Grenville M. Dodge

Grenville Mellen Dodge (April 12, 1831 – January 3, 1916) was a Union army officer on the frontier and 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 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 Putnamville, near Danvers in Massachusetts, to Sylvanus and Julia Theresa Phillips Dodge. 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 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). Dodge prepared for college by attending Durham Academy in New Hampshire.