| Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia |
| August 7, 1863 |
| |
| Hon. James A. Seddon |
| Secretary of War, Richmond |
| |
| Sir, |
| In a late letter from Colonel Northrop
he alluded to the difficulties of railroad transportation from the
south, and suggests that when the freight trains cannot bring the
usual supplies or sufficient supplies, that the passenger trains
should be temporarily stopped, and the whole force of the road
devoted to supplying the army. I think the suggestion an important
one. Besides the important deficiencies in the commissary department
due to these difficulties, I regret to say that we receive now only
1,000 bushels of grain per diem for all the animals of this
army. On this it would be impossible to bring up our cavalry and
artillery horses, even if we gave it all to them. I hope that
something can be done to procure a greater proportion of the
transportation of our railroads for army purposes than we ever have
had at our disposal. |
| I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, |
| R. E. Lee |
| General |
|