Washington's Engineer by Norman Desmarais (speed reading book TXT) 📕

of it, also a memorial on its construction its attack and defense, adding to it an estimate of the artillery stores, and ammunitions necessary for the besieged and besiegers in consequence of the strength of the fortification, and of the supposition of the time the siege could last. when perfectly instructed in all the different parts here above mentioned, of which the general commanding the corps, and the officers at the head of the academy are to be the judges he is to be admitted into one of the regiments of artillery, the continent cannot keep less than two, and are to be composed as follows, light companies of gunners, two companies of bombardiers, one of sappers and miners and one of artificers.

The regiments are to be exercised twice a week to the firing of canon, Mortars, then [?] a field officer to be always present and report to the commanding officer of the regiment when absent from the field of exercise.

The subalterns ought to receive twice a week a lesson about the theorical parts of the artillery and a captain to be present to it, to maintain the good order and preside to the instructions and from time to time they should be exercised again about what they have learned in the Academy

The Captains and field officers are to have two times a week a conference where they should treat of all the parts concerning artillery, fortifications, manufactures of arms, powder mills, castings of canons, shells, balls, the best dimensions to be given to the pieces and carriages, in short their object should be to carry the instruction and service of that corps to the greatest perfection, the commanding officer should ask a memorial from every officer on the interesting points he would have proposed for discussion.

besides the officer on duty with the regiments there should be a certain number to perform the duty on Engineers where necessary, but none should be sent for that purpose unless he had been employ’d successively in the four distinct sorts of companies forming a regiment and should be perfectly acquainted with their service. He could not be on that command for more than three years, after which time he should join a regiment and be relieved by another officer sent to the same effect.

a company ought not to be detached from the regiment for more than two years, because it is to be feared that (in a longer space of time) the men would loose the greatest part of the instruction acquired with the regiment if too a long time absent from it.

The companies of sappers and miners should have a particular exercise relative to their duty in the field, but their officers should also partake of the general instruction of the corps of artillery. it is absolutely necessary that the officers of the companies of artificers should be intelligent, attentive, and industrious, they ought not only take rank with those of the others companies but their places should be considered as places of trust and confidence.

there ought to be some officers (extra of the number of those with the regiments) detached in the different manufactories of arms, places for casting canons, and powder mills, to superintend the works, they should be relieved from time to time by others coming from the regiments, those stations are to be looked upon as of great importance.

a field officer should be in every district at the head of fortifications, and judge of every thing to be proposed, he could not remain there when promoted but join a regiment.

it is of the utmost consequence that an officer of artillery attached to a brigade with some field pieces should be perfectly acquainted with the different maneuvers of the troops, so it is a part which is not to be neglected.

the plan I propose here to form but one corps of those of artillery and Engineers was put in execution in france, but as it was in time of war some Engineers were sent to the army to do the duty of the Artillery, and some officers of artillery to serve as Engineers, but having not had time to be perfectly acquainted with the details of a service of which they had but a general knowledge it was found proper after a little while to let every of these officers serve in the line they did formerly belong to, and the two corps were desunited but I am confident that if the reunion had taken place in another circumstance, so that the officers of each corps should have had time to acquire what knowledge was wanting to them of the service they did not at first belong to; that plan would have succeeded and found afterwards very advantageous.

Newburg april the 16th, 1783

Gouvion45

Washington quickly synthesized the works submitted to him on May 2, 1783. He insisted on the importance of preserving the experience acquired over the course of a long and difficult time of service and the need to have a standing army to preserve the military knowledge acquired and not have to depend on the benevolent aid of foreigners to defend the country if ever faced by new hostilities. It must be understood that a corps of competent engineers and expert artillerymen cannot be created overnight or as quickly as training militiamen into an infantry.

After getting his officers promoted and securing positions for them in the French army, Duportail turned his attention to structuring the Corps of Engineers and the American army. He reported on September 30, 1783,

To answer the Confidence I am honored with, I will at once say what I think best for the United States to do in that Respect. It is to unite the Department of the Artillery with that of the Engineers so that after the union every officer should be without any Distinction an Artillery Officer and an Engineer. There are many reasons for the operation which I propose; the following are the principal ones.

1st. The preliminary Knowledge necessary for