| The lack of rolling stock to
move all the stores, equipment and troops that the
Confederacy needed to move is the theme of many newspaper
articles and official letters. Clearly, the South needed
to acquire more locomotives and freight and passenger
cars. What efforts did they make and how successful were
they? Below are listed the identified additions to the
Confederate non-locomotive rolling stock inventory: |
| |
| Date |
Reference |
Passenger |
Box |
Platform |
Unknown/Other |
Comments |
| 1861 |
| Jan. |
Texas & New Orleans
RR |
|
|
|
Several |
Arrived in January |
| April |
Texas & New Orleans
RR |
2 |
|
10 |
|
Arrived in April |
| Nov. |
Richmond,
Fredericksburg & Potomac RR
|
|
|
|
1 |
1 Steam road car |
| |
Alabama & Florida
(of Alabama) RR |
|
5 |
5 |
|
|
| |
Central (of Georgia) RR |
2 |
|
|
1 |
1 Baggage & Package |
| |
Macon & Western RR |
|
4 |
|
|
|
| |
Memphis &
Charleston RR |
|
18 |
41 |
|
|
| |
Mississippi &
Tennessee RR |
3 |
|
|
1 |
1 Baggage & Express |
| |
Montgomery & West
Point RR |
|
|
5 |
|
|
| |
Muscogee RR |
|
2 |
|
|
|
| |
New Orleans, Jackson
& Great Northern RR |
|
|
|
14 |
14 Gravel |
| |
Petersburg RR |
|
1 |
|
8 |
1 Express, 1 Ambulance,
6 Crank |
| |
Raleigh & Gaston RR |
|
8 |
|
|
|
| |
Richmond,
Fredericksburg & Potomac RR |
|
|
3 |
2 |
2 Tenders |
| |
South Carolina RR |
|
|
|
8 |
8 Coal |
| 1862 |
| |
Alabama & Tennessee
Rivers RR |
|
|
5 |
|
Iron purchased from
Shelby Iron Works |
| |
North Carolina RR |
|
12 |
6 |
6 |
3 Hand, 2 Pole, 1 Mail |
| |
Raleigh & Gaston RR |
2 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Richmond & Danville
RR |
1 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Richmond &
Petersburg RR |
1 |
|
|
|
|
| |
South Carolina RR |
|
5 |
|
7 |
7 Platform/Wood/Coal |
| |
C. S. Government |
|
5 |
|
|
|
| 1863 |
| |
North Carolina RR |
3 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Raleigh & Gaston RR |
4 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Richmond & Danville
RR |
1 |
|
7 |
1 |
1 Mail & Baggage |
| |
Savannah, Albany &
Gulf RR |
|
7 |
|
|
|
| |
South Carolina RR |
|
2 |
|
|
|
| 1864 |
| |
Alabama & Tennessee
Rivers RR |
|
|
5 |
|
Iron purchased from
Shelby Iron Works |
| |
Macon Western RR |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
| |
Manassas Gap RR |
|
|
|
|
Trying to build 70 to 100 cars;
success unknown
|
| |
North Carolina RR |
|
12 |
4 |
13 |
13 Pole |
| |
Savannah, Albany &
Gulf RR |
|
2 |
|
|
|
| |
C. S. Government |
|
20 |
|
|
|
| 1865 |
| |
North Carolina RR |
|
15 |
|
16 |
16 Pole |
| During
the war |
| |
East Tennessee &
Georgia RR |
|
8 |
|
|
|
| |
TOTAL |
21 |
129 |
103 |
78 |
The 78 includes 34 Pole
and Hand cars |
|
| Thus, Confederate railroads
produced during the war about 1.8% of its pre-war
inventory (Confederate Rolling Stock Inventory). |
| |
| The Confederacy did not have
the capacity to make locomotives. Tredegar had made some
50 locomotives during the 1850's, but the lack of iron,
the lack of manpower and the priority given cannon and
armor prevented them making locomotives during the war.
Several railroads had "made" locomotives before
the war, but they were really rebuilding older machines
(and frequently with non-Southern material). |
| Additions to the Southern
roster of locomotives were primarily by the capture and
removal south of Union equipment. This is covered at Captured Union Locomotives.
Below are the additions of locomotives by Southern
manufacture/rebuilding: |
| |
| Date |
Reference |
Name |
Comments |
|
1/61 |
Mobile & Great Northern RR
|
|
1 arrived in January |
|
1/61 |
Texas & New Orleans RR
|
|
2 arrived in January |
|
1/64 |
Charlotte & South Carolina RR
|
|
Construction almost complete in
January |
|
5/64 |
Macon & Western RR
|
Sunshine |
|
|
5/64 |
North Carolina RR |
Governor Morehead (rebuild of
Kratos) |
|
|
| |
| The Confederate Government
found itself with railroads without spare rolling stock
that could be redirected to meet important needs. Without
a pool of mobile rolling stock, it was very hard to move
large numbers of troops and their equipment (Longstreet
did not take all his artillery or any of his horses or
wagons to Georgia), to move food (the run from
southwestern Georgia to Richmond was hard enough, but
continuing on to Longstreet near Bristol was almost
impossible) or to support blockade running (getting cotton
from Alabama and Georgia to Wilmington). |
| Confederate Transportation
leadership recognized the need for this
Government-directed pool. It is unclear what happened to
the 80+ cars that were sent to Richmond from the Baltimore
& Ohio RR in 1861. Capt. Morfit was responsible for
some cars when he took over from Maj. Ashe, but the total
number is not clear. Col. Sims tried to make the case for
the 200-car pool and took steps to make these cars. What
we do not know is what the attitudes of the Secretaries of
War and the Quartermaster Generals were toward having such
a pool. The closing of the Confederate Locomotive Shop
(ordered in February, 1863, but still in operation for
some time) may be an indication that at least one of the
Secretaries of War was against having a Confederate pool
of rolling stock. That attitude had changed by February,
1864, when Sims seems to have gotten the support necessary
to start building Government cars. Below are references
related to these issues: |
| Diary of Thomas R. Sharp 1861 |
On July 25, 80th Baltimore &
Ohio RR car sent south |
| NA,
QM 10-5A-61 |
Sharp ordered to send as many
Baltimore & Ohio RR cars he can for use on the
Virginia Central RR |
| Diary of Thomas R. Sharp 1861 |
On December 5 and 6 was removing Baltimore & Ohio RR cars from Harpers
Ferry |
| NA,
RRB 1-21-62 |
Purchased 5 new cars |
| NA,
G 2-6-62 |
CSA Cars #20 and #6 mentioned |
| NA,
RRB 2-18-62 |
Purchased 5 new cars |
| NA, RRB
3-8-62 |
Ashe orders Morfit to contract for
up to 20 cars |
| NA,
RRB 3-25-62 |
Purchased 3 new cars |
| NA, QM 4-24-62 |
Virginia Central RR ordered to turn
over to Sharp all Baltimore & Ohio RR and
Manassas Gap RR locomotives and cars it did not
need |
| NA,
RRB 6-21-62 |
Morfit receipts for 5 new box cars |
| NA,
QM 8-4-62 |
Quartermaster General approves
Sharp's suggestion that he keep control of the
Government's locomotives |
| Diary of Thomas R. Sharp 1862 |
On November 11, 1862, finished a
trip on which he had leased 30 cars for Government
use |
| NA,
VC 12-9-62 |
On orders from Ashe, bought 2
ambulance cars and one locomotive from the
Virginia Central RR |
| NA,
RRB 12-23-62 |
Inability to move troops for want of
cars |
| LVA, TRED 2-27-63 |
Sharp offers to sell 2 cars to
Tredegar |
| NA,
RRB 4-15-63 |
Control of Government cars |
| NA,
QMR 3-19-63 |
Control of Government cars |
| NA,
RRB 4-15-63 |
Control of Government cars |
| NA,
RRB 5-29-63 |
Control of Government cars |
| NA,
RRB 10-2-63 |
Control of Government cars |
| NA,
RRB 2-23-64 |
Sims insists on detailed men to
allow the reopening of a car factory in Petersburg |
| NA,
RRB 2-27-64 |
Sims recommends the Government build
cars and keep in good condition 200 for its most
pressing needs. Says Wadley disposed of all cars
previously owned by the Government to the various
railroads (probably in the late winter of 1863) |
| LVA, TRED 3-15-64 |
Sims trying to get parts to build
225 cars |
| NA,
RRB 3-21-64 |
Sims gets a man appointed Captain to
assist him in the production of the 225 cars |
| NA,
MG 3-29-64 |
Manassas Gap RR Superintendent was
trying to get help from Sims to build 70 to 100
cars |
| NA,
RRB 8-6-64 |
Sims pays for repair of a U. S. car |
| NA, RRB 8-18-64 |
8 Box car bodies |
| NA,
RRB 9-10-64 |
4 Box car bodies |
| NA,
R&P 9-30-64 |
3 Freight cars sold |
| NA, NC 10-18-64 |
Sims offered new cars to the North
Carolina RR |
| NA,
RRB 11-14-64 |
4 Box cars w/o trucks received |
| MISC, RRB 1-21-65 |
Sims orders 50 tons iron be given to
the Shelby Iron Works for making railroad cars |
| NA,
RRB 1-30-65 |
Sims has contract for Shelby Iron
Works to make 200 cars |
|
|
|
|
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