Edward Otho Cresap Ord

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Edward Ord

Edward Otho Cresap Ord (born October 18, 1818 in Cumberland , Maryland , † July 22, 1883 in Havana , Cuba) was the designer of Fort Sam Houston and general of the United States Army . He served in the Seminole and Indian Wars and in the American Civil War .

Life

Ord was born to James and Rebecca Ord. Some sources identify him as the grandson of King George IV of Great Britain. He was considered a mathematical genius and was personally appointed to the US Military Academy in Westpoint by US President Andrew Jackson . His room mate there was the future General William T. Sherman . He graduated in 1839 and was transferred to the 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment as a lieutenant.

Ord was in California when the great gold rush began. This resulted in a considerable increase in the cost of living, so that Ord and other young officers were forced to earn something in spite of the officer's pay. Ord began therefore together with William Hutton on behalf of the city of Los Angeles to map the city and the surrounding area. These cards were necessary because the city wanted to sell the surrounding land. Ord carried out this activity from July to August 1849. It is thanks to him and his assistant William Rich Hutton that we know today what the Indian settlement ( pueblo ) near Los Angeles looked like in the mid- 19th century . Ord scouted the settlement while his assistant made sketches of the accommodations and maps. These are still in the Los Angeles City Archives.

In 1850, while serving in the Pacific Northwest , he was promoted to captain. On October 14, 1854, he married Mary Mercer with whom he had thirteen children.

On May 2, 1862, Ord was promoted to major general of the Volunteers and commanded the 2nd Division of the Tennessee Army in the first Battle of Corinth . Although he was seriously wounded in the battle at Hatchies Bridge in Mississippi , he took the service with the XIII. Corps of the US Army, in which he served in the Battle of Vicksburg . During the siege of Petersburg he led the XVIII. Corps and was wounded again during the attack on Fort Harrison in the Battle of Chaffins Farm . In the Appomattox campaign , he commanded the James Army . On July 26, 1866, he was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army.

Ord's grave in Arlington National Cemetery

During the Reconstruction , Ord was in command of the 4th Military District ( Arkansas and Mississippi). From 1868 until his retirement he commanded the military areas of California, Platte and Texas.

On December 6, 1880 Ord retired from the army. Later he was promoted to major general a. D. promoted and worked on the construction of a railroad in Mexico . He died of yellow fever in Havana , Cuba in 1883 . His grave is in Arlington National Cemetery .

memory

literature

  • John H. Eicher, David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands . Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .
  • Joseph Ord Cresap, Bernarr Cresap: The History of the Cresaps . The Cresap Society, McComb, Mississippi, 1937.
  • Bernarr Cresap: Appomattox Commander: The Story of General EOC Ord . San Diego, CA 1980.

Web links

Commons : Edward Otho Cresap Ord  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Erwin G. Gudde: California Place Names . University of California Press , Berkeley, California 1949, p. 244.
  2. ↑ Mount Ord, FID: 1342086 . In: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) . US Geological Survey . November 30, 1979. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
personal data
SURNAME Ord, Edward Otho Cresap
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Fort Sam Houston designer and US Army officer
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1818
PLACE OF BIRTH Cumberland, Maryland
DATE OF DEATH July 22, 1883
Place of death Havana , Cuba