Colonel
George Bomford

Colonel George Bomford was born in 1780 and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1805.

During the period of 1821-32, when Ordnance missions were placed under the Artillery, Colonel Bomford signed correspondence as “Brevet Colonel on Ordnance Service.” As Chief of Ordnance from 1832 to 1848, he recognized the need for, and fought successfully to obtain, a permanent Ordnance staff in an independent Ordnance Department.

He was known as the “father” of the Ordnance Department, serving in it from 1812 to 1848. Being well informed in the manufacture of ordnance materiel, Colonel Bomford played an active role in determining ordnance designs and specifications.

He designed the Columbiad, the Army's first gun capable of firing a heavy projectile. Colonel Bomford wrote the first set of regulations for the Ordnance Department and demonstrated exceptional ability for businesslike administration. He always insisted that the main purpose of the Ordnance Department was to make provisions for the future.

Colonel Bomford died, while Chief of Ordnance, on March 25, 1848.