Grenville Mullen Dodge was a historical figure throughout several different areas of United States history. His most notable accomplishments were as a Union officer during the Civil War and his involvement with the railroads.

Early Life

Dodge was born in Putnamville, Massachusetts on April 12, 1831. He graduated from Norwich University with a degree in civil engineering. For the next decade he was involved in surveying for railroads one of which was the Union Pacific Railroad. He was also a member of the Baldwin & Dodge Banking Firm.

Civil War

At the beginning of the Civil War, Dodge was sent by the governor of Iowa to Washington, D.C. where he secure 6,000 muskets to supply Iowa volunteers. In July, 1861 he was appoined Colonel of the 4th Iowa Volunteer Regiment. He commanded the 1st Brigade, 4th Division at the Battle of Pea Ridge where he was wounded. For his services at the battle he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and placed in command of the District of the Mississippi during which time he was involved in protecting and building railroads. He was appoined Major General of Volunteers in June, 1864 and commanded the XVI Corps during William T. Sherman's Atlanta campaign. At the Battle of Atlanta, the XVI Corps was held in reserved but it happened to be placed in a possition which directly intercepted John B. Hood's flank attack. He also capably led the corps at the battle of Ezra Church. During the following siege of Atlanta he was hit in the knee by a Confederate sharpshooter in the Atlanta defenses. His wound left him unfit for field command and he was placed in command of the Department of the Missouri.

Indian Campaigns

As the Civil War was coming to a close, Dodge's Dept. of the Missouri was expanded to include the departments of Kansas, Nebraska and Utah. During the summer of 1865 Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians had been raiding the Bozeman Trail and overland mail routes. Dodge ordered a punitive campaign to quell these raids which came to be known as the Powder River Expedition. Field command of the expedition was given to Brigadier General Patrick Edward Connor who commanded the District of Utah. Connor's men inflicted a decisive defeat on the Arapaho Indians at the battle of the Tongue River, but the expedition in general was inconclusive and eventaully grew into Red Cloud's War.

Railroads

Dodge was elected to the U.S. Congress and supported internal improvements to the West. After his term in office ended he returned to railroad engineering. He recieved indorsements from Generals Grant and Sherman and son became the chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad. He bacem the leading figure in the construction of the Union Pacifc line of the Transcontinental Railroad. During the 1880s and 1890s he served as president or chief engineer of dozens of railroad companies. He went to New York City to manage his growing number of businesses he had developed. He was also co-founder of what would become the General Mills Corporation.

He returned to his homestate of Iowa and died in Council Bluffs on January 3, 1916. The famous Dodge City, Kansas was named in his honor.

Notes

• Variations of his name include Greenville and Grenville Mellen

Sources

• biography of Grenville Dodge
• biography of Greenville Dodge