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No National Archives
biography exists for E. T. D. Myers.
Blue entries are my biography.
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From The Times-Dispatch,
Richmond, Va. May 13, 1905 |
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Edmund Trowbridge Dana Myers (E.
T. D. on most documents) was born in Richmond in 1830. He married
Frances Trigg, also of Richmond, in 1856. He died in 1905 and his
wife in 1899, both in Richmond. They had at least three children. |
|
Myers was educated as a civil
engineer and began work in 1849 as a rodman, surveying the Richmond
& Danville RR. He rose to assistant resident engineer of that road
before leaving to work as assistant engineer on the Blue Ridge RR of
Virginia, under Claudius Crozet. Following jobs were with the
Covington & Ohio RR, the Richmond & York River RR and the Washington
Aqueduct. He left the last job in May, 1861 and ran the blockade to
Richmond. He was appointed to the Engineer Corps of Virginia and
assigned to the duty of erecting defenses at Jamestown Island, and
then Fort Hugar, on Harden's Bluff overlooking the James River
(across from the present Williamsburg Airport). He was commissioned
a Captain in the Confederate Engineers in early 1862. He spent most
of the war as the engineer constructing the
vital Piedmont RR, connecting Greensboro, N. C. and Danville, Va. He
was promoted to Major and spent the rest of the war as a member of the Commission to Collect
and Distribute Iron, with his focus on the restoration of the
railroads destroyed by Sherman in his march to Savannah from
Atlanta. |
|
After the war, he performed Civil
Engineer work for several customers on various projects, including
the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac and Richmond & Petersburg
Railroad Connection Company, the Richmond & York River RR, the
Richmond Water Works, the Petersburg Railway Connection Company, the
Richmond & Petersburg RR bridge over the James River. During part of
this time, he was partnered with Col. Rives, his superior in the
Engineer Bureau during the war. |
|
In 1866, he became the Engineer
of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac RR and then its General
Superintendent in 1867. He was also selected to advance from
Engineer to President of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac and
Richmond & Petersburg Railroad Connection Company. He eventually
became the President of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac
RR and General Superintendent of the Atlantic Coast Line RR. From
1901 to his death, he was also the President of the Washington
Southern RR. Additional details of his post-war life can be found in
the obituaries below. |
|
Though sometimes mentioned as a son of Confederate
Quartermaster General A. C. Myers, this is not true. |
| May ?, 1861 |
Assigned to
Virginia Forces as an Engineer |
| November 16,
1861 |
Asked to
provide cost information to Engineer Bureau
|
| November 25,
1861 |
Recommended
for position in Confederate Engineers
|
| February 26,
1862 |
Assigned to
select the route for the Piedmont RR
| NA,
ENG 2-24-62 |
| NA,
ENG 2-26-62 |
| NA,
ENG 3-3-62 |
| NA,
AIG 3-4-62 |
| NA, P
3-11-62 |
| NA, P
3-12-62 |
| NA, P
3-23-62 |
| NA, P
4-2-62 |
| NA, P
4-10-62 |
| NA,
ENG 4-11-62 |
| NA,
ENG 4-17-62 |
| NA, P
4-22-62 |
| NA, P
4-23-62 |
|
OR Series 4, Vol. 1, Page 1107 |
| NA, P
5-2-62 |
| NA, P
5-31-62 |
| NA, P
6-30-62 |
|
| June 16,
1862 |
Assigned to
survey and construct the Piedmont RR
|
| July 14,
1862 |
Asked for a
Captain to work under him
|
| Received
Piedmont RR payment for survey
|
| August 1,
1862 |
Assigned to
board to study military railroad transportation
|
| October 4,
1862 |
Reported
Piedmont RR status to Engineer Department
|
| October 22,
1862 |
Received
promise of support in shipping Piedmont RR material on North
Carolina RR
|
| November 19,
1862 |
Received
blasting powder
|
| December 4,
1862 |
Asked if he
has received hands from the recent impressment
|
| December 10,
1862 |
Designated
where he wanted iron for Piedmont RR
|
| December 17,
1862 |
Was told
source of slave hands
|
| December 25,
1862 |
Ordered to
receipt for slaves
|
| January 2,
1863 |
Authorized
to take receipt of slaves
|
| January 7,
1863 |
Authorized
to take iron from various roads
|
| February 4,
1863 |
Tredegar to
provide bolts for the road
|
| February 14,
1863 |
Detail of
tracklayer requested for him
|
| February 21,
1863 |
Asked to buy
old grease
|
| February 25,
1863 |
Receiveed
slaves for the Road
|
| March 3,
1863 |
Was given
authority to protect his white workers from conscription
|
| March 4,
1863 |
Received
instruction on paying for slave labor
|
| March 25,
1863 |
Chief of
Engineer Bureau asked QM General for a locomotive for
track-laying in support of Myers on Piedmont RR
|
| April 23,
1863 |
Informed
Engineer Bureau would try to keep hands at work
|
| May 6, 1863 |
Harvie
recommended his promotion
|
| May 12, 1863 |
Receives 200
lbs powder
|
| May 14, 1863 |
Asked
Governor to work on the negroes issue
|
| Harvie
recommended Myers for promotion
|
| June 16.
1863 |
Arranged to
get a locomotive for his road
|
| June 27,
1863 |
Set tie
production requirement
|
| July 4, 1863 |
Gilmer wrote to convince Myers to not resign
|
| July 7, 1863 |
Tredegar
told to supply him spikes
|
| August 4,
1863 |
Ordered to
return to Richmond regarding Piedmont RR
|
| August 7,
1863 |
Approved
claim for iron from Roanoke Valley RR for Piedmont RR
|
| Offered
labor from Georgia to construct the Piedmont RR
|
| August 12,
1863 |
Received
wagons and harnesses
|
| Gilmer said
he had provided all the support he could for the Piedmont RR
construction
|
| August 18,
1863 |
His letter
regarding gauge of Piedmont RR was answered
|
| August 29,
1863 |
Garnett
ordered to provide iron for Piedmont RR
|
| September 1,
1863 |
Instructed
on method of receipting for Piedmont RR construction funds
|
| September
16, 1863 |
Informed
that the Engineer Bureau chief would be meeting with
Secretary of War regarding Piedmont RR gauge
|
| September
21, 1863 |
Bureau
believed Hazlehurst would aid in Piedmont RR work
|
| September
30, 1863 |
Refused
permission to impress cross ties
|
| October 13,
1863 |
Transportation ordered for slaves for Piedmont RR
|
| October 20,
1863 |
Asked Sims if
he had arranged for transportation of Roanoke Valley RR iron
|
| November 24,
1863 |
Given
permission to exchange old shovels for new, purchase 240 new
ones
|
| January 9,
1864 |
Billed for
rope
|
|
February 22, 1864 |
Ordered to
plan defenses for Danville
|
| Notified of
iron for the road
|
| March 5,
1864 |
Notified
iron coming from two locations
|
| March 8,
1864 |
Bureau asks
for assistance for Myers in locating Danville fortifications
|
| March 12,
1864 |
Compass
provided him
|
| March 14,
1864 |
His Engineer
employees to be safe from conscription
|
|
March 18, 1864 |
Workers
detailed
|
| Rives asks
status of the construction
|
| March 31,
1864 |
Told a pile
driver would be available soon
|
| April 22,
1864 |
Secretary of
War orders him to complete the construction as quickly as
possible
|
| April 23,
1864 |
Given
authority to impress hands of Richmond & Danville RR for
track-laying
|
| April 27,
1864 |
Told his
workers to be protected from conscription
|
| May 7, 1864 |
Rives
reported work on Piedmont RR progressing satisfactorily
|
| June 30,
1864 |
300 hands to
be turned over to him to repair Richmond & Danville RR
|
| July 1, 1864 |
Was working
to repair a break in the Richmond & Danville RR
| OR
Series 1, Vol. 51, Part 2, Page 1029 |
| NA,
ENG 7-1C-64 |
| NA,
ENG 7-4B-64 |
| NA,
ENG 7-4G-64 |
| NA,
ENG 7-4H-64 |
| NA,
ENG 7-15-64 |
|
NA, ENG 7-21B-64 |
|
NA, ENG 7-22E-64 |
| NA,
ENG 7-24-64 |
|
| July 28,
1864 |
Corrected
bill for Roanoke Valley RR iron
|
| August 12,
1864 |
Ordered to
help inspect the Virginia Central RR on 16th
|
| September
14, 1864 |
Requested
for RR duty at Petersburg
|
| September
26, 1864 |
Received
lumber for Danville defense work
|
| September
30, 1864 |
Appointed to
Commission to Collect and Distribute Railroad Iron
|
| Reported
Danville defence expenses
|
| October 1,
1864 |
Promoted to
Major |
| October 11,
1864 |
Reported
difficulty in obtaining supplies on line of Chatham RR
|
| October 27,
1864 |
Assigned to
remove track of the Laurens RR
|
| November 14,
1864 |
Asked method
to use to take up the iron of RRs
|
| November 22,
1864 |
Reported how
he was dealing with RR companies
|
| January 12,
1865 |
Negroes
working on the Danville defenses were turned over to him to
repair Piedmont RR
|
| January 21,
1865 |
Ordered to
assist in repairs to RRs in Georgia
|
| February 1,
1865 |
Arrived in
Augusta and conferred with Capt. Grant
|
| February 7,
1865 |
Informed
that the repair of the Georgia RR will be delayed unless a
mile of track is delivered in the current week
|
| February 10,
1865 |
Instructed
to provide spikes for repair of the Washington Branch of the
Georgia RR
|
| February 11,
1865 |
Participated
in discussion of priority of iron for repairs
|
| May 12, 1905 |
Died
|
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