History of the US Army Corps of Engineers
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History of the US Army Corps of Engineers Course No: B07-002 Credit: 7 PDH Robert Steelhammer, P.E. Continuing Education and Development, Inc. 22 Stonewall Court Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677 P: (877) 322-5800 [email protected] The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A History Headquarters U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of History Alexandria, Virginia 2008 This is the Official U.S. Government edition of this publication and is herein identified to certify its authenticity. Use of ISBN 978-0-16-079585-5 is for U.S. Government Printing Office Official Editions only. The Superintendent of Documents of the U.S. Government Printing Office requests that any reprinted edition clearly be labeled as a copy of the authentic work with a new ISBN. It is prohibited to use the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seal, as it appears on the cover, on any republication of this material without the express, written permission of the Office of History, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Any person using official seals and logos in a manner inconsistent with the Federal Regulations Act is subject to penalty. Foreword his illustrated history of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides an overview of many of the missions that engineers have performed in support of the U.S. Army and the Nation since the early days of the T American Revolution. A permanent institution since 1802, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has effect- ively and proudly responded to changing defense requirements and has played an integral part in the development of the Nation. Engineers have served in combat in all of our Nation’s wars. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Corps built coastal fortifications, surveyed roads and canals, eliminated navigational hazards, explored and mapped the Western frontier, and constructed buildings and monuments in the Nation’s capital. In the twentieth century, the Corps became the lead federal flood control agency. Assigned the military con- struction mission in 1941, the Corps constructed facilities at home and abroad to support the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. During the Cold War, Army engineers managed construction programs for America’s allies, including a massive effort in Saudi Arabia. When the Cold War ended, the Corps was poised to support the Army and the Nation as we adapted to the new era. But the events of September 11, 2001, changed the diplomatic and military climate dramatically. After sup- porting recovery efforts at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Army engineers played an important role in the rapidly evolving Global War on Terrorism. Following combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Corps of Engineers established new overseas districts and a division in those countries to help rebuild their shattered infra- structures and foster a new era of peace and democracy in the region. The results of that effort will shape the Nation’s future in the twenty-first century. Today, building on its rich heritage, the Corps is changing to meet the challenges of the future. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a broad-ranging engineer force of highly qualified civilians and Soldiers, working with our partners to deliver innovative and effective solutions to the Nation’s engineering challenges. We are a values- based organization, focused on our mission and those we serve, dedicated to public service, and a vital part of the U.S. Army. Our mission areas include planning, designing, building, and operating water resources and other civil works projects; designing and managing the construction of military facilities; providing immediate and long-term support to the public during natural disasters and national emergencies; and offering design and construction management capabilities for other Defense Department and Federal agencies and for foreign countries. I hope that readers of this history will gain an appreciation of the military, political, economic, and technological factors that shaped the modern U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We in the Corps, both Soldiers and civilians, are proud of our many past contributions and look forward with confidence to continued service as a relevant, ready, responsive, and reliable organization, proudly serving the armed forces and the Nation. R. L. VAN ANTWERP Lieutenant General, US Army Chief of Engineers iii Acknowledgments This publication is a revised and expanded version of The History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Alexandria, VA: Office of History, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1998), EP 870-1-45. William C. Baldwin was project manager of this publication. Over the years numerous present and former Army engineer historians have contributed to the text. The historians who worked on this publication were Paul K. Walker, chief of the Office of History; William C. Baldwin; John Lonnquest; Matthew Pearcy; Michael Brodhead; Eric Reinert; James Garber; Martin Reuss; and Kent Sieg. Larry Roberts, Charles Camillo, Charles Parrish, Joan Kibler, and the USACE Command Sergeant Major, Robert Winzenried, also provided helpful information. Jean R. Diaz, the Office of History’s editor, edited the text and managed the images. Janet R.M. Fitzgerald, BFA, Visual Information Specialist, Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity, designed the cover. Douglas J. Wilson assisted in the proofing, and our administrative officer, Anna Punchak, assisted with financial and other matters. EEI Communications, Inc., under the team leadership of Jayne Sutton, designed and prepared the book for printing. The illustrations for this book came from the Research Collections of the Office of History unless another source is noted below the caption. iv Contents Introduction Foreword . .iii Acknowledgments . .iv Historical Time Line . .vi 1. The Making of the Corps The Revolutionary War . .1 Artillerists and Engineers, 1783–1802 . .7 Engineers in the War of 1812 . .11 The Corps and the Military Academy at West Point, 1802–1866 . .15 The Topographical Engineers . .21 2. Contributing to National Development The National Road . .31 Lighthouses . .35 Origins of Civil Works Missions . .41 Waterway Development . .45 Flood Control . .57 Hydropower Development . .69 The Environmental Challenge . .75 Work in the District of Columbia . .85 3. Strategic Role in War and Peace Coast Defense . .97 Combat Operations, 1846–1916 . .105 The Panama Canal . .117 U.S. Army Engineers in World War I . .123 Combat Engineers in World War II . .131 The Manhattan Project . .147 Army Engineers in Korea . .155 U.S. Army Engineers in the Vietnam Conflict . .165 The Corps and the Space Program . .175 Combat and Reconstruction: From the Gulf War to the Global War on Terrorism . .181 4. A Vital Part of the Army Military Construction . .191 Work for Other Nations . .205 Changing Military Responsibilities and Relationships . .217 Civil Works, Congress, and the Executive Branch . .241 Emergency Operations . .263 Appendices Insignia of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . .273 Profiles of the Chiefs of Engineers . .277 Selected Bibliography . .305 Index . .317 v Historical Time Line 1775–2005 1775–1815 1775 Congress established the Col. William Prescott Continental Army with provision for at the Battle of a Chief Engineer (June 16). Bunker Hill, painting by Frederick C. Yohn Richard Gridley named first Chief The Continental Engineer and oversaw fortification Insurance Company at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 1779 Engineer officers and companies of sappers and miners formed into a Corps of Engineers. 1781 Plan of attack for French and American engineer Yorktown, drawn by officers and sappers and miners Jean Baptiste de played key role in successful siege Gouvion, October 29, 1781 of Yorktown. National Archives 1783 Corps of Engineers mustered out of service along with most of the Continental Army. 1794 Unified Corps of Artillerists and Engineers established. View of West Point, c. 1834 Library of Congress 1802 Permanent reestablishment of a separate Corps of Engineers and founding of U.S. Military Academy at West Point under Corps supervision. 1812–1815 Plan of Fort McHenry National Archives War of 1812: Coastal harbors heavily fortified by engineers deterred British attacks. Engineer officers first assumed command. vi 1819–1838 John C. Calhoun 1819 U.S. Army Collection Secretary of War John C. Calhoun’s report on importance of waterways for national defense and commerce identified role for Army engineers. 1819 View of the “insulated Stephen H. Long’s expedition tablelands” or buttes of the Missouri River basin during Maj. Stephen pioneered Army engineer Long’s expedition to involvement in western the Rocky Mountains, exploration. 1820 Library of Congress 1824 An act to improve the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers initiated permanent civil works construction mission. Nineteenth century survey party in the 1824 Sierra Nevada, General Survey Act authorized use painting by J.J. Young of Army engineers to survey road National Archives and canal routes. 1825 Corps assumed responsibility for construction and repair of Cumberland Road. 1829 Corps launched first steam- powered snagboat, Heliopolis, Capt. Henry M. on the Mississippi River. Shreve’s snagboat Heliopolis 1838 Creation of separate Corps of Topographical.