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After
the Revolutionary War, the Army's engineer corps was dissolved until
it became apparent that the growing nation had a continuing need
for military engineers. In 1802
the Congress established a Corps-operated military
engineering school at West Point, New York.
West Point served in that capacity until 1866
when it became the US Military Academy. Graduates
of West Point, the nation's only engineering
school for many decades, provided the
engineering
skills
that built the nation from
eastern
seaboard to western shore.
In
1824, the Congress expanded the Corps
responsibility by passing
the
General Survey Act which authorized
it to survey and
build
a network of internal improvements, including
roads, canals,
and railroads. The same year saw
passage
of the Rivers and Harbors Act that charged
the
Corps with improving navigable waterways, especially the Mississippi and
Ohio rivers, the fledgling nation's main commercial arteries.
From
these historic acts, the civil works mission of the Corps of
Engineers grew with the expanding nation so that today the
Corps maintains an indispensable network of improvements that supports
the infrastructure essential for commerce, transportation, and protection
from natural disasters. These improvements include over 12,000 miles
of inland and intracoastal waterways, 235 locks, and over 600 dams
and reservoirs. Other evidence of the Corps military and civil works
achievements abound, both at home and abroad.
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