Engineers of Independence: A Documentary History of the Army Engineers in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 [Paperback]

Paul K. Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2002

This collection of documents, including many previously unpublished, details the role of the Army engineers in the American Revolution. Lacking trained military engineers, the Americans relied heavily on foreign officers, mostly from France, for sorely needed technical assistance. Native Americans joined the foreign engineer officers to plan and carry out offensive and defensive operations, direct the erection of fortifications, map vital terrain, and lay out encampments. During the war Congress created the Corps of Engineers with three companies of engineer troops as well as a separate geographer's department to assist the engineers with mapping. Both General George Washington and Major General Louis Lebéque Duportail, his third and longest serving Chief Engineer, recognized the disadvantages of relying on foreign powers to fill the Army's crucial need for engineers. America, they contended, must train its own engineers for the future. Accordingly, at the war's end, they suggested maintaining a peacetime engineering establishment and creating a military academy. However, Congress rejected the proposals, and the Corps of Engineers and its companies of sappers and miners mustered out of service. Eleven years passed before Congress authorized a new establishment, the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 420 pages
• Publisher: University Press of the Pacific (August 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410201732
• ISBN-13: 978-1410201737
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,031,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, November 22, 2002

By 

Carol Johnson (NY/NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Engineers of Independence: A Documentary History of the Army Engineers in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 (Paperback)

This is one of the best books I've ever read. The writing is plain and compelling and it is illustrated by maps, drawings, etc. from the Colonial era, as well as primary transcriptions of memoirs, letters, and other documents. It is history that reads like a novel without losing a balance of judgement and the inclusion of detail. Every library and every person interested in history should own this book.