As with the
United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Engineer School traces its roots to the
American Revolution. General Headquarters Orders,
Valley Forge, dated 9 June 1778 read "3 Captains and 9 Lieutenants are wanted to officer the Company of Sappers. As the Corps will be a SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, it opens a prospect to such gentlemen as enter it...." Shortly after the publishing of the order, the "school" moved to the river fortifications at West Point. With the end of the war and the mustering out of the Army, the school closed. However, the
Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers was constituted a military school and was reopened at the same location in 1794. For four years it constituted a school of application for new engineers and artillerymen. Closing in 1798, due to a fire which destroyed many facilities, the engineers were without a school for three years. In 1801, the
War Department revived the school, and Major Jonathan Williams became its superintendent. Less than a year later, Congress authorized the Corps of Engineers and constituted it at
West Point as a military academy. For the next 64 years, the Military Academy was under the supervision of the Corps. Although the curriculum was heavily laced with engineering subjects, the Academy commissioned officers into all branches of the service. Following the
American Civil War (1861–1865), supervision of the Academy passed to the War Department. When the Engineer Battalion took station at the
Fort at Willets Point (later renamed
Fort Totten) in 1866, Engineer leaders saw the opportunity to develop a school oriented exclusively to engineers. From 1868 to 1885, an informal School of Application existed; its first commander was Major
Henry Larcom Abbot, who developed the Army's first modern
underwater minefield system there. Part of this effort involved the creation of the
Essayons Club. This was an informal group which met during the winter months and presented professional engineer papers. In 1885, the School of Application received formal recognition by the War Department. In 1890, the name was changed to
United States Engineer School. In 1901, the School moved from
Willets Point to
Washington Barracks in Washington, D.C., and was renamed the
Engineer School of Application. This name lasted only a few years. In 1904, the name was changed back to the
Engineer School. The Engineer School remained at Washington Barracks for the next 19 years, although it closed from time to time because of a shortage of officers, or national emergencies. In 1909, certain courses associated with the field army moved to Ft. Leavenworth, and the Army Field Engineer School opened in 1910. That school, a part of the Army Service Schools, closed in 1916. The
First World War forced a closing of the Engineer School as the instructors and students were needed to officer the expanding engineer force. The school resumed its instruction in 1920, but at a different location. Washington Barracks was transferred to the
General Staff College and the Engineer School moved to
Camp A. A. Humphreys, south of
Mount Vernon, in Virginia. This was a World War I camp built on land acquired by the War Department in 1912. The original name for the tract was Belvoir. In 1935, Camp Humphreys was renamed
Fort Belvoir. After 68 years, in 1988, the home of the Engineer School was moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri "due to a shortage of land for training at
Fort Belvoir" ==USAES and Engineer Regiment symbology.==