| Annual Report of the Louisville &
Nashville RR |
| as of July 1, 1861 |
| President's Report |
| |
| President and Director's Supplement Report |
| |
| No. 1 |
|
|
| On the 4th of July our
Passenger, Freight and Construction Trains operating in the State of
Tennessee, were seized by the military of that State, by order of
Governor Harris. Several telegrams took place in relation to the
seizure, which were published, with the President's communication to
the Courier, herewith republished for the information of the
Stockholders, together with a subsequent letter from Governor Harris,
and the reply of the President, and a communication from the
Governor's Private Secretary, acknowledging that the Governor had
received the President's reply. Governor Harris has not replied to the
President's letter of the 15th of July, but has retained the engines
and rolling stock of the Company which the State had seized, and is,
and has been, operating the forty-five miles of the road in that
State. |
| The report of A. Fink, Esq.,
Superintendent of Machinery and Road Department, states the number and
value of engines seized; also the number and value of the passenger,
baggage and freight cars seized; also the quantity of wood and other
articles, and the value thereof -- $110,277.14. |
|
The report of Willis Ranney, Esq., Secretary of the
Company, states the expenditures made upon the forty-five miles of
road in that State, and the amount contributed as Stock and Tennessee
State Aid Bonds to its construction in Tennessee, without any charge
for the equipment.
|
| Bu the action of the
authorities of the State of Tennessee, the company have been deprived
of the use of the forty-five miles of road in the State, and of the
motive power and rolling stock seized, and the wood and other
materials, costing the Company $1,949,662.40, and worth to the
Company, in connection with the balance of the road, at least eight
per cent. per annum, and the cost after keeping the same in good
condition and repair. |
| The road with the wing to
Nashville, and the one to the State line, in the direction of
Clarksville and Memphis, possessed decided capacity for a large
passenger and freight business, with the advantage of cheap operation.
The loss of the connection with Nashville, and the seizure of so large
a portion of the freight cars, has seriously affected the business of
the Company, and will continue to do so until the road and stock, and
the relations of the States, shall be restored. |
|
James Guthrie
|
| President |
| |
| [For the Louisville Courier] |
|
The Louisville & Nashville Railroad
|
| Editors Louisville Courier: |
| I see in your paper of this
morning extracts from the Nashville papers, and your comments,
justifying the seizure of the part of the Louisville & Nashville
Railroad in the State of Tennessee, and the freight, and down and up
passenger trains, on the 4th instant, by a military force under the
command of General Anderson. It is assumed by you and the Nashville
papers, that the engines and cars of the company were being removed
from the Nashville end of the road for the purpose of depriving that
end of the road of its fair proportion of the equipment. The
assumption is without any just foundation. The company have always
kept at Nashville all the motive power and rolling stock required for
the business at that place. They were running two passenger trains
into and out of Nashville daily, and had been running for the last two
months two daily freight trains in and out of Nashville, and
occasionally a third freight trains. |
| The Company always kept an
engine on repairs in that State, and generally a switching engine at
Nashville, and when, as within the last few days, the freighting
business required but one daily train, and not even that, they loaned
the Edgefield & Kentucky Railroad Company an engine. |
| The freighting from Nashville
North, was never one fiftieth part of what it was to that place, and
Tennessee had just stopped the shipment of cotton, tobacco, rice and
turpentine, over the road, so that there was no freight coming from
Nashville, and but little going there, and no business requiring more
motive power and cars than were every day at that place. |
|
The stalls and shops of the company were at Louisville
and Bowling Green, and all the repairs of engines and cars were done
at these places, but the company kept at Nashville a person to examine
engines and cars, for the purpose of ascertaining all was right before
they were allowed to go out.
|
| The shops and stalls were
placed at Bowling Green in order that it might answer for the line to
Nashville, and the line to Clarksville, saving the expense of
duplicating the buildings, and, to some extent, the employees. |
| The assumption that the
Nashville end is entitled to a greater number of engines and cars than
has been employed on the road in that State, on account of the stock
taken and the contribution of State aid, is also without any just
foundation. |
| The main line of the road has
already cost about $36,500 per mile, and the stock subscription in the
State of Tennessee, amounts to $600,000, and the State aid to 560,500,
in all $1,160,500, and making the cost of the forty-five miles in the
State of Tennessee upwards of $480,000 more than Tennessee contributed
to the road, if we distribute the cost pro rata throughout the whole
route. In fact, including the tunnels, bridge over the Cumberland
river, right of way and cost of depot grounds, the cost of the
forty-five miles in Tennessee is near $10,000 per mile greater than
the pro rata cost of the whole road. |
| About the 1st of July,
General Anderson, of Tennessee, made an order on Mr. Baldwin, the
depot agent of the Company at Nashville, that the Company should keep
a greater amount of their motive power and rolling stock at the
Nashville end of the road, which order was communicated to the
Superintendent at Louisville, and by him to the President. There being
no provision in the charter to the effect that the Company should be
subject to the military orders of Tennessee, the order was not
complied with. |
| On the 4th of July the up
freight train, and the up and down passenger train, was seized by the
military of Tennessee, under the orders of General Anderson, and the
same day the following telegraphic dispatch was received from Depot
Agent Baldwin: |
| "J. B. Anderson, Supt.:
Mail and passenger trains have been stopped. General Anderson desires
me to say that he will exchange trains with you, viz: you to telegraph
to me that a passenger train has left Louisville to come through to
Nashville; he will start a passenger train from here to go through to
Louisville. General Anderson further authorized me to assure you that
in the event of your deciding favorably upon my proposition in
relation to the locomotives, the passenger trains will be permitted to
run without interruption." |
| To this the President
replied: "No answer could be made; but before the answer could
be sent, telegraph No. 2 was received from Mr. Baldwin, to-wit: |
| "I received from General
Anderson the following communication: |
| "'Mr. Baldwin: I desire
you to communicate to the President of the Louisville & Nashville
Railroad Company the assurance that any locomotive or train that may
come down to Nashville from Bowling Green or Louisville, shall be
permitted to return unmolested. This arrangement will secure
uninterrupted transportation until a satisfactory arrangement is made.
The engines and cars now here must be retained.'" |
| To this the President
replied: That we could have no guarantee that our trains would not be
interfered with by others besides General Anderson, who was supposed
to be acting under orders. |
| On the 5th the telegram No. 3
was received from Mr. Baldwin, under the signature of Governor Harris. |
| |
| Telegram No. 3 |
| Executive Department |
| July 5, 1861 |
| J. C. Baldwin: You may assure
the President and Directors of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad
Company, that whenever they place at this end of the line a fair
proportion of the locomotive power and rolling stock of said road, and
permit the same to remain here, the running and general management of
their road shall not be interfered with until it has been determined
what shall be a fair proportion. The locomotives and cars now here
shall be used within the limits of the State. Yet, if the President
and Directors see proper to send any trains through, with either
passengers or freight, in the meantime, there shall be interference
with them whatever. |
| Respectfully, |
| Isham G. Harris |
| |
| On the 6th the President answered it as
follows: |
| Response to Telegram No. 3 |
| J. C. Baldwin: You will
communicate the following to -- |
| His Excellency, Governor Harris: |
| The Company have but 37
locomotives in all for 270 miles of road. Of these we never have less
than 10 in the shops undergoing repairs. It requires 6 engines for
repairs of road, viz: One for each 45 miles of road, and we have
always had one for the repairs on the 45 miles of road in the State of
Tennessee, which leaves but 21 for the freight and passenger business.
One we have loaned the Edgefield & Kentucky road, which leaves us
but 20. |
| We have run into and out of
Nashville two daily passenger trains each way, which requires four
engines between Nashville and Bowling Green, two of which are always
in Tennessee, and when our business requires it, we run into and out
of Nashville two daily freight trains between Nashville and Bowling
Green, which requires four engines, two of which are always in the
State of Tennessee, and when any of these engines require repairs,
they are put in the shops and others put in their places. Thus you
will perceive we have on the 45 miles in Tennessee 5 engines in actual
use, besides the one loaned to the Edgefield & Kentucky Company;
and sometimes, when the business requires it, a switching engine at
Edgefield. |
| We have always kept in
Tennessee as many engines as the business required, and it has seldom,
if ever, been less than on-sixth of the active motive power the
Company possessed, which would never be less than the full proportion
of the 45 miles in Tennessee, and generally more. We have operated our
Memphis Branch Road through by Clarksville to Tennessee river for the
accommodation of that road, and have had two engines every day in
Tennessee on that branch. |
| We have had for over two
months a very active freight and passenger business, and at its close
both our locomotive and cars required overhauling, and more than the
usual number are now in the shops undergoing and awaiting repairs. We
have never failed, to the extent of the capacity of motive power and
rolling stock, to do the business that offered, and to give equal
facilities to all parts of the road. We are indebted to the State of
Tennessee for our chartered rights in that State, and feel assured
that we have complied fully with the requirements of the charter. The
Company would have furnished the motive poser and cars for any
emergency the business offering in Tennessee might require, and would
have left such motive power and stock as they could have spared for
the immediate use, and were surprised when forcible possession was
taken of their trains, and a passenger and a freight train not allowed
to come through. |
| If you operate the road with
the motive power and cars you have seized, it necessarily prevents our
operating it, because the independent operation of each would result
in the destruction of the machinery used by both. We could not consent
to carry passengers and become liable for the consequences. We
apprehend we shall have litigation on account of the authorities of
Tennessee stopping freight after we have receipted for the same and
paid charges for loading it into our cars. |
| We might agree to keep a
train for use between Nashville and points in Tennessee, and operate
it daily on a time not interfering with regular trains, and receive
guarantees against future seizures or stoppages, and resume our daily
through business with the expectation of receiving compensation for
the losses we have already sustained. |
| As trustees of the stock and
bond holders, we can not consent to the seizure of trains, nor their
detention. |
| James Guthrie |
| President |
| |
| The first telegraph from
General Anderson was, that he would exchange trains with the Company,
the Company first telegraphing him that a train had left, and then he
would start a train, and if he decided favorably in regard to
locomotives, the passenger trains would be permitted to move without
interruption. The second telegraph was General Anderson's assurance
that any trains that might come down should be permitted to return,
and stating this arrangement will secure an uninterrupted
transportation until satisfactory arrangement is made, and cars here
must be retained. |
| The chartered rights of the
Company, as granted by the State, had proved no guarantee of the
Company's property in the State, and the intimations of the two
telegraphs clearly indicated that General Anderson claimed the right
to dictate the operations of the road in the State of Tennessee, and
make arrangements for operations as the proprietor of a separate road.
The response to the second telegraph brought out the Governor of the
State, who was the real actor, and the response was intended to
ascertain whether it was really intended to confiscate the road and
the Company's property, and to dictate and control its management in
Tennessee, and also in Kentucky. |
| Whilst the counties of
Davidson and Sumner, in Tennessee, contributed $600,000, and the State
of Tennessee contributed her bonds to the amount of $560,500, the
stockholders in Kentucky, with the mortgage on the road, have built
the road in Kentucky, and contributed not less than $500,000 to the
construction of the part in the State of Tennessee, and in addition
have equipped the whole road to the extent of $500,000. |
| The entire equipment of the
Main Stem and branches of the road is as follows: Thirty-seven
locomotives; twenty-two passenger cars; nine baggage cars; one hundred
and sixty box freight cars, and over one hundred flat cars, mostly
used in ballasting and repairs. |
| The whole length of the road
and branches operated by the Company, including the Bardstown road
(seventeen miles,) is tow hundred and eighty-six miles, forty-five
miles of which is in Tennessee. |
| Governor Harris has not
replied to telegraph No. 3, in answer to his of same number. |
| James Guthrie |
| President |
| |
| Executive Department |
| Nashville, Tenn., July 12, 1861 |
| |
| Hon. James Guthrie |
| President |
| Sir, |
| Your favor of the 9th inst.,
received by General Anderson upon yesterday, has been, with its
contents, laid before me. Upon reading it I am somewhat surprised to
learn that you await further communication from me. Upon the 5th of
July Mr. Baldwin waited upon Mr. Seymour, who handed me your response
to General Anderson, to whom I delivered the assurance contained in
what you designate as telegram No. 3. Shortly afterwards Mr. Baldwin
waited upon me at my office, and read to me a paper writing, which, I
have no doubt, is the response as printed, to said telegram No.3; but
I did not understand it to be a communication addressed to myself, and
when it was read, I but repeated, substantially, my former assurance.
Within a day or two thereafter, Mr. Baldwin left the city, as I am
informed by General Anderson, with the view of ascertaining and
removing all difficulties that might be in the way of a mutually
satisfactory adjustment. He has not returned, and I am not acquainted
with any steps or suggestions he may have taken. In the absence of any
information from him, I must suppose, from your favor to General
Anderson, that you await, as stated, further communication from me. |
| The position of the State,
and the attitude of the Government with which she is now connected,
makes the necessity of protection to her citizens and their rights
against the probabilities of attack from the Federal Government, a
paramount consideration with all her officers, and especially those
whose charged duty it is to afford this protection. |
| It had been reported to
General Anderson that there was a withdrawal of locomotive power and
rolling stock upon the part of your road from this end of the line,
and to such an extent that, upon the morning the trains were detained,
that, with regular running of the trains, there would have been at the
hour of 6 1/2 o'clock A. M. but one solitary locomotive of your road
within the limits of the State of Tennessee. This being the fact, when
that officer looked beyond to the extraordinary movements at
Louisville, and the constant apprehension prevailing even in that
city, that your road might be occupied by Federal troops, he could not
have well done less than he did, and this, too, without questioning
the motives or reasons of the Directory of the Board. Supposing the
Federal Government, in their hostility to Tennessee, to have had the
same knowledge possessed by General Anderson, and their willingness to
take advantage of it, he was warranted at least in not trusting to the
ability of the Company to provide against the consequences which might
reasonably have resulted from such action. I am further informed by
him, that his efforts to have with your agent a satisfactory
understanding in regard to the proper proportion of rolling stock and
locomotive power for this end of the road, failed. As you are aware,
and have stated, the State of Tennessee had a heavy pecuniary interest
in the road. With pride Tennessee saw it completed, not alone for the
pecuniary profit therein, but for the higher consideration of being
bound to Kentucky, whose people are felt to be one with us in
interest, in affinity, in fortune, and in destiny. Feeling thus, you
may appreciate the apprehensions and jealousy of our people at any
demonstration that threatened to make what they conceived to be a bond
of affection an instrument of their destruction. In view, then, of the
fact, the demand of the authorities of the State for such reasonable
proportion of rolling stock and locomotive power as would be just and
equal to any emergency that the protection and interest of her
citizens might require, without injustice to Kentucky, was, and is,
submitted to be right and proper, and we are loath to believe that any
unfriendly feeling to the State has brought about the present posture
of affairs, or exists to prevent an arrangement whereby Kentucky, not
being injured, Tennessee will and may be protected. |
| I have to repeat to you the
assurance heretofore conveyed to you through Mr. Baldwin. If the
Company will keep at this end of the road a reasonable and just
proportion of rolling stock and locomotive power, I will protect your
road, and the interests of your Company against all opposers, with the
whole power of the State. Should the State demand from your Company
any service, it is not expected it will be done without making such
compensation as may be fair and reasonable. She does not seek to
confiscate or destroy any right. Her demand of her constituted
authorities is, that they shall, at all times, but more particularly
now, when threatened with war upon her borders, take such steps as
will secure the protection and safety of her citizens. This duty is
rightfully expected of me. I shall attempt its discharge, and it does
not seem to conflict with yours to your Company. A satisfactory
adjustment, therefore, is within your control. I am not so thoroughly
conversant with the number of your engines, rolling stock and
business, as to be enabled to determine what would be a just
proportion of stock, &c., to all parts of the road; but this may
be easily ascertained, if you are willing to keep here such proportion
as may be absolutely necessary to the safety and convenience of
Tennessee. |
| Respectfully, |
| Isham G. Harris |
| |
| Office Louisville & Nashville R. R.
Co. |
| Louisville, Ky., July 15, 1861 |
| |
| His Excellency, Gov. Harris |
| Nashville, Tenn. |
| |
| Dear Sir, |
| Yours of the 12th inst., in
answer to my telegram to you, through Mr. Baldwin, of the 6th, has
just been handed me. Your previous communication, through Mr. Baldwin,
was the cause of mine of the 6th, which is identical with the one
published in my communication to the editors of the Louisville
Courier. It was specific in the details of the information furnished,
and intended to put you in possession of the facts, and to satisfy you
that General Anderson had acted upon a mis-statement of the facts, so
far as the action of the Company was concerned, and under the
expectation that both he and you would have also learned that the
information about the seizure of the road by Federal troops was also
incorrect, and that you would at once have ordered a restoration of
the road and our engines and rolling stock, which had been seized by
General Anderson, it was supposed by your order. |
| I could not account for your
having left Nashville for West Tennessee without answering my
telegram. If you had read the dispatch you would have seen it was
addressed to you, and known an answer was expected, and a restoration
of the property of the Company sought from your sense of justice and
right. I very much regret you left without ascertaining the real
contents of the dispatch. |
| The same day General Anderson
seized the engines and trains, some rails were taken up near the
Kentucky line, and trees felled across the track, and a Superintendent
appointed by him to take charge of the road and operate it, which was
afterwards withdrawn, and Mr. Baldwin appointed to take charge of it
under General Anderson. thus Mr. Baldwin became the agent of General
Anderson, whose orders he must have obeyed or been dismissed. He did
not come to Louisville at the instance of this Company, nor as its
agent, and presented no authority from you or General Anderson, and
could not have been expected to settle the seizure and its
consequences. |
| I do not propose to discuss
with you whether the seizure by General Anderson would have been
justifiable had the facts conformed to the information upon which he
acted. The supposed state of facts not having existed, we had a right
to expect that you would have directed the property of the Company to
be restored, and compensation made for the losses the Company had
sustained. |
| When Tennessee granted the
Charter for that part of the road within her boundaries, and
contributed to its construction, both Tennessee and Kentucky were
sister States, under the Federal Constitution, and component parts of
the United States, and besides were knot together by many acts of
mutual courtesy and hospitality, and when the road was constricted, no
doubt it was hoped by the inhabitants of both States, that it would
tend to unite their commercial interests, and bind the people together
in lasting friendship. The people of Kentucky expected the charter
granted by Tennessee would be held as sacred as the charter granted by
Kentucky, and would equally secure the rights of all interested in its
stock, and the trade it was expected to promote, and will be greatly
disappointed should the result be different, now that Tennessee has
made a new alliance, and has armed men on her borders, and prepared
herself for war, which Kentucky has not. |
| We think General Anderson was
vested with no power to control the management of the Louisville &
Nashville Railroad, and had no right to determine and direct what
amount of motive power and rolling stock should be kept in Tennessee.
We know we had always kept in the State what was necessary for the
business, and that we are ready to furnish whatever should be required
for the business, and that if General Anderson thought Tennessee would
require more than the business of the Company made necessary, that it
was a matter of arrangement with the President and Directors, and of
compensation for extraordinary service, ant that a mandate to a
subordinate was not the right way to approach a friendly corporation,
acting for the citizens and stockholders of both States. |
| The action has been fatal to
the interests of the stockholders of both States, and to the trade of
the citizens, and may tend to weaken the kind feeling that has
hitherto existed. There has been no hostile feeling in the management
of the road to the citizens or interests of Tennessee, and no
foundation to the unfriendly feeling your Excellency seems so loath to
believe. Tennessee has always had a just proportion of the motive
power and rolling stock, and it is submitted the constituted
authorities of Tennessee have no just cause of complaint; and as you
assure me there is no wish to confiscate the property, or destroy the
rights of the Company, we desire you to restore the road, motive power
and rolling stock, and make compensation for the losses we have
sustained and make known the additional motive power and rolling stock
Tennessee wants and agree upon what shall be paid for it. |
| We can not operate the road
in connection with General Anderson, or any one else, because it could
not be done without endangering the machinery and rolling stock, and
endanger the lives of passengers and the safety of property entrusted
to our care. |
| Very respectfully, |
| James Guthrie |
| President |
| |
| Executive Department |
| Nashville, Tenn., July 20, 1861 |
| |
| Hon. James Gutherie |
| Louisville, Ky. |
| |
| Sir, |
| Your communication to His
Excellency, Governor Harris, is received. He left for Memphis this
evening, and will reply so soon as he returns. |
| Very respectfully, |
| Nath. H. Burt |
| Private Secretary |
| |
| Office Sup't. Machinery & Road Dep't.
L. & N. R. R. |
| Louisville, Ky., October 5, 1861 |
| |
| Hon. James Guthrie |
| President L. & N. R. R. Co. |
| |
| Sir, |
| The following is a statement
of the value of the movable property of the Company seized on the 4th
of July, 1861, by the authorities of the State of Tennessee: |
| Five Locomotives |
$42,990.00 |
| Three Passenger and Baggage Cars |
7,328.97 |
| Forty-nine Box Cars, fourteen Flats, one Rack
and three Caboose Cars |
37,133.42 |
| Three Boarding Cars |
1,000.00 |
| Material on hand at Edgefield shops |
1,191.72 |
| Tools on hand at Edgefield |
489.32 |
| Road Tools and Material on Tennessee Division |
4,261.51 |
| Cross Ties, 1,889, at 30c |
566.70 |
| Wood, 6,669 cords, at $2.00 |
13,338.00 |
| Five thousand six hundred and fifty years of
Stone, at 35c |
1,977.50 |
| Total |
$110,277.14 |
|
| Albert Fink |
| Sup't. Machinery and Road Dep't. |
| |
| Statement showing cost of Road in State of
Tennessee, to July 1, 1861 |
| For Lands for Road and Stations |
|
$41,101.65 |
| Depot
Grounds |
|
56,897.00 |
| Graduation
and Culvert Masonry |
|
644,103.94 |
| Bridge
Masonry |
|
39,163.74 |
| Bridge
Superstructure |
|
14,113.99 |
| Railway
Super. -- Rails, Chairs, Spikes |
$292,644.07 |
|
|
Cross Ties |
52,267.00 |
|
|
Track Laying |
19,365.00 |
|
|
Ballast |
46,472.99 |
$410,749.06 |
| Engine
House and Stations |
|
13,655.37 |
| Water
Stations |
|
2,221.56 |
| Depot
Buildings at Nashville |
|
19,477.07 |
| Cumberland
River Bridge |
|
112,546.27 |
| Fencing |
|
2,520.10 |
| Telegraph |
|
928.44 |
| Engineering
Expenses |
|
55,478.43 |
|
Office
" |
$15,707.70 |
|
|
Contingent " |
5,129.75 |
|
|
Legal
" |
3,216.36 |
|
|
Agency
" |
3,731.66 |
$27,785.47 |
| Discount on
County and State Bonds |
|
170,715.67 |
| Interest
Stock Liability on Sumner and Davidson County Bonds |
|
227,927.50 |
|
|
$1,839,385.26 |
| Sumner and Davidson County each contributed
$300,000 in County Bonds to the capital of the Company, say |
$600,000 |
|
| The State of Tennessee loaned her Bonds to the
Company to iron the Road in Tennessee, for which she has a
first lien on the 45 miles in Tennessee |
450,000 |
|
| Also, Acct. Cumberland River Bridge |
110,500 |
|
|
$1,160,500 |
|
|
| Willis Ranney |
| Secretary |
|