Edward Otho Cresap Ord , II ( November 9 , 1858 – April 4 , 1923 ) was a United States Army Major who served with the 22nd Infantry Regiment during the Indian Wars , the Spanish – American War and the Philippine – American War . He helped direct relief work after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . He was a military instructor , an expert linguist and spent time in painting and writing poetry . He was also an inventor who patented a new type of gold pan and different types of rifle and handgun sights . Young Edward Ord was the eldest male of 15 children ( 13 lived past childhood ) and was born at Beneficial Barracks , San Francisco , now part of the Benicia Arsenal , Benicia , California on November 9 , 1858 . His father , the then Captain Edward Otho Cresap Ord ( October 18 , 1818 in Maryland – July 22 , 1883 in Havana , Cuba and buried on July 22 , 1898 in Arlington National Cemetery ) , married Mary Mercer Thompson ( January 22 , 1831 in Virginia – July 15 , 1894 in San Antonio , Texas ) on October 14 , 1854 . His father was a career military officer who was a hero in the American Civil War and had served as a major general of Volunteers . After the war , he reverted to being a brigadier general in the Regular Army
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Edward Otho Cresap Ord, II