The Confederate States Government established a Corps of Engineers commanded by five different Chiefs during the war. The 1st Engineers Regiment was organized at Richmond, Virginia, during the fall of 1863 with select men from across the Confederate Armies. Commanders of the 1st Regiment of Engineers were Colonel Thomas M. R. Talcott, Lieutenant Colonel William W. Blackford, and Major Peyton Randolph. Fortunately, the Confederate Engineers obtained the services of trained Officers who had resigned from the U.S. Army, but they lacked equipment and maps when the war began. Equipment was purchased from foreign countries, captured from the enemy, and manufactured in the South. Among other duties, Engineer Officers energetically prepared maps that were quickly distributed to the various army commands. The Confederacy also organized Engineer troops and hired hundreds of civilians and slaves to work on fortifications, roads, and bridges.