| Quarter Master General's Department |
| Richmond, April 15th 1864 |
| |
| Genl. R. Ransom Jr |
| Bristol, Tenn. |
| |
| Sir, |
| I beg to acknowledge the
receipt of yours of the 6th instant & to assure you that I
appreciate the difficulties by which you are surrounded. It is truly
lamentable to realize the necessity of transporting corn from Georgia
almost around the Confederacy, to a point near the border of Georgia
again. And yet this does seem to be a necessity, if we must
retain troops in that region. |
| We are now feeding everything
in & around Richmond, & all Gen'l Lee's Army (about to be
increased by Longstreet's command) with the products of South Carolina
& Georgia; & the problems we are trying to solve can scarcely
be contemplated without alarm. All private travel has been stopped on
main line of railway, & the trains devoted to the Govt.
Notwithstanding all this, how can we ever accumulate, with so
many mouths open for every pound of grain or meat that arrives? |
| All the trains over the
Danville & Greensboro Route have been devoted for several weeks
exclusively to the supply of Genl. Longstreet's command, & it is
hoped that he will leave you a small supply of grain, when he moves
his corps to Charlottesville. |
| I will use every exertion to
keep you supplied for a month as you desire; & sincerely
hope, by that time, you can draw your forage elsewhere than from the
far South. |
| I will be pleased to hear
from you any time. |
| A. R. Lawton, Q. M. Genl. |