The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers traces its origins to the American Revolution. On June 16, 1775, when the Continental Congress established the Army, it provided for a Chief Engineer. Colonel Richard Gridley, the first to hold that position, set to work immediately directing fortifications during the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Congress added companies of engineer troops, or sappers and miners, to the Army and, in 1779, formed them into a distinct Corps of Engineers. The Engineers’ finest hour was at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781, which forced a British surrender.
When war with Britain threatened again in 1794, Congress appointed temporary engineers to fortify key harbors. In 1802, the Corps of Engineers was made permanent and took charge of the military academy at West Point, N.Y.
Constructing seacoast fortifications continued as the engineers’ primary responsibility. The Corps again saw combat in the War of 1812.
That war demonstrated the need to improve the nation’s defense and transportation systems. In 1824, the General Survey Act authorized the President to use Army engineers to survey road and canal routes. A separate measure appropriated $75,000 to employ public engineers in improving navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Thus began the Army’s long involvement in civil works activities.
In May 1846, on the eve of the Mexican War, Congress authorized the first company of engineer troops. During the Civil War, their numbers increased, as engineer officers commanded combined troops, conducted surveys and reconnaissance, and directed siege operations.
