economic control that they exerted over the enlisted men; the general characteristics of the simples soldats; the persistent reluctance of the ordinary men of the garrison to do what their officers told them; the positive influences that the officers 173 Control and Order in French Colonial Louisbourg, I7 I3-I758 brought to bear on the enlisted men so as to exert greater control over them; the most common infractions committed by the soldiers; their punishments; the role played by the Conseil de Guerre in military justice at Louisbourg; the problem of desertion among the enlisted men; and finally, the single greatest instance of disobedience and disorder in colonial military society, the mutiny of 1744. In each section , the emphasis is on examining the ways in which the questions relating to the imposition of order and the maintenance of control converged in the military half of Louisbourg society. The military and civil spheres at Louisbourg were not in every respect complete worlds apart. There were points of contact. This was inevitable in a community where soldiers formed such a large percentage of the overall population. For even if civilians never ventured into one of the strictly military zones-the guardhouses, barracks, or parade squares-they were bound to encounter soldiers and the military in other settings. Off-duty troops were found in the streets, in drinking establishments , and at church. Moreover, as Louisbourg was a completely enclosed fortified town, there were sentries posted at the gates, on the walls, and in front of several king's buildings. There were regular detachments of soldiers marching through the streets. At night, the town patrol acted as a policing presence, touring the town to keep the peace and to prevent mischief or foul play. In short, the military , on-duty and off, regularly had an impact on the civil society with whom they shared the urban space. The military used sound, or noise, initially to take control of an urban area that might otherwise be considered civil space. Long before a detachment reached a given area, its impending advance was announced by the incessant roll of a drum, the lilt of a fife, or the call of a sergeant's voice. Such sounds were a part of life in all garrison towns, and Louisbourg was no exception. The civil inhabitants undoubtedly recognized the most common drum beats and cleared a path before the soldiers arrived. Only after the detachment had passed could they go back to what they had been doing. The sounds of the military were a matter of routine at Louisbourg. There were set sequences of drum calls for the mounting of the guard each afternoon, different calls to announce the opening and closing of the various gates, and still other beats for different routine or special ceremonial occasions.2 The various drum calls were recognizable to any civilians who had lived in the town for a matter ofmonths. It takes...

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