Edward Ord: Difference between revisions

{{for|his son|Edward Otho Cresap Ord, II}}

|death_place= [[Havana, Cuba|Havana]], [[Captaincy General of Cuba]]

|allegiance={{Flag|United States of America|1877}}<br />([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])

|branch= {{flag|United States Army|1877|size=25px}}<br />([[Union Army]])

'''Edward Otho Cresap Ord''' (October 18, 1818 – July 22, 1883), frequently referred to as '''E. O. C. Ord''', was an American engineer and [[United States Army]] officer who saw action in the [[Seminole War]], the [[Indian Wars]], 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 States Army|Confederate]] General [[Robert E. Lee]]. He also designed [[Fort Sam Houston]]. He died in Havana, Cuba of [[yellow fever]].

Ord was born in [[Cumberland, Maryland]], 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]]<ref>Georgetown University Archives including a Xerox copy of a manuscript entitled "History of James Ord as related by himself with other facts collected by his sons" and a copy of a privately printed pamphlet entitled, "Memoranda Concerning James Ord who died January 25, 1873 by his granddaughter Mary Ord Preston 1896" original publication in Georgetown University Library, Special Collections, call number 90A469.</ref> but, heinstead, seems likelyhe tomay 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.<ref>Anthony J. Camp, ''Royal mistresses and bastards: fact and fiction 1714–1936'' (London, 2007) {{ISBN|978-0-9503308-2-2}}, pp. 149–153.</ref> Historian James Munson has concluded that Mrs Fitzherbert had no child by the Prince of Wales,<ref>James Munson (2001) "Maria FitzHerbert: The Secret Wife of George IV," Constable, London {{ISBN|0-09-478220-2}}</ref> although other historians disagree. For example, Saul David concludes that it is generally accepted that the Prince of Wales and Mrs Fitzherbert had at least one child and that James Ord would be the most likely candidate.<ref>Saul David (1998), "Prince of Pleasure: the Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency," Grobe Press, New York {{ISBN|0-8021-3703-2}}, pp. 75–78.</ref> Edward Ord was considered a mathematical genius and was appointed to the [[United States Military Academy]] by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Andrew Jackson]]. His roommate at [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] was future general [[William Tecumseh Sherman]]. He graduated in 1839 and was commissioned a [[second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the 3rd U.S. Artillery. He fought in the [[Second Seminole War]] in Florida and was promoted to [[first lieutenant#United States|first lieutenant]].

Ord was in [[California]] when the [[California Gold Rush|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, California|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]] 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.<ref>Marschner 2000, p. 49</ref> 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.

After the [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]]'s assassination on April 14, 1865, many in the North, including [[Ulysses S. Grant]], wanted strong retribution onto be visited upon the Southern states. Grant called upon Ord to find out if the assassination conspiracy extended beyond [[Washington, D.C.]] 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Catton|first=Bruce|title=Grant Takes Command|url=https://archive.org/details/granttakescomman00catt|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/granttakescomman00catt/page/475 475–480]|year=1969|publisher=Boston, Little, Brown }}</ref>

* Peaks named ''Mount Ord'' in [[Brewster County, Texas]], and [[Mount Ord (Apache County, Arizona)|Mount Ord]] in [[Maricopa County, Arizona]], are named for him.<ref name=GNIS>{{cite web | title = Mount Ord, FID:1342086 | work = Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) | publisher = [[United States Geological Survey|U.S. Geological Survey]] | date = 1979-11-30 | url = http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1342086 | access-date = 2008-11-29}}</ref>

* ThereOrd is a streetStreet in [[Chinatown, Los Angeles, California]] that is named after him called Ord Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=3a8192be-7e44-406b-9e77-b702f43506ed&cp=37.760808~-122.440218&lvl=20&style=g&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027|title=Map of Ord Street, San Francisco, California.|website=www.bing.com|language=en|access-date=2018-04-09}}</ref> There is also an Ord Street in [[San Francisco]] named for him.<ref>''The Chronicle'' 12 April 1987 p.7</ref>

* Ord Street NE in Washington, DCD.C., is named for him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=68b42c06-999b-4a1f-ac21-268884199200&cp=38.908545~-76.93878&lvl=16&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027|title=Map of Ord St NE in Washington, DC|website=www.bing.com|language=en|access-date=2018-04-09}}</ref>