biography
| name: |
Dodge, Grenville (Mellen)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1831–1916)
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| biography:
| Engineer and soldier, born in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA. A railroad surveyor in the West, and a merchant in Iowa (after 1854), he volunteered in the Civil War, rising to command a Union army division. Although he saw considerable action and was wounded twice in battle, his greatest contribution to the Union's victory came from his ability to build or rebuild damaged railroads and bridges. After the war he became chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad (1866–70) and he oversaw the construction of the Union Pacific transcontinental rail line, completed in 1869. During this time he also served one term in the US House of Representatives (Republican, Iowa, 1867–9). After 1871 he served as chief engineer with other railroads in the Southwest, and after the Spanish-American War he helped build railroads in Cuba, and is credited with having built over 10 000 miles of railroad and for surveying many more miles. He headed the so-called Dodge Commission (1898–1900) that investigated the US Army's conduct during the Spanish-American War, resulting in organizational reforms. |
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