I whanau a Ord i Cumberland, Maryland, te tama a James raua ko Rebecca Ord. Ko te tikanga a te whanau ko James Ord te tama i whanau mai i waho o te ture a George IV o te United Kingdom me Maria Fitzherbert engari ko te mea pea ko ia te tama a Ralph Ord, i iriiria i Wapping, Middlesex, i te tau 1757, te tama a John Ord, he kaihoko (kaiwhakahaere) mai i Berwick-upon-Tweed. I whakaarohia a Edward Ord he tohunga pāngarau, a, i tohua ia ki te United States Military Academy e te Perehitini Andrew Jackson. Ko tana hoa noho i West Point ko te rangatira o muri mai a William Tecumseh Sherman. I puta ia i te tau 1839 a i whakawhiwhia ki a ia hei tuarua tuarua i roto i te 3rd US Artillery. I whawhai ia i te Pakanga Tuarua o Seminole
i Florida, ā, i whakatairangahia ia hei rangatira tuatahi.