Since 1775

Since 1775. The Nation's Industrial Might. , The history of our Nation is the history of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Army engineers played a crucial role in the growth of the young republic , surveying routes for canals and railroads and serving as explorers, surveyors, and mapmakers who opened the American West. , The Corps of Engineers' story began more than 200 years ago when, on June 16, 1775, Congress established the Continental Army with a provision for a chief engineer. The Army established the Corps of Engineers as a separate, permanent branch on March 16, 1802, and gave the engineers responsibility for founding and operating the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. , Since then, the Corps of Engineers has responded to changing defense requirements and played an integral part in the development of the country. Throughout the 19th century, the Corps of Engineers 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. While the Corps of Engineers' mission and tasks have evolved with the needs and priorities of the Nation, the dedication and commitment of its workforce has remained constant. , The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works mission is a key foundational component of the Nation's public infrastructure. It facilitates economic growth, quality of life, environmental health, and national security for the American people. , Navigation was the Corps of Engineers' earliest Civil Works mission, dating to federal laws in 1824 authorizing and funding the Corps of Engineers to improve safety on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and several ports. , The Great Lakes Navigation System is an integral part of the Corps of Engineers' Civil Works mission. This complex deepwater navigation system stretches 2,400 miles through all five Great Lakes and connecting channels, from Duluth, Minnesota, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a system of interdependent locks, ports, harbors, navigation channels, dredged material disposal facilities, and navigation structures. Maintaining the Great Lakes' navigation infrastructure as a viable, functional system is essential to preserving the health and vitality of the region and the Nation in an environmentally sustainable manner. , The true importance of the Great Lakes Navigation System rests with its geographic location. The system is located in the core of North America's industrial and manufacturing heartland. Industries depend on the availability of reliable, low-cost waterborne transportation, and the U.S. economy depends on the prosperity of those industries, which directly translates into a more competitive America.