| The Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, alone among
the Southern railroads, employed a statistician throughout the
War. The result was annual reports running as much as 150 pages
(the normal annual report was about 25 pages). |
| Since this road was a vital link in the supplying of Richmond and its
army, study of its shipment data can be instructive. From the annual
reports, I've extracted representative data to show the items that were
shipped eastward and westward on that road each year. The numbers show
the declining shipments of food and raw materials into Richmond and the
shifts of what was sent westward. This kind of radical change and
decline of shipments was typical of all roads, though the details vary. |
| |
| Virginia & Tennessee Railroad Tonnage, Eastward |
| |
| Virginia & Tennessee Railroad Tonnage, Westward |
| |
| |
| Particularly instructive is looking at the shipment of food to the
Richmond/army area. |
| |
| Virginia & Tennessee Railroad Tonnage, Eastbound Food |
| |