Theodore Ayrault Dodge – Major, United States Army

Born at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, May 28, 1842, he received a military education in Berlin, Germany and graduated from the University of Longon (England) in 1861. He also received a LL.B degree from Columbian University in 1865. He married Jane Marshall Neil in 1865 and Clara Isabel Bowden in 1893.

He entered the Union Army in 1861 as a Private and served in the Volunteer Services in every regimental rank. He was thrice wounded and lost his right leg in the Battle of Gettysburg. He was commissioned in the Regular Army in 1866 and served in the War Department, 1864-70, and was then placed on the retired list.

He was the author of: “History of the Art of War: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus, Napoleon” (12 volumes), 1890-1907; “The Campaign of Chancellorsville,” 1881; “Bird’s Eye View of our Civil War,” 1883; “Parrocius and Penelope,” 1885; “Great Captains,” 1889; “Riders of Many Lands,” 1894. He made his home in Paris, France, and died there in 1909. He was buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery.

His second wife, Clara Isabel Bowden Dodge (1859-1940) is buried with him.

COLONEL THEODORE A. DODGE DEAD
Military Historian Dies at Versailles
His War Record

PARIS, France, October 26, 1909 – Colonel Theodore A. Dodge, the military historian of New York and Paris, died today at Versailles.  He was born at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1842.

Colonel Theodore Ayrault Dodge was born at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on May 28, 1842.  His military education was obtained in Berlin under the tutorship of Major General von Frohreich of the Prussian Army.  After being graduated from the London University in 1861, just about the time that the troubles began with the South, Dodge returned to this country and was appointed a First Lieutenant in the One Hundred and First New York Volunteer Infantry.  He resigned from that regiment in 1862 to accept the appointment of First Lieutenant in the One Hundred and Nineteenth New York Volunteer Infantry.

Colonel Dodge served in the defenses of Washington and participated in the Poe campaign and in the Seven Days’ fight at Fair Oaks.  He was slightly wounded at the battle near Chantilly, which, it was thought for a time, would keep him out of the rest of the campaign.  He recovered, however, in time to join General Carl Schutz’s division from Fredericksburg through the Chancellorsville campaign to Gettysburg where he lost his right leg and was made a prisoner of war.  Not being able to further serve on the battlefield, Colonel Dodge, when freed, was appointed to the Bureau of Enrollment in the Paymaster General’s Department in Washington.

After the Civil War, Colonel Dodge took to writing on military subjects and soon became known as one of the foremost writers on such matters in this country.  Among his best known works were:  “A Bird’s Eye View of the Civil War,” “A Chat in the Saddle,” and a series of military histories including “Alexander,” “Hannibal,” and “Caesar.”  Since the Civil War, Colonel Dodge has spent the greater part of his time traveling, but kept a residence both in this country and in Paris.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard