History Browser

Officers were subject to both military and civil courts, and could face the death penalty. Duelling, disobeying orders and flight in the face of the enemy were all strenuously punished.

The ‘cat of nine tails’ was a whip used to flog soldiers. This one was used in the British 83rd Regiment of Foot. The length of the wooden stick was 43cm (1' 5"), its tails 53cm (1' 9"), and it weighed 141,75 g. (5 ounces). (Library of the Canadian Department of National Defence)

Despite the regulations to the contrary, it seems many soldiers were part of unofficial marriages. Most sergeants were married, for instance. In the remote posts of the west, some men married Amerindian women - what was called 'marrying country style'.

The first police force in Canada was set up in New France, using the same model used in France itself. An institution dating back to the Middle Ages, the Marechaussee was made up of 'archers' (so-called because of the weapons carried by the originals) led by a 'provost'.

Soldiers were organized into companies of about 50. Their leader, the company captain, was responsible for recruiting, training and disciplining his men.

Not to be confused with the archers of the Marechaussee, Navy archers were escorts, bodyguards and armed agents of the Intendant, the chief financial administrator of a French province or colony. They arrived in New France when the first Intendant was appointed in 1665.

Desertion to the king's enemies was considered the most serious crime a soldier could commit. It did take place in New France, but at a much lower rate than in Europe because of the difficulties posed by the country separating New France from the British colonies

Less serious offences, such as indiscipline or drunkenness, were usually punished by locking up the offender for 8 or more days. The most serious minor offence, theft from a comrade, was punished by having the culprit be beaten by his fellows as he 'ran the gauntlet'.

If questioning of a suspect failed to uncover the truth, trials in New France could torture the accused - the so-called 'Ordinary and Extraordinary Question'. This was rarely used, but punishments in general were often harsh: flogging, sentencing to the galleys, or death.

France would sentence convicted criminals to be rowers on a fleet of oar-propelled warships called galleys. These ships had troops assigned to them both to serve as marines, and also to guard the prisoners in these floating prisons.