| Annual Report of the Richmond &
Petersburg RR |
| as of October 1, 1865, |
| Superintendent's Report |
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| Superintendent's Report |
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| Office Richmond & Petersburg Railroad
Co. |
| Richmond, Va., October 21, 1865 |
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Charles Ellis, Esq.
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Pres. R. & P. R. R. Co.
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Dear Sir,
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*****
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On Sunday evening, the 2d of April last, a Colonel of the
Confederate army called at my office and directed that trains for the
transportation of three thousand troops for Petersburg should be kept
in readiness during the night. I gave the necessary instructions, and
the trains were prepared; but as the troops did not arrive, and as it
was reported that Richmond would be evacuated, the trains were sent to
Manchester as a place of safety early on the following morning.
Shortly after which, a detachment of the retreating army, left behind
for that purpose, as the Lieutenant of Engineers in command informed
me, set fire to the James river bridge, and all access to the trains
was cut off. The Conductors, Engineers and Agents having charge of
them had to seek places of safety; and whilst the cars were thus
temporarily deserted in Manchester, they were robbed of their
furniture, head linings, windows and window blinds, and left mere
wrecks or shells.
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The fire from the bridge communicated with the laboratory
on the west, which was stored with ammunition and loaded shells, and
with the paper mill on the east, which contained a large quantity of
cotton and rags. From that building it extended to the large
Confederate carpenter shop on 9th street, thence to the tobacco
warehouse, from which it was communicated to our carpenter shop, car
shed, machine shop, engine-house and depot, of which nothing but a
mass of ruins was left at 1 o'clock P. M.
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Such of our engines as were in running order were taken
possession of by the officers and agents of the United States military
railroad department, and used by them upon our road and the City Point
road until the last of June, when the road and a portion of its
equipment were turned over to us.
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Three of the largest and best engines -- the Powhatan,
Holden Rhodes and Washington -- were retained by the United States
authorities, they having been captured by the Confederate government
during the war and sold to us. When we purchased them, they were not
worth more than half of their original cost. We paid a liberal price
for them, repaired them at a very heavy expense, and made them first
class engines.
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Another of the engines -- the M. W. Baldwin -- whilst in
the service of the United States military railroad department, was accidentally
(by the washing away of a bridge on the City Point road) thrown into a
creek, where it remained for some weeks, and was so much injured as to
be of little value. The Tecumseh was left in the yard in Richmond, and
was injured by the fire, and is now being repaired at Messrs. Ettenger
& Edmonds' shops.
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Of our old stock of engines, we have the Clover Hill,
Henrico and Tecumseh, all undergoing repairs, and the Mazeppa in
running order. The M. W. Baldwin, Chesterfield and Pocahontas unfit
for use, and not worth repairing. We also have the Westward Ho! a
small engine purchased from the Petersburg Iron Works Company, and the
Buffalo and Tiger, purchased from the United States government.
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*****
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Respectfully submitted,
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E. H. Gill
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Eng'r and Supt.
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