Edward Otho Cresap Ord letter to Jefferson Davis, 1853 December 30 : manuscript

Autograph letter, signed, from Edward Otho Cresap Ord to Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War of the United States. Ord describes the reaction in California and Mexico to the Gadsden Purchase, including American filibusters in Mexican territory and the negative perception of the sale by Mexican citizens, particularly clergy, who were concerned that their land would be taken and distributed to American settlers. Ord also describes a topographical survey of the newly acquired territory and the possibility of constructing a railroad in the new territory