"Essayons" - [Toast]
Here's a health to the Army and here's a health to our corps.
Here's to the flag flying up on the hill and the bird flying over our door.
Stand by with your glasses, all brimming. Here's health and here's how and here's luck
and here's to the castles of gold we wear and the eagle that looks like a duck.
"Essayons" - [Battle Call]
Essayons, sound out the battle cry
Essayons, we'll win or we'll die
Essayons, there's nothing we won't try
We're the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
"Essayons" - [March]
[Verse 1]
Pin the castle on my collar
I've done my training for the team
You can call me an engineer soldier
The warrior spirit has been my dream (Chorus)
"Chorus"
We are our brothers fighting on the battle field.
Look to us to point the way.
We get there first and then take the risks
to build the roads and air strips
and bridge the mighty river streams.
We don't care who gets the glory.
We're sure of one thing, this we know,
Somewhere out there an engineer soldier
designed the plan for the whole darn show.
Essayons, whether in war or peace,
We will bear our red and our white.
Essayons, we serve America
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Essayons! Essayons!
[Verse 2]
We are builders, we are fighters.
We are destroyers just as well.
There've been doubters who met with the sappers.
We know our sappers will never fail.
Alternate
And then we blew them all straight to hell.
The history of the Engineer is the history of the United States of America.
From her colonial beginnings Engineers mapped, built, and fought their way
across this great nation from shore to shore, eventually extending the might
of America around the globe. This Engineer Punch is a rare and unique
combination of spirits, each symbolizing the heritage, the achievement, and
the glory of the Engineers.
CHERRY BRANDY, representing the enlisted soldiers will establish the base of
our punch, just as the Engineers have formed as the base of many branches of
our Army.
In order to truly understand the significance of the Engineers we must examine
carefully the first charge, our FOUNDATION, The red color, reminiscent of the
shared heritage of Engineers and Artillerists attests to the time when
medieval "Enginators" designed, built, and operated the engines of war. From
those early Engineers sprang the Artillery, later the Armored forces, even
Aviation, and the Chemical Corps trace their origins to the early Engineers.
COGNAG____, representing the history of civilian support for the Corps,
will continue the heritage of our forefathers.
Engineers of our revolution met at occasions such as we are doing here
tonight, and on 11 March, 1779, by resolution of Congress, The Corps of
Engineers was formed. In commemoration of the Engineers who first trained in
the snows of Valley Forge, organized into a corps, and won our independence
at Yorktown, we add the second charge, COGNAC, honoring the French who
contributed to our first victory and from whom we adopted much of our unique
heritage.
WHITE WINE____, representing the youthful zeal of the Engineers, will remind
us of the invulnerability and hope inherent in the Engineer spirit.
Truth, innocence, vigilance, and devotion are the principles which guide
Engineers in the performance of their duty. This un-blemished magnificence
found in third charge, WHITE WINE, is also the color of the white piping found
on the Engineer colors. This white, original color for Infantry, represents
the secondary mission of the Engineer, that is to fight alongside the
"Le-Enfantry", in French, the "children of battle".
CHAMPAGNE____, representing the Engineer senior leadership, will help us
reflect on those who have given their last full measure of devotion, our
fallen comrades.
In honor of the selfless sacrifice of the men and women, who for more than
three centuries, have served this land, and have vowed to continue to carry on
this tradition. Our final charge is CHAMPAGNE, the noblest produce of the
vine, symbolizing the eternal mission of the Engineer and reminiscent of the
effervescent spirit, the enthusiasm, and the indomitable courage with which
Engineers have demonstrated their ability.
Today the mission of the Corps is as varied as the contents of this punch:
Topographic Engineering, Combat Engineering, Facilities Engineering, and Civil
Works, .... Mobility, Counter-Mobility, Survivability, and the underlying
requirement to get the job done and get it done right. This is the Army Corps
of Engineers. Accomplishing the mission, from the fortification of Breeds Hill
to the Engineering of our environment, Engineers, now as always, clear the
way.
If you look around you, from the establishment of the Corps in the 18th
century to the exploration of the universe well into the 21st, you will see
the tangible evidence of the Engineers and forever hear the Engineer motto
ringing in your ears; ESSAYONS
ENGINEER PUNCH RECIPE
Foundation:
Cherry brandy or Cordial 1/2 bottle
Fruit Punch 1 1/4 quart
Sparkling Water 1 1/4 quart
Cognac 1/2 bottle
White wine 2 bottles
Champagne 2 bottles
The engineer's toast was first raised in the fall of 1898 after the Spanish
American War by a young Engineer officer at the officers' mess at Fort Totten,
(now known as Willets Point), on Long Island, New York. The toast mentions the
flag which is the American Flag flown at the Post Headquarters. The "bird
flying over the door" and the "eagle that looks like a duck" refer to the
relief carving of the crest taken from the seal of the Corps of Engineers.
This crest consisted of an eagle, mounted above a banner inscribed with the
Engineer Motto "ESSAYONS". Surrounding the eagle and banner was a wreath of
oak and laurel branches, oak symbolizing strength and laurel symbolizing
accomplishment. Today, this wooden carving resides in the Engineer Museum's
Regimental Room, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Thanks to: Captain
Christopher J. Doniec, United States Army Corps of Engineers