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 was 1.07916 English pounds, making the weight of shot about 8.633 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 Canon de 8 Gribeauval, was the intermediate size between the Canon de 12 Gribeauval (left) and the Canon de 4 Gribeauval (right).
An 8-pounder Gribeauval cannon is sited in Battery 6 at Chalmette National Battlefield in New Orleans, La.
Napoleon Bonaparte's cannons put down an October 1795 attempted coup in Paris. The two cannons in the sketch are almost wheel to wheel; the minimum gap between guns was normally 10 meters.
The Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval or 6-inch howitzer was a French artillery piece and part of a system established by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. The Old French inch was 1.066 English inches long so the weapon can accurately be described as a 6.4-inch howitzer.
Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval, modèle 1764, Year 2 (1793–1794), Les Invalides
Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval, Les Invalides
Gribeauval system ammunition wagon, Les Invalides