Our story began more than 200 years ago when Congress established the Continental Army with a provision for a chief engineer on June 16, 1775. 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has responded to changing defense requirements and played an integral part in the development of the country. W