Warren F. Dodge was born around 1827 in Worcester County, Massachusetts. He eventually moved to Kewanee, Illinois, and earned a living as a “moulder.”
He enlisted in the Union army on August 9, 1862, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company A of the 124th Illinois Infantry on September 10, 1862. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. The regiment took part in the Vicksburg campaign. He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant on July 9, 1863, and he mustered out on August 15, 1865.
He settled in Earl, Illinois, after the war, and he married Rebecca A. Strout on March 7, 1867. They had at least three children: Anna, born around 1869; Ralph, born around 1872; and Adele, born around 1880. He worked as a physician, and by 1870, he owned $600 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in June 1871 and eventually secured one. He died on October 5, 1884.