United States Army Officer, US Congressman, US Senator. Born in Vincennes, Indiana. Enlisted in the War of 1812 as a Captain in the Missouri State Volunteers, eventually rising to Major General of the Missouri Militia. Established successful mining operations in Illinois before taking up residence is what is now Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Led a force of mounted Michigan Territory Militia in the Black Hawk War, and fought in the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. In 1832 he was commissioned Major in the United States Regular Army to lead a battalion of mounted infantry authorized by Congress. He was subsequently promoted to Colonel, and his unit was expanded to a full regiment, designated the 1st United States Dragoons, which has the distinction of being the first mounted Regular Army unit in US Army history (It would be re-designated as the 1st United States Cavalry in 1861). His second-in-command was Lt. Colonel Zachary Taylor, who would go on to be a Major General and hero in the Mexican War, and would become the 12th United States President. Commanded the regiment from 1832 to 1836, which was based in the newly established post of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1836 when Congress established the Territory of Wisconsin he resigned his army commission and accepted the appointment of Territorial Governor, an office he served in from 1836 to 1841, then from 1845 to 1848. Elected as a Territorial Delegate from Wisconsin to the House of Representatives, serving from 1841 to 1845. When Wisconsin was admitted as a State in 1848, he was elected as one of the its first two United States Senators (along with Isaac Pidgeon Walker), serving from 1848 to 1857. He was offered an appointed as the Territorial Governor of Washington 1857, but declined. In the Senate he served alongside his son, Augustus C. Dodge, who was a Senator from Iowa. They are the only father-son combination to simultaneously serve as United States Senators. When Zachary Taylor ran for President in 1847, Henry Dodge was offered the position of Vice-President on the Ticket. He declined the honor, and it went to Millard Fillmore. Thus, he missed the opportunity to become the 13th President when President Taylor subsequently died in office in July 1850. Dodge County in Wisconsin and Henry County in Iowa are named for him. Dodge County in Minnesota is co-named for him and his son. The Dragoon regiment he commanded still exists today in the United States Army as a Mechanized tank unit stationed in Fort Hood, Texas.