LVA, TRED 4/30/1864

{The original of this letter is not available for inspection because of its fragility.} 
 
Dew, Ironmaker to the Confederacy, p. 202
   "{Joseph R.} Anderson, in his letter of April 30,1864, asked the President to allocate government-controlled steamer {blockade-runner} space to his firm at the rate fixed for military cargo. To support this extraordinary request, the Tredegar head expressed his intention to rebuild vital portions of the works destroyed by fire the previous May, the locomotive shops in particular. "We think the keeping up [of] the Rail Roads, if the war continues, will depend on early preparations to build Locomotives," he added. Anderson also sought permission to send an agent abroad to negotiate the sale of Tredegar cotton and to purchase machinery and other critical materials.
   The President met only part of Anderson's request. Davis was willing to permit the company to dispatch an agent to Europe and the War Department issued the necessary papers. Shipping on government vessels or using space reserved for military freight was quite another matter, however. The Chief Executive told Secretary of War Seddon to inform the company that it should seek its own transportation. The president did admit, however, that if Anderson could not accomplish his plans through ordinary private channels, "the matter is of such importance that further attention should be given to it." {Endorsement of Davis, May 2, 1864, to Anderson's letter above}

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