| |
| Major-General Buckner |
| |
| The people of Mobile and the
country above as far as Meridian are dependent on the prairie lands
of Mississippi for their supply of corn. On the 12th of December,
1862, a military order issued from headquarters at Jackson, Miss.,
in the following words: |
| Lieutenant-General
Pemberton orders that no more corn for private parties be
transported over your road (Mobile and Ohio) within this
department till otherwise ordered. |
|
| It was said this was
designed to stop speculation, but its effect was directly in favor
of speculators, as large amounts of corn in their hands at Mobile
and at other points immediately advanced in price, thereby
increasing the distress of the country. Earnest appeals were made by
a suffering people for relief from this order. On the 6th of
January, 1863, the following order was received: |
| Jackson, Miss., January 6, 1863 |
| L. J. Fleming |
| General Superintendent Mobile & Ohio
Railroad |
| |
| Corn
for the use of families may be transported when it is
satisfactorily shown it is not for speculation. |
| By
order of Lieutenant-General Pemberton. |
| J. Thompson |
| Assistant Adjutant-General |
|
| Thereupon the general
superintendent published the following order, which it will be seen
had in good faith for its object the stoppage of speculation and the
supply of the wants of families. The order was as follows:
|
| Corn
will be transported on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad in
accordance with the order of Lieutenant-General Pemberton
upon affidavit filed in my office stating that it is
exclusively for family use and not for speculation. |
| L. J. Fleming |
| Chief
Engineer and General Superintendent |
|
| Thereupon the following
order issued from headquarters at Jackson: |
| Jackson, January 1, 1863 |
| L. J. Fleming |
| |
| Transport
no corn on affidavit of private individuals. The
quartermaster is the judge whether the produce is for
speculation or not. |
| J.
R. Waddy |
| Assistant Adjutant-General |
|
| To this I sent the following reply: |
| Major J. R. Waddy |
| Assistant
Adjutant-General, Jackson, Miss |
| |
| By
your order to our superintendent you seem to put private
shipments of corn under the control of quartermasters.
Please answer if this is your design. I suppose there is
some mistake about the matter. There are four or five
quartermasters on the road and the confusion will be
endless. We will expect quartermasters' orders in regard to
Government freight and in all cases give preference to such
freight, but their assuming control over private shipments
is a different matter. |
| Milton
Brown |
| President
Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company |
|
| To this I have received no
answer. I therefore deem it my duty to present the facts of the case
to you, and request that if not within your proper jurisdiction you
present them to General Johnston for relief. This order putting
private shipments under the control of quartermasters is plainly
without authority of law and opens a door to favoritism and abuse
without limit. |
| Most respectfully, yours, |
| Milton Brown |
| President Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company |
|
|
|
Indorsements
|
| Headquarters District of the Gulf
|
| Mobile, January 13, 1863
|
|
|
| This
subject is respectfully referred for the action of General J. E.
Johnston. Though the portion of country from which shipments are
made is not within the limits of my district the order of
Lieutenant-General Pemberton, in my opinion, seriously affects this
portion of my command. The rule I have adopted with reference to
railroads is to require that all Government freights should have
precedence of all others, if necessary, to the temporary exclusion
of other freights; but beyond this I regard an interference of the
military authorities with the concerns of individuals and
corporations as illegal and impolitic.
|
| I think the order of
Lieutenant-General Pemberton is liable to great abuse. Also
complaints, whether just or not I have not yet assured myself, are
made against quartermasters for favoring their friends, and in one
case a speculating house, to the exclusion of individuals who are
desirous of shipping for their own use. The rule I have adopted is,
I think, the only legal and politic course with reference to
railroad companies, and I therefore suggest it for the consideration
of the general commanding in the West. |
| S. B. Buckner |
| Major-General, Commanding District |
| |
| January 17, 1863 |
| Respectfully referred to
Lieutenant-General Pemberton. |
| J. E. Johnston |
| General |
| |
| Hdqrs. Dept. of Mississippi and East
Louisiana |
| Jackson, January 18, 1863 |
| Respectfully returned to
General J. E. Johnston. I do not think it advisable to change the
spirit of my orders as to transportation. |
| On affidavit satisfactory to
the quartermasters at the particular department that the produce is
not for speculation it can be transported, as heretofore authorized. |
| J. C. Pemberton |
| Lieutenant-General, Commanding |