the Northeast, where France's Louisburg fell to
British and Colonial forces in 1745. Serving with the British Royal
Artillery was the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston,
which had originated in 1637. English field artillery of the day had
"brigades" of four to six cannon, and each piece was supplied with 100
rounds of solid shot and 30 rounds of grape. John Mueller's _Treatise
on Artillery_, the standard English authority, was republished in
Philadelphia (1779), and British artillery was naturally a model for
the arm in America.

[Illustration: Figure 8--AMERICAN 6-POUNDER FIELDPIECE (c. 1775).]

At the outbreak of the War of Independence, American artillery was an
accumulation of guns, mortars, and howitzers of every sort and some 13
different calibers. Since the source of importation was cut off, the
undeveloped casting industries of the Colonies undertook cannon
founding, and by 1775 the foundries of Philadelphia were casting both
bronze and iron guns. A number of bronze French guns were brought in
later. The mobile guns of Washington's army ranged from 3- to
24-pounders, with 5-1/2- and 8-inch howitzers. They were usually
bronze. A few iron siege guns of 18-, 24-, and 32-pounder caliber were
on hand. The guns used round shot, grape, and case shot; mortars and
howitzers fired bombs and carcasses. "Side boxes" on each side of the
carriage held 21 rounds of ammunition and were taken off when the
piece was brought into battery. Horses or oxen, with hired civilian
drivers, formed the transport. On the battlefield the cannoneers
manned drag ropes to maneuver the guns into position.

Sometimes, as at Guilford Courthouse, the ever-present forest
diminished the effectiveness of artillery, but nevertheless the arm
was often put to good use. The skill of the American gunners at
Yorktown contributed no little toward the speedy advance of the siege
trenches. Yorktown battlefield today has many examples of
Revolutionary War cannon, including some fine ship guns recovered from
British vessels sunk during the siege of 1781.

In Europe, meanwhile, Frederick the Great of Prussia learned how to
use cannon in the campaigns of the Seven Years' War (1756-63). The
education was forced upon him as gradual destruction of his veteran
infantry made him lean more heavily on artillery. To keep pace with
cavalry movements, he developed a horse artillery that moved rapidly
along with the cavalry. His field artillery had only l