Grenville M. Dodge wearing a major general's uniform

Grenville Mullen Dodge^[1] (April 12, 1831 – January 3, 1916) was a Union army officer on the frontier and during the Civil War, a U.S. Congressman, businessman, and railroad executive who helped construct the Transcontinental Railroad. He was one of the founders of the General Mills Corporation. Image File history File links Grenvilledodge. ... Image File history File links Grenvilledodge. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... Leopold I 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... // United States In the United States, the frontier was the term applied to the zone of unsettled land outside the region of existing settlements of Americans. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederate) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties Killed in action: 110,000 Total dead: 360,000 Wounded: 275,200 Killed in action: 93,000 Total dead: 258... A Congressman or Congresswoman (generically, Congressperson) is a politician who is a member of a Congress. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... The official poster announcing the Pacific Railroads grand opening. ... General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is a Fortune 500 corporation, mainly concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. ...

Early life and career

Dodge was born in Putnamville, near Danville, Massachusetts. He graduated from Norwich University with a degree in civil engineering. For the next decade, he was involved in surveying for railroads, including the Union Pacific. He was also a partner in the Baldwin & Dodge Banking Firm. Norwich University (NU) is a private college located in Northfield, Vermont. ... The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. ... The Union Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting mark UP) (NYSE: UNP) is the largest railroad in the United States. ...

Civil War

Dodge joined the Union Army in the Civil War. At the beginning of the war, Dodge was sent by the Governor of Iowa to Washington, D.C., where he secured 6,000 muskets to supply Iowa volunteers. In July of 1861, he was appointed 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, where he was involved in protecting and building railroads. Official language(s) English Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Area  Ranked 26th  - Total 56,272 sq mi (145,743 km²)  - Width 199 miles (320 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 0. ... Flag Seal Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location Location of Washington, D.C., with regard to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia. ... Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Samuel R. Curtis Earl Van Dorn Strength Army of the Southwest, 11,000 men Army of the West, 14,000 men Casualties 1,349 (mostly killed and wounded) 4,600 (mostly captured) The Battle of Pea Ridge (also known as... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ...

He was appointed major general in June of 1864 and commanded the XVI Corps during William T. Sherman's Atlanta campaign. At the Battle of Atlanta, the XVI Corps was held in reserve, but it happened to be placed in a position which directly intercepted John B. Hood's flank attack. During the fighting Dodge rode to the front and personally led Thomas W. Sweeny's division into battle. This action outraged Sweeny so much that he got in a fistfight with Dodge. Sweeny received a court-martial for this action while Dodge continued to lead the corps at the Battle of Ezra Church. During the ensuing siege of Atlanta, while looking through an eyehole in the Union breastworkds a Confederate sharpshooter spotted him and shot him in the head. He recovered but was unable to return to field command and he was placed in command of the Department of the Missouri. XVI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. ... Portrait of William Tecumseh Sherman by Mathew Brady William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, and author. ... Palisades and chevaux-de-frise in front of the Potter House, Atlanta, Georgia, 1864. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders William T. Sherman James B. McPherson† John B. Hood Strength Military Division of the Mississippi Army of Tennessee Casualties 3,641 8,499 The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta campaign fought during the American Civil War... John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1, 1831–August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. ... Battle of Ezra Church Conflict American Civil War Date July 28, 1864 Place Fulton County, Georgia Result Union victory The Battle of Ezra Church was fought on July 28, 1864, in Fulton County, Georgia, during the American Civil War. ... A siege is a prolonged military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ... Some Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army (CSA) was formed in February 1861 to defend the Confederate States of America, which had itself been formed that same year when seven southern states seceded from the United States (with four more to follow). ... A marksman (also designated marksman) is a profession which is mostly to be found in military context. ...

During the war, he provided information to Thomas Clark Durant, who smuggled contraband cotton from the Confederate States and who consequently made a fortune. [2]

Indian campaigns

As the Civil War was coming to a close, Dodge's Department 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 Brig. Gen. 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 eventually escalated into Red Cloud's War. Official language(s) English Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Area  Ranked 16th  - Total 77,421 sq. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  Ranked 13th  - Total 84,876 sq. ... The Sioux (also: Lakota) are a Native American people. ... The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. ... Scabby Bull, Arapaho 1806 Arapaho camp, ca. ... The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the Oregon Trail to the gold rush territory of Montana. ... Powder River Expedition refers to two expeditions against the Indians of Wyoming and Montana. ... Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820 – December 17, 1891) was a Union general during the American Civil War, most famous for his campaigns against Indians in the American Old West. ... The Battle of the Tongue River sometimes referred to as the Connor Battle was the decisive engagement of the Powder River Expedition which destroyed the Arapaho capability to raid the Bozeman Trail and overland mail routes. ... Red Clouds War started in 1865 and ended in 1868, it was the second War (after Little Crows war) to take place against the U.S, and was one of the Plains Indians first major sucesses in battle. ...

Railroads

During the 1865 campaign in the Black Hills, while escaping from a war-party, Dodge realized he had found a pass for the Union Pacific Railroad. In May 1866, he resigned from the military and, with the endorsement of Generals Grant and Sherman, became the Union Pacific's chief engineer and thus a leading figure in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. This article is about the place in South Dakota. ... Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). ... The official poster announcing the Pacific Railroads grand opening. ...

Dodge's job was to plan the route and devise solutions to any obstacles encountered. Dodge had been hired by Thomas Clark Durant who was the major investor in the Union Pacific. Durant was also defrauding the company and manipulated the route to suit his land-holdings. This brought him into vicious conflict with Dodge. Eventually Durant imposed a consulting engineer named Silas Seymour to spy and interfere with Dodge's decisions.

Seeing that Durant was making a fortune, Dodge bought shares in Durant's company, Crédit Mobilier, which was the main contractor on the project. He made a substantial profit, but when the scandal of Durant's dealings emerged, Dodge removed himself to Texas to avoid testifying in the inquiry. The Crédit Mobilier of America scandal of 1872 involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company. ...

Politics and later life

In 1866, Dodge obtained the Iowa congressional nomination and won. This brought problems since he was also away much of the time building the railroad. His time in Washington was often spent lobbying on behalf of the Union Pacific, although he supported internal improvements to the West. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1868 and again at the 1876 convention in Cincinnati. After his term in office expired, he returned to railroad engineering. During the 1880s and 1890s, he served as president or chief engineer of dozens of railroad companies. Dodge went to New York City to manage his growing number of businesses he had developed. Congress in Joint Session. ... A typical archetype, the cowboy, in the Wild West. ... The 1868 Republican National Convention was held in Crosbys Opera House, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, May 20-21, 1868. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World[1], Gotham [2], Metropolis Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ...

Dodge returned to his home state of Iowa and died in Council Bluffs. He is buried there in Walnut Hills Cemetery. Satellite photo showing Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska Council Bluffs is a city located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. ...

The famed Western frontier town Dodge City, Kansas, was named in his honor. Although Dodge Street in Omaha, Nebraska, the former location of Union Pacific Headquarters, is often reputed to have been named after him the street was actually named for influential (and unrelated) Iowa Senator Augustus Dodge. Dodge City is a city and county seat of Ford County, Kansas. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Gateway to the West Location Location in Nebraska Government Counties Douglas County Mayor Michael Fahey Geographical characteristics Area    - City 118. ...

Notes

• ↑  Variations of his name include Greenville and Grenville Mellen.

References

• Ambrose, Stephen E. (2000). Nothing Like It In The World; The men who built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84609-8.
• biography of Grenville Dodge
• biography of Greenville Dodge
• PBS link to a biography
• Grave record