Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac R. R.
Co.
President's Office |
Richmond, Va., April 25, 1861 |
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Major-General Lee |
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Sir, |
Having had some eight years' experience
in the management of railroads, and having recently some
acquaintance with their use for State defense, and reflected upon
it, I beg leave respectfully to submit to you the inclosed
suggestions, which may have, to some degree, been overlooked by
others less familiar with the subject or more preoccupied with other
public duties. I would further suggest that a printed circular
letter embodying these suggestions, emanating from you or the
Governor, and addressed privately to the presidents and
superintendents of our railroads, might be the most useful mode of
giving them effect. Should they contribute in any degree to the
safety and honor of the Commonwealth I shall be much gratified. To
the seventh and last paragraph permit me to ask your special
attention. At this time there are engines and trains run on this
road by the military authorities between Fredericksburg and the
Potomac River with very unnecessary frequency, wearing out our
engines (which should, especially now, when others cannot be
procured, be carefully husbanded), and preventing the carriage by
the usual trains of the wood which is necessary for the engines, and
which is rapidly being consumed, where it is most necessary to keep
a supply. But far more than all these considerations, the hourly
danger of collisions and a consequent disabling of the engines and
road requires the cessation of this practice, which no doubt is
continued from the want of appreciation of its evil consequences
only.
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I remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant |
P. V. Daniel, Jr. |
President Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac R.
R. Co. |
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[Inclosure] |
To make the railroads of this State most
effective aids in the public defense, and to prevent their being
equally effective means of invasion and attack to its enemies, the
following precautions are necessary:
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First. Every engine and car, whether for
freight or passengers, not absolutely needed for immediate use,
should be at once removed from any terminus or other point on each
railroad which by any possibility may be suddenly invaded by the
enemy to some other point or points on the road where they will be
secure from capture and most available to the State.
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Second. At every such point there should be
kept a locomotive engine always, night and day, fired up, and with a
full supply of wood and water, and an engineer and fireman ready at
a minute's warning to run over the road and give warning of the
enemy's approach. Should this engine be compelled to leave its
station at any time, for however short an interval of time, another
should be ready to take her place. For the same purposes the road
should be fully supplied with light pole-cars at short and
convenient distances along its length. These are lighter and more
easily operated than hand-cars, which are also useful. Tar barrels
or other materials for beacon fires might also be advantageously
placed at convenient stations on the road, to give warning to the
neighborhoods, to be fired only by the subaltern officers of the
Army or of the railroad when ordered.
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Third. Every bridge and important culvert on
the road should be guarded day and night by at least two well-armed
watchmen, to protect them from being fired or blown up or otherwise
injured by emissaries of the enemy. These watchmen should also be
furnished with means of obstructing or breaking up the track at a
short distance from their bridge or culvert when they have received
orders to do so through the alarm engine or pole-car, so as to give
them time, after the enemy is certainly and actually near at hand,
to destroy or weaken, by burning, blowing up, or sawing timbers,
their bridge or culvert, under orders of their superior railroad
officer or of the military commander for the district. But without
such order no injury should in any event be done, or permitted to be
done, by such watchmen to any such bridge or culvert. Any disregard
of this last regulation might be most disastrous to the State and
should be severely punished. There is great danger of such disaster
from the violence of excited or panic-stricken persons or bodies of
men, and a strong guard may be needed to prevent it.
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Fourth. Engineers and machinists should be
instructed on the certain, but only on the certain, and near
approach of an overpowering force of the enemy to remove and carry
away or effectually conceal the main connecting rods of their
engines, whether on the road or in any engine-house or workshop,
thus thoroughly and to the enemy irreparably disabling, without
permanently injuring, the engines.
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Fifth. All burden, box, or house cars should
at once have cleats of wood, fastened at suitable heights and
distances to their inner sides, with strong planks, cut to the exact
inner width of the car, to place on them as seats for troops, when
more are to be transported than can be carried in the
passenger-cars. When not used for this purpose these planks should
be laid flat on the floor of the car, so as at once to be in place
when needed, and when not needed to leave it free to be used for
freight.
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Sixth. Every railroad company should at once
strengthen all its open flat-cars, and, as far as it can
conveniently do so, build others of the strongest practicable
pattern and material, for the transportation of heavy ordnance.
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Seventh. Safety to lives and the protection
both of trains and roads from destruction by collisions make it
imperatively necessary that all trains should be regulated in their
speed and movements by no one except the conductors or engineers of
such trains, in accordance with the regulations and time-tables of
the company. Disregard of this regulation will inevitably result in
collisions, with all their consequent injuries to persons, to the
road, and to the State, and obstruction and privation of the use of
the road and machinery for an indefinite period of time. It cannot
be too rigorously observed and enforced.
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[Indorsement] |
The within suggestions to be embodied in circular to
president of every railroad.
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R. E. L. |
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