Alfred Amédée Dodds (6 February 1842 – 17 July 1922) was the commander of French forces in Senegal from 1890, commander of French forces in the second expeditionary force to suppress the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

, and commander of French forces during the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second Franco-Dahomean War The Second Franco-Dahomean War, which raged from 1892 to 1894, was a major conflict between French Third Republic, France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant and incorporated ...

. As both a

quadroon In the colonial societies of the Americas and Australia, a quadroon or quarteron (in the United Kingdom, the term quarter-caste is used) was a person with one-quarter African/ Aboriginal and three-quarters European ancestry. Similar classifica ...

and

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

, he was famed in the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...

at the beginning of the 20th century as an example of African leadership. From 1892 to 1894, he led the conquest of

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

, one of West Africa's most powerful pre-colonial states, against King

Béhanzin Gbehanzin also known as Béhanzin ( – 10 December 1906) is considered the eleventh (if Adandozan is not counted) King of Dahomey, modern-day Republic of Benin. Upon taking the throne, he changed his name from Kondo. Following his father ...

. Close to the French Radical Party, Alfred Dodds owed his nomination as expedition leader to the personal intervention of powerful French politician

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...

Biography

Early life

Dodds was born on 6 February 1842 in Saint-Louis, Senegal. His father was Antoine Henri Dodds, a merchant, and director of the Saint-Louis post office, a

and of

descent; his mother was Charlotte de la Chapelle, a

signare Signares were black and mulatto Senegalese women who had an influence via their marriage with European men and their patrimony. These women of color managed to gain some individual assets, status, and power in the hierarchies of the Atlantic sl ...

of French and African descent. He was the eldest of 10 children. His paternal grandfather was John Dodds, a British Army officer and '' aide-de-camp'' to the last English governor of Saint-Louis. John Dodds was married to a Senegalese woman of French and African descent.

Military career

Dodds graduated from the ''

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

'' in 1862. He was promoted to lieutenant in the '' Troupes de marine'' in 1867 and subsequently posted to the

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

where he distinguished himself during the riots of 1868. He made captain in December 1869. During the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870, his military prowess was noted at the

Blue Division The 250th Infantry Division (), better known as the Blue Division (, ), was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain operating from 1941 to 1943 within the German Army () on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated t ...

when he was made Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. Captured, he escaped after the capitulation of the

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Napoleon III, Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and ...

, and rejoined the '' Armée de la Loire'' and later the ''

Armée de l'Est The Armée de l'Est (''Army of the East''; German - Ostarmee; also Second Loire Army; nicknamed the 'Bourbaki army' after its first commander General Charles Denis Sauter Bourbaki) was a French army which took part in the Franco-Prussian War of ...

''. He was held in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at the end of the war. Dodds-Abomey

He served in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

from 1871 to 1878, in

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vietnam, depending on the contexts, usually for Southern Vietnam. Sometimes it referred to the whole of Vietnam, but it was commonly used to refer t ...

from 1878 to 1879. Made battalion leader in 1879, he then served again in Senegal and participated in the fighting in

Casamance Casamance is the area of Senegal south of the Gambia, including the Casamance River. It consists of the Lower Casamance (, —i.e. Ziguinchor Region) and the Upper Casamance (, —i.e. Kolda and Sédhiou Regions). The largest city of Casamance ...

from 1879 to 1883. Then made a lieutenant colonel, he served in the war of conquest in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

. A colonel in 1887, he served in the counter-insurgency warfare in the Fouta Djalon in

French Guinea French Guinea () was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, within the same borders as ...

. He was decorated Commander of the Legion of Honour in 1891 and was given command of the Eighth Colonial Army in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

. Then, in 1892, he was appointed superior commander of

and led the

. Dodds was named '' général de brigade'', inspector of naval infantry, and Grand Officer of the

in 1892, then

General of Division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

in 1898. In 1900, he was given the High Command of colonial troops in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. From 1903 to 1907 he was high commander of naval infantry and a member of the High Council of War. He was given the

Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

and Military Medallion in 1907.

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodds, Alfred 1842 births 1922 deaths École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French generals French military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War French people of Fulbe descent People of Métis descent French people of Senegalese descent Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour People from Saint-Louis, Senegal People of French West Africa French people of English descent