Lt.Arty 3-inch Wrought Iron Field Rifle, the "Ordnance Rifle"

ARTILLERY PROFILE
  • Type: Muzzleloading Rifled Gun
  • In Service With:
    • United States Army - Marked "U.S."
    • State of New Jersey - Marked "N.J."
  • Purpose: Counter-battery & Support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field
  • Invented By: Samuel Reeves, with partners John Griffen, and Emile C. Geyelin; development began in August of 1855
  • Final Design Requirements by: United States Army Ordnance Board, meeting on July 20th, 1861
    • Capt. Alexander B. Dyer, president; Capt. Theodore T.S. Laidley, recorder; and Capt. Thomas J. Rodman, member.
  • Patents:
    • U.S. Patent No. 13,984 (J. Griffin) Issued on December 25, 1855 for Manufacture of Wrought Iron Cannon
    • U.S. Patent No. 37,108 (S. J. Reeves) Issued on December 9, 1862 for Improvement in Fagots for Wrought-Metal Cannons, Hydraulic Pumps
  • Rarity: Common
MANUFACTURING
  • US Casting Foundry: Phoenix Iron Company, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
  • CS Casting Foundries: Tredegar Iron Works, Richmond, Virginia
    • (CS castings are called 3-inch Iron Field Rifles and are not true Ordnance Rifles)
  • Years of Manufacture: 1861 to 1865
  • Tube Composition: Wrought Iron
  • Muzzle Markings: U.S. Ordnance Inspector's Initials, Registry Number, Foundry Name, Year, Weight
  • Trunnion Markings: Varies - Blank (Both) / Patent Information (Left - Patented Dec. 9, 1862) / Foundry Name (Right)
  • Purchase Price in 1861: $330.00 (US)
  • Purchase Price in 1865: $450.00 (US)
  • Variants:
    • The 1854 Griffin Gun, Type 1 Experimental (2.9 inch smoothbore)
    • The 1861 Griffin Gun, Type 2 Experimental (3.5 inch rifled)
    • Singer-Nimick & Co. of Pittsburg cast Steel versions of the Ordnance Rifle Pattern, weighing 834 lbs., in 1862
    • There are known post-war breechloading conversion experiments of the Ordnance Rifle Pattern
  • No. Purchased During the Civil War: 956
  • No. of Surviving Pieces Today: 556+
  • Special Notes: Lightest and strongest rifled tube of the Era. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as a Rodman gun.
WEIGHTS & MEASURES
  • Bore Diameter: 3.0 inches
  • Bore Length: 65.0 inches, 21.6 calibers
  • Rifling Type: 7 rifle grooves, right hand consistent twist (1 turn in 11')
  • Trunnion Diameter: 3.67 inches
  • Barrel Thickness: at Muzzle - 1.5 inches; at Vent - 2.355 inches
  • Tube Length: 73 inches
  • Tube Weight: 816 lbs.
  • Carriage Type: No. 1 Field Carriage (900 lbs.), 57" wheels
  • Total Weight (Gun & Carriage): 1,720 lbs.
  • Horses Required to Pull: 6
  • No. of Crew to Serve: Typical - 9, 1 Gunner, 8 Numbered Crew Positions
    • Could operate at a reduced rate with as few as 2 Crew
AMMUNITION
  • Standard Powder Charge: 1 lbs. Cannon Grade Black Powder
  • Projectiles Types: Hotchkiss, Schenkel, & Dyer projectiles are all suited to the rifling of this gun
  • Projectiles Weights: 10 lb. Bolts, 8 to 9 lbs. Shells
  • Typical Number of Projectiles Per Gun: 200 - Loaded in 4 - 50 Round / Mixed Ammo Chests
    • 2 Limbers, each carrying a Chest; 1 to pull the Cannon, and 1 to pull the Caisson, which carried 2 additional Chests
PERFORMANCE
  • Rate of Fire: 2 rounds per minute
  • Muzzle Velocity: 1,215 ft/sec.
  • Effective Range (at 5°): using Case Shot...up to 1,850 yards (1.05 miles)
  • Projectile Flight Time (at 5°): using Case Shot...6.5 seconds
  • Max Range (at 16°): using Case Shot...4,180 yards (2.3 miles)
  • Projectile Flight Time (at 16°): using Case Shot...17 seconds
NOTES
Originally derived from experiments with an earlier ordnance design called the "Griffin Gun," the Ordnance Rifle was developed by Samuel Reeves under a legal agreement between himself, John Griffin, as well as Emile C. Geyelin.​
Once an agreement was made, and a contract between the was three signed on December 8, 1856; soon a testing and development program followed.​
Griffen had been motivated to build a better artillery platform from the memory of the 1844 ordnance accident aboard USS Princeton, where one gun exploded, and killed six people, including Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer. The current President of the United States at the time, John Tyler, narrowly missed injury, as he was also aboard the ship during this event.​
Geyelin, who had an interest in developing hydraulic equipment, also had a hand helping to design the manufacturing process for industrial use. His design use helped Reeves broaden his patent application to differentiate it from Griffen's original patent. Geyelin would later come to be known as the authority for developing water powered turbines on the East Coast.​
Reeves used his Phoenix Iron Company in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, to manufacture the Ordnance Rifle, and the first test articles were produced at that foundry in 1856.​
To manufacture the original Griffin Gun, strips of wrought iron had been hammer-welded in crisscrossing spiral layers around a mandrel; this was then bored out and the finished product lathe turned into shape. Under Reeves’ updated specifications for the Ordnance Rifle, the mandrel, again either hollow or solid, was not removed after the pile was rolled. Rather the mandrel remained with the mass and became the inner-most layer of the bore. Furthermore, Reeves’ method used a heated mandrel that would actually bond and weld to the iron sheet during the wrapping and rolling process. Though time consuming and expensive to produce, the result was a singularly tough and accurate weapon.​
The Ordnance Rifle design was adopted by the Federal Ordnance Department in early 1861. The design of this rifle, soon a favorite with artillerists in both armies, is recognized by the complete absence of any discontinuities in the surface of the gun. It was also a major step forward in material, being made entirely of wrought iron.​
The Phoenix-made rifles were nearly free from any reported failures. Artillerymen preferred them because they didn't have a reputation for catastrophic barrel failures, unlike some of the cast iron guns of the period. The Ordnance Rifle is also one-hundred pounds lighter than the 10-pdr. Parrott Rifle (800 lbs. to the Parrott's 900) which made it a little easier to move. For these reasons, it was the preferred weapon of the fully mounted Horse Artillery.​
While the Napoleon was the field artillery's piece of choice for short-range duels, the Ordnance Rifle was valued for its long range accuracy. A one pound charge of gunpowder could accurately propel a 10 pound elongated shell a distance of 2,000 yards at only 5 degrees of elevation. Longer distances, could be achieved with higher elevations at the expense of accuracy.​
At its peak, the Phoenixville factory was producing fifty rifles a week, producing more than 1,000 3-inch Ordnance Rifles during the war at a cost of about $350 each. They were considered prized captures by the Southern Army.​
Using lower-grade iron, and different, less precise manufacturing process, the Confederacy made some copies of the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle, known as 3-inch Iron Field Rifles. They looked somewhat similar, but didn't have the same performance as their Northern counterparts.​
The U.S. 3-inch Wrought Iron Field Rifle or "Ordnance Rifle" is sometimes erroneously referred to as a "Rodman Rifle". The process used by Thomas Rodman in casting Columbiads was not used in producing the wrought iron barrel of the Ordnance Rifle. Although Rodman was on the U.S. Army Ordnance Board that gave the final design requirements to Phoenix Iron Works, his involvement in that process has not proven to be notable. As far as can be determined, aside from being present at the board meeting, Rodman had very little, if anything, to do with the design or production of the Ordnance Rifle.​

FOR FURTHER READING
ASSOCIATED LINKS
 
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3-inch Ordnance Rifle

IMG_0484.JPGIMG_0485.JPGIMG_0486.JPG

3-inch Ordnance Rifle, Model of 1861
Made by Phoenix Iron Company, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
No. 884, Cast in 1865, Foundry #976, Weight 816 lbs.
Inspected by S.C.L. (Stephen Carr Lyford)
This Gun Has 7 Groove Rifling With a Right Hand Twist
Located Near the Antietam National Battlefield Visitors' Center
©Michael Kendra, November 2019.
 
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ARTILLERY PROFILE
  • In Service With:
    • United States Army - Marked "U.S."
    • State of New Jersey - Marked "N.J."
  • Type: Muzzleloading Rifled Gun
  • Purpose: Counter-battery & Support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field
  • Invented By: John Griffen in 1855
  • Patent: For Manufacturing Issued on December 25, 1855
  • Years of Manufacture: 1861 to 1865
  • Tube Composition: Wrought iron
  • Bore Diameter: 3.0 inches
  • Rarity: Common
PERFORMANCE
  • Max Rate of Fire: 2 rounds per minute
  • Rifling Type: 7 rifle grooves, right hand consistent twist (1 turn in 11')
  • Standard Powder Charge: 1 lbs. Cannon Grade Black Powder
  • Muzzle Velocity: 1,215 ft/sec.
  • Effective Range (at 5°): using Case Shot...up to 1,850 yards (1.05 miles)
  • Projectile Flight Time (at 5°): using Case Shot...6.5 seconds
  • Max Range (at 16°): using Case Shot...4,180 yards (2.3 miles)
  • Projectile Flight Time (at 16°): using Case Shot...17 seconds
  • Projectiles: 10 lb. Bolts, 8 to 9 lbs. Hotchkiss or Schenkel shells
WEIGHTS & MEASURES
  • Typical Number of Projectiles Per Gun: 200 - Loaded in 4 - 50 Round / Mixed Ammo Chests
    • 2 Limbers, each carrying a Chest; 1 to pull the Cannon, and 1 to pull the Caisson, which carried 2 additional Chests
  • Tube Length: 73 inches
  • Tube Weight: 816 lbs.
  • Carriage Type: No. 1 Field Carriage (900 lbs.), 57" wheels
  • Total Weight (Gun & Carriage): 1,720 lbs.
  • Horses Required to Pull: 6
  • No. of Crew to Serve: Typical - 9, 1 Gunner, 8 Numbered Crew Positions
    • Could operate at a reduced rate with as few as 2 Crew
  • No. in North America from 1861 to 1865: approx. 1400+
    • No. of Original Pieces You Can See in the Field Today: ???
  • Cost in 1862 Dollars: $330.00 (US)
  • Cost in 1865 Dollars: $450.00 (US)
MANUFACTURING
  • US Casting Foundry: Phoenix Iron Company, Phoenixville PA
  • CS Casting Foundries: Tredegar Iron Works, Richmond VA
    • (CS castings are called 3-inch Iron Field Rifles and are not true Ordnance Rifles)
  • Variants:
    • The 1854 Griffin Gun, Type 1 Experimental (2.9 inch smoothbore)
    • The 1861 Griffin Gun, Type 2 Experimental (3.5 inch rifled)
    • Singer-Nimick & Co. of Pittsburg cast Steel versions of the Ordnance Rifle Pattern, weighing 834 lbs., in 1862
    • There are known post-war breechloading conversion experiments of the Ordnance Rifle Pattern
  • Special Notes: Lightest and strongest rifled tube of the Era. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as a Rodman gun.
Originally derived from experiments with an earlier design called the "Griffin Gun," named after its' designer, John Griffen, the Ordnance Rifle was manufactured at the Phoenix Iron Company in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. It was adopted by the Federal Ordnance Department in early 1861. The design of this rifle, soon a favorite with artillerists in both armies, is recognized by the complete absence of any discontinuities in the surface of the gun. It was also a major step forward in material, being made entirely of wrought iron.​
To manufacture the Ordnance Rifle, strips of wrought iron were hammer-welded in crisscrossing spiral layers around a mandrel; this was then bored out and the finished product lathe turned into shape. Though time consuming and expensive to produce, the result was a singularly tough and accurate weapon. Less precise machining and lower-grade iron gave their Confederate counterparts more trouble.​
While the Napoleon was the weapon of choice for short-range fighting, the Ordnance Rifle was valued for its long range accuracy. A one lb. charge of gunpowder could accurately propel a 10 lb. elongated shell a distance of 2,000 yards at only 5 degrees of elevation. Longer distances, but less accuracy, could be achieved with higher elevations. Artillerymen preferred this piece because it did not have the tendency to explode upon firing as cast iron cannon did. This gun is one-hundred pounds lighter than the 10-pdr. Parrott Rifle (800 lbs. to the Parrott's 900) which made it more mobile. For this reason, it was the preferred weapon of the fully mounted Horse Artillery.​
The North produced more than 1,000 3-inch Ordnance Rifles during the war at a cost of about $350 each, and were considered prized captures by the South. While the Confederate states manufactured some Parrott rifles, they were unable to produce copies of the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle because they lacked the technology.​
This gun is sometimes erroneously referred to as a "Rodman." The process used by Thomas Rodman in casting the Columbiads was not used in producing the wrought iron barrel of the Ordnance Rifle. As far as can be determined, Rodman had nothing to do with the design or production of this gun.​

FOR FURTHER READING
ASSOCIATED LINKS
Thanks for including the Jorgenson article. It drives me nuts every time I (occasionally) encounter that usage in period documents and in later publications. I've always thought that the adaptations of Griffen's patent led to some separation of him from the gun that was actually adopted by the War Department. Rodman may have been latched onto simply because he wasn't Parrott.
 
Thanks for including the Jorgenson article. It drives me nuts every time I (occasionally) encounter that usage in period documents and in later publications. I've always thought that the adaptations of Griffen's patent led to some separation of him from the gun that was actually adopted by the War Department. Rodman may have been latched onto simply because he wasn't Parrott.
Yes, it's an unfortunate thing is that there are first person accounts from the era where men in the field used "Rodman" to describe Ordnance Rifles, and it makes it even more confusing.

If you can remember that you'll never find a Rodman in Field Artillery, and almost never find an Ordnance Rifle in Seacoast, Siege, or Naval duty (it's not one of the "big" guns anyway), then you'll do fine!
 
Yes, it's an unfortunate thing is that there are first person accounts from the era where men in the field used "Rodman" to describe Ordnance Rifles, and it makes it even more confusing.

If you can remember that you'll never find a Rodman in Field Artillery, and almost never find an Ordnance Rifle in Seacoast, Siege, or Naval duty (it's not one of the "big" guns anyway), then you'll do fine!
Which is why inches are the way to go. 🙂 (Apologies to Brother Hunt who several years after the War ripped the 3" caliber as the "feeblest" on the Planet)
 
I'm curious, are there any books or detailed information on the Singer-Nimick & Co. 3-inchers? I've always been curious about those guns, especially since they are supposedly what Forrest's famous "bull pups" were.
 
Image (27).jpg


Original 1864 Phoenix Iron Works 3' ordnance rifle on repro carriage with original ironwork and Gatling Gun wheels built and owned by the late John Hooper, seen in left background and acting as Gunner. This gun was present at the 1961 Centennial reenactment of First Manassas and was featured in a scene in the 1986 TV miniseries North & South, Part II. Supposedly it's currently part of the collection in the Texas Civil War Museum at Fort Worth, Texas.
 
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The reference to the 3” rifle firing too light a round is an interesting one. Contemporary artillerists made a case for a 4” bore that would have a relatively small weight penalty. The exponential increase in energy from the larger round would have been considerable.

The Ames bronze rifles fired a 14 pnd round. The 20 pnd Parrott was very effectively employed by the Army of the Tennessee. It was, however, awkward to maneuver.

The motive power of a limber was, due to the arcane physics of a hitch, about 4 horse power. Every extra ounce of load limited performance. It was, years ago now, to read the reasoned arguments of more weight equally more firepower vs strain on the horses equating to loss of mobility. Of course, German army artillery was largely horse drawn until the end in 1945.
 
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The reference to the 3” rifle firing too light a round is an interesting one. Contemporary artillerists made a case for a 4” bore that would have a relatively small weight penalty. The exponential increase in energy from the larger round would have been considerable.

The Ames bronze rifles fired a 14 pnd round. The 20 pnd Parrott was very effectively employed by the Army of the Tennessee. It was, however, awkward to maneuver.

The motive power of a limber was, due to the arcane physics of a hitch, about 4 horse power. Every extra ounce of load limited performance. It was, years ago now, to read the reasoned arguments of more weight equally more firepower vs strain on the horses equating to loss of mobility. Of course, German army artillery was largely horse drawn until the end in 1945.
And to follow up, after the war Hunt ripped the 3" bore as the "feeblest" on the planet.
 
And to follow up, after the war Hunt ripped the 3" bore as the "feeblest" on the planet.
A ten pound round with a dud impact fuze was removed from the chimney of a house a few blocks from mine two years ago. It had been the HQ of the Army of the Cumberland. The angle of the impact indicated that it came from the direction of Fortress Rosecrans. I really do love living surrounded by this kind of stuff.

I am laying on a hospital bed, so don’t have my books at hand, but have green post-it notes indicating references to the 3” being under powered .

It was a battery of 20 pnd Parrotts that were assigned to Grant & Sherman’s repeater armed lead regiments during the Vicksburg encirclement & beyond. My somewhat drug addled memory believes it was an Iowa battery. It must have been daunting to engage the 20 pndrs in a counter battery exchange at any great range. 4guns throwing 80 pnds down range vs 40 from rifles or 48 from Napoleons. A piddling 24 pnds from our 1841 model brethren is downright pitiful to contemplate. As Captain Gorman would say, “If it was a fair fight you didn’t do it right.” Words to live by… literally.

What I do recall from my 5th grade Iowa history class is that the figures on Iowa ACW monuments are full sized portraits, not generic figures out of the catalogue. Some of them were modeled after family photos. There is always a free standing cavalryman, red leg, infantryman & a sailor. I believe they are all enlisted men, not officers, but am not sure. I suppose the officers were relegated to the top of the obelisk.

As I watched the sun gilt the Works at Triune, I got to thinking about where I am. There were 20 hospitals here in the ‘Boro.’ It is not at all unlikely that some poor slub had both his tibia sawed off very close to where I am right now. His lower limbs might have been eaten by pigs. I, on the other hand, 160 years later am sitting up anticipating some good smoked TN breakfast pork sausages to be carried in the door… happy thoughts, don’t you know…
 
A ten pound round with a dud impact fuze was removed from the chimney of a house a few blocks from mine two years ago. It had been the HQ of the Army of the Cumberland. The angle of the impact indicated that it came from the direction of Fortress Rosecrans. I really do love living surrounded by this kind of stuff.

I am laying on a hospital bed, so don’t have my books at hand, but have green post-it notes indicating references to the 3” being under powered .

It was a battery of 20 pnd Parrotts that were assigned to Grant & Sherman’s repeater armed lead regiments during the Vicksburg encirclement & beyond. My somewhat drug addled memory believes it was an Iowa battery. It must have been daunting to engage the 20 pndrs in a counter battery exchange at any great range. 4guns throwing 80 pnds down range vs 40 from rifles or 48 from Napoleons. A piddling 24 pnds from our 1841 model brethren is downright pitiful to contemplate. As Captain Gorman would say, “If it was a fair fight you didn’t do it right.” Words to live by… literally.

What I do recall from my 5th grade Iowa history class is that the figures on Iowa ACW monuments are full sized portraits, not generic figures out of the catalogue. Some of them were modeled after family photos. There is always a free standing cavalryman, red leg, infantryman & a sailor. I believe they are all enlisted men, not officers, but am not sure. I suppose the officers were relegated to the top of the obelisk.

As I watched the sun gilt the Works at Triune, I got to thinking about where I am. There were 20 hospitals here in the ‘Boro.’ It is not at all unlikely that some poor slub had both his tibia sawed off very close to where I am right now. His lower limbs might have been eaten by pigs. I, on the other hand, 160 years later am sitting up anticipating some good smoked TN breakfast pork sausages to be carried in the door… happy thoughts, don’t you know…
"It must have been daunting to engage the 20 pndrs in a counter battery exchange at any great range"
Of course, that assumes that the poor equines pulling those things weren't turned into glue. 😎
 
A ten pound round with a dud impact fuze was removed from the chimney of a house a few blocks from mine two years ago. It had been the HQ of the Army of the Cumberland. The angle of the impact indicated that it came from the direction of Fortress Rosecrans. I really do love living surrounded by this kind of stuff.

I am laying on a hospital bed, so don’t have my books at hand, but have green post-it notes indicating references to the 3” being under powered .

It was a battery of 20 pnd Parrotts that were assigned to Grant & Sherman’s repeater armed lead regiments during the Vicksburg encirclement & beyond. My somewhat drug addled memory believes it was an Iowa battery. It must have been daunting to engage the 20 pndrs in a counter battery exchange at any great range. 4guns throwing 80 pnds down range vs 40 from rifles or 48 from Napoleons. A piddling 24 pnds from our 1841 model brethren is downright pitiful to contemplate. As Captain Gorman would say, “If it was a fair fight you didn’t do it right.” Words to live by… literally.

What I do recall from my 5th grade Iowa history class is that the figures on Iowa ACW monuments are full sized portraits, not generic figures out of the catalogue. Some of them were modeled after family photos. There is always a free standing cavalryman, red leg, infantryman & a sailor. I believe they are all enlisted men, not officers, but am not sure. I suppose the officers were relegated to the top of the obelisk.

As I watched the sun gilt the Works at Triune, I got to thinking about where I am. There were 20 hospitals here in the ‘Boro.’ It is not at all unlikely that some poor slub had both his tibia sawed off very close to where I am right now. His lower limbs might have been eaten by pigs. I, on the other hand, 160 years later am sitting up anticipating some good smoked TN breakfast pork sausages to be carried in the door… happy thoughts, don’t you know…
The phrase I am laying on a hospital bed leapt out at me, best wishes for a rapid recovery.
 
The phrase I am laying on a hospital bed leapt out at me, best wishes for a rapid recovery.
Thanks, had my left knee replaced on July 1st & the right yesterday. In living history programs at Stones River NB I portray DR A. N. Reede who inspected the “…almost twenty hospitals in Murfreesboro TN…” I know way more about 19th Century medicine than 21st. It occurred to me this morning that 160 years ago men were having their femurs sawn off above the knee very near the spot inside Fortress Rosecrans where I am now. Their lower limbs could have been eaten by pigs… I was waiting for my breakfast with two patties of TN smoked hog sausage. I suppose I am balancing things out…
 
Thanks, had my left knee replaced on July 1st & the right yesterday. In living history programs at Stones River NB I portray DR A. N. Reede who inspected the “…almost twenty hospitals in Murfreesboro TN…” I know way more about 19th Century medicine than 21st. It occurred to me this morning that 160 years ago men were having their femurs sawn off above the knee very near the spot inside Fortress Rosecrans where I am now. Their lower limbs could have been eaten by pigs… I was waiting for my breakfast with two patties of TN smoked hog sausage. I suppose I am balancing things out…
With that attitude, how can you go wrong.
 
I'm curious, are there any books or detailed information on the Singer-Nimick & Co. 3-inchers? I've always been curious about those guns, especially since they are supposedly what Forrest's famous "bull pups" were.
The only Singer-Nimick that I know of in the "wild" is somewhere on the Chickamauga Battlefield. Two guns were captured by Forrest in 1862, given to Captain John Morton for use in his battery and evidently they served him well. Supposedly, Morton thought so much of them; that he wanted one to display on the lawn of his home after the war, but he had to settle for a 3" Ordnance Rifle instead. With the"new and improved" building at Gettysburg, I'm not sure that the Singer-Nimick tube is still on display. A 3" Segmented Selma Broun shell that was recovered at a site where Morton's Battery was in operation and is an example of the type of round (among numerous others) that the Singer-Nimick's would have fired:
Selma Broun.JPG
 
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