This model was invented by John Griffen and was reported to be very accurate under a mile. Many of the roughly 350 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles extant lie within national historic sites/military parks. These were the second most common rifled field artillery pieces during the Civil War, and only one burst in action. This cannon was manufactured by the Phoenix Iron Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, just northwest of Philadelphia and inspected in 1861 by Union inspector Theodore Thaddeus Sobieski Laidley. The company produced most (around 1,000) of the 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles. As this is an early example, it properly does not have the Reeve's patent marking; only numbers 1-235 do not have the stamp. These early rifles were made using Griffen’s method which used wrought iron rods bundled and then welded together before drilling out the bore. Reeve's improvement was stronger and involved rolls of iron. It has "TTSL No 81 PI Co 1861/819 lbs" on the muzzle, "US" on top over the trunnions, "10" and "1[horizontal]/6" on the trunnion straps, 3 inch bore that is 65 inches in length, black painted metal, green painted reproduction wood carriage, roughly 56 inch diameter wheels, a small blade front sight, rods, and a tampion.

Very good overall. The iron has an even coat of black paint and some oxidation in the bore and rims and general mild wear, and the wood has even green paint, some minor cracks on the wood, and light wear.