Augustus C. Dodge

Who was Augustus C. Dodge?

Augustus Caesar Dodge was one of the first set of United States Senators to represent the state of Iowa after it was admitted to the Union as a state in 1846. Dodge, a Democrat, had also represented Iowa Territory in Congress as its delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1840 to 1846.

He was born in what is now Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. Self-educated, he moved to Illinois in 1827, settled in Galena, and was employed there in various capacities in his father's lead mines. He served in the Black Hawk War and other Indian wars. In 1837, he moved to what is now Burlington, Iowa, where he served as register of the land office until 1840.

Congress created Iowa Territory in 1838, from what was formerly the Iowa District of Wisconsin Territory. As a result of the Act of March 3, 1839, the position of Iowa Territory's Delegate to the U.S. House would become vacant on October 27, 1840, and Dodge was elected to fill it. After initially serving in the Twenty-sixth United States Congress, he was re-elected in 1840, 1842, and 1844. He served as delegate until Iowa became a state in December 1846, and his role was replaced by two voting Representatives.