| Annual Report of the Port Royal RR |
| as of July 1, 1863 |
| Chief Engineer's Report |
| |
| Engineer's Office, Owen's X Roads |
| Barnwell District, S. C., August, 1863 |
| |
| To the President and Directors of the
Port Royal Rail Road Company |
| |
| Gentlemen, |
|
While entering upon a report of the progress of the
grading for the year which has just transpired, it is but proper to
remark upon the occasion we have for thankfulness for the
undisturbed prosecution of the work during the continued raging of
the war on our soil; a war without a precedent in history. |
| To have kept alive an
enterprise of this character amidst this life and death struggle of our
Confederacy, were cause for congratulation, but when it is known that
our progress ha been steady, and our operations conducted within the
estimated cost of the work, it is as surprising as it certainly is
gratifying. |
|
Of the contract of Messrs. Hudson, Lane & Co., there is
nothing further to be said than in the last annual report. No steps
have been taken by these contractors towards the resumption of their
work, nor, as far as I am aware, has any communication on the
subject passed between the contracting parties. |
| What was recommended in
August lat occurs to me equally advisable now, viz: that these
contractors be urged to inform the Company what are their present
position and intentions in reference to their contract. |
| The work on the Section of
seventeen (17) miles, let to Messrs. Goethe & Chisolm, has been
prosecuted uninterruptedly to the present time, and though I have been
disappointed in the expectation of reporting its completion at this
meeting, it is proper to state that all reasonable efforts have been
made by Mr. Henry Goethe toward this end. The embarrassing circumstances
of the times have operated to defeat such efforts. |
| Of the seventeen miles
composing this contract, there are but four (4) which are not entirely
finished. Of these, the 31st Section is the only one upon which no
grading has been done; the 30th is far advanced towards completion;
while the 28th and 29th Sections each have some little work to be done
before being received from the contractors. One and three-quarters (1
3/4) miles would probably represent the entire distance to be graded. |
| The number of hands employed
is quite small, owing to the difficulty (almost impossibility) of
procuring tools, and the great scarcity and high prices of provisions. |
| Succeeding the latter
contract is the portion of Road upon which are engaged the negroes under
the immediate control of the Company. This project of employing the
negroes of the refugees, referred to at the last annual meeting as an
untried experiment, has resulted in complete success. |
| While the scale of operations
has been small, only about one hundred and forty (140) negroes (men and
women) being upon the work, yet the cost of the grading has been much
less than if let to contractors at ordinary peace prices. Thus the
entire amount of work done by all the negroes since April, 1862, is as
follows: |
| 146,060 cubic yards of earth a $0.20 |
$29,212.00 |
|
| 39,878 "
" " "
" 17 |
6,779.26 |
$35,991.26 |
| 54.44 acres of clearing $25.00 |
|
1,361.00 |
| Total value of all work done up to July 1st, 1863 |
|
$37,352.26 |
| Cost of subsistence, clothing, medical attention &c., as pr.
Treasurer's Report |
$28,147.75 |
|
| Deduct the amount of subsistence on hand on July 1st |
5,496.79 |
|
| Which gives the actual cost of above work to 1st July |
22,650.96 |
22,650.96 |
| Or a savings to the Company of |
|
$14,701.30 |
| This gives as a cost pr cubic yard $0.12. |
|
|
|
| The entire length of Road bed
graded by these hands is eight (8) miles from the beginning of the 35th
Section (near Mrs. Ester William's farm) to the end of the 42d Section;
or within a half mile of the crossing of the Boggy Gut, at Martin's
Mill. |
| When we recollect the fact
that this distance comprises the summit Section of the Road, along which
are to be found (taken as a whole) probably the heaviest excavations and
embankments, where the material is of the hardest kind of clay, the
result will be regarded with peculiar satisfaction. |
| Three (3) to five (5) miles
of light earthwork will put the Company's hands in the valley of the
Savannah River, where the progress will be rapid, from the level
character of the surface. |
| All the parties have during
the past year gained valuable experience, which, while contributing tto
the agreeable results noticed above, promises even more welcome
developments in the future. |
| The present condition of the
grading may be summed up this -- giving the entire length of line
finished to 1st July: |
| Of the contract of Hudson, Lane & Co., (17 miles,) there are
finished |
7 miles |
| Of the contract of Goethe & Chisolm, (17 miles) there are
finished |
15 1/4 miles |
| Graded by the Company's hands |
8 miles |
| Total length of line graded |
30 1/4 miles |
|
| The completion of the Goethe
contract will give a continuously graded line of 25 miles from the 17th
to the end of the 42d Section. |
| Should the fortunes of war
enable the Company to complete the Hudson contract during the ensuing
year, the Road will be graded for two-thirds of its length. |
| Indeed, if unmolested in our
operations by the inroads of the enemy, the future presents a cheering
prospect, and invites to steady, persevering effort. |
| Very respectfully, |
| C. S. Gadsden, Chief Engineer |