Canon de 8 Gribeauval

Canon de 8 Gribeauval
The Canon de 8 Gribeauval, was the intermediate size between the Canon de 12 Gribeauval (left) and the Canon de 4 Gribeauval (right).
Place of origin	France
Service history
Used by	France
Wars	American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars
Production history
Designer	Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval
Designed	1765
Specifications
Weight	1,286 lb (583 kg)
Barrel length	6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
Crew	13 men, 4 horses
Caliber	100 mm (3.9 in)
Barrels	1
Carriage	1,851 lb (840 kg)
Rate of fire	2 rounds per minute
Effective firing range	Shot: 800 m Canister: 550 m
Maximum firing range	1,500 m (1,640 yd)

The Canon de 8 Gribeauval or 8-pounder was a French cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. The Old French pound (French: livre) was 1.079 English pounds, making the weight of shot about 8.6 English pounds. The 8-pounder was the medium weight cannon of the French field artillery; the others were the light Canon de 4 Gribeauval and the heavy Canon de 12 Gribeauval. Replacing the older Vallière system, the Gribeauval system was introduced in 1765 and the guns were first employed during the American Revolutionary War. The most extensive use of Gribeauval guns was during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The 8-pounder could be found in divisional reserves, advanced guards or army artillery reserves. Emperor Napoleon began to phase out the 8-pounder by increasing the proportion of 12-pounders in his artillery. The emperor began switching calibers to the handier 6-pounder piece, utilizing captured guns as well as newly designed French cannons. The Year XI system began in 1803, but it only partly replaced the Gribeauval system which was not entirely suppressed until the Valée system was introduced in 1829.

The Gribeauval system was formally adopted by the French army on 15 October 1765 after being approved by the king in August. It was discreetly introduced to keep it secret from foreign powers and to avoid an adverse reaction from conservative officers in the French Royal Army. The system included 4-, 8- and 12-pounder field pieces, the Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval (6-inch howitzer) and the 1-pounder light cannon. However, the 1-pounder was quickly discarded. The Canon de 8 Gribeauval was used widely during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. However, its first important operational use occurred in the American Revolutionary War. The new cannons were employed by the French expeditionary corps under Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau in 1780–1782 including the 1781 Siege of Yorktown.