| Richmond, June 4, 1864 |
| |
| [General Bragg] |
| |
| General, |
| I have the honor to report
the following as the result of my inspection of the important
bridges and of the guards on the line of railroad between Richmond,
Va., and Wilmington, N. C. {the Petersburg RR
and the Wilmington & Weldon RR}, in obedience to Special
Orders, No. 123, paragraph XIII, Adjutant and Inspector General's
Office: |
| Richmond to Petersburg --
At Falling Creek bridge, six miles from Richmond, there was no guard
on the 27th ultimo. |
| Swift Creek -- The
bridge over Swift Creek, about three miles from Petersburg, is about
280 feet in length. The guard on the 27th ultimo consisted of
thirty-eight men well armed and two commissioned officers of Company
E, Sixty-fourth Georgia Regiment, Lieut. J. F. Rice commanding
guard. On the south side of the creek, commanding the approaches to
the bridge, earth-works for artillery and infantry have been
constructed. There was no artillery there. Being so near Petersburg,
this bridge may be considered as within the line of city defenses;
at least the requisite force could easily be sent from the troops in
and about the city when necessary to repel any raid upon the bridge. |
| Petersburg to Weldon --
At the bridge over the Rowanty, a small stream eighteen miles south
of Petersburg, there was on the 1st instant a guard of eighty men of
the Holcombe Legion, well armed, Captain Dunbar commanding. |
| Stony Creek -- At
this bridge, two miles farther south, the guard on the 1st instant
was 250 men of Holcombe's Legion, well armed. There were also
twenty-six mounted men of the Eighth North Carolina Cavalry employed
as scouts, &c. |
| Nottoway River -- The
guard at this bridge, five miles farther south, was, on the 1st
instant, 120 men of the Holcombe Legion, well armed, Captain Briant
commanding. The force at these three bridges was at that time under
command of Colonel Crawley at Stony Creek. The bridges at Stony
Creek and Nottoway were burned by the enemy in their late raid upon
this road. They have been replaced by substantial bridges, over
which the trains were running regularly. Earthworks have been thrown
up and were being extended at the last-named bridges. There was no
artillery there. I directed two guns to be sent to Stony Creek and
two to Nottoway. These with the defenses and infantry force there
will be sufficient to defend these bridges against any raid the
enemy are likely to make. |
| Meherrin River --
Over the Meherrin River, about twenty miles north of Weldon, is a
covered bridge about 310 feet in length. The guard on the 1st
instant consisted of forty-two men of Louisiana Zouaves, armed with
muskets, and twelve commissioned officers. Also a detachment of
thirty men of Captain Bradford's (Mississippi) battery and a
detachment of fifty men of battery connected with Colonel Griffin's
Sixty-second Georgia Regiment, Lieutenant Dees commanding
detachments, the whole under command of Colonel Coppens. There are
extensive works on the south side. I directed earth-works for
artillery to be thrown up also on the north side of river, more
completely to protect the approaches to the bridge from that side.
Five pieces of artillery there -- two heavy bronze 12-pounders, two
brass 12-pounders, and one small howitzer. The reserves of the
counties of Southampton, Greenville, Surry, Sussex, and Brunswick
were ordered to rendezvous at this point (Hicksford). There were
seventy-five reserves there on the 1st instant; the whole will not
probably amount to more than 300 men. They were being organized
under direction of Colonel Garnett. |
| Weldon Bridge -- The
importance of this bridge is well [known]; defenses very extensive.
Troops stationed in and around Weldon on the 1st instant were: |
|
Men |
| Sixty-eighth North Carolina Regiment, Col. J.
W. Hinton |
548 |
| Mallett's battalion, Major Habr |
349 |
| First Battalion Reserves, Major Broadfoot |
269 |
| Captain Shaw's artillery company |
29 |
| Captain Cherry's cavalry company, Fourth
Regiment |
63 |
| Captain Chappell's infantry company |
32 |
| Total |
1,290 |
|
| The bridge guard consisted
of thirty men, well armed, from the Sixty-eighth North Carolina
Regiment, two commissioned officers. Col. J. W. Hinton, commanding
post. |
| Wilmington & Weldon
Railroad -- Over Quaker Creek, near Halifax, eight miles south
of Weldon, is a very high bridge, 150 feet long. No guard and no
defenses there on the 31st ultimo. |
| Fishing Creek -- Over
Fishing Creek, about twenty-two miles south of Weldon, is a fine
covered bridge, 240 feet long. No guard and no defenses there on the
31st ultimo. |
| Tar River -- The
bridge over Tar River, about thirty-seven miles south of Weldon, was
burned some time since. There is now a strong trestlework about 500
feet long, half over the water and the balance over low ground. No
guard and no defenses there on the 31st ultimo. |
| Contentnea Creek --
The bridge over this stream, about sixty miles south of Weldon and
five miles from Wilson, is 230 feet long -- a covered bridge. No
guard and no defenses there. There were watchmen at all these
bridges on this road, employed by the Wilmington & Weldon
Railroad Company, to prevent evil-disposed persons from setting fire
to or otherwise injuring the bridges. |
| Neuse River -- The
bridge over the Neuse River, eighty miles north of Wilmington and
three south of Goldsborough, has been burned. It has been replaced
by a trestle-work 600 feet long, 250 over the river and the balance
over low ground. Works of defense have been constructed here, but
not armed. The guard consisted of 160 senior reserves, armed with
muskets and rifles, furnished by the State. Maj. B. F. Hooks,
commanding. |
| Rockfish Creek
(thirty-five miles from Wilmington) -- This bridge is 450 feet long,
decked over; a part of it extends over low ground, except in time of
freshets. There was no guard and no defense there on the 31st
ultimo. Raiders would have to reach this bridge by Duplin Cross
Roads from Onslow County, via Chinquapin. |
| Northeast -- The
bridge over the Northeast Branch of the Cape Fear River, nine miles
from Wilmington, is a very important one; a covered bridge 400 feet
long, over water thirty feet deep. It would be difficult to
reconstruct in case of its destruction. It is only eleven miles from
the coast by a good road. The guard at the bridge on the 31st ultimo
consisted of eight men of Captain Webb's artillery company, North
Carolina Troops, with two brass field pieces. Works of defense have
been constructed. |
| Smith's Creek -- The
remaining bridge on this road is 240 feet in length, covered in. It
is but a mile and a half from Wilmington, and may be regarded as
within the line of city defenses. I have directed earth-works for
artillery to be thrown up and armed for the defense of the different
bridges named on the line of the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad.
There were on the 30th ultimo at Goldsborough 500 reserves being
organized into companies under direction of Captain Mallett and 290
reserves (First Battalion) at Weldon. The reserves of New Hanover
and adjoining counties were to be organized on the 1st instant. If
the reserves should not be sufficient, the guard for home defense,
or a portion of them, might be called out in North Carolina, through
the Governor. There are included in the State organizations a number
of persons who do not belong to the reserve force or the regular
service. In this way an infantry force might be obtained
sufficiently large to guard effectually this line of railroad
without withdrawing troops from other important points. |
| I am, general, very respectfully, your
obedient servant, |
| Robt. Strange |
|