OR, Series 1, Vol. 42, Part 2, Page 1257

War Department, C. S. A.
Richmond, Va.
September 17, 1864
 
Maj. Gen. W. H. C. Whiting
Commanding, Wilmington, N. C.
 
Generl,
   Your letter relative to the construction of a bridge across the Cape Fear River to connect certain railroads was referred to the Engineer Bureau, which reports:
   Careful inquiries, examinations, surveys, and reports have been made and the undertaking found to require much material and labor. As the gauges of the two roads meeting at Wilmington {Wilmington & Weldon RR and Wilmington & Manchester RR} are different, as the connection through Petersburg is broken, and as the presidents of the two railroad companies at Wilmington, on direct appeal, decline to give any aid to the construction of the proposed bridge, favorable action in the within proposition is not recommended.
Respectfully,
James A. Seddon
Secretary of War

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