ALLARD (Alard, Dalard) DE SAINTE-MARIE, PHILIPPE-JOSEPH D’, officer in the colonial regular troops; b. between 1704 and 1708 at Plaisance (Placentia, Nfld), son of Jean-Joseph d’Allard* de Sainte-Marie and Marie-Anne de Tour de Sourdeval; m. 9 March 1739 Jeanne Jacau, sister of Louis-Thomas Jacau de Fiedmont, at Louisbourg, Île Royale (Cape Breton Island), and they had two daughters; m. secondly, 31 Jan. 1751, Angélique, daughter of Philippe Carrerot* and Marie-Thérèse Gaultier (Gauthier), at Louisbourg, and they had eight children; d. 1778 in Tonnay-Boutonne (dept of Charente-Maritime), France.

Philippe-Joseph d’Allard de Sainte-Marie’s career was typical of the sons of Louisbourg officers: he entered the colonial regular troops at a young age, in 1720, and left Louisbourg only when forced to by the defeats of 1745 and 1758. Promoted first ensign in 1730, he served routinely in Michel de Gannes* de Falaise’s company until 1733 when he was assigned “engineering duties” under Étienne Verrier*. In 1734 at Verrier’s request he was posted to Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) to serve in an engineering capacity. He returned to Louisbourg that same year and in late 1736 was again sent to Île Saint-Jean with Robert Tarride* Duhaget, who was to relieve the ailing Jacques d’Espiet* de Pensens. Back at Louisbourg in 1738, Sainte-Marie began, rather unspectacularly, his long connection with the artillery when the acting governor François Le Coutre* de Bourville ordered him to assume command because the officer usually in charge was on leave. In 1739 Sainte-Marie was promoted lieutenant, and because he had improved the state of the batteries he continued to serve with the artillery.

Sainte-Marie had a younger brother, known as the Chevalier de Sainte-Marie, and the similarity of their early careers has caused some confusion. The Chevalier followed Philippe-Joseph into the service as a cadet in 1725, received an expectative of second ensign in 1728, and in 1730 filled the vacancy caused by his brother’s promotion to first ensign. Although he had been sent to Quebec in 1736 for treatment of insanity, several remedies at Louisbourg having proved unsuccessful, he was promoted ensign in 1737. That year Governor Saint-Ovide [Monbeton*] asked that the Chevalier be placed in a hospital “with rooms for lunatics” in France. Because of his poverty the crown provided a pension of 300 livres for his support.

Philippe-Joseph’s association with the artillery coincided with a concern for artillery reform in France and with Isaac-Louis de Forant *’s efforts to organize an artillery company at Louisbourg. Previously members of the colonial regular troops had cooperated with a few trained cannoneers recruited in Rochefort to man the fortress’s batteries. Forant sent his proposal for a company to Versailles in October 1739 and ordered the immediate selection of trainees. Although the proposal was not approved until 1742 and did not take effect until 1 Jan. 1743, Sainte-Marie was chosen to command the company in November 1739. By October 1741 both the new unit and a gunnery school had been established. The artillerists were an élite corps. Not only did they have special quarters, but they were better paid (receiving special payments for exceptional marksmanship) and were exempt from many garrison duties. Worthy of particular notice is their unwillingness to participate in the 1744 mutiny of the garrison. Sainte-Marie’s duties with the company and the school occupied much of his time. Because he was unable to supplement his salary by operating an officer’s canteen, the crown approved a gratuity of 300 livres to offset the loss. In May 1743 he was promoted captain.

Sainte-Marie served in the first siege of Louisbourg but neither he nor his company was prominent in action. The ineffectiveness of their counter-battery fire, however, had little to do with the French defeat [see Louis Du Pont Duchambon]. Nor did it reflect upon Sainte-Marie’s abilities. The Louisbourg fortifications had been designed to withstand a naval assault and were low lying. Elevation was of paramount importance in artillery exchange and once William Pepperrell*’s force had established its siege batteries on commanding ground, the best of gunners could not have overcome the disadvantage. Sainte-Marie’s report of 26 June 1745 on the state of munitions in the fortress combined with Verrier’s report on the fortifications was crucial to the resolve of Louis Du Pont Duchambon and the council of war, of which Sainte-Marie was a member, to capitulate. Sainte-Marie had held out little hope for further resistance. Most of the cannon were inoperative, only 47 barrels of powder were left, and the supply of fuses for the cannon was exhausted.

After the capitulation Sainte-Marie and his company were stationed at Rochefort. In 1747 Sainte-Marie commanded a battery on Governor Taffanel* de La Jonquière’s flagship, the 64-gun Sérieux. In a furious encounter lasting eight hours with ships of Vice-Admiral George Anson’s squadron on 14 May 1747, Sainte-Marie was wounded and taken prisoner. In February 1749 he was back at Rochefort maintaining his company in readiness for its return to Louisbourg. That March he was awarded the cross of Saint-Louis; it was noted that “he has always served with great zeal especially since the formation of the artillery company.” He returned to Louisbourg in 1749 as the captain of the first of two artillery companies sent there. Sainte-Marie was wounded during the second siege of 1758, but again the artillery companies were not conspicuous in action. His whereabouts immediately after the siege are uncertain. In 1762 he was posted to Saint-Domingue (Hispaniola) with 120 men to augment the two artillery companies there. The following year illness necessitated his return to France and in 1765 he was in the garrison at Rochefort. That year he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel and retired with a large family, without fortune, on a pension of 1,800 livres. At least two of his sons became artillery officers.

Sainte-Marie was not a brilliant officer, but he was dedicated and hard-working. Unlike his father and many of his contemporaries in the Louisbourg officer corps, he avoided involvement in trade, which indicates a pride in his profession as artillerist in a fortress that always had more guns than men to man them.

Terrence Maclean