NA, SWR 5/24/1862

Richmond & Danville Rail Road
Superintendent's Office
Richmond, May 24th 1862
 
Hon G W Randolph
Secretary of War
 
Sir,
   The difficulty of getting iron for the superstructure of the Piedmont Railroad is so great as to make us depend absolutely on the government for its procurement
   I take leave to say that I learn the Navy Dept. has a considerable amount of it in Charleston. The Seaboard {& Roanoke} road is not now used and iron may be taken from that and the Norfolk & Petersburg Road also. There are three miles of iron or more on the Port Walthall Branch of the R&P {Richmond & Petersburg} R Road and four or five miles on the Keysville & Clarksville Railroad {northward extension of the Roanoke Valley RR} not now in use but owned by the Roanoke Valley RRd of which Henry Wood is the President. It is of great importance that iron be furnished us, in order that we may put the Piedmont Road to work in whole or in part at the earliest practicable time.
Very Respectfully
Lewis E. Harris
President R&D R Rd Co

Home

eng