He then joined his regiment in the fighting at Ashby Gap, Virginia on July 19, 1864. During the minor engagement, known as the Battle of Ashby's Gap, a small group of Union cavalrymen, including members of the 21st New York, attempted to cross the gap in order to disrupt the movement of Confederate Lieutenant-General Jubal Early's army by crossing the gap and attacking supply trains bringing up the rear of Early's forces during the Valley Campaigns of 1864. During the engagement, when one of his regiment's captains was placed at risk of enemy capture after falling wounded on the field, Dodds rescued that captain while under heavy enemy fire, and moved him to safer Union-held territory. An 1896 letter to the newspaper of Dodds' adopted hometown, Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle provided more details regarding Dodds' actions that day: