Appomattox commander: The story of General E.O.C. Ord

Appomattox commander: The story of General E.O.C. Ord by Bernarr Cresap. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780498024320.

A critical gap in the fabric of Civil War history is filled by this definitive biography of General E.O.C. Ord. General Ord was, indeed, the “Appomattox commander," for as senior officer of the left wing of Grant’s armies, he commanded a mighty force of some 30,000 infantry and cavalry in the pursuit of General Robert E. Lee to Appomattox. By an all-night march of forty miles, which can only be described as a classic in the annals of warfare, Ord placed two corps of infantry in front of Lee, blocking his escape route and compelling the Confederate commander to send out the white flag of surrender. Ord had a fascinating military career spanning the forty-five years from his entry into West Point in 1835 to his retirement in 1880. He traveled widely and had varied experiences, many of them recounted vividly in his own words in this engaging book. He served in California during the Mexican War and fought hostile Indians in Florida and in Oregon and Washington territories. He achieved the rank of major general of volunteers early in the Civil War and rose to command an army and a military department, brilliantly climaxing his services at Appomattox Court House. General Ord held a major position in the Reconstruction of the South, wielding for a time almost absolute power over a million and a half people in Mississippi and Arkansas. With his headquarters at Omaha in the early 1870s, Ord successfully maintained the security of the Union Pacific Railroad, our first great transcontinental route. As the commander in Texas in the late 1870s, General Ord was faced with an intolerable situation of lawlessness, in which marauders white and red made cattle raids into Texas, then fled across the international boundary to safety in Mexico. So skillfully did Ord handle his men that he was able to bring stability to the Rio Grande frontier. Also contains a bibliography, a large section of notes and a fine index. Illustrated period photos and eleven maps.