The Corps of Engineers, United States Army, was not assigned official charge of Federal flood‐control activities until the passage of the Flood‐Control Act of June 22, 1936. However, prior to that date, the Corps prepared thousands of flood‐control studies throughout the United States, and by special acts of Congress, 1910, 1917, and 1928, designed and constructed flood‐control improvements on the Mississippi and Sacramento rivers. It may be of interest to learn the reasons why the Corps of Engineers, acting through the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of War, became the agency responsible for the design and construction of flood‐control works throughout the United States. The reasons are logical and are based upon the experience of m