Grenville Mellen DODGE, Congress, IA (1831-1916)

DODGE, Grenville Mellen, a Representative from Iowa; born in Danvers, Essex County, Mass., April 12, 1831; attended the Danvers public schools and Durham Academy, New Hampshire; was graduated as a civil engineer from Norwich University, Vermont, in 1851; moved to Iowa and settled in Council Bluffs; member of the city council of Council Bluffs in 1860; entered the Union Army as colonel of the Fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry on July 6, 1861; promoted to brigadier general of Volunteers March 21, 1862, and major general June 7, 1864; resigned from the Army May 30, 1866; chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad 1866-1870; elected as a Republican to the Fortieth Congress (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1869); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1868; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1868, 1872, and 1876; settled in New York City; president of the commission to inquire into the management of the war with Spain; died in Council Bluffs, Iowa, January 3, 1916; interment in Walnut Hill Cemetery.

Bibliography

Farnham, Wallace D. “Grenville Dodge and the Union Pacific: A Study of Historical Legends.” Journal of American History 51 (March 1965): 632-50; Hirshon, Stanley P. Grenville M. Dodge: Soldier, Politician, Railroad Pioneer. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present