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Sergeant

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Le Sergent | The Sergeant 

Sergeant of the Compagnies franches de la Marine of Canada, 1701-1716 (painting by Michel Pétard, Government of Canada’s Canadian Military History Gateway).

Sergeant of the Compagnies franches de la Marine of Canada, 1701-1716 (painting by Michel Pétard, Government of Canada’s Canadian Military History Gateway).

The sergent, or sergeant, was usually a soldier who had gone through the degrees of Anspesade, or corporal. A commissioned officer, he was sometimes given a halberd (a two-handed pole weapon), a tradition that was common across Europe at the time, even if he had never used one. First Sergeants of a company had to know how to read and write well, since they were responsible for maintaining the registry of company soldiers. Sergeants were required to visit the soldiers of their squad twice per week to keep track of their activities and behaviour in order to keep the captain up to date and to root out potential deserters. They were often the only true professional soldiers in a troop.

Sergeants wore a grey-white uniform with a red lining and red stockings, with an inch-wide stripe of gold lace edging the cuffs and pocket flaps. This was very specific to the Compagnies franches de la Marine at this time.

In New France, the Compagnies Franches de la Marine were the only regular soldiers stationed by the Crown from 1685 to 1755, sent to defend its control of the fur trade in North America. After the start of the Seven Years' War in 1756, the Compagnies were replaced by units of the regular army commanded by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. In 1760, after the fall of Montreal to Great Britain, the Compagnies were officially disbanded in Canada.

 
 

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