| Quartermaster General's Department |
| Richmond, March 24th 1863 |
| |
| Col. Gorgas |
| Chief of Ordnance |
| Richmond |
| |
| Sir, |
| I presume that the letter from Major
Humphreys, Columbia, Georgia, which has been referred to this office,
and which suggests that contractors under him should be furnished with
facilities for obtaining transportation for their supplies of Iron,
Coal, Copper, etc, relates to transportation by Rail. If so, I can
only state what has been the rule uniformly acted on by this office,
with the sanction of the War Department. The Government has never done
more than to ask of the various Companies a preference for its own
freight; and the difficulties of procuring this have been such as to
forbid an increase of the demand. Government Contractors have been
thrown like other individuals upon their own resources. |
| A. C. Myers, Q. M. Genl |
|