UG, W&A 4/4/1865

State of Georgia
County of Baldwin
 
   Personally appeared before me William H. Scott, Justice of the Inferior Court in & for said County Andrew T. Anderson who being duly sworn according to law deposes and says that about the 30th day of January last past, Genl. Ira R. Foster, Quarter Master General of the State of Georgia, left deposent at Wilmington N. C. to attend to the State of Georgia  Cotton interest in that City, in connection with George Harris, Agent, and, to have the cotton removed to some place more out of danger from the enemy. Two State f Georgia trains (of the Western & Atlantic rail road) were sent deposent & said Harris from Georgia for that purpose. Deposent & said Harris commenced moving out the cotton, which belonged to the State of Georgia, to Florence, S. C. on the said two trains, intending when the said cotton should be thus all moved to that point, to reload and move it still further to some still  safer place if necessary, the intention being to get the cotton away from Wilmington as soon as possible, as that city was deemed in immediate danger. the trains were run only to Florence, so as to make as quick trips as possible.
   On On or about the 15th day of February, whilst the said two Georgia Trains were at Florence loaded with Georgia State Cotton and before all the State of Georgia cotton had been removed from Wilmington, and whilst there were at Charleston S. C. several hundred bales of cotton belonging to the State of Georgia waiting for these two trains to be sent for it, the Commandant of the Post at Florence S. C. Lt. Col. Williams             being an officer of the Confederate Government, ordered the impressment of these two State of Georgia Trains for the purpose of sending them to Charleston for Confederate Government uses.
   Deposent then appealed to said Lt. Col. Williams for the release of said two trains, but without success. Learning that the impressment of the same had been made by order of Maj. McMickin, Chief Q. M. at Charleston, Deposent then telegraphed to Maj. McMickin, stating that these two trains had been sent by order of Governor Brown to remove Quartermaster Stores and Cotton, belonging to the State of Georgia from Wilmington and Charleston and begged their release, but said Maj. McMickin refused to release them.
   The Confederate authorities held these two trains under impressment for some two weeks and finally released them and sent them back to Florence from Cheraw about the 2nd day of March, which was some three days before the enemy attacked that place, Florence. After the release of the trains (even at that late day) deposent could have loaded and moved out of Florence a portion of the State of Georgia cotton before the attack was made on the place but deposent learned that the Military Superintendent of the rail road would not allow the Georgia trains to stand on the Cheraw rail road track, so as to enable deposent to load the State of Georgia cotton, (which cotton was piled near the Cheraw {& Darlington} R. R. track), but ordered the trains to run down and stand on the North Eastern R. R. track, which was some distance, about one pile from the place where the Georgia cotton was piled.
   When the enemy made the raid on Florence, (about the 45th day of March) all the cotton there was burned by order of the Confederate officer in Command. In the lot burned were Sixteen hundred and forty five bales (1645) of the State of Georgia cotton. Two hundred and five of them were Sea Island Cotton & fourteen hundred and forty bales were upland cotton. After the Yankees were repulsed from Florence, the State of Georgia trains were run out with safety to Manchester, S. C. Had the Cotton not been destroyed at Florence it could have been run over to Manchester also and been saved. Said cotton would have been safe even if not removed from Florence, as the enemy never obtained possession of that place. So it was lost entirely by the action of the Confederate authorities in having it burned.
Sworn to & subscribed before me this 4th day of April 1865
Andrew T. Anderson

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