CANNONS & Co.

Widely used by field artillery units during the American Civil War, the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle model 1861 was an iron muzzleloading rifled cannon that was adopted by the United States Army in 1861. The bore (caliber) had a diameter of 3.0 in (76 mm). Its gun barrel weighed 820 lb (371.9 kg) and fired a projectile weighing 9.5 lb (4.3 kg) to a distance of 1,830 yd (1,670 m). The 3-inch rifle was not as effective in firing canister shot as the heavier 12-pounder "Napoleon", but it proved to be highly accurate at longer ranges when firing common shells or spherical case shots. The Confederate States Army employed those captured from the northern Federal forces but lacked the technology to manufacture reliable copies of this weapon.