This essay, written by a former senior historian in the Office of History, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is a fascinating look at the influence the Corps had on U.S. water resources amidst the nation’s rapid industrialization and urbanization. It is a story of the Corps’ struggle to balance centralized versus decentralized administration, determine the appropriate level of federal versus non-federal responsibility in public works, and discriminate between engineering responsibility and political realities.