| From the Raleigh Confederate |
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| October 7, 1864 |
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| We learned yesterday the gratifying fact,
that the President of the Chatham Railroad had procured a sufficient
quantity of iron to lay the road from Cary on the N. C. railroad to
Lockville on Deep River, and that energetic means will be immediately
commenced to finish the track. This intelligence is both gratifying
and important. Besides being a source of comfort to reflect that we
shall soon have an outlet for the iron and coal of that region, and
that the advantages and conveniences incident to that event are soon
to be ours, this road has a national significance, which ought not be
overlooked. It is to be hoped that the Government have ere this had an
eye upon the capabilities of that region as a locality for foundries
and work shops. It might well engage the attention of the enterprising
owners of the Richmond Iron Works, whether some of their machinery
might not be moved to this region with safety and advantage. |
| {I have seen no other document to
indicate that the Government would supply the iron for this road.
However, with the government documentation ending about this time, it
is possible that the Union raids against the Virginia mines and
railroads had convinced authorities to open the North Carolina mines
as a safe backup to the Virginia supplies and we would have no
documentation to prove it. It is very unlikely that any meaningful
amount of iron (if any, at all) was laid down. It is also very
unlikely that the Piedmont RR could have moved the iron from this area
to Richmond.} |
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