Edward Otho Cresap Ord (October 18, 1818 – July 22, 1883) was an American engineer and
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
officer who saw action in the
Seminole War
The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...
, the
Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
, and the
American Civil War. He commanded an army during the final days of the Civil War, and was instrumental in forcing the surrender of
Confederate General
Robert E. Lee. He also designed
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.
"Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview),
US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army.
Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
. He died in Havana, Cuba of
yellow fever.
Early life and career
Ord was born in
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
, the son of James and Rebecca Ord. Family tradition made James Ord the illegitimate son of
George IV of the United Kingdom and
Maria Fitzherbert but he seems likely to have been the son of Ralph Ord, who was baptised at Wapping, Middlesex, in 1757, the son of John Ord, a
factor (agent) from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Edward Ord was considered a mathematical genius and was appointed to the
United States Military Academy by
President Andrew Jackson. His roommate at
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
was future general
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
. He graduated in 1839 and was commissioned a
second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery. He fought in the
Second Seminole War in Florida and was promoted to
first lieutenant.
![FORT MERVINE, MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/FORT_MERVINE%2C_MONTEREY%2C_CALIFORNIA.jpg)
In January 1847, Ord sailed on the
USS ''Lexington'' around
Cape Horn with
Henry Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...
and William Tecumseh Sherman. He arrived in
Monterey, California, capital of that newly acquired territory, and assumed command of Battery F, 3rd U.S. Artillery, with orders to complete Fort Mervine, which was renamed Fort Halleck. Its construction was superintended by Lieutenant Ord and his second in command, Lieutenant Sherman. On February 17, 1865, the fort was renamed Ord Barracks
In 1904, it was renamedto honor the original
Presidio of Monterey
The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC). ...
.
![General Edward O C Ord and His Family](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/General_Edward_O_C_Ord_and_His_Family.png)
Ord was in
California when the
gold rush began, with its resultant skyrocketing prices. Since their military salaries no longer covered living expenses, Ord's commander suggested that the younger officers take on other jobs to supplement their income. In the fall of 1848, Ord and Sherman, in the employ of
John Augustus Sutter, Jr., assisted Captain William H. Warner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the survey of
Sacramento, California, helping to produce the map that established the future capital city's extensive downtown street grid. Ord also produced a map of the Gold and Quicksilver district of California dated July 25, 1848.
Later,
Los Angeles officials needed to have a survey of the public lands in order to sell them, and Ord was hired as the surveyor. He chose
William Rich Hutton as his assistant, and together the two mapped Los Angeles in July and August 1849. Thanks to the efforts of these two men, historians have a fairly good view of what the
Pueblo de Los Angeles
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
looked like at the middle of the 19th century. Lieutenant Ord surveyed the pueblo and his assistant Hutton sketched many scenes of the pueblo and drew the first map from Ord's survey. The Los Angeles City Archives has the original map produced by Hutton from Ord's survey. Ord was paid $3000 for his work on this survey. La Reina De Los Angeles, published in 1929, states that Ord was offered 160 acres of public land and 10 building sites all in the present downtown business district but accepted the $3000 instead.
Ord was promoted to
captain in 1850, while serving in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
. He married Mary Mercer Thompson on October 14, 1854, and they eventually had thirteen children. One of their notable children was
Jules Garesche Ord, who was killed in action after reaching the top of
San Juan Hill
San Juan Hill is a series of hills to the east of Santiago, Cuba, running north to south. The area is known as the San Juan Heights or in Spanish ''Alturas de San Juan'' before Spanish–American War of 1898, and are now part of Lomas de San Ju ...
in Cuba. He was the officer who started and led the charge which Teddy Roosevelt followed. Another was
Edward Otho Cresap Ord, II
Edward Otho Cresap Ord, II (November 9, 1858 – April 4, 1923) was a United States Army Major who served with the 22nd Infantry Regiment during the Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. He helped direct ...
, who was also a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
who served with the
22nd Infantry Regiment during the
Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
, the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
and the
Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
. He was also a painter, inventor and poet. The son of Edward Otho Cresap Ord, II and grandson of Edward Ord was
James Garesche Ord, who commanded the
28th Infantry Division and was Chairman of the Joint U.S.–Brazil Defense Commission in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In 1859, while attending artillery school at
Fort Monroe, Virginia
Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virg ...
, Ord was summoned by
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
John B. Floyd
John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was the 31st Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and the Confederate general in the American Civil War who lost the crucial Battle of Fort Donelson.
Early family life
John Buchan ...
to quell
John Brown's raid on the
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...
Federal arsenal. However,
Col.
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Robert E. Lee reached Harpers Ferry first, and Colonel Lee telegraphed to Captain Ord that the situation was under control and Ord and his men would not be needed at Harpers Ferry. They were instructed to halt at
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack b ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
.
Civil War service
![Edward Ord - Brady-Handy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Edward_Ord_-_Brady-Handy.jpg)
At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, Ord was serving as Captain of Battery C, 3rd U.S. Artillery, and also as post commander at the U.S. Army's
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...
in Washington Territory. On May 7, 1861, Ord led two companies of the 3rd Artillery from Fort Vancouver to San Francisco. After relocating to the east, Ord's first assignment was as a
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
commander in the
Pennsylvania Reserves
The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antietam ...
. In this capacity, he figured prominently in the
Battle of Dranesville
The Battle of Dranesville was a small battle during the American Civil War that took place between Confederate forces under Brigadier General J. E. B. Stuart and Union forces under Brigadier General Edward O. C. Ord on December 20, 1861, in ...
in the fall of 1861.
On May 3, 1862, Ord was promoted to the rank of
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
of volunteers and, after briefly serving in the Department of the Rappahannock, was assigned command of the 2nd Division of the
Army of the Tennessee
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. Maj. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
sent Ord with a detachment of two divisions along with Maj. Gen.
William S. Rosecrans
William Starke Rosecrans (September 6, 1819March 11, 1898) was an American inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and U.S. Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War. He was ...
's forces to intercept
Sterling Price
Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...
at the town of
Iuka. Due to a possible
acoustic shadow An acoustic shadow or sound shadow is an area through which sound waves fail to propagate, due to topographical obstructions or disruption of the waves via phenomena such as wind currents, buildings, or sound barriers.
Short-distance acoustic shad ...
Ord's forces were never engaged and Rosecrans fought alone. Ord likewise missed the fighting at
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
but engaged the Confederate forces in their retreat at the
Battle of Hatchie's Bridge. There he was seriously wounded and had to leave field command only for a short time. When Grant relieved Maj. Gen.
John A. McClernand
John Alexander McClernand (May 30, 1812 – September 20, 1900) was an American lawyer and politician, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois and a member of the United States H ...
from his command, Ord was conveniently situated to assume command of the
XIII Corps during the final days of the
Siege of Vicksburg
The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...
.
After the fall of Vicksburg, Ord remained in command of the XIII Corps in the
Department of the Gulf
The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.
History United States Army (Civil War)
Creation
The department was cons ...
. In 1864, he was transferred back to the
Eastern Theater to assume command of the
XVIII Corps. His forces were present during the
Battle of the Crater
The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the siege of Petersburg. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Arm ...
but did not actively participate in the fighting. In the fall of 1864 he was seriously wounded in the attack on
Fort Harrison and did not return to action until January 1865.
In March 1865, during a prisoner exchange in Virginia, Ord spoke with Confederate General
James Longstreet
James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...
. During their conversation, the subject of peace talks came up. Ord suggested that a first step might be for Lee and Grant to have a meeting. General Longstreet carried this idea back to General Lee, who wrote to Grant about the possibility of a "military convention" in the interest of finding what Lee called "a satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties". Grant forwarded Lee's proposal to President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, with a request for instructions. In the end, Lincoln directed Grant to decline all such offers unless it was for the explicit purpose of accepting the surrender of Lee's army.
It was at this time, during the spring of 1865, that Ord's career peaked. He was assigned command of the
Army of the James
The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.
Histor ...
during the
Appomattox Campaign. Maj. Gen.
John Gibbon
John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Early life
Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourt ...
's corps of Ord's army played a significant role in the
breakthrough at Petersburg. On April 9, he led a forced march to
Appomattox Court House to relieve Maj. Gen.
Philip H. Sheridan
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
's
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
and force Lee's surrender. General Sherman said that he "had always understood that
rd'sskillful, hard march the night before was one of the chief causes of Lee's surrender."
General Ord was present at the McLean house when Lee surrendered, and is often pictured in paintings of this event. When the surrender ceremony was complete, Ord purchased as a souvenir, for $40, the marble-topped table at which Lee had sat. It now resides in the Chicago Historical Society's Civil War Room.
After the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, while attending the play ''Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Shot in the hea ...
on April 14, 1865, many in the North, including
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, wanted strong retribution to be visited upon the Southern states. Grant called upon Ord to find out if the assassination conspiracy extended beyond
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Ord's investigation determined the Confederate government was not involved with the assassination plot. This helped greatly to quench the call for revenge on the former Confederate states and people.
Postbellum
![Grave of Brigadier General Edward Ord - Arlington National Cemetery - 2012-05-19](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Grave_of_Brigadier_General_Edward_Ord_-_Arlington_National_Cemetery_-_2012-05-19.jpg)
During
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
, Ord was assigned by
Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
to command the Army of Occupation, headquartered at
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
. Subsequently, he was assigned to the
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.
1st Department 1861–1862
Genera ...
until he was mustered out of the volunteers in September 1866. On December 11, 1865, he received the commissions of
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
and
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in the
regular army
A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...
for the Battle of Hatchie's Bridge and brevet
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
of volunteers for the assault of Fort Harrison, all dating from March 13, 1865. Subsequently, he commanded the
Department of Arkansas The Department of the Arkansas was a territorial department of the United States Army during the American Civil War.
History
The Department of the Arkansas was created on January 6, 1864, to consist of Union occupied Arkansas, except Fort Smith. F ...
(1866–67), the
Fourth Military District
The Fourth Military District of the U.S. Army was one of five temporary administrative units of the U.S. War Department that existed in the American South. The district was stipulated by the Reconstruction Acts during the Reconstruction period fo ...
(1867–68), and the
Department of California
The Department of California was an administrative department of the United States Army. The Department was created in 1858, replacing the original Department of the Pacific, and it was ended by the reorganizations of the Henry L. Stimson Plan i ...
(1868–71).
Ord commanded the
Department of the Platte
The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho. With headquarters in Om ...
from December 11, 1871, until April 11, 1875, when he was reassigned as the commander of the
Department of Texas
The Department of Texas was a military department of the United States Army that existed from 1850 to 1861, and again from 1865 to 1866, from 1870 to 1913 and during the First World War. It was subordinate to the Military Division of the Missouri. ...
. He served in that role until his retirement on December 6, 1880. While he was stationed in Texas, he supervised the construction of
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.
"Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview),
US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army.
Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
.
In January 1872, Ord was a member of the buffalo hunting excursion with the
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia (russian: Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович; in St. Petersburg – 14 November 1908 in Paris) was the fifth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alex ...
on the plains of southwest
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
with American celebrities of the day. They included
Philip Sheridan
General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...
(second in command of the United States Army), Lt. Col.
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
,
Buffalo Bill Cody
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...
,
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...
, and
Texas Jack Omohundro
John Baker Omohundro (July 27, 1846 – June 28, 1880), also known as "Texas Jack", was an American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia, he served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He late ...
.
During 1872, Col. Ord and a soldier detachment were assigned to protect the survey parties of the
Wheeler Survey
The Wheeler Survey, carried out in 1872-1879, was one of the "Four Great Surveys" conducted by the US government after the Civil War primarily to document the geology and natural resources of the American West. Supervised by First Lieutenant (lat ...
as they worked in the vicinity of northeastern Utah.
In 1876, Ord was appointed military governor of the Fourth Military District which included Mississippi and Arkansas.
Ord retired from the army in 1881 with the rank of brevet major general, and at this time, General Sherman wrote of him, "He has had all the hard knocks of service, and never was on soft or fancy duty. He has always been called on when hard duty was expected, and never flinched."
Later in 1881, Ord was hired by his former commander, U. S. Grant, president of the
Mexican Southern Railroad
The Mexican Southern Railroad was a passenger and freight railroad in Mexico connecting Oaxaca with Puebla. It was chartered in 1881 by a consortium of Mexican and American investors including former President Ulysses S. Grant. Construction delays ...
owned by
Jay Gould
Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...
, as a
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
to build a railroad line from Texas to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
.
In 1882, Ord's daughter, Roberta, married prominent Mexican general
Jerónimo Treviño
José Jerónimo de los Dolores Treviño y Leal, commonly known as Jerónimo Treviño was a prominent Mexican General and politician. He was a veteran of the Reform War and the Second French intervention in Mexico which he gained fame for his pa ...
.
While working in Mexico, Ord contracted
yellow fever. He became seriously sick while on his way from Vera Cruz to New York. He was taken ashore at
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , where he died in the evening of July 22, 1883. On the occasion of his death, General Sherman said of Ord, "As his intimate associate since boyhood, the General here bears testimony of him that a more unselfish, manly, and patriotic person never lived". He was buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
, in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
.
General Ord's son, Edward O. C. Ord, Jr., was also an Army officer. Ord, Jr. was a hereditary member of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...
, the
Sons of the American Revolution
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...
and the
Sons of the Revolution
Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation
located at Willia ...
.
Legacy
* Well before his death, the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
named a station in California, along its now-abandoned
Colusa Branch,
Ord Bend as recognition of the nearby Ord Ranch, owned in the 1850s by Ord and two of his brothers.
* The former
Fort Ord
Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...
, now
Fort Ord National Monument, in
Monterey County, California
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Monte ...
, was named for him.
*
Ord, Nebraska
Ord is a city in Valley County, Nebraska, Valley County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,112 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Valley County, Nebraska, Valley County.
History
Ord was platted in ...
, was named in his honor while he was serving as commander of the Department of the Platte.
* Peaks named ''Mount Ord'' in
Brewster County, Texas
Brewster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat (and only city) is Alpine. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region, and borders Mexico. Brewster County is the ...
and
Mount Ord in
Maricopa County, Arizona
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...
are named for him.
* There is a bronze statue of Ord at
Vicksburg National Military Park
Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi (flanking the Mississippi River), also commemorates the greater ...
.
* There is a bust of Ord on display in the foyer of th
University Police Departmentat
California State University, Monterey Bay
California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and ...
, in Seaside, California.
* The Ord-Weitzel Gate is inscribed with his name at Arlington National Cemetery, but was relocated and modified.
* There is a bust of Ord at
Grant's Tomb
Grant's Tomb, officially the General Grant National Memorial, is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States, and his wife, Julia Grant. It is a classical domed mausoleum in the Morningside Heights neighborho ...
in New York City depicting him as one of five (
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
,
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
,
McPherson,
Sheridan, and Ord) sentinels watching over the tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant.
* There is a street in
Chinatown, Los Angeles, California
Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a reside ...
that is named after him called Ord Street. There is also an Ord Street in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
named for him.
* Ord Street NE in Washington, DC is named for him.
Dates of rank
See also
*
List of American Civil War generals (Union)
Union generals
__NOTOC__
The following lists show the names, substantive ranks, and brevet ranks (if applicable) of all general officers who served in the United States Army during the Civil War, in addition to a small selection of lower-ranke ...
Notes
References
* Cody, William Frederick, ''An autobiography of Buffalo Bill (Colonel W.F. Cody)'', Cosmopolitan Book Corporation, 1920.
* Cresap, Joseph Ord, and Cresap, Bernarr, ''The History of the Cresaps'', The Cresap Society, McComb, Mississippi, 1937.
* Eicher, John H., and
Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, .
* Flood, Charles Bracelen, ''Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War'', Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005, , p. 285.
* Marschner, Janice, ''California 1850: A Snapshot in Time'', Coleman Ranch Press, 2000
* Ord, Edward Otho Cresap IV, ''American Civil War Society, Inc., Company Dispatch, August/September, 2005, Official newsletter of the American Civil War Society'', p. 5.
Fort Ord Alumni Association''The United States Marines at Harpers Ferry, 1859'', U.S. Marine Corps Historical Reference Series, number 10, Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., revised 1962.
Handbook of Texas Online
External links
Guide to the Edward Otho Cresap Ord Papersat
The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
*
Edward Ord's map of the Gold and Quicksilver district of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ord, Edward
1818 births
1883 deaths
Military personnel from Cumberland, Maryland
Deaths from yellow fever
American people of the Seminole Wars
United States Military Academy alumni
Union Army generals
People of California in the American Civil War
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Pennsylvania Reserves
Infectious disease deaths in Cuba