Corps Of Engineers

This paper explains The History of the US Army Corps of Engineers and its effects on the United States. It will point out key events that created the Corps of Engineers and the reasons it was needed. The content reveals the issues Congress had in the early days of the Revolutionary War and the need presented for a force to build the Nation. During the conflicts that the Corps of Engineers had to endure the conditions were sought out to be some of the worst known to the United States Army. This is, in fact, due to the Corps of Engineers always being asked to fix a problem that no other organization had encountered before. This paper only reveals only a small amount of work the Corps of Engineers took part in. Between conflicts and the

building of the Nation the Corps of Engineers has had some input into the planning and execution.  
History of the Corp of Engineers
The history of the Corp of Engineers dates back to 16 June 1775 when Congress organized the Continental Army. When the Corps of Engineers was organized, it only had one Chief Engineer, Colonel Richard Gridley, and two assistants. Colonel Richard Gridley became General George Washington's first Chief Engineer (History, 1986). Colonel Gridley was selected for this position due to his knowledge of design and construction of batteries and fortifications (History, 1986). Engineers need to be well-rounded Soldiers, in all aspects of Mobility, Counter-mobility and Survivability. This was a problem at first for the Army, because it didn't have trained personnel in those fields. In an effort to mitigate this problem, Congress outsourced and brought in several French officers to run the Corps of Engineers and teach American officers (History, 1986). The French called these specialist "Pioneers" and the British Commonwealth calls them "Sappers". The phrase "Sapper" comes from the French word saper (to undermine, to dig under a wall or building to cause its collapse) (Sapper, pg. 1). Engineers would be selected for difficult jobs in all combat situations, from digging trenches in the Revolutionary war too provided cover and movement of building railroad lines for movement of supplies and troops.
During the Revolutionary War, Congress realized it needed more Engineer Companies and Companies of Sapper and miners (History, 1986). On 27 May 1778, Congress authorized three Companies of Sappers and miners to begin reacting field works (History, 1986). One of their first missions was to repair damaged works and build new ones. They started fixing the damaged water works and dams around Virginia and Maryland. Engineers would build new canals, so that the rivers would flow easier and could reach further inland. Once Congress realized the value and capabilities of the Engineers they started having them build buildings. Engineers even helped with the network of defense at West Point. Towards the end of the Revolutionary War, Congress recognized the need for a special school to train native Engineer officers. West point was selected and officers would go and get their Engineer training they needed to support the nation. West Point was the first Engineering school in the United States.
As the Revolutionary War came to an end, it was said the Engineers were no longer need and in 1783 all companies were disbanded (History, 1986). However, in 1794 right before the companies merged back into the regular army there were a few arguments that broke out in Congress. The biggest question was, when we need a technical support again who do we use? (History, 1986). Some thought out to say we would have to use foreigners to fix our problems. Others said let’s keep the Corps of Engineers during the peace time. However, Congress did not approve of an Army during peace time (History, 1986). It wasn’t until 1789 when the new Government under the Constitution that the Engineers would stand back up (History1986). When Britain was knocking on the coastal areas, the Engineers were asked to build forts around key harbors (History, 1986).
Once Congress finally realized how important it was to have an Engineer Corps, prior to the war of 1812, several companies were stood back up.

From that point on, Engineers have played a vital role in all American wars and government construction. During the war of 1812, Engineers were asked to continue to build fortresses and blockades (History, 1986). General George Washington, Commander in Chief said “we need more technical American native engineer officers for the future” (History, 1986). There for he sent thousands of officers to West Point to get trained up. From 1802-1866, West Point graduated some 10,000 officers in the Engineer field. During this time, Congress also authorized the Treasury Department to start expanding its explorations and surveys (History, 1986). These officers were named topographical officers and their job was to find ways to put in roads and communication as Americans moved in towards the middle of the country. The first major road was, The National Road from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, West Virginia (History, 1986). The road challenged the Engineers, with its dense forests and rocky hills, but it was no match for the well trained Officers and Soldiers. Once the road was complete, the Corps of Engineers would become in charge of all builds of roads and repairs on them. This leading to the need for more enlisted Engineers and the opening of a basic training camp for engineers at Fort Belvoir,

Virginia.
Fort the next hundred years, Engineers had their hands in just about everything from building lighthouses for the coast defense projects. Too flood control and implanting hydropower into that flood control. Engineers would build huge dams and blockades to funnel water into big hydropower plants that would still power cities to this day. Two more big projects Engineers were tasked with during this time frame was the construction of the nation’s capital and the construction of the Panama Canal. The construction of the nation’s capital took many years of planning due to its surrounding the Potomac River and the amount of buildings needed (History, 1986). The capital to this day, is still under constant construction and being repaired by the corps of Engineers. The Panama Canal was a monumental accomplishment for the Corps of Engineers due to the sheer size and moving of earth it took to build it. It has a three lock system that allows ships to move from one level of the sea to another without running aground. The locks either fill or drain water to allow the ships to move up and down the Canal. The Canal remains under Corps of Engineer surprise vision and repair (History, 1986).
During this time, America got involved in World War I and starting shipping a lot of our resources and personnel overseas. This was the first time Engineers were asked to work outside their normal field of expertise. Not only did they have to support the combat divisions, they
would be assigned to they also had to build ports and supply routes to get to the front lines. It was because of the Engineers building countless bridges and roads that allied forces were able to push forward and fight (History, 1986). While doing these tasks, the Engineers were asked to do one more thing, which turned out to be vital. They were asked to look for ambushes and mines in local cites and forests so that allied forces could make it to Germany and defeat them (History, 1986).
Twenty years later, the United States found themselves entering another war this time World War II. However this time Hitler had 21 years to build up his army and defenses. So again the Engineers were called upon to face a problem never seen before. They were tasked with breaching Hitler’s costal defense (aka Atlantic Wall) system so that follow on forces could land safely on the beach (History, 1986). This was a big problem for the Engineers due to lack of exposure to this type of defense before. There was miles of iron cross beams in the water laced with mines and demolitions. Coastal guns lined the mountain rage overlooking the beachhead with mortars, and artillery fire aimed at the beach (History, 1986). The Corps of Engineers thought up of one plan and that was a fast moving Engineer trained in the field of demolitions (History, 1986). Engineer Solders would run up on the beach with Bangalore chargers and little body armor and breach the defenses. Doing this Engineers where successfully in breaching the beaches on D-Day ensuring the victory of Nazi Germany (History, 1986).
After the defeat of Germany in World War II, Engineers would not see a major tested conflict till the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Here the Engineers would be asked to fight an enemy, they cold barley see. In the form of an improvised explosive device (IED). The IED would be placed in such a matter that it would be almost impossible to see with the naked eye. Engineers
would have to come up with new tactics to defeat this new enemy weapon that would be buried in the ground or cast in concert to look like curbs. Engineers would end up relying on the basic idea of, if it looks out of place it’s a threat. Most of the time Engineer Soldiers would do this from an up armored vehicle conducting route clearance patrols which meant driving slow and looking at the ground. Once they found an IED, they would place there on explosive charge on it and blow them both in place (BIP). By doing so, the Engineers were able to secure major routes which lead to the successful missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In closing, the Corps of Engineers has been asked to perform countless jobs outside their filed of expertise.

They will continue to overcome all obstacles put in their way to defeat the enemy. The Engineer Soldier is the most trained all-round Soldier the Army has in its arsenal. Engineers will continue to be at the front lines fighting their way through the dirt, cities or jungles so that follow on forces can get to the fight.

References

Walker, Paul K. Engineers of Independence: A Documentary History of the Army Engineers in the American Revolution, 1775-1783, Washington, D.C., Historical Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (1981).

Giles, Janice Holt. The Damned Engineers, 2d ed., Fort Belvoir, Virginia: Historical Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (1985).

Fowle, Barry W., ed. Builders and Fighters: U. S. Army Engineers in World War II, Fort Belvoir, Virginia: Office of History, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, (1992).

According to: “The History of the US Army Corps of Engineers” (1986).

According to: “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapper”

http://owl.english.purdue.edu

http://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Brief-History-of-the-Corps/Combat-and-Military-Construction/