Edgar Jadwin

Updated on Jan 26, 2024

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Years of service 1890–29		Rank Lieutenant General Name Edgar Jadwin

Born August 7, 1865 Honesdale, Pennsylvania ( 1865-08-07 ) Allegiance United States of America Commands held 15th Engineers Chief of Engineers Died March 2, 1931, Panama Canal Zone Education United States Military Academy Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, United States Awards Distinguished Service Medal Books Modern military engineering Battles and wars Spanish–American War, World War I
Service/branch United States Army

Edgar jadwin langfitt richard nugent o conno and other generals are decorated b hd stock footage

Edgar Jadwin, C.E. (August 7, 1865 – March 2, 1931) was a U.S. Army officer who fought in the Spanish–American War and World War I, before serving as Chief of Engineers from 1926 to 1929.

General david henderson decorates general harts general edgar jadwin and langfi hd stock footage

Early life

Jadwin was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania on August 7, 1865 as the son of Cornelius Comegys Jadwin, and graduated first in the United States Military Academy class of 1890. He was commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Military career

After commissioning, Jadwin served with various engineer units between 1891 and 1895. He then fought during the Spanish–American War.

After serving as district engineer at the expanding ports of Los Angeles and Galveston, he was selected by General Goethals as an assistant in the construction of the Panama Canal, on which he worked from 1907 to 1911. Jadwin served in 1911–1916 in the Office of the Chief of Engineers focusing on bridge and road matters. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on October 12, 1913.

He was promoted to colonel in the National Army on July 6, 1917. He received a brevet to brigadier general on December 17, 1917. Upon the United States' entry into World War I in 1917, he recruited the 15th Engineers, a railway construction regiment, and led it to France. He directed American construction and forestry work there for a year and received the Distinguished Service Medal.

At the conclusion of the war, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Jadwin to investigate conditions in Poland in 1919. This assignment was followed by an observer assignment in the Ukraine. From 1922 to 1924, Jadwin headed the Corps' Charleston District and Southeast Division. He then served two years as Assistant Chief of Engineers. As Chief of Engineers he sponsored the plan for Mississippi River flood control that was adopted by the United States Congress in May 1928. Jadwin retired as a lieutenant general on August 7, 1929.

Dredge Jadwin

The Vicksburg, Mississippi district of the Army Corps Of Engineers operates a large inland river dredge named after Edgar Jadwin. The dredge Jadwin is used to keep a federally mandated channel depth of no less than 9 feet and width of 300 feet. The Jadwin mainly operates on the Lower Mississippi River between the areas above Vicksburg, Mississippi to the ship channels of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and New Orleans, Louisiana. The dredge is one of 3 Corps owned dredges classified as a "dustpan" dredge, due to the shape of the suction/cutting head which resembles a dustpan.

Dates of rank

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Awards and honors

Jadwin received the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Companion Order of the Bath from Great Britain, and the Commander in the Legion of Honour from France.