Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-01-30
The Engineer and Railway Builder
Whose Genius Found the Path
Over the Mountains.
REALITIES MORE READABLE
THAN FICTION.
Recited by the Man Who Built the
Union Pacific With q Regiment
of Soldiers at His Back to
Protect His Workmen
From Indians.

General G. NJ. Dodge, of Iowa, who
served conspicuously with the Union forces
during the war of 1s61-65, read paper be-
fore the Society of the Army of the Tennes.
See, at its twenty-first annual reunion at
Toledo, Ohio, September Is, 1888, on tie
trauscontinental railways, which is so re-
plete with interesting historical data, and
is so charmingly told. that it is here given
in full:
GENERAL DoDGE's STORY.
Mr.: President and Companions of the Aray
Of the Tennessee Habit" says Carlyle,
'is the deepest law of nature; it is our
supreme strength"
Likewise, to use the words of compeer
of Carlyle: In great majority of things,
habit is greater plague than ever afflicted
Egypt
hasten to add my Endorsement to both
these observations. Nothing less than the
truth contained in the former, think all
here who know me will admit, could sup
port one like myself, whose lifelong pur-
suits unfit him for the role have to &C
cept, and subject him to the keen edge of
the truth contained in the latter, in obeying
such an order as the following:
LETTER FROM GENERAL SHERMAN.
"FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL
New YORK, May IA, 1888. !
" General G. II. Dodge, No. 1 Broadway
DEAR GENERAL: The receipt this morning
of the Annual Report of the Proceedings
of the Society Army of the Tennessee, at
Detroit, September 14th and 18th, 1887, re-
minds me that our next meeting will be at
Toledo, Ohio, September 18th and 10Th,
1883, and that it is my duty to name two
Members TO read at that meeting papers
of interest and value for future historic
reference. After scanning the list of living
members. with full knowledge of what
has gone before, l have settled on you and
Surgeon Hartshorn, of Cincinnati. You
can choose your own subject, and what
add is mere suggestion. The civil war
which we shared was only link in the
great chain of our national development.
Important events preceded that war which
have plainly ciystallized into history the
world did not stop, but went on, and you
were directly an agent in the consequences
The Pacific States had to be brought into
clear harmony with the older Eastern
communities, and you did much to build
up the Union and Central Pacific Railroads,
the pioneers, followed by four other trans
continental lines, now in full operation.
viii have historic interest
:. | ask you to do this, and it will be
printed and perused by thousands in the
great future who cannot hear it read, but
who will be edited long after you and l
are gone,
Simply write me that you will be at
Toledo, September 18th, and will assure
You of all else. As ever your friend,
w. T. SHERMAN"
ACCEPTS FROM HIS OLD COMMANDER.
But l derive encouragement to proceed
when / reflect on the happy issue
of the many seemingly desperate enter
prises undertaken in the past at the
bidding of our commander, to whose
orders we all learned, a quarter OF
century age, to yield unquestioning
obedience. More than quarter of GEN.
fury ago j learned to trust in his Judgment,
rather than my own, and my experience is
all the greater, since l know from expert
ence and observation something of his ca
pacity for correct judgment in these mat
tiers, as well as IN those that were dominant
during the war.
recall the fact that it was, in measure,
under his auspices, if not his orders, that l
proceeded from my post in the army to
that of which l am now required to make
report. Let me read The documentary
proof of this, SIS well as his words of APP
prevail when the work was done:
THE GREAT WORK CONTEMPLATED.
HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION !
OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
ST LOUIS, May l, 1866
Major General Do9ge-DEAR GENERAL
] have your letter of April 9th. and read
lily consent to what you ask. l think Cen
eral Pope should be a, Lsavenworth before
rOrt iaaua and axncrtal he he %
Leavcnworth by May LIST, bat he is not yet
come. As soon as he reaches Leaven-
worth, or st. Louis, even, consent to your
going to Omaha 10 begin what, trust, will
be the real beginning of the great road.
start to morrow for Riley, whence / will
cross over to Kearney by land, and thence
come into Omaha, where | hope to meet
you. / will send your letter this
morning to Popes Office, and
indorse my request that telegraph
message be sent TO General Pope to the
Hoping to meet you soon, am, yours
truly, w. 7. SHERMAN, NJ. CT
THE TIME FoR CONGRATULATIONS.
After an interval of three years, when !
telegraphed General Sherman that the
tracks were Joined, be answered as follows
''WAsHISeroS. May II, 1869.
General g. N. Dodge. In common with
millions, sat yesterday and heard the
mystic taps of the Geographic battery an
nounce the mailing of the last spike in the
great Pacific road. Indeed, am its friendi
Yea Yet. am to De part of it. for as
early as 1854 / vas Vice-President of the
effort begun in San Francisco under the
contract of Robinson, Seymour & Co. As
soon as General Thomas makes certain
preliminary inspections in his command
on the Pacidc l will 60 out and, need moi
say, will have different facilities from that
of 1916, when the only way to Californs
was by sail around Cape Horn, taking oul
ships 1876 days. All honor to you, to Do
rant, TO Jack and Dan Easement, TO Reed
and the thousands of brave fellows who
have wroug ht ont this glorious problem
spite of changes, storms, and even doubt:
of the incredulous, and all the obstacle.
you have now happily surmounted.
w. T. SHERMAN, General"
More than this. Turn With me to til,
first volume OF his memoirs, page 70, wher,
he says:
"Shortly after returning from Monterey
/ was sent by General Smith up to Sacra
mento city to ins,rac, Lieutenants Warnel
and Williamson. of the Engineers, to pusl
their surveys of the Sierra Nevada noun
tains. for the purpose of ascertaining tn,
possibility of passing that range by a rail
road, subject that then elected uriyersa
interest. II was generally assumed tina
such road could not be made along any o
the immigrant roads then in use, and War
ner's orders were to look further north NJ
the Feather river, or some of its tributaries
Warner was engaged in this survey durin,
the summer aud fall of lS49. and had ex
plored to the very end of Goose Lake, tn,
source OF Feather river, when this officer
career was terminated by death in BATH
with the Indians.
He was too modest to add, as have n,
doubt was the fact that those instruction
were sent at his own suggestion; that tina
was the first exploring party ever sent int,
the field for the special purpose of ascer
tanning the feasibility of constructing
railway on portion of the line of one Q
the transcontineutal routes and that thu
exploration preceded. by at least four years
the Act of Congress making appropriation
q for exploration and surveys for railroad
route from the Mississippi river to the Pa
cific ocean, the earlier fruits Of which wer