AR, SS 10/1/1865 S

Annual Report of the South Side RR
as of October 1, 1865,
Superintendent's Report
  
Superintendent's Report
Superintendent's Office
Petersburg, Nov. 25th, 1865
 
L. Peebles
Pest. S. S. R. R. Co.
 
Sir,
   Owing to the sudden change in the Government of the country, which took place in April last, it becomes necessary to class the account of the operations of the Railroad for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 18665, under two heads.
   First. Under the Confederate Government, the receipts and expenses of Transportation for the six months from October 1st, 1864 to April 1st, 1865, were in Confederate money, as follows:
Receipts of Transportation
Freight 228,213.25
Express Freight 122,217.13
Passengers 479,630.55
Government transportation 1,407,981.87
2,238,042.80
The Expenses of Transportation were 1,563,060.36
Leaving income $674,982.44
   The expenses include the value of stores and materials on hand on the 1st of October last, and also the cost of all purchases made for the same during the six months. 
   The income above stated will be found accounted for in the Treasurer's report. I will merely state that the only part of any value was the sum of $3,592.32 in greenbacks, which was all that we had to start the road again when it was turned over to the Company by the government.
   *****
   In connection with the business of the first six months of the fiscal year, I consider it proper to state, that it was done under the most adverse circumstances. During that time Petersburg was closely besieged by the United States army, and shells were thrown into and round our depot and shops as often, that it was unsafe to do business in them with any regularity. The consequence was that we could not get more than half our work done, and the repairs of the engines had frequently to be done at night. It was also, as is well known, extremely difficult to procure proper materials to do the work. Added to this, the demand on our already over-tasked machinery for military transportation grew larger every day, and we became unable to bring in the supplies for the army as promptly as the exigencies of the service required.
   Under these circumstances, and not being able to procure or hire additional power that we could control, we made application to the Quarter Master's Department to impress for our use some engines and cars from roads that had a surplus of them, as had been done for the {Richmond &} Danville and other companies. Instead of this being granted, for reasons doubtless satisfactory to the Quarter Master General, but not to us, we witnessed the strange spectacle of the most important part of our road, that between Burkeville and Lynchburg, being impressed and given to another company to run its cars on. It is not worth while to dwell upon this transaction, except to say that it was done without our knowledge or consent, and indeed against our strenuous protest. It was one of those arbitrary exercises of power that was neither sustained by law nor reason, and was not provoked by any failure of the company to do its duty as far as it was in the compass of its ability.
   This uncalled for impressment was well calculated to injure us in various ways, if things had remained as they were, while it was of questionable benefit to the government. But there was no time for it to do much harm, for the evacuation of Petersburg by the Confederate army occurred shortly afterwards, and put an end to the impressment in as summary a manner as it had been made.
   As we had a number of engines and cars up the road when this last event took place, I considered it my duty to go up to take charge of them. But with the surrender of the army, the United States authorities took possession of our road and my duties necessarily ceased for the time.
   *****
   In Petersburg {after the evacuation} the bridge to the shops, 350 feet long, was burnt, with two locomotives and all the cars that could be placed on it, and all the good cars in the depot lot. Our provisions and stores of all kinds, of which we had nearly a year's supply of meat, were either destroyed or pillaged, and nothing was saved, except a quantity of salt *****.
   The engines left standing in the engine house and the cars in the lot at the shops were not destroyed, but every piece of brass work, and all the belting, tools and every thing portable in the shops, were carried off.
   At the 14 mile post an engine and some cars that had been sent up for wounded men the day before the evacuation, were burnt.
   Four spans of the High bridge, 450 feet long, were burnt. Two and a third spans, or 260 feet, of the Farmville bridge were burnt, and with it a number of cars which had been placed on the bridge. The Buffalo bridge, a new structure just erected, 160 feet long, and the two bridges across James River, one of four and the other six spans, in all 1130 feet, were also burnt.
   The whole length of bridges burnt was 2350 feet, all first class bridges, of which the portion of the High bridge was over 100 feet high, and the lower James River bridge was 670 feet long and from 30 to 40 feet high.
   The number of cars burnt or destroyed was 7 passenger cars, 2 baggage cars and 75 freight cars; and all the section cars along the road were broken up or burnt, the tools stolen and most of the fixtures at the way depots that were left standing, were carried off.
   In fine the destruction was almost complete, and when it is recollected that the road had been harried by raids in the summer of 1864, and most of the way stations burnt, and the iron for many miles torn up and twisted, it will be seen how much the road was injured.
   *****
   We had in the shops before the evacuation the timber got out for the frames and the wheels, axles, springs and other materials for 30 freight cars *****
   We have done nothing yet towards rebuilding the depots which were burnt last year by raiding parties, as it has tasked all our energies and means to accomplish the more important work that has been done. The depots destroyed were those at Ford's, Wilson's, Wellville, Blacks & Whites, Burkeville, Appomattox and Concord. *****
   My thanks are due to those employees of the Company who have assisted me during the late trying times, particularly to those whose immediate duties obliged them to follow the fortunes of the road on the memorable second of April. To the active exertions, the prudence, skill and management, the coolness and courage of two of them, who unfortunately are not now in our service, the Company is indebted for the preservation of the only good funds saved from the wreck of the road.
Respectfully submitted,
H. D. Bird
Gen'l Superintendent

Home