(Received September 14, 1861)
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| Hon. L. P. Walker |
| Secretary of War |
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| Sir, |
| In accordance with the suggestion made by
you in the interview which General Morton, Judge McGehee, and myself
had with you on Saturday, I submit in writing the substance of the
proposition laid before you. The Pensacola & Georgia Railroad Company,
commencing at Quincy, within twenty miles of the Chattahoochee River,
runs to Lake City, where it connects with another road running to
Jacksonville, on the Saint John's. The Florida Railroad crosses the
latter twenty miles from Jacksonville. It begins at Fernandina and
runs to Cedar Keys. There is a branch road from the Pensacola &
Georgia Railroad which leaves the latter at Tallahassee and runs to
Saint Mark's. Thus the Pensacola &
Georgia Railroad is a link in lines of communication by means of
which troops an
material of war may be transported to and from two points on the
Atlantic to two points on the Gulf, and to a place within twenty miles
of the Chattahoochee, navigable by large steamers from Columbus, Ga.,
to Apalachicola. There is now under contract a railroad branching from
the Pensacola & Georgia Railroad and running to the Georgia line,
where it unites with a road branching from Savannah, Albany & Gulf
Railroad. When this extension of the Pensacola & Georgia Railroad is
completed it will unite the whole system of Florida railroads with
those of the other States of the Confederacy, thus enabling the
Government to transport men and material of, war from Richmond to any
point of Florida without breaking bulk. Without this connecting link
to unite the Florida roads with that of Georgia, cannon and other
heavy material will have to be unloaded from the Georgia cars and
transported by wagons over roads almost impassable in winter. The
Pensacola & Georgia Railroad has under contract and ready for
track-laying the road from their main line to the boundary of Georgia,
but the company has not yet purchased the iron for the road, and in
the present state of trade it cannot obtain the means to make the
purchase. The iron is for sale in Savannah for cash, and if the means
to buy it could be obtained the road could be completed in about two
months. The company proposes that the Government shall contract with
them for the transportation of men and munitions of war, provisions,
etc., at a fixed rate, and that an advance be made of the sum of
$70,000 for the purchase of the iron and $15,000 for spikes and chairs
upon such contract, with the agreement that if at the end of the war
the amount of transportation paid by the company under the contract
shall not equal the sum advanced the company repay the balance due the
Government in settlement and give ample security for the performance
of the contract, and that the amount advanced shall be applied to
complete the unfinished road needed to perfect the connection with the
Georgia road. Our road, when this connection of twenty-two miles to
the Georgia line is completed, will embrace in its entire length,
including branches, 176 miles of road in complete order, laid with
heavy iron, well supplied with rolling-stock, and having the capacity
for the transportation of freight and passengers equal to any road of
its length in the Confederacy, the road and equipments being new. The
distance from Savannah to No. 12 Station, on the Savannah, Albany &
Gulf Railroad, is 130½ miles; from Station 12 to Pensacola & Georgia
Railroad, 47 miles; from Pensacola & Georgia Railroad, at point of
connection, to Quincy, 20 miles; from Chattahoochee River, 106 miles;
from Pensacola & Georgia Railroad to Saint Mark's, 104 miles; from
Pensacola & Georgia Railroad to Jacksonville, 78 miles; from Pensacola
& Georgia Railroad to Fernandina, 105 miles; from Pensacola & Georgia Railroad to Cedar Keys, 161 miles. A map
is submitted with this communication upon which the roads are laid
down for reference.
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| All of which is respectfully submitted |
| Pensacola & Georgia R. R. Co. |
| By E. Houstoun, President |
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