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Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 12
by Charles S. Lindsay Part II: A Gazetteer of Louisbourg GuardhousesBarracks GuardhousesThe major difference between barracks guardrooms and barracks guardhouses was that the guardhouses were not integral parts of the buildings which they served. Four are known at Louisbourg: one associated with an early wooden barracks built to house troops while the King's Bastion barracks was being built; one associated with the barracks of the island battery; one associated with the Queen's Bastion barracks built by the English and one associated with the barracks in the area of the town known as the Ile du Quay located between the Grand Etang and the quay wall. It is possible that the guardhouse on the Place d'Armes was converted to this function after the construction of the Pièce de la Grave guardhouse, but since it was built for the purpose of housing the town guard it is discussed under that heading. Early Barracks Guardhouse The early barracks guardhouse first appears in historical plans in 1720 (Fig. 15) where it forms part of the east side of a square bounded on the other three sides by barracks. It was built to replace an earlier guardhouse-prison situated in Block 16. This earlier building had proved to be inadequate, since prisoners had escaped from it in 1717: therefore, the decision was made in 1718 to build a new guardhouse-prison the following year.1 The building enjoyed only a short life since the barracks and guardhouse were demolished about 1723 to make way for the glacis of the townside Place d'Armes of the King's Bastion. Although much of this area has been excavated, no trace of this guardhouse has been found.
Prison The size of the prison, which was a masonry building, is known from a record of the digging of its foundations which were 21 pieds long by 12 pieds wide.2 The walls were 9 pieds high and 2 pieds thick. A toisé mentions three masonry perimeter walls and a dividing wall between the prison cell and the cachot (a windowless cell or dungeon). The total length of masonry wall is given as 58 pieds.3 Two alternative breakdowns of this figure can be made to fit the three perimeter walls and a dividing wall (Fig. 16, a, b). With the first arrangement it has been assumed that the measurements were taken from the outside corners of the perimeter walls and along the dividing wall from its junction with the outer wall. Since the figure of 58 pieds comes from a post-construction toisé, this would be a plausible system of measurement. This arrangement totals 55 pieds and allows an arbitrary 3 pieds for a short return wall at the northeast corner where the prison joins the narrower guardhouse. The advantage of this arrangement of walls is that it leaves the north wall that is common with the guardhouse to be made of wood, rather than a wall opening to the outside as in the second arrangement. Since a wooden wall is easier to pry apart and was the means by which prisoners had escaped from the earlier prison, it is logical that it would open on the interior of the guardhouse. This wooden wall was probably built from 10 planks 12 pieds long, 10 pouces to 12 pouces wide and 2 pouces thick that were purchased for the guardhouse.4 The roof, which is sometimes shown as hipped and sometimes gabled, consisted of piquets and rafters with a covering of plans de bois topped with plans de terre and moss.5 The internal division into a cell and dungeon is mentioned but not described. Each room had a door made of tongued and grooved fir boards reinforced with three horizontal wooden battens. The door to the cell was 2 pieds 6 pouces wide but only 4 pieds high, and the door to the dungeon was even lower, 3 pieds 6 pouces.6 Logically these doors would have opened into the guardhouse for security reasons. Grilles for the prison are mentioned. but since it is uncertain whether there was a window in the building, it cannot be determined whether the grille was set in a window opening or in the doors. Bolts and padlocks, probably for the prison doors, are mentioned in a list of hardware for the prison and guardhouse.7 Guardhouse No mention is made of the size of the guardhouse. Scaled from an historical plan it appears to have been approximately 18 pieds wide by 37 pieds long. There was an officer's room at one end of the building probably at the opposite end from the prison.8 The remainder of the building contained the soldiers' quarters. The toisé lists piquets for surrounding the guardhouse. and payments made to workmen "qui ont attaché les piquets de l'enceinte du corps de garde." Although enceinte normally refers to a fence there is evidence that in this case it signifies the walls of the guardhouse. First, historical plans which show the guardhouse indicate no fences nearby, but do show fences elsewhere. Second, in the toisé, which admittedly is ambiguous and vague, no mention is made of any other walling material. Third, of 22 examples of buildings at Louisbourg with roofs covered with plans de bois and plans de terre, as this one was, and of which the walling material is known, 21 had piquet walls.9 Thus, although each piece of evidence is not conclusive in itself, there is a strong circumstantial case to be made for suggesting that this building had piquet walls. Some of a group of 150 fir boards 10 pieds long, 10 pouces to 12 pouces wide and one pouce thick, were used to "faire la chambre de l'officier."10 This may mean either that the wall dividing the officer's room from the remainder of the building was made of boards, or that the entire room was sheathed with boards over the piquets. The roof of the guardhouse was similar to that of the prison except that no piquets were reported as being used. Two doors are described, one d'entrée, and the other "à la chambre de l'officier. "Both were 6 pieds high and 3 pieds wide, made of fir boards, planed on both sides, tongued and grooved and reinforced with three horizontal wooden battens.11 There were three windows in the prison and guardhouse together, but we do not know if any of them were in the prison. Their sashes were made 4 pieds high by 3 pieds wide, and the openings were covered with shutters made in the same way as the doors but with only two battens.12 There was a double fireplace, presumably set in the dividing wall between the officer's and soldiers' rooms. The only detail known of this is a record of paying for iron bars, presumably the relieving bars under the mantlepiece.13 A floor for the guardhouse was made, probably from some of the 150 fir boards. These boards were used for a number of specified items and "autres chose necessaire."14 Allowing a generous amount of wood for all the specified uses, there is still over 700 square pieds leftover which would be ample to cover the guardhouse floor area. The only information available on furnishings is that both officer and men had beds, of unknown type or size, made from fir boards 1 pouce thick.15
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