Bureau of Steam Engineering
Encyclopedia
Bureau of Steam Engineering was set up by act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June 1920, the Bureau of Engineering. In 1940 it combined with the Bureau of Construction and Repair and became the Bureau of Ships
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" When Lee surrendered, the United States Navy was the most effective sea power in the world. That position depended upon engineering which, in turn, was based on the skill of Benjamin F. Isherwood, first Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering. He designed and built engines rugged enough to withstand the shock of combat, as well as ill-treatment by poorly trained operating engineers. He also designed and constructed a well-armed cruiser which was faster than any abroad. In addition, American naval leadership rested upon ingenious civilian engineers and inventors such as John Ericsson, who designed and built the Monitor."(Admiral Rickover, in a speech before the National Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Seattle, Washington, August 30, 1974. http://gmapalumni.org/chapomatic/extras/Rickover.htm)
The Navy's first marine engineer was a civilian appointment in 1836. Congress authorized the establishment of an Engineer Corps in 1842. The 1862 reorganization gave officers of the Engineer Corps their own bureau with dedicated billets to avoid competition from Construction Corps officers (naval architects) in the separated Bureau of Construction and Repair. In 1864 Congress authorized establishment of a separate United States Naval Academy
curriculum for naval constructors and steam engineers; and the academy offered parallel tracks for cadet-midshipmen and cadet-engineers. Shipboard commanding officers became uncomfortable with their increasing dependency on the skills and advice of subordinates trained in matters unfamiliar to them; so a common naval academy curriculum was re-instituted in 1882, and Engineer Corps officers were merged into the unrestricted line in 1899. Junior Engineer Corps officers qualified for general line duties at sea, and senior Engineer Corps officers were restricted to shore assignments in their specialties. The restricted line officer concept of "engineering duty only" (EDO) was revived in 1916 when the Engineer Corps officers proved inadequately prepared for the expanded shipbuilding programs of World War I
. The EDO designation expanded to include naval architects of the former Construction Corps when the two Corps were merged into the Bureau of Ships in 1940.
Bureau of Ships
The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
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Historical background
"Engineering, both in operating the shipboard machinery and in the design and construction of ships, became critically important with the outbreak of the Civil War. The Navy had to blockade a ‘coastline stretching over 3, 000 miles from the Potomac to the Mexican border. It had to support the Army on the rivers; it had to search out and destroy Confederate raiders. For all these purposes, the steam engine and the engineer were indispensable. On the day of battle, steam engines drove the Monitor and the Merrimack, the Kearsarge and the Alabama, as well as the gunboats which supported Grant before Fort Donelson and Vicksburg. In 1862, Congress recognized the importance of engineering by creating the Bureau of Steam Engineering." When Lee surrendered, the United States Navy was the most effective sea power in the world. That position depended upon engineering which, in turn, was based on the skill of Benjamin F. Isherwood, first Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering. He designed and built engines rugged enough to withstand the shock of combat, as well as ill-treatment by poorly trained operating engineers. He also designed and constructed a well-armed cruiser which was faster than any abroad. In addition, American naval leadership rested upon ingenious civilian engineers and inventors such as John Ericsson, who designed and built the Monitor."(Admiral Rickover, in a speech before the National Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Seattle, Washington, August 30, 1974. http://gmapalumni.org/chapomatic/extras/Rickover.htm)
The Navy's first marine engineer was a civilian appointment in 1836. Congress authorized the establishment of an Engineer Corps in 1842. The 1862 reorganization gave officers of the Engineer Corps their own bureau with dedicated billets to avoid competition from Construction Corps officers (naval architects) in the separated Bureau of Construction and Repair. In 1864 Congress authorized establishment of a separate United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
curriculum for naval constructors and steam engineers; and the academy offered parallel tracks for cadet-midshipmen and cadet-engineers. Shipboard commanding officers became uncomfortable with their increasing dependency on the skills and advice of subordinates trained in matters unfamiliar to them; so a common naval academy curriculum was re-instituted in 1882, and Engineer Corps officers were merged into the unrestricted line in 1899. Junior Engineer Corps officers qualified for general line duties at sea, and senior Engineer Corps officers were restricted to shore assignments in their specialties. The restricted line officer concept of "engineering duty only" (EDO) was revived in 1916 when the Engineer Corps officers proved inadequately prepared for the expanded shipbuilding programs of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The EDO designation expanded to include naval architects of the former Construction Corps when the two Corps were merged into the Bureau of Ships in 1940.
Commanding officers
Commanding and senior officers of the Bureau of Steam Engineering were:- 1862-1869 EIC* Benjamin F. IsherwoodBenjamin F. IsherwoodBenjamin Franklin Isherwood was an engineering officer in the United States Navy during the early days of steam-powered warships. He served as a ship's engineer during the Mexican–American War, and after the war did experimental work with steam propulsion...
- 1869-1873 EIC James Wilson KingJames Wilson KingCaptain James Wilson King was Chief Engineer of the US Navy. During his career he held every position in the US Navy to which an engineer officer could be called...
- 1873-1877 EIC William W. WoodWilliam W. WoodEngineer in Chief William W. W. Wood was chief of the United States Navy Bureau of Steam Engineering 1873-77.-Career:Wood was born in North Carolina, but was appointed to the navy from New York on 15 March 1845 with the rank of chief engineer. He spent his first two years in the navy stationed at...
- 1878-1883 COMMO William H. Shock
- 1883-1887 COMMO Charles H. Loring
- 1888-1903 RADM George W. MelvilleGeorge W. MelvilleGeorge Wallace Melville was an engineer of the United States Navy who became a rear admiral.-Civil War:Melville was born in New York City on 10 January 1841. After graduating from Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, he entered the U.S...
- 1903-1908 RADM Charles W. Rae
- 1908-1908 RADM John Kennedy BartonJohn Kennedy BartonJohn Kennedy Barton was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy in the late 19th century.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Barton graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1873...
- 1909-1913 RADM Hutch I. Cone
- 1913-1921 RADM Robert S. Griffin
- 1921-1925 RADM John K. Robison
- 1925-1928 RADM John Halligan, Jr.
- 1928-1931 RADM Harry E. YarnellHarry E. YarnellAdmiral Harry Ervin Yarnell was an American naval officer whose career spanned 51 years and three wars, from the Spanish-American War through World War II.-Early life and Naval career:...
- 1931-1935 RADM Samuel M. Robinson
- 1935-1939 RADM Harold G. Bowen
- 1939-1940 RADM Samuel M. Robinson