| Navy Department, C. S. A. |
| Richmond,
March 13, 1863 |
| |
| Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill, C. S. A. |
| Headquarters, Goldsborough, N. C. |
| |
| Dear Sir, |
| Having directed
Flag-Officer Lynch to invoke your aid to procure iron in North
Carolina for the completion of gunboats, I beg leave to say that the
water defenses of Wilmington would, I think, be regarded with
satisfaction if the two iron-clad sloops under his charge there were
completed. Covered with 4 inches of iron, placed at an angle of 36
deg., and mounting each four heavy guns they would be floating forts
of the most formidable character. We have obtained from Georgia and
South Carolina sufficient iron for one of these vessels. |
| The demands for armor for
vessels under construction in those States preclude us from
obtaining more iron there at present, and unless we can get supplies
from North Carolina for the rolling-mill at Atlanta, Ga., we shall
be unable to complete the second vessel at present. |
| We can construct boats for
Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, which, in my judgment, will expel or
destroy the enemy if we can obtain the iron to plate them. |
| Ten or 12 miles of railroad
iron will meet these immediate wants and in taking up rails unfit
for service on the roads could be selected. Iron thus taken from the
roads of North Carolina would be rolled into plates at Richmond or
Atlanta and returned for the defenses of that State. |
| May I therefore ask you to aid
Flag-Officer Lynch in this important service? |
| I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, |
| S. R. Mallory |
| Secretary of the Navy |
|