In 1775, thirteen colonies began a fight for their independence from British rule. Without formal training in artillery tactics or adequate armament of artillery pieces, the first units had to overcome adversity and hardship. But with courage and dedication the artillery and its leadership were able to play a vital role in the success on the battlefield and, ultimately, in the victory that earned America its freedom. During the Revolutionary War, available artillery resources were a combination of cannons, mortars, and howitzers. At that time two types of cannon were used. The field guns, which were light and easier to move, and the siege guns, which were much heavier and less mobile. The cannons used three different types of projectiles. The shots were with solid pellets, grapeshot and canister. Solid projectiles were used for structures, buildings and ships. The grapeshot, which was a canvas bag containing lead or iron pellets, was ideal for long-range personnel. The canister shot was a wooden cartridge that carried iron balls and when fired it exploded like a short-range personnel rifle. The guns mostly had a low trajectory as opposed to the mortars which had a high trajectory and incendiary bomb shells. The mortar rested on a wooden platform and a wooden wedge was used to tilt the front of the barrel. There were mortars for land service and mortars for sea service. The land service being more mobile and the sea service much heavier and were placed permanently on ships. By the time of the Revolutionary War there were nine types of mortars for land service and four types of mortars for sea service. They ranged from 4.4 to 13 inches. The mortar rounds were designed to fire on a high trajectory... center of paper... at Monmouth, saying: "It is with particular pleasure... that the Commander-in-Chief may brief General Knox and the other officers of artillery, which the enemy did them justice by recognizing that no artillery could be better served than ours.” At first, the war seemed like a futile effort, but with a combination of brute force and precision the artillery was able to. help our young nation to victory. Works Cited1. Washington, George. General Orders of George Washington, 1778. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw3&fileName=mgw3 g /gwpage003.db&recNum (accessed November 9, 2013).2. Alden, John. A History of the American Revolution. New York: Da Capo Press, 1969. (accessed November 7, 2013). won America. New York: Harper Collins, 2007. (accessed October 15, 2013).