"(April 12, 1831 -- January 3, 1916) Grenville Mellen Dodge was a(n) civil engineer, member of a city council, soldier, general, chief engineer of a railroad, and president of a commission. He was born in Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts and moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Dodge served as a member of the Council Bluffs city council, chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad (1866 - 1870), as a member of the Republican National Convention (1868, 1872, & 1876), and was president of the commission to inquire into the management of the war with Spain. He served in the Union Army as colonel of the 4th Iowa Volunteer Infantry (July 6, 1861), promoted to brigadier general of Volunteers (March 21, 1862), and was major general (June 7, 1864 - May 1866). Dodge was elected as a Republican to the 40th Congress (March 4, 1867 - March 3, 1869) and declined to run in 1868. [Source: 'Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 - Present', available at https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=D000395]"