These cannons are much smaller than the other cannons used here in 1863 such as the Parrotts or Napoleons. These weapons are quickly identifiable as the tubes are black, very smooth, and almost always in terrific shape and represented at the time, some pretty serious weapon technology. The 3-inch ordinance rifle is easily identified by its sleek, tapered barrel and clean lines. SOURCE. Another identifier of the 3-inch ordnance rifle are the stamps found on both trunnions. The trunnions with stamps always read the same: From the guns perspective, the left trunnion reads Patented Dec. 9, 1862 & the right trunnion reads, Phoenix Iron Co.. The trunnions are sometimes devoid of markings. I believe the ones without markings start @ no. 236 and are considered a middle batch. At the time, the patent was still pending or at least that is my understanding. Contract tallies reveal that Registry numbers 236 through 543 were inspected from 20 February through 25 November 1862, before the patent was granted on 9 December 1862. SOURCE
Some other observations of the ordnance rifle is their tubes do not have the breech band seen in the similar looking Parrotts (flared muzzles), which distinguishes the two. The 3-inch carriages and limbers are also always equally pristine. This is an 1861 model but manufactured a few years later in 1865. I suppose it is possible this cannon saw action before the war's last shot was fired on June 22, 1865, but we cannot know for sure. This model was also mass-produced by the Confederates as well, but not nearly as well made as their Union counterparts. The stamps on the outer muzzles of these rifles are almost always legible and often times pristine which allows tracing back the manufacturing origins a snap. I think this is due to the deep incising of the registry inscription/information along the muzzle as compared to other cannons which were much more shallow in their engraving.
The rifle is located on East Cemetery Hill, across the road from Evergreen Cemetery, 117 feet from Baltimore Pike. The National Cemetery is also across the road but north of this position. This site is loaded with weapons and monuments. This Hill is located on the east or left side of Baltimore Pike if traveling south southeast along the road. The gun is located to the far right of the hill (if facing the hill with your back to the pike) along the southern slope, 14th from the left or 4th from the right, getting very close to the end where the monumentation stops. The rifle is pointing to the east northeast. This rifle and three others accompany the 
Battery E and L, 1st New York Artillery Monument (MN310-G) and are all positioned in front of the monument. Starting from the left and moving to the right (if facing east with the Pike to the rear) the rifles are ordered No. 634, this one, no. 909, no. 757 and no. 719. In all, there are seventeen (17) 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles arranged from north to south on East Cemetery Hill. The rifles are protected in earthen lunettes. The gun pits were originally built during the battle, but refurbished and restored by the Gettysburg Memorial Commission (pre-dating the Park Commission & the National Park Service). Photographic evidence shows these pits utilized wood fence rails on the interior. SOURCE The distance between the first and last rifle is 643 feet. The registry numbers moving from north to south are: 3_2, 834, 629, 737, 670, 762, 832, 931, 399, 707, 279, 922, 731, 634, 909, 757, 719. All of these rifles are in terrific shape, and except for the first one, all of the muzzle stamps are deeply incised and very easy to read. 
Parking is available on Baltimore street on the cemetery side at metered spaces running parallel to the road. There always seems to be a space open when I visit. Also, there is a free parking lot on the other side of the rifle, along the Pike located at N 39° 49.328 W 77° 13.792. I visited this monument on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 7, 2012 @ 2:15 P.M. and was at an elevation of 607 feet ASL. I used a Canon PowerShot 14.1 Megapixel, SX210 IS digital camera for the photos.
Through my investigations, I learned the man who made the tablets which accompany the cannons also had a hand in restoring these cannons as well. Gettysburg National Military Park has hundreds of these historic artillery pieces on its field of battle. Their carriages, sights, limbers and on rare occasion (should you find them), the caissons have all been restored. Much of the restorative work came from Major Calvin Gilbert who owned the Gettysburg foundry.
Calvin Gilbert owned a Foundry which bore his name in Gettysburg. This man was responsible for creating all of the cast iron battery tablets. His work did not end there as his foundry created many of the carriages for the historic cannons at Gettysburg. Although almost all of the cannons are from the Civil War, their carriages, sights, limbers, wheels and caissons have been restored at his foundry in the early part of the 20th century. Gilbert was in his 70s when he did this work & completed work at other battlefields as well.
My SOURCE for all things weapons at Gettysburg provided me additional information about this weapon which did not appear on the muzzle. I used red to designate that data. The rest is as it appears exactly on the muzzle, starting at the top or 11 o'clock position and moving clockwise.
No. 909 ......PICo ......1865 ......S.C.L. ......816 ......FDY #974 ......GRVS 7RH
No. 909 refers to the Army registration number, a way for the military to keep track of the guns. PICo refers to the Phoenix Iron Company in Phoenixville, PA, the foundry where the fun was manufactured. I believe when the Rebels were able to capture one of these guns, they copied it and produced their own, although this one was federally made. 1865 refers to the date of manufacture even though this is an 1861 model. 816 lbs refers to the weight of the firing tube. This number is on the bottom of the muzzle. Each gun is usually very unique and has its own weight which distinguishes it from every other gun, like a fingerprint. Many of these rifles are of the same weight (816 lbs) so the foundry must of had some advanced technology to manufacture rifles with such uniformity. S.C.L. are the initials of the inspector who gave the gun a once over before it was shipped out to the Federal army. The initials stand for the very famous Union Army Inspector Lieut. Colonel Stephen Carr Lyford. FDY #974 is information not found on the muzzle but provided by the website. This is an internal control number specific to the foundry. The carriages were approximately 900 pounds which makes this entire weapon over 1,700 pounds. The GRVS 7RH, more information provided by my source, refers to number of rifling grooves, left or right twist. In this case, 7 right hand twists were made to rifle this cannon. If you were to look closely at the close-ups of the muzzle stamps, the rifling grooves are easy to discern.
About the Foundry
The Phoenix Iron Works (1855: Phoenix Iron Company; 1949: Phoenix Iron & Steel Company; 1955: Phoenix Steel Corporation), located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was a significant manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century. Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannons for the Union Army during the American Civil War. The company also produced the Phoenix column, a significant advance in construction material. Phoenix Iron Works is a core component of the Phoenixville Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places site and in 2006 was recognized as a Historic Landmark by ASM International. SOURCE & SOURCE
About the Inspector
Born on August 15, 1838 in New Hampshire, Lyford graduted from West Point on June 24, 1861 and served with distinction as a Lieutenant Colonel throughout the Civil War. He died on May 9, 1885 while on active duty in command of the Rockford Arsenal, Pennsylvania. He is buried in Section 1, Site 9 at Arlington National Cemetery.
SOURCE I also found this biography: Stephen Carr Lyford (New Hampshire) was commander of the Cairo, Illinois, ordnance depot from February to May, 1862, and chief of ordnance in the Department of Tennessee from July 11, 1862, to September 6, 1863. Lyford returned to West Point as assistant professor of mathematics (1865-1867) and as instructor of ordnance and gunnery (1872). In 1874, he went to Japan, where he presented the emperor with arms and books. At the 1876 International Exhibition in Philadelphia, Lyford was a judge for sporting arms, weapons, and explosives. He died at the Frankford, Pennsylvania, arsenal, which he commanded, in 1885. SOURCE
About the Gun
The second most common rifled field artillery in both Armies generally, and the most common on the Maryland Campaign, the 3 inch Ordnance gun was made of hammer-welded, formed, machined iron. It was popular because of its accuracy and reliability, at least those examples built in Federal shops. Less precise machining and lower-grade iron gave their Confederate counterparts more trouble. Those built by the firm of Burton and Archer were know to be problematic. The 3-inch rifle normally fired Hotchkiss or Schenkel shells that weighed between 8 and 9 pounds. In an emergency it could use 10-pounder Parrot ammunition. It could also be used to fire cannister but, as a rifle, was not as effective with this as howitzers or Napoleons. The maximum range of this weapon was 1830 yards, with the barrel/tube Length 69 inches, the bore 3 inches (hence the name) and the total combined weight (already mentioned above), approximately 1720 pounds. Johnson, Curt & Anderson, Richard C., Artillery Hell: Employment of Artillery at Antietam, College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1995; and
Schwartz, Peter, Artillery at Gettysburg online. SOURCE & SOURCE.
About the Battery:
The 1st New York Artillery, Battery L (Battery E attached) was also known as Reynolds Battery. During the battle of Gettysburg, it served as a member of Wainwright’s Brigade of the First Corps, Army of the Potomac. The battery was commanded by Captain Gilbert H. Reynolds (1832-1913), a coachmaker from Rochester. He was wounded on July 1, the first day of the battle. Under his command, 141 men (and six ordnance rifles) were engaged here at Gettysburg and among them 1 was killed. 15 were wounded and 1 went missing. Additionally, one of the 3-inch rifles was lost on July 1.
The inscription on the accompanying monument which details the regiments location & actions @ Gettysburg reads as follows:
Erected 1891 by the State
of New York to commemorate
the detached men of Battery "E",
First N.Y. Lt. Artillery ser-
ving with "L" (Reynolds). - These
works were built and held by
Battery L, Lieutenant George
Beck commanding against as-
saults of infantry and artil-
lery during the second and third
days of July 1863.
This monument committed to
the care of a dear country
we were proud to
serve.
This area is crazy-stupid with all types of cannons and guns and monuments as far as the eyes (or binoculars) can see, a veritable outside museum. I would suggest allowing up to an hour and a half to walk around East Cemetery Hill to fully inspect all the tablets, monuments and weapons in this area.
Final Note:
Back when I first visited this site on September 10, 2010, one of the lunettes was empty and there were only three rifles present along with the monument. Being my first visit, I simply snapped a few cursory shots of the 'cannons' and thought nothing more of them. I learned a year or so later, each rifle was unique and had its own story, so I went back on August 7, 2012 and took better photos which identified each cannon by muzzle stamp. I also took care to snap the trunnions and they have important information stamped on them as well. My original waymark (since archived) for the rifles can be found HERE
