War Department General Order #72, issued on December 16, 1897, designated the new fort as Fort Mott, in honor of Major General Gershom Mott, of Trenton. Gershom Mott had served with distinction as a Second Lieutenant in the 10th Infantry in the Mexican–American War, as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 5th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, and as Colonel and commander of the 6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry before he was promoted to Brigadier General. He was wounded four times, resigned from the Army in 1866, and died on November 29, 1884.