Grenville Mellen Dodge (April 12, 1831 – January 3, 1916) was a Union Army general 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."Morse, Sidney G. The New England Quarterly. Vol. 40, No 2 (June 1967) pp. 311–314.Hirshon, pp. xiv
Early life and career
Dodge was born in the Putnamville section of Danvers, Massachusetts, to Sylvanus Dodge and Julia Theresa Phillips, a descendant of the Rev. George Phillips who settled Watertown, Massachusetts in 1630.Phillips genealogies; including the family of George Phillips, first minister of Watertown, Mass., also the families of Ebenezer Phillips, of Southboro, Mass., Thomas Phillips, of Duxbury, Mass., Thomas Phillips, of Marshfield, Mass., John Phillips, of Easton, Mass., James Phillips, of Ipswich, Mass., with brief genealogies of Walter Phillips, of Damariscotta, Me., Andrew Phillips, of Kittery, Me., Michael, Richard, Jeremy and Jeremiah Phillips, of Rhode Island; and fragmentary records, of early American families of this name. Auburn, MA 1885 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.
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 1861, he was appointed Colonel of the 4th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was wounded in the left leg, near Rolla, Missouri, when a pistol in his coat pocket discharged accidentally.
He commanded the 1st Brigade, 4th Division in the Army of the Southwest at the Battle of Pea Ridge, where he was wounded in the side and hand. For his services at the battle, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and placed in command of forces based in Corinth, where his intelligence operation was based.
His commands were known variously as the Central District (Department of the Mississippi); 4th Division (District of West Tennessee); District of Mississippi (Department of Mississippi); 4th Division (District of Jackson, Army of the Tennessee); 4th Division (XIII Corps, Army of the Tennessee); District of Corinth (XVII Corps, Army of the Tennessee); District of Corinth (XVI Corps), Army of the Tennessee; and finally as the 2nd Division (XVI Corps).Eicher & Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. (June 1, 2002) . pp. 211–212.
Following Confederate General Van Dorn's repulse at the Second Battle of Corinth in October 1862, Dodge's command fought successful engagements near the Hatchie River and then turned to West Tennessee where they captured a band of Confederate guerrillas near Dyersburg."Federal attack on Confederate guerrillas five miles east of Dyersburg at Wood Springs ." Reports of Brig. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, U.S. Army. August 7, 1862. (OR, Ser. I., Vol 17, pt. I, pp. 29–30)"Capture of Partisan Ranger W.W. Faulkner and men in West Tennessee ." Report of J.C. Pemberton, Lieut-Gen, Cmdg., C.S.A. November 19, 1862. (OR, Ser. II, Vol 4, p. 948) On February 22, 1863, troops from Dodge's command attacked Tuscumbia and the rear column of Van Dorn's column, capturing a piece of artillery, 100 bales of cotton, 100 prisoners and Van Dorn's supply train.The Union Army: Cyclopedia of battles. Volume VI. Federal Publishing Company. Madison, Wis: 1908. p. 880 He then served as Grant's intelligence Chief through the Vicksburg campaign.
Dodge was later appointed by General Grant as commander of a Division in the Army of the Tennessee, where his troops aided Grant and William T. Sherman by "rapidly repairing and rebuilding the railroads, bridges, and telegraph lines destroyed by the Confederates," and defeating or capturing the Confederate guerrillas, who had been ripping up the track and destroying railroad bridges, by employing techniques such as building two-story blockhouses near the bridges.McLean, Maggie. "Ruth Anne Dodge." Civil War Women. October 24, 2009.
In 1863, he was summoned to Washington DC by President Abraham Lincoln, and although Dodge thought he was being called before a court of inquiry for his aggressive recruitment of black soldiers, the President was instead interested in Dodge's railroad expertise, and asked him to divine a location along the Missouri River where the Union Pacific Railroad's transcontinental railroad should have its initial point."Abraham Lincoln and Iowa." The Lincoln Institute.Isaac N. Arnold, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, p. 246. The location provided by Dodge was later established by Executive Order as the starting point in 1864.Roy P. Basler, editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Letter from Abraham Lincoln to James W. Grimes and James Harlan, March 26, 1861, Volume IV, p. 298. Following the Vicksburg campaign, his own troops joined General Grant and Iowa Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood in petitioning for Dodge's promotion."61. Petition of XVI Army Corps officers to Lincoln on promotion of Gen. Grenville M. Dodge to major general." State Archives of Iowa: Record Group 43 (Governor). State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines. September 24, 1863."64. Iowa Gov. Samuel J. Kirkwood to Lincoln on promotion of Brig. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge to major general." State Archives of Iowa: Record Group 43 (Governor). State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines. September 24, 1863.
Dodge led an expedition to Northern Alabama from April 18, 1863, to May 8, 1863, that screened the advance of Streight's Raid.Tucker, Spencer. "American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [6 volumes]: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection." ABC-CLIO (September 30, 2013). p. 1891. While Dodge's portion of the expedition was successful, Streight's incursion was disastrous.Robert L. Willett, Jr. "The Lightning Mule Brigade: Abel Streight's 1863 Raid into Alabama." Carmel: Guild Press of Indiana, 1999. . His command performed various engagements thereafter in northwestern Mississippi and West Tennessee."A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3). In December, his forces engaged in a skirmish near Rawhide, twelve miles north of Florence, Alabama that resulted in the capture of 20 prisoners.Scott, et al., p. 593
He was promoted to major general 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 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 the one-armed Sweeny so much that he got in a fistfight with Dodge and fellow division commander John W. Fuller. 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 breastworks a Confederate sharpshooter spotted him and shot him in the head. After, he was to complete the war as commander of the Department of the Missouri.
Also during the war, he provided information to Thomas Clark Durant who consequently made a fortuneAmerican Experience|Transcontinental Railroad|People & Events at www.pbs.org smuggling contraband cotton from the Confederate States to fund his intelligence efforts. He would later come into conflict with Durant.
After the war, Dodge joined the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and was assigned insignia number 484.
Pioneer of military intelligence His first experience with intelligence gathering came when general John C. Fremont sent Dodge's cavalry regiments on useless raids near Rolla, Missouri based solely on rumors.Feis, p. 127. He set out to rectify this situation and provide accurate intelligence to his superior Samuel Curtis after Fremont was relieved.
The initial group, known as the "Corps of Scouts" was formed from men of the 24th and 25th Missouri Infantry Regiments, who were often assigned to their own neighborhoods and were paid for their expenses, although most refused payment due to their Union loyalties.See "Grenville M. Dodge: Grant's Intelligence Chief in the West" at the Fort Huachuca History Program under "Masters of the Intelligence Art . They are credited with providing the intelligence necessary to achieve victory at Pea Ridge.
Dodge created a highly effective intelligence gathering network which later proved vital to Grant's operations and was a precursor to the modern Intelligence Corps of the United States Army.Walch, Tim. "Grenville Dodge." Iowa Heritage Illustrated. Spring 2014. Vol 93, Issue 1, p 51. It was one of the largest of the war, funded by the proceeds of captured Confederate cotton, with over 100 agents, and so effective that their identities remain a mystery even in modern times.Lotter, David. "Grenville Dodge (1831–1916)." Signal Corps Association. It was perhaps the most accurate and comprehensive intelligence gathering network in history up to that time.Hastedt, Glen P. "Spies, Wiretaps, and Secret Operations: An Encyclopedia of American Espionage: An Encyclopedia of American Espionage." ABC-CLIO: December 9, 2010.