author
Grenville Mellen Dodge
1831–1916
A Civil War general, railroad builder, and engineer, he helped shape the American West in ways that reached far beyond the battlefield. His life connects military strategy, frontier expansion, and the building of the first transcontinental railroad.
1 Audiobook
The Battle of Atlanta and Other Campaigns, Addresses, Etc.
by Grenville Mellen Dodge
About the author
Born in Massachusetts in 1831, he trained as a military and civil engineer at Norwich University and later made his career in the growing West. He settled in Iowa, worked as a surveyor and engineer, and became one of the best-known railroad figures of his era.
During the American Civil War, he served as a Union general and became especially noted for his skill in reconnaissance and military intelligence in the western campaigns. After the war, he played a major role in railroad construction, serving as chief engineer of the Union Pacific during the building of the transcontinental line and helping direct rail development across the West.
He also served in Congress from Iowa and remained a prominent public figure for decades. He died in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1916, remembered both as a soldier and as one of the engineers who helped knit the country together by rail.