|
Chief of Engineers
(August 12, 1913-October 11, 1913)
William Rossell was born in Alabama on October 11, 1849, the son and grandson of Army officers, and he graduated third
in the Military Academy class of 1873. Commissioned in the Corps of Engineers, he served until 1880 at Willets Point and as
Assistant Professor of Engineering at the Military Academy. He then engaged in river, harbor, and fortification work
in regions around Portland, Maine; Jacksonville, Florida; and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Rossell served in 1891-93 as the
Engineer Commissioner on the three-member governing board of the District of Columbia. After briefly commanding
the Battalion of Engineers, he led Mobile District for six years. He then supervised lighthouse construction and repair
in the New York area and, later, Ohio River improvements. He was a member of the Mississippi River Commission from 1906
to 1913, as well as Central Division Engineer in 1908-09 and Eastern Division Engineer in 1909-13. He retired October 11, 1913,
but was recalled to active service in 1917. He led the Third New York and Puerto Rico districts and was Northeast
Division Engineer. He again retired in 1918. He died October 11, 1919, in Staten Island, New York.
Chief of Engineers
(October 12, 1913-March 6, 1916)
Born March 6, 1852, in Dover, New Hampshire, Dan Kingman graduated second in the Military Academy class of 1875 and was
commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served as an instructor at the Military Academy and as the engineer officer
of the Army's Department of the Platte. In 1883 he also began the construction of roads and bridges in the new
Yellowstone National Park. Kingman directed improvements along the lower Mississippi River in 1886-90 and received
the thanks of the Louisiana legislature for "splendid service rendered" during the 1890 flood. He oversaw harbor and
fortification work on Lake Ontario in 1891-95 and improvements on the Tennessee River in the last half of that decade.
In the latter assignment he initiated planning for federal cost-sharing with private hydroelectric-power investors
for a lock and dam built below Chattanooga. Kingman oversaw substantial harbor improvements at Cleveland in 1901-05
and headed the Corps' Savannah District and Southeast Division in 1906-13. The Panama Canal was completed while he
was Chief of Engineers. He retired March 6, 1916, and died November 14, 1916, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. General Kingman
was buried with high military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Among the pallbearers were Chief of Staff
General Hugh L. Scott and two former Chiefs of Engineers, Generals Mackenzie and Bixby.
Chief of Engineers
(March 7, 1916-October 31, 1919)
Born December 8, 1855, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, William Black graduated first in the Military Academy class of 1877 and
was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. From 1886 to 1891 Black headed the Jacksonville District, and in 1897-98 he
was the Engineer Commissioner on the governing board of the District of Columbia. In the Spanish-American War, he
was Chief Engineer, 3d and 5th Army Corps. As Chief Engineer under Generals William Ludlow and Leonard Wood
(1899-1901), and six years later as advisor to the Cuban Department of Public Works, he modernized Havana's sanitary
system. As Commandant of the Army Engineer School (1901-03), Black moved it from Willets Point, New York, to
Washington Barracks, D.C. After his return from Cuba in 1909, he was Northeast Division Engineer and chairman of a
board to raise the battleship Maine. Devoted to training young engineer officers in the art of war, General Black's
greatest responsibility came as Chief of Engineers during World War I in mobilizing and training some 300,000 engineer
troops for a wide range of military engineering tasks. For this work he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.
He retired October 31, 1919, and died September 24, 1933, in Washington, D.C.
Chief of Engineers
(February 10, 1920-June 18, 1924)
Born June 18, 1860, in Dubuque, Iowa, Lansing Beach graduated third in the Military Academy class of 1882 and was
commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He developed plans for the reconstruction of the Muskingum River locks and
dams soon after Ohio ceded the state-built improvements to the federal government in 1887. From 1894 to 1901 he worked
on public improvements in the District of Columbia, serving as Engineer Commissioner there in 1898-1901. As Detroit
District Engineer in 1901-05, he oversaw harbor improvements as far west as Duluth. Beach supervised improvements
along the Louisiana Gulf coast in 1908-12 and in Baltimore in 1912-15. He also oversaw the entire Gulf Division in six of
those seven years and the Central Division in 1915-20. In the latter capacity and as Chief of Engineers, he oversaw
construction of the huge Wilson Locks and Dam on the Tennessee River. Beach also served on the Mississippi River
Commission and the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors. After his four-year tour as Chief of Engineers, he
retired on June 18, 1924. After retirement, General Beach served as consulting engineer for various business interests in
the United States and Mexico. He was President, American Society of Military Engineers, and a member of the
International Water Commission from 1924 to 1930. He died April 2, 1945, in Pasadena, California.
Chief of Engineers
(June 19, 1924-June 26, 1926)
Born June 26, 1862, in Tilton, New Hampshire, Harry Taylor graduated from the Military Academy in 1884 and was
commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. After serving in engineer offices in Wilmington, North Carolina, and New
York City, Taylor served from 1891 to 1900 on fortifications and rivers and harbors construction work in Oregon and
Washington. Later he pursued similar work in New England and New York. Transferred to the Philippines, he supervised
all fortification work there in 1904-05. Taylor was district engineer in New London, Connecticut, in 1906-11. He then
headed the River and Harbor Division in the Office of the Chief of Engineers for five years. During World War I he
served as Chief Engineer, American Expeditionary Forces in France (mid-1917 to mid-1918), and received the Distinguished
Service Medal. He then served for six years as Assistant Chief of Engineers, before assuming the top office in the Corps.
Wilson Dam was completed while he was Chief. He was a member of the French Legion of Honor. General Taylor He
retired June 26, 1926. He died January 27, 1930, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Chief of Engineers
(June 27, 1926-August 7, 1929)
Born August 7, 1865, in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, Edgar Jadwin graduated first in the Military Academy class of 1890 and
was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served with engineer troops in 1891-95 and was lieutenant colonel of
the 3d U.S. Volunteer Engineers in the Spanish-American War. After serving as district engineer at the expanding ports
of Los Angeles and Galveston, he was selected by General Goethals as an assistant in the construction of the Panama
Canal. Jadwin served in 1911-16 in the Office of the Chief of Engineers focusing on bridge and road matters. Upon the
United States' entry into World War I in 1917, he recruited the 15th Engineers, a railway construction regiment, and led
it to France. He directed American construction and forestry work there for a year and received the Distinguished
Service Medal. President Wilson appointed Jadwin to investigate conditions in Poland in 1919. In 1922-24 Jadwin headed
the Corps' Charleston District and Southeast Division. He then served two years as Assistant Chief of Engineers. As Chief
of Engineers he sponsored the plan for Mississippi River flood control that was adopted by Congress in May 1928. Jadwin
retired as a lieutenant general, August 7, 1929. He died in Gorgas Hospital in the Canal Zone on March 2, 1931, and was
buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Chief of Engineers
(October 1, 1929-October 1, 1933)
Born November 22, 1872, in Nashville, Tennessee, Lytle Brown graduated fourth in the Military Academy class of 1898 and
was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served with engineer troops in Cuba in 1898 at the Battle of San Juan Hill
and the siege of Santiago and in 1900-02 was Engineer of the Department of Northern Luzon in the Philippine Islands.
Brown oversaw river improvement projects in 1908-12 as Louisville District Engineer. He commanded the 2d Battalion of
Engineers and served as engineer of Pershing's 1916 punitive expedition into Mexico. Brown headed the War Plans
Division of the War Department General Staff from May 1918 to June 1919, addressing important Army policy issues during
and immediately after World War I. He received a Distinguished Service Medal. Brown oversaw construction work at
the Wilson Dam hydroelectric project in 1919-20. He was assistant commandant of the Army War College and a brigade
commander in the Canal Zone before becoming Chief of Engineers. He concluded his military career as commander of
the Panama Canal Department (1935-36). General Brown retired November 30, 1936. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 3,
1951.
Chief of Engineers
(October 1, 1933-October 18, 1937)
Born July 6, 1877, in Troy, New York, Edward Markham graduated fifth in the Military Academy class of 1899 and was
commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served five years with the 2d Battalion of Engineers, including two years in
the Philippines and eight months in Cuba, engaging in military mapping and road and bridge construction. He was
Memphis District Engineer (1912-16) and Professor of Practical Military Engineering at the Military Academy. He served in
France during World War I as Deputy Director, Division of Light Railways and Roads (1918), and in Germany as Chief
Engineer, Third Army (1919). After returning to the United States, he was Detroit District Engineer (1919-25) and
Commandant of the Army Engineer School, Fort Humphreys, Virginia. He then served as Great Lakes Division Engineer.
After serving as Chief of Engineers, he made a special military survey in the Hawaiian Islands. General Markham retired
February 28, 1938. He was New York Public Works Commissioner in 1938 and President, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company,
in Chicago from 1938 to 1945. He died September 14, 1950.
Chief of Engineers
(October 18, 1937-October 1, 1941)
Born February 23, 1880, in Savannah, Georgia, Julian Schley graduated from the Military Academy in 1903 and was
commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He and classmate Douglas MacArthur had their first service with the 3d
Battalion of Engineers in the Philippines (1903-04). Schley later served with engineer troops in the United States and
Cuba; as an instructor at the Military Academy; as Assistant Engineer, Washington, D.C.; and as New Orleans District
Engineer. During World War I he commanded the divisional 307th Engineers in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne
offensives and was Engineer, 5th Army Corps, during the last two weeks of the latter drive. He received a Distinguished
Service Medal. He was Director of Purchase, General Staff, and a member of the War Department Claims Board in 1919-20.
Schley later served four-year tours as Galveston District Engineer; Engineer of Maintenance, Panama Canal; and
Governor of the Canal Zone. In the last post he was also military advisor to the Republic of Panama. Schley was
Commandant of the Army Engineer School in 1936-37. He retired September 30, 1941, but was recalled to active wartime
duty in 1943 as Director of Transportation, Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. He died March 29, 1965,
in Washington, D.C.
Chief of Engineers
(October 1, 1941-September 30, 1945)
Born February 13, 1884, in Delaware City, Delaware, Eugene Reybold was distinguished as the World War II Chief of
Engineers who directed the largest Corps of Engineers in the nation's history. He graduated from Delaware College in
1903. Commissioned in the Coast Artillery Corps in 1908, Reybold was assigned to military housing and coast defense
construction work. Stationed at Fort Monroe throughout World War I, he became commandant of the Coast Artillery
School. He transferred to the Corps of Engineers in 1926 and served as District Engineer in Buffalo, New York;
Wilmington, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee. In the last assignment he successfully battled record Mississippi
River flood crests. He was Southwestern Division Engineer (1937-40) and War Department Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4
(1940-41). Appointed Chief of Engineers shortly before Pearl Harbor, General Reybold directed the Corps' tremendous
range of activities throughout the war and was the first officer ever to rank as lieutenant general while Chief of
Engineers. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. Reybold retired January 31, 1946, and died
November 21, 1961, in Washington, D.C.
Chief of Engineers
(October 4, 1945-February 28, 1949)
Born July 31, 1885, in Peoria, Illinois, Raymond Wheeler graduated fifth in the Military Academy class of 1911 and was
commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served with the Veracruz Expedition in 1914 and went to France with the
divisional 4th Engineers in 1918. He was awarded a Silver Star for actions in the Aisne-Marne campaign and by the end of
World War I had assumed command of his regiment with the rank of colonel. Between the two world wars he served as
district engineer in Newport, Rhode Island; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Rock Island, Illinois. In September 1941 he
was appointed chief of the U.S. Military Iranian Mission and in February 1942 was transferred to the China-Burma-India
Theater as Commanding General of the Services of Supply. In October 1943 he was assigned to Lord Mountbatten's
Southeast Asia Command as principal administrative officer and Deputy Supreme Commander. Before the end of World
War II, he became Commander of the India-Burma Theater. He represented the United States at the Japanese surrender in
Singapore. As Chief of Engineers, Wheeler initiated construction of the Missouri River dams projected in the Pick-Sloan
Plan. After his military retirement, he worked for the United Nations and the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development on Asian and African development projects. He oversaw the clearing of the Suez Canal in 1956-57. He
died February 8, 1974, in Washington, D.C. Wheeler's U.S. Army decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal with
two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Legion of Merit. He was also made an honorary knight of the British Empire.
Chief of Engineers
(March 1, 1949-January 26, 1953)
Born in Brookneal, Virginia, November 18, 1890, Lewis Pick graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1914. During
World War I he served with the 23d Engineers in France. Pick received his Regular Army commission in the Corps of
Engineers on July 1, 1920. He served in the Philippines from 1921 until 1923 and helped organize an engineer regiment
composed of Filipino soldiers. He was District Engineer at New Orleans during the great 1927 Mississippi River floods,
and he helped coordinate federal relief efforts. Pick was named Missouri River Division Engineer in 1942, and with W.
Glenn Sloan of the Bureau of Reclamation he co-wrote the Pick-Sloan Plan for controlling the water resources of the
Missouri River Basin. Pick was assigned to the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations in October 1943 and oversaw the
construction of the Ledo Road across northern Burma from India to China. After his return to the United States in
1945, he served again as Missouri River Division Engineer. On March 1, 1949, President Truman appointed him Chief of
Engineers. Pick was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. He died December 2, 1956, in
Washington, D.C.
Part 1 (1775 -1865) Part 2 (1866-1912) Part 3 (1913-1952) Part 4 (1953-present)
Brigadier General William Trent Rossell
Brigadier General Dan Christie Kingman
Major General William Murray Black
Major General Lansing Hoskins Beach
Major General Harry Taylor
Major General Edgar Jadwin
Major General Lytle Brown
Major General Edward Murphy Markham
Major General Julian Larcombe Schley
Lieutenant General Eugene Reybold
Lieutenant General Raymond A. Wheeler
Lieutenant General Lewis A. Pick
