History
Early years
The history of the United States Army Corps of Engineers dates back to the Revolutionary era. On June 16, 1775, the Continental Congress organized an army whose staff included a chief engineer and two assistants.[6] Colonel Richard Gridley became General George Washington's first chief engineer. One of his first tasks was to build fortifications near Boston at Bunker Hill. The Continental Congress recognized the need to employ trained engineers in military fortifications and requested assistance from the government of King Louis XVI of France. Many of the Continental Army's early engineers were former French officers.
Louis Lebègue Duportail, a lieutenant colonel in the French Royal Corps of Engineers, was secretly sent to North America in March 1777 to serve in George Washington's Continental Army. In July 1777 he was appointed colonel and commander of all engineers in the Continental Army and, on November 17, 1777, he was promoted to brigadier general. When in May 1779 the Continental Congress created a separate Corps of Engineers, Duportail was appointed as its commander. In late 1781 he directed the construction of the American and French allied siege works at the Battle of Yorktown "Battle of Yorktown (1781)").
On February 26, 1783, the Corps was dissolved. It was reestablished during the presidency of George Washington.
From 1794 to 1802 the engineers were combined with the artillery as the Corps of Artillerymen and Engineers.[7].
The Corps of Engineers, as it is known today, was established on March 16, 1802, when President Thomas Jefferson signed the Military Peace Establishment Act, the purpose of which was "to organize and establish a Corps of Engineers... which Corps... shall be quartered at West Point (New York) in the State of New York and shall constitute a military academy." Until 1866 the superintendent of the United States Military Academy was always an Engineering Officer.
The General Survey Act of 1824 authorized the use of army engineers to survey road routes and canals for the growing nation.[8] That same year Congress passed an "Act to improve the navigation of the rivers of the Ohio and Mississippi" and remove sandbars on the Ohio and "planters, sawyers, or snags" (trees fixed to the river bed) on the Mississippi, for which the Corps of Engineers was identified. as the responsible agency.[9].
Formerly separate units
Authorized separately on July 4, 1838, the Corps of Topographical Engineers consisted solely of officers and was responsible for the mapping, design, and construction of federal civil works, coastal fortifications, and shipping routes. It merged with the Corps of Engineers on March 31, 1863, at which time the Corps of Engineers also assumed the work of the Lakes Inspection District for the Great Lakes "Great Lakes (North America)").[10].
In 1841 Congress created the Lake Survey. The studio, based in Detroit, Michigan, was responsible for conducting a hydrographic survey of the northern and northwestern lakes, and for preparing and publishing nautical charts and other navigational aids. The Lake Survey published its first charts in 1852.[11].
By mid-century Corps of Engineers officers ran Lighthouse Districts alongside U.S. naval officers.
Civil war
The Army Corps of Engineers played a crucial role in the Civil War. Many of the men who would serve in the top leadership of this organization were graduates of West Point. Several achieved fame and military power during the Civil War. Some examples include Union generals such as George McClellan, Henry Halleck, and George Meade; and Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard.[6] The versatility of Army Corps of Engineers officers contributed to the success of numerous missions during the Civil War. They were responsible for building railway pontoons and bridges, forts and batteries, destroying enemy supply lines (including railways), and constructing roads for the movement of troops and supplies.[6] Both sides recognized the critical work of engineers. On March 6, 1861, once the South seceded from the Union, its legislature passed a law to create a Confederate Corps of Engineers.[12].
The South was initially at a disadvantage in engineering expertise; Of the 65 senior cadets who resigned from West Point to accept commissions in the Confederate Army, only seven were placed in the Corps of Engineers.[12] The Confederate Congress passed legislation that authorized one company of engineers for each field division; In 1865 the Confederate States of America had more engineer officers serving in the field than the Union Army.[12].
One of the main projects of the Army Corps of Engineers was the construction of railroads and bridges. Union forces took advantage of that Confederate infrastructure because railroads and bridges provided access to resources and industry. Confederate engineers surpassed the Union Army in building fortifications that were used both offensively and defensively, along with trenches that made their penetration difficult. This method of trench construction was known as the zigzag pattern.[12].
20th century
The National Defense Act of 1916 authorized a reserve corps in the Army, and the Engineer Officer Reserve Corps and the Enlisted Engineer Reserve Corps became one of the branches.[13] Some of these personnel were called to active service for World War I.
From the beginning, many politicians wanted the Corps of Engineers to contribute to both military construction and civil works. They were assigned to the field of military construction on December 1, 1941, after the Quartermaster Department struggled to expand its field of specialty,[14] The Corps built facilities at home and abroad to support the United States Army and Air Force during World War II, the USACE program expanded to more than 27,000 military and industrial projects in a $15.3 billion mobilization effort. Aircraft, tank assembly, and ammunition plants were included; camps for 5.3 million soldiers; warehouses, ports and hospitals; and the rapid construction of iconic projects such as the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, Hanford and Oak Ridge, among other places, and the Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of Defense, located across the Potomac from Washington, D.C..
In civil projects the Corps of Engineers became the primary federal agency for navigation and flood control. Congress significantly expanded its civil works activities, becoming a major supplier of hydroelectric energy and the main provider of leisure and recreation areas in the country. Its role in natural disaster response also grew dramatically, especially after the devastating Mississippi flood of 1927. In the late 1960s the Corps became a leading agency in environmental conservation and restoration.
In 1944, specially trained Army combat engineers were assigned to blow up underwater obstacles and clear defended ports during the Normandy invasion. In the Pacific theater, the "pioneer troops" were formed, a hand-selected unit of Army volunteer combat engineers trained in jungle warfare techniques, knife fighting, and unarmed jiu-jitsu (hand-to-hand combat).[17] Working under camouflage, the pioneers cleared the jungle, prepared advance routes, and established bridgeheads for infantry, as well as demolishing installations. enemies.[17].
Five commanding generals (chiefs of staff after the 1903 reorganization) of the United States Army held engineering commissions early in their careers. All transferred to other branches before being promoted to the first position. These were Alexander Macomb, George B. McClellan, Henry W. Halleck, Douglas MacArthur and Maxwell D. Taylor.[18].
Featured dates and projects
Occasional civil disasters, including the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, resulted in increased responsibilities for the Corps of Engineers. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans provides another example of this.