| June 24, 1863 |
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| Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas |
| |
| General, |
| I have traveled over the railroads in
East Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, and am able to make the
following report: |
| On the railroad leading from Chattanooga
to Knoxville {East Tennessee & Georgia RR}
there are 19 engines employed, 12 of which are nearly unfit
for service, and the balance considerably worn. There are three
stone and two wooden bridges on this road; the latter are over the
Tennessee and Hiawassee Rivers; both covered. The Hiawassee Bridge
is guarded by about 50 men, and the Tennessee by 500 men, at Loudon. |
| On the road from Knoxville to Lynchburg,
Va. {East Tennessee & Virginia RR and Virginia
& Tennessee RR}, there are 12 engines, 3 of which are good
and the others scarcely fit for use. On that road there are two
important bridges across the Holston and Watauga Rivers. They are
new wooden bridges -- uncovered trestle-work -- having been rebuilt
since destroyed by General Carter last winter. On the Western &
Atlantic road, leading from Atlanta to Chattanooga, there are 34
engines, two-thirds of which are nearly unfit for use. On this road
are thirteen wooden bridges -- uncovered trestle-work -- within 30
miles of Chattanooga. On South Chickamauga River there is also one
important bridge, not far from Atlanta. On the Georgia road
{Georgia RR and Augusta & Savannah RR},
leading from Atlanta to Savannah, there are 53 engines,
three-fourths of which are badly damaged. |
| On the road leading from Atlanta to
Mobile {Atlanta & West Point RR, Montgomery &
West Point RR, Alabama & Florida (of Alabama) RR, and Mobile & Great
Northern RR} there were at the time I passed over it about 70
engines employed, some of which had been brought from other roads to
assist in moving troops to General Johnston. This has been a very
important road to them, and the only road by which they can move
their troops eastward and northward from Mississippi. Seventy miles
of this road is 6 inches wider in the track than the balance of the
road {the Montgomery & West Point RR was 88
miles long and its gauge was 3 1/2" LESS than the rest of the line},
and causes them a great deal of inconvenience in transportation, as
they have only 6 engines and a small number of cars that suit this
wide portion of the road {Montgomery & West
Point RR had 22 locomotives and almost 300 cars}. On all
roads in Alabama and Mississippi west of a line running north from
Mobile they have a large amount of rolling-stock. I counted 220
engines, and was told there were a few more, and these are much the
best engines they have in the South. Most of them having been run
south from Tennessee when it was occupied by the Federal army, they
have remained there since, because they could not get them away
without taking them apart and transporting them in pieces across the
bay at Mobile, and even then they could not get them across the
river at West Point, Ga., because of the wide track before spoken of
{several locomotives and cars of the Memphis & Ohio RR were
transported across the water barrier on a barge in August, 1863};
and in order to get these engines away, and have a road 500 miles
shorter from Mississippi to Atlanta, Ga., they have built a road
from Macon, Miss., or Meridian, to Selma, Ala.
{Alabama & Mississippi Rivers RR}; thence, by way of
Jacksonville and Talladega, to Rome, Ga.
{Alabama & Tennessee River RR} This road is not quite
finished to Rome, but will be in about one month
{the Blue Mountain RR was aimed for the
Western & Atlantic RR north of the connection with the Rome RR and
never had any iron laid down}. If they can hold Mississippi,
this will be a very important road; if not, it would be of but
little use, unless they should make a stand near Selma, Ala. The
completion of this road at this time is the only thing that will
enable them to get the engines before mentioned into the heart of
the Confederacy. |
| The road from Rome
{Rome RR} to the Western & Atlantic Railroad, from
Chattanooga to Atlanta, has 15 engines; no bridges. At the present
time they are using 26 engines from Chattanooga to Tullahoma
{Nashville & Chattanooga RR}. The
bridge on this road across Chattanooga Creek, near Chattanooga,
ought to be destroyed, if possible. It would not only cut off
Bragg's supplies, but also the supply of coal for nearly all the
furnaces in the South. I would say in reference to all the engines
spoken of that two-thirds of them are badly damaged and the
remainder much worn, being scarcely fit for service. Railroad iron
is very scarce. They have taken the iron off of the side tracks all
along the road wherever they can do without the side track. The iron
on all the roads is nearly worn out. They are making a little at
Atlanta, Ga., and I learn also at Richmond, Va.
{no rails were made during the war},
but not near enough to meet the demand. They are preparing to
manufacture railroad iron on an extensive scale at Chattanooga,
Tenn., and expect to be ready in six weeks. The buildings erected
for this purpose are wooden structures that could be easily burned.
At Richmond, Va., and Rome, Ga., and also at Macon, they have
manufactured about 5 engines. It is the opinion of the president and
officers of the roads over which I traveled that they cannot be used
more than six months longer unless great efforts are made to supply
them with engines and railroad iron {but, with
no government support, they lasted almost 2 more years}. All
the roads have advertised for the stockholders to come forward and
get their share of the fund usually reserved for buying engines and
iron, because of the impossibility of buying those things now. |
| The fortifications at Chattanooga are
progressing slowly, as a portion of the hands have lately been sent
to Loudon to fortify that place. There is one pontoon bridge over
the Tennessee River at Kelly's Ferry and the other at Rankin's
Ferry; both above Bridgeport. They could be destroyed very easily,
as there are only some 15 or 20 guards at each place. |
| The strength of Bragg's army has
remained about the same for some time; while some have been taken
from him and sent to Mississippi, others have been sent to him. Four
brigades from his army have been sent to Mississippi. |
| Breckinridge's division was ordered to
Mississippi, but when it reached Mobile was sent back by Johnston.
Johnston has 40,000 troops in rear of Grant; they have been sent
from every part of the South -- Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and from every point where they could be spared. |
| |
|
[Indorsement] |
| Headquarters Department of the Cumberland |
| Murfreesborough, June 24, 1863 |
| Respectfully referred to the
General-in-Chief, for his information. These facts were obtained by
Dr. McGowan, a Union man of East Tennessee, whom Major-General
Thomas sent for the special purpose of reporting on the condition of
railroads in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The doctor traveled
over the whole route, and his report is very reliable. |
| W. S. Rosecrans |
| Major-General, Commanding |
|