Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 12

Louisbourg Guardhouses

by Charles S. Lindsay

Preface

This study was undertaken specifically for the purpose of obtaining information pertaining to guardhouses in order to provide data for design and interpretation of those guardhouses scheduled for reconstruction as part of the Fortress of Louisbourg Restoration Project. The paper summarizes the available historical and archaeological information from the guardhouses known to have existed during the major occupation period at Louisbourg between 1713 and 1768.

Primary historical evidence is drawn mainly from toisés and repair records. The toisés are of various types including devis (specifications for proposed buildings), toisés provisionnels (preliminary accounts of work done) and toisés définitifs (final detailed breakdowns of costs, materials and labour). The most important repair lists come from the years 1749 and 1750 when the French were refurbishing the fortress after it had been in English hands for four years. Other documentary evidence is found in letters from various officials at Louisbourg to the Minister of Marine in France, and brief descriptions of the guardhouses and their furnishings drawn up by the engineer Franquet in 1751 and 1753. Numerous plans of the fortress provided many additional pieces of information.

Archaeological evidence comes from the eight guardhouses that have been excavated wholly or in part, and the results of field observations where outlines of buildings are still visible on the surface. Unfortunately none of the excavated guardhouses survived much above floor level, but debris lying in and near the buildings provided many clues to the nature of their superstructures.

Secondary archival source material is very sparse, with the exception of some detailed drawings of guardhouses in a treatise belonging to the Bibliothèque du Génie. Field observation of surviving guardhouses in 18th-century fortresses in France, however, has been more productive, providing numerous details for comparison and contrast with Louisbourg guardhouses. Nevertheless, evidence from these buildings should be treated cautiously since they have been subject to 19th- and 20th-century alterations.

Two systems of measurement have been used in this paper. Where the evidence is from French documents or plans, the French system of pieds (1.066 ft.) and pouces (1.066 in.) has been retained. Where the evidence is from excavations or field observation the units of measurement used are feet and tenths of a foot.

Where French words are used, the original spelling as found in the documents has been retained. In those instances where significant differences in spelling occur, the modern version will be found in an endnote. Many terms used in documents relating to 18th-century Louisbourg have quite different meanings elsewhere and in other periods. Where such terms have been used in the text an explanation of their interpretation will be found in an endnote.