Edward Otho Cresap Ord was born on October 18, 1818, in Cumberland, Maryland, to James and Rebecca Ord. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1839 and received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 3^rd United States Artillery. He took part in the Second Seminole War and earned a promotion to 1^st lieutenant.

 

In 1847, army officials transferred him to California, where he helped construct Fort Halleck. The following year, he helped survey Sacramento, California. He was promoted to captain in 1850. He married Mary Mercer Thompson on October 14, 1854, and they had at least seven children: Roberta, born around 1857; Edward, born around 1858; Lucy, born around 1860; James, born around 1862; Mary, born around 1864; Jules, born around 1866; and Ruth, born around 1868.

 

He remained in the army during the Civil War, and he was promoted to major general in May 1862. He served in the Department of the Gulf, and he took part in the siege of Vicksburg. He was wounded in the fall of 1864, and he spent the next few months recovering. He commanded the Army of the James during the Appomattox campaign.

 

From 1867 until 1868, he commanded the Fourth Military District, which included Mississippi and Arkansas. He commanded the Department of California from 1868 until 1871 and the Department of the Platte from 1871 until 1875. He retired on December 6, 1880. The following year, he began work as a civil engineer on a railroad line between Texas and Mexico City. He contracted yellow fever in Mexico, and he died in Havana, Cuba, on July 22, 1883.

 

Image: Edward O. C. Ord (courtesy Wikicommons)

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