French Artillery Park

"It is to you that I should have surrendered Yorktown, because your so well-aimed guns annihilated my fortifications,” said British General Charles Cornwallis to French Col. Francois D'Aboville, chief of French Artillery, after the surrender. The French were the dominant land power in Europe and would continue to be until the mid-19th century with the rise of Prussia and the eventual German state. They excelled in engineering, the construction of fortifications, and sieges. French artillery was particularly noted for its excellence. French Army officers served in various staff and advisory positions in the Continental Army as instructors in these technical fields.