Edward Otho Cresap Ord
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1818-1883
Edward Ord was the designer of Fort Sam Houston, and a U.S. Army
officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the
Civil War.
Ord was born in Cumberland, Maryland, the son of James and Rebecca
Ord. Some accounts claim that he was a grandson of King George IV of
England. He was considered a mathematical genius and was appointed to
the U.S. Military Academy by President Andrew Jackson. His roomate at
West Point was future general William T. Sherman. He graduated in
1839 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S.
Artillery.
Thanks to the efforts of two men historians have a fairly good view
of what the pueblo of Los Angeles looked like at the middle of the
19th century. Lieutenant Ord surveyed the pueblo and his assistant
William Rich Hutton sketched many scenes of the pueblo and drew the
first map from Ord's survey. Ord was in California when the gold rush
began, with its resultant skyrocketing of 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.
At about this time 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 Hutton as his assistant, and together the
two mapped Los Angeles in July and August of 1849. The Los Angeles
City Archives has the original map produced by Hutton from Ord's
survey.
Ord was promoted to captain in 1850 while serving in the Pacific
Northwest. He married Mary Mercer Thompson on October 14, 1854, and
they had thirteen children.
In 1862 Ord was promoted to the rank of major general and commanded
the 2nd Division of the Army of the Tennessee at Corinth. Although he
was seriously wounded at Battle of Hatchie's Bridge in Mississippi,
he returned to duty and commanded the XIII Corps during the last part
of the Vicksburg Campaign. During the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign he
commanded the XVIII Corps and was seriously wounded in the attack on
Fort Harrison. He was in command of the Army of the James during the
Appomattox Campaign.
Ord retired from the army in 1880 and worked on railroad construction
in Mexico. He died in Havana, Cuba, from yellow fever. He is buried
in Arlington National Cemetery.
During the Vietnam War, one of the primary transit sites for Army
troops returning to the United States from the war was Fort Ord,
California.
