George A. Dodd

George A. Dodd
George A. Dodd
	Brigadier General
Battles/wars	Great Sioux War Battle of Bates Creek; Geronimo's War Battle of Big Dry Wash; Spanish–American War Battle of San Juan Hill; Siege of Santiago; Philippine–American War; Border War Mexican Expedition; Battle of Guerrero;
Other work	Farmer

Villistas in 1916 at the Battle of Guerrero, Mexico, during the Pancho Villa Expedition.^[1]

Early life and family

Dodd was born in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania on July 26, 1852. Dodd's father was killed in the American Civil War in 1865, at the Siege of Petersburg, so he helped raise his younger brothers and sisters with his mother.^[2]

Early career

In 1872, Dodd passed the entrance exam at

Cheyenne leader Dull Knife

was killed.

In 1880, he married Clara Agnes Steele. They had nine children: Emily, Catherine, Allen, Charles, George Allen, Mary Ethel, William Alexander, Reginald Alden, and Lida Dorothy.

In 1882, in

American Southwest and northern Mexico. It was at this time that he fought in the Battle of Big Dry Wash on July 17, 1882, the last major battle involving the Apache

.

Spanish–American War

When the

captain. When the war ended, Dodd returned to the United States for a brief time and was promoted to major

.

Philippine insurrection

In 1899, the Filipino Rebellion began so that year the 3rd Cavalry sailed for Manila.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Dodd and the 3rd Cavalry remained on duty mainly in the

Buffalo Soldiers

.

Mexican punitive expedition

In 1916, at age sixty-three, Dodd was the

cavalry charge" in history,^[6] the 7th Cavalry attacked Guerrero and routed the Mexicans after five hours of fighting. Fifty-six of Villa's men, including one of his generals, were killed in the fighting, and another thirty-five were wounded. On the American side, only five men were wounded but the victory was not complete as Villa escaped capture with the majority of his men. However, over the next few months, the Villistas remained dispersed in the hills of the Sierra Madre and were no longer consider a threat to the United States Army

.

News of the battle quickly spread to the United States, where Dodd was acclaimed a national hero. Soon thereafter, the Senate approved his promotion to brigadier general. Although Dodd was promoted on July 3, 1916, he retired from the Army just 23 days later on July 26, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64.

Personal life and family

In retirement, Dodd lived on his farm near Ithaca, New York. He later moved to a home in Orlando, Florida, where he died on June 28, 1925. General Dodd was buried with his wife and one son at Arlington National Cemetery.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[2]

Dodd's grandson Alfred Dodd Starbird was a penathlete in the 1936 Summer Olympics and lieutenant general in the Army.^[10] Great-great-granddaughter Kate Starbird was a professional basketball player before becoming a computer scientist.^[11]^[12]