| Annual Report of the Mobile & Ohio RR |
| as of April 1, 1864, |
| Chief Engineer's Report |
| |
| Office Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company |
| Mobile, 19th April, 1864 |
| |
| Hon. Milton Brown |
| President, Mobile & Ohio Railroad |
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| Sir, |
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I have the honor to submit as information for the
Directors and Stockholders, the following report of the operations of
the Road for the current year, 1863:
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| Receipts from transportation -- |
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| Of Passengers |
$1,170,143.75 |
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| " Freight |
1,127,043.22 |
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| " Mail |
48,727.99 |
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| " Express |
57,134.55 |
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| Making a total of |
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$2,403,049.51 |
| And the Expenses -- |
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| Of repairs of Road |
$326,559.73 |
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| " Repairs of Machinery |
251,816.61 |
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| " Conducting Transportation |
681,784.31 |
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| " Construction |
79,299.26 |
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| To which should be added -- |
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| Interest paid in Mobile |
139,803.25 |
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| London interest |
101,000.00 |
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| Interest payable in London or Mobile |
119,933.00 |
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|
"
" on coupons due in
Mobile |
10,640.00 |
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| 14 Box and 20 Platform Cars lost and destroyed
at 2-3 present cost |
235,000.00 |
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| Making a total of |
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$1,945,836.16 |
| And leaving a balance of |
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$457,213.35 |
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It will be observed that no estimate has been made of
depreciation, and that the interest due in London $220,933.00 is
stated at the par value payable in Sterling, which reduced to
Confederate currency would swell the figures to an amount exceeding
twice the whole earnings of the year.
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Some of the cars lost and destroyed were impressed by
order of Lieut. Gen. Pemberton, and sent upon other roads, where they
were broken or captured by the enemy, and it is therefore a legitimate
item in the expenses of the year. The usual estimate of depreciation
has not been made because it will be impossible during the continuance
of the war to obtain many of the articles required to repair and
rebuild the roadway and rolling stock, and therefore the cost cannot
be stated with any degree of accuracy. This item was estimated in the
last Annual Report in the currency for which the articles were
purchased and, as the wear and tear progresses in a geometrical
ration, it will be much larger for the year 1863.
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Comparing the earnings and expenses of 1862 with the past
year, the following results will be obtained:
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| Receipts from Freight have increased |
$112,297.47 |
|
"
" Express have increased |
24,971.46 |
|
"
" Passengers have decreased |
395,345.80 |
|
"
" Mail have decreased |
24,971.46 |
| And a decrease in the aggregate of |
268,612.70 |
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The decrease in the earnings was caused by the removal of
the large army which occupied Corinth and Tupelo during eight months
of the year 1862, the shorter length of the road operated, the
restrictions placed upon the transportation of individual freight by
the military authorities, and by the completion of the Railroad from
Meridian to Selma.
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That Road was constructed with the means provided by the
Confederate Government, and being the shortest line from Meridian,
where the army was stationed, to the North and East, the Government
gave transportation by it to the full extent of its capacity for
troops and supplies moving northward, and sent by Mobile only such
troops and heavy and unproductive freight as that Road could not
carry.
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| The expenses for maintaining the Roadway have
increased |
$97,070.07 |
|
"
Machinery
"
" |
130,578.98 |
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"
Conducting transportation
"
" |
216,190.34 |
| Making an aggregate of |
$443,839.39 |
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An analysis of the table of expenses (marked No. 2) and a
comparison with the previous years, shows that the cost of mechanical
labor, provisions, oil, coal, and every description of manufactured
articles consumed in repairs, has increased in a much greater ration
than other items of ordinary labor and materials obtained along the
Road; and the prices of many of the essential supplies have already
reached such figures, that, if they could be manufactured in the
Confederate States, no company in the Confederate States could
afford to reconstruct its Railroad, without levying a tariff of
charges which would prohibit transportation. In illustration of this,
it is only necessary to say that spikes, which originally cost one
thirty-fifth of the superstructure, are at present prices equal
to the cost of iron, joint fastenings, spikes, cross-ties, and laying
of the track, and the same scale of prices extends through the whole
list of manufactured articles, which are used in the construction of
Railroads and their rolling stock. It is, therefore, apparent that no
material improvement can be made in the Railroads of the Confederate
States during the war, but, by careful management, slow speed, and
with such assistance as the Government can and will render, their
usefulness may be prolonged for several years.
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No interest has been more loyal or rendered more
important services to the country and to the Government, and none has
suffered so much from the effects of the war. A few of the main
through lines, upon which there were no large armies concentrated, and
over which the whole travel and commerce of the country has passed,
whose trains were fully loaded in both directions, and the Roads
worked to their utmost capacity, have declared large dividends and apparently
made large profits, but it has been really at the expense of
their capital stock. The Congress of the Confederate States in the
passage of the recent Tax bill has (no doubt unintentionally) done
this Company and its Stockholders, and others similarly situated,
great injustice in taxing the whole capital stock and earnings, while
one half of the Road is in the hands of the enemy, and entirely
unproductive, and subject to destruction alike from friend and foe.
Other interests are allowed to offsett this damage, and common justice
requires that Railroads should be placed upon the same just basis.
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The recent destruction of the Road by the Federal army,
and the great importance of repairing it at the earliest moment, made
it necessary for myself and Assistants to remain upon the work at the
time when the statistical information which usually accompanies the
Annual Report is prepared, and explains the failure to present those
tables.
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Although the damage done by these raids, does not
legitimately belong to the past year, yet with a view to the
preservation of all the facts, I beg to extract the following details
from a special report made to the board upon this subject:
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"General Sherman entered Meridian on the 14th of
February, and immediately detached a large portion of his force for
the destruction of this Railroad, and they were energetically engaged
in executing his orders until the evening of the 20th. One force came
southward to the bridge over the Chickasaha river south of Quitman,
and another went northward to a point half a mile north of Lauderdale
Springs -- the distance between the extreme points being a little more
than 48 miles. Within that distance they burned the warehouses, water
fixtures, (except at Quitman station,) turntables, bridges,
trestle-work and wooden culverts of any importance, and tore up 21
miles of the track (exclusive of turn-outs,) on 16 miles of which the
cross-ties were reduced to ashes, and bent the heavy rails in every
conceivable shape. There were two (2) Howe truss bridges over the
Chickasaha and Okatibbee rivers, two spans of beam truss over the
second crossing of the latter river, three-fourths (3/4) of a mile of
trestle work from 12 to 25 feet in height, forty-three (43) smaller
pieces and wooden culverts, six warehouses, two passenger buildings,
four (4) water tanks and fixtures, two turn tables, and four turn-outs
-- containing nearly three miles of track -- completely destroyed.
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Maj. Gen. Maury's order to rebuild the road is dated 23d
February, and on the morning of the 24th the work was commenced at
Quitman bridge with that part of our force south of the break which
had not fled on the approach of the enemy. As't Superintendent
Fresenius, who had been cut off above, with great promptness and
energy collected the forces above and with a train of hand cars,
came down and commenced about the same time, repairing southward from
Lauderdale Springs. Lieut. Gen. Polk had detailed Maj. Geo. Whitfield
with full authority to furnish the Company with everything necessary
to complete the work in the shortest time, and sent two locomotives
belonging to the Southern Railroad from McDowell's landing to
Gainesville, to be transferred to our Road, and used in transporting
negroes, materials and supplies required on the repairs.
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Maj. Whitfield arrived in Mobile from Selma on the 29th
February, and after consultation deemed it impracticable to obtain the
force (400 hands,) considered by me as necessary, except in the
counties of Noxubee and Lowndes, which the enemy had not reached.
Although extraordinary exertions were used, the time required in
reaching those counties, in collecting the hands from so large a
district of country, and in forwarding them to the work made it the
11th of March, before any of them reached the work.
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The Quitman bridge, one of the heaviest on the Road, was
crossed in 8 days, and 7 days more were consumed in rebuilding about a
half mile of the trestle work near the bridge and at Aligator Swamp,
which it was necessary to finish before trains could be run up to the
burned road. The completion of this bridge and trestle work removed
all obstacles, and it became a question of how long it would require
to straighten the rails, get out the cross-ties and relay 16 miles of
track.
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The rails being to heavy and strong, all the patent
appliances heretofore successfully used for straightening them, were
found inadequate, and we were forced to resort to heat and negro
power.
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It is almost impossible to make them perfectly
straight, but they have been laid again, and make a safe track,
but at a lower rate of speed than the former schedule.
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The two working parties labored with commendable energy
and united the rails at noon of the 24th March, just 29 1/2 days from
commencing the work, or 33 days after the departure of the Federal
army, and 4 days of this time were lost by rain, making the actual
working time 25 1/2 days. Regular passenger trains were resumed on the
28th between Mobile and Columbus.
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While this work was progressing so satisfactorily, a
force of carpenters, which Maj. Whitfield had brought with him, were
sent to rebuild the bridge over Tibbee river, which unfortunately had
been destroyed by the military authorities, the construction of which
was necessary to transport timber to rebuild the bridges and repair
the track in the prairies, between West Point and Okolona, which had
been burned by Gen. Smith. I believed when this force was sent to
Tibbee bridge, that ample time was allowed for its reconstruction
before the track below could be repaired, but the inexperience of the
men in this kind of work, and a heavy freshet, so delayed it that but
little was accomplished before the trains were run through to
Columbus. The damage done between West Point and Okolona by Gen.
Smith's forces consists in the destruction of all the warehouses, (5
in number,) 2 water stations, 33 pieces of trestle work and culverts,
the tearing up the track at intervals and the burning of eight (8)
cars. No damage was done above Okolona except the destruction of one
small piece of trestle work. The bridge over Tibbee was completed on
the 3d instant, the track finished to Okolona on the 11th, and regular
passenger trains resumed on the 12th instant.
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Summing up -- the enemy passed over 80 miles of the Road,
destroying 3 bridges over rivers, 3/4 of a mile of trestle work from
12 to 25 feet high, 76 smaller pieces and wooden culverts, 6 water
tanks and fixtures, and tore up about 25 miles of the main track,
besides about 5 miles of sidings, 18 miles of the iron of which was
bent and the cross-ties all destroyed, and the Tibbee bridge, one of
the heaviest on the Road, was burned by our military authorities.
Notwithstanding rainy weather and freshets this work has been repaired
in the short space of 48 days, and the regular business of the road
resumed. These results are full of encouragement and establish the
fact that bridges may be destroyed, Railroad tracks torn up, the
cross-ties burned and the rails bent, yet while the rolling stock is
preserved the time required for repairs is purely a question of well
directed labor; in other words, that the track and fixtures however
badly destroyed can be rebuilt with resources at the command of every
road in the Confederate States, when aided by the Government.
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I append a copy of an order issued by the order of Maj.
Gen. Lee, detailing a force to destroy all our cars found between
Marion Station and Okolona. This force destroyed between Lauderdale
Springs and Tibbee, twenty-eight (28) cars (and broke the wheels)
which had been left on the sidings out of order, and could not under
any circumstances have been used by the enemy, if he had reached
that country and they cannot be replaced during the war.
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And I respectfully recommend the Board to take
action to protest against the destruction of the Company's property by
the Confederate forces, which if continued on the approach of the
enemy as heretofore, will soon result in stopping the Road.
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In every evacuation and retreat from Columbus, Ky., down
to the recent raids, bridges, trestle work and cars which under no
conceivable circumstances could have been used by the enemy, have been
destroyed by our own forces, -- and in every case the folly of it has
been made apparent in a few days, and the Company asked to rebuild the
work. And so universal has become this custom, that subordinate
officers, on the approach of the enemy, make immediate arrangements
for the destruction of Railroad property.
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In the recent raid the fuel was collected for the
destruction of the fine bridge at Columbus, on which, in my judgment,
the enemy could not cross his army, or if that was practicable under
any circumstances, it could have been rendered impossible by simply
turning the draw around on the Columbus side, which would have left an
opening of ninety feet in width; and bridges at other points were
spared only from the earnest appeals of citizens and officers of the
Company.
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It is due to Lieut. Gen. Polk to say that I was assured
by him just previous to the evacuation of Meridian that he had decided
not to destroy provisions or Railroad property, and I am satisfied
that the cars and the Tibbee bridge were not destroyed by his orders.
Maj. George Whitfield, who was detailed at my request, by Gen. Polk,
remained upon the work until the regular trains were commenced, and by
great energy concentrated upon it, the labor and supplies which
enabled us to complete it within so short a time. I have seen no
officer in the service who labors with more zeal and fidelity, for the
interest of the Government, or who has a higher appreciation of the
value of Railroads to the Government and the people.
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Having been in the work, I cheerfully bear testimony to
the untiring energy of the Assistant Superintendent and all of the
employees of the Company who were engaged in the repairs.
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When all labored so faithfully, it would be unjust to the
others to commend any one by name.
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Very respectfully, your ob't serv't.
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L. J. Fleming
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Chief Eng. and Gen'l Superintendent
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{Order referred to is MISC, M&O 2-15-64}
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