Most soldiers who found themselves in Louisbourg's prison were guilty only of fighting or creating disturbances while drunk. Providing no substantial damage had been done, the offenders were soon released. Those guilty of some serious crime against a civilian or his property were tried by the colony's Superior Council and were punished according to civil law. Grave military offences, such as desertion, were tried by a court martial tribunal composed of at least seven of the garrison's officers. Punishment for these crimes ranged from death by firing squad to lifetime servitude on French galleys in the Mediterranean. Lesser military offences, such as stealing from a comrade, could be punished by the soldier's commanding officer without a trial. Punishments were harsh, but they were inflicted mainly to discourage similar violations by the culprit's comrades. Most prison inmates were free to move about their cell, but those charged with more significant offences or who acted in a particularly obstreperous manner were secured to a bed by iron rings about their ankles and wrists.
