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Desirable 1864 Dated Civil War Phoenix Iron Co. Model 1861
3-Inch Ordnance Rifle with Carriage - Serial no. 693, 3 inch , 65 inch round bbl., black finish. The Model 1861 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles were among the best and most widely used field artillery pieces of the Civil War and continued to be used into the late 19th century Indian Wars. Many of the roughly 350 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles extant lie within national historic sites/military parks. They were designed by John Griffen, the superintendent of the Phoenix Iron Co. of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, who created a new technique that produced stronger and lighter artillery by using multiple layers of wrought iron strips welded together and using
a rolling press. Only one reportedly failed in use, and it had been double charged. A one-pound charge can fire a 9.5 lbs. solid projectile 1,830 yards (over one mile!). They were very accurate and lighter than some of the comparable rifled artillery of the period such as the Parrott rifles.
