Selma, October 20, 1864
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| Lieut. Gen. R. Taylor, Comdg. Dept. Alabama,
Mississippi, and East Louisiana |
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| General, |
| I have read the letter of the
president of Alabama & Tennessee Rivers Railroad and the
indorsement thereon of General Beauregard, directing the extension
of that road from Blue Mountain{, Ala.}
to Jacksonville{, Ala., about 20 miles}.
The only sources from which iron can be obtained for this purpose
are the Gainesville branch {ie, the Mississippi,
Gainesville & Tuscaloosa Railroad in Mississippi},
the New Berne branch {of the
Alabama & Mississippi Rivers Railroad},
and the Marion branch {of the
Cahaba, Marion & Greensboro Railroad},
of Alabama. Of these the Gainesville branch is the only one the
Secretary of War has authorized me to remove. The iron will have to
be brought by steamers down the Tombigbee River about 50 miles to
Demopolis and carried by rail an average of 210 miles. If taken
from the New Berne or Marion branch it will have to be carried about
170 miles, and an order from the commanding general given for their
removal. To execute the work with dispatch will require two
locomotives and thirty cars devoted exclusively to the work, and one
of the locomotives must be capable of drawing twenty car-loads of
iron, or it will require three locomotives. These must be subtracted
from the present transportation of the road engaged in the carriage
of army supplies. Can they be spared? The attempt to remove any of
the three branches will probably be enjoined (the Gainesville branch
least likely in this case), in which event we must await the process
of dissolving it before the courts or take it by military force. The
Secretary of War has decided that the general commanding is the
judge of the necessity in such cases, and with him rests the seizure
by force. These branches, especially the New Berne and Marion,
penetrate a country which contributes large supplies of grain and
meat to the Army, and unless the necessity is imperious, the removal
may cause more danger than benefit. The labor for the execution of
this work and the teams for hauling cross-ties will have to be
impressed. I found it exceedingly difficult to hire labor, even at
the most extravagant rates, for the railroad work near Demopolis,
and the impressment of labor since the late heavy drafts from Mobile
and other points has become doubly difficult. The distance from Blue
Mountain to Gadsden, the point to which the supplies are hauled by
wagon, is about twenty-seven miles, and from Jacksonville about
twenty-two miles, a difference of only five miles. The question
arises whether, in considering all these facts, the movement of our
Army in that direction are not of such a transitory character and
the necessity so temporary and the advantages so slight,
comparatively, as to render the undertaking inexpedient at this
time. |
| I make these
suggestions, general with great difficulty and respect, believing
that they may not have occurred to General Beauregard. If you so
order, I will proceed immediately with the work and execute it as
rapidly as possible, giving my most earnest attention to its early
completion. The Government will have to advance the money to pay for
the work and iron, the company not having the means to do it, and
the cost be retained from transportation accounts due from the
Government to the company. This is ample to reimburse the
Government, but the funds for the labor will be required in advance.
The iron can be paid for in Richmond. I shall require about $25,000
to start with for contingencies. Can the quartermaster here supply
it? |
| Very respectfully,
yours |
| Minor Meriwether |
| Lieutenant-Colonel of
Engineers |
|