This ward honors Sergeant William Jasper, who died saving the American colors (battle flags) during the Battle of Savannah in October 1779. The entire northeastern tything of Jasper Ward was already occupied by the Oglethorpe Barracks, a military outpost built in 1834, when the first part (north of Harris Street) was platted in 1837; the remainder of the ward, along with the square, was laid out in 1839. Of the three wards created that year (the other two were Pulaski and Lafayette), Jasper Ward has always been the most monumental in its architecture. In 1890, the eleven army buildings of Oglethorpe Barracks on this superblock were replaced by the enormous Hotel Desoto, which was, in turn, replaced by Desoto Hilton Hotel complex in 1968.
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