Dodd frequently campaigned against
Oliver P. Morton's and Abraham Lincoln's policies, going so far as to help start the Sons of Liberty after becoming disillusioned with the OAK (
Order of American Knights), although he never called the Sons that by name. By all accounts he was the most important
Copperhead in Indianapolis. In 1863 a speech given by Dodd at
Rensselaer, Indiana convinced a
Methodist preacher that Dodd was a traitor. The local
provost marshal without the authority to do so arrested Dodd. Local Democrats threatened a riot, and Dodd was freed with a promise that he would stop any such riot from occurring.
Felix Grundy Stidger (1836–1908), a
U.S. Secret Service Agent who had successfully infiltrated the OSL (Order of Sons of Liberty) and held the position of Grand Secretary of the OSL for the state of Kentucky, claimed that Dodd was planning on the releasing of the Confederate prisoners at
Camp Morton. On August 20, 1864, Dodd's offices were raided by the Union military, recovering thousands of rounds of ammunition and 400 revolvers, labelled "Sunday school books". Several of his co-conspirators, including
William A. Bowles, were arrested. Dodd escaped into Canada. The conviction of the co-conspirators went through the federal courts, and eventually reached the
United States Supreme Court, where Chief Justice
Salmon P. Chase issued a writ of
habeas corpus, freeing them, on April 3, 1866. On December 17, the Court ruled that since the civil courts were still functioning in Indiana at the time they were convicted by
military commission, the convicted were denied constitutional protections and were freed under a holding styled as
Ex parte Milligan. Returning from Canada after the trials, Dodd served several terms as mayor of
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin as a
Republican, joining the party of his wartime enemies Morton and Lincoln. ==See also==