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Henry Dodge

Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was a member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States Senate for the state of Wisconsin from 1848 – 1857.

Although was born in Vincennes, Indiana, he was raised a Kentuckian. Circumstance drove him to Spanish Missouri at a young age. There, he rejoined his father Israel and an uncle. He dabbled in salt boiling and lead digging. He also served as deputy sheriff of St. Genevieve County under his father. In 1801, he wed Christiana McDonald.

During the War of 1812, Dodge was initially elected as captain of a mounted company, and he finished the war as a major general of Missouri militia. His crowning achievement was the saving of about 150 Miami Indians from certain massacre after their raid on the Boone's Lick settlement in the summer of 1814.

Dodge emigrated with his large family and slaves inherited from his father to the U. S. Mineral District in early July 1827. He served as a commander of militia during the Red Bird Rising of that year, and in October settled a large tract in present day downtown Dodgeville, known then as "Dodge's Camp." He worked a large claim until around 1830, when he moved several miles south in a beautiful treed area known still as "Dodge's Grove." Here he began building what would become a large two-story frame house for his ever growing extended family.

Fate however took a hand, and Dodge rose to prominence during the Black Hawk War of 1832. As colonel of the western Michigan Territory militia, Dodge brought a credible fighting force into being in a very short time. More than fifteen forts, fortified homes and blockhouses sprang up almost overnight. From these forts, Dodge and the mounted volunteers, with four companies of Territorial militia and one of Illinois mounted rangers, took to the field as the "Michigan Mounted Volunteers." Dodge and his men saw action at the battles of Horseshoe Bend (Pecatonia), Wisconsin Heights, and Bad Axe. In June 1832, he accepted a commission as major of the Regiment of Mounted Rangers, commissioned by an Act of Congress.

The ranger experiment lasted a year, and then, in 1833, was replaced by the United States Regiment of Dragoons. Dodge served as colonel; one of his captains was Nathan Boone, Daniel Boone's youngest son. In the summer of 1834, Dodge engaged on a series of long marches and made successful contact with the Comanches.

He was a renowned Indian fighter, most noted for his 1835 peace mission commissioned by President Andrew Jackson, who had called out the U.S. Dragoons to assist.

Dodge was the first Territorial Governor of Wisconsin Territory from 1836 - 1841 and again from 1845 - 1848, an area which encompassed (before Dec 28, 1846, when Iowa became a state) what became the states of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.

He declined a nomination for the Presidency of the United States in the 1844 Democratic convention. He was loyal to Martin Van Buren and both men opposed the annexation of Texas. Despite their efforts, James K. Polk, the Democrat who favored annexation, became President.

His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served as a U.S. Senator from Iowa. They are the first, and so far only, father-son pair to serve concurrently in the Senate.

In 1948, Iowa County presented a 160 acre estate to the State of Wisconsin which eventually was named Governor Dodge State Park. Over the years, this park has grown to include 5,270 acres in the area Henry Dodge once called his home.

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