Grasshopper was the nickname for a

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

used by the British in the late 18th century as a light

battalion gun Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typicall ...

to support

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

. It was designed for service in rough terrain such as the frontiers of

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

. Its

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

was made of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

instead of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

. Bronze is less brittle than cast iron, and so the barrel could be made thinner and lighter than that of an iron gun. If a bronze gun developed a defect it would rupture; an iron gun with a flaw would shatter, at great cost to its own crew. It fired a ball (or same weight of

canister shot Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel artillery ammunition. It has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies, and saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various wars of the 18th and 19th cent ...

). Using the conventional bracket or

split trail A gun carriage is a frame or a mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also use ...

, the gun could be moved by its own crew using drag ropes and wooden shafts much like a handcart. Two straight shafts were placed on each side of the cheek pieces facing forward, and two angled ones at the trail. The appearance of the shafts when fixed in place led to the nickname of ''Grasshopper''.

Famous battles with grasshopper cannon

Cowpens Cowpens may refer to: * Battle of Cowpens, a battle in the American Revolution * Cowpens National Battlefield, a unit of the National Park Service that protects the battlefield. * Cowpens, South Carolina * USS Cowpens (CG-63), USS ''Cowpens'' (CG-63 ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Guilford Courthouse The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on 15 March 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, near Greensboro, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Na ...

in the American Revolution * Yorktown in the American Revolution * Craney Island in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

* Frenchtown in the War of 1812 *

Queenston Heights The Queenston Heights is a geographical feature of the Niagara Escarpment immediately above the village of Queenston, Ontario, Queenston, Ontario, Canada. Its geography is a promontory formed where the escarpment is divided by the Niagara River. ...

in the War of 1812

Sources

http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/threepdr.html Artillery of the United Kingdom Field artillery Infantry guns {{artillery-stub

Famous battles with grasshopper cannon

See also

Sources