Grenville M. Dodge

Grenville Mellen Dodge (April 12, 1831 – January 3, 1916) was a Union Army officer on the frontier and a pioneering figure in military intelligence during the Civil War, who served as Ulysses S. Grant's intelligence chief in the Western Theater. He served in several notable assignments, including command of the XVI Corps during the Atlanta Campaign. He later commanded troops against Native Americans and served as a U.S. Congressman, businessman, and railroad executive who helped direct the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Historian Stanley P. Hirshon suggested that Dodge, "by virtue of the range of his abilities and activities," could be considered "more important in the national life after the Civil War than his more famous colleagues and friends, Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan." Early life and career Dodge was born in the Putnamville section of Danvers in Massachusetts, to Sylvanus Dodge and Julia Theresa Phillips, a descendant of the Rev. George Phillips who settled Watertown, Massachusetts in 1630. From the time of his birth until he was 13 years old, Dodge moved frequently while his father tried various occupations. In 1844, Sylvanus Dodge became postmaster of the South Danvers office and opened a bookstore. While working at a neighboring farm, the 14-year-old Grenville met the owner's son, Frederick W. Lander, and helped him survey a railroad. Lander was to become "one [of] the ablest surveyors of the exploration of the West," according to Charles Edgar Ames in Pioneering the Union Pacific. Lander was impressed with Dodge and encouraged him to go to his alma mater, Norwich University (in Vermont) where he was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. Dodge prepared for college by attending Durham Academy in New Hampshire. In 1851, he graduated from Norwich University with a degree in civil engineering, then moved to Peru, Illinois. He started working as a surveyor and then an ax man for the Illinois Central surveying team, then switched to working for the Peoria division of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. He settled in the Missouri River city of Council Bluffs. For the next decade, he was involved in surveying for railroads, including the Union Pacific. He married Ruth Anne Browne of Peru on May 29, 1854. He was also a partner in the Baldwin & Dodge banking firm, and in 1860 served on the Bluffs City Council.