| {The original of this letter is
not available for inspection because of its fragility.} |
| |
| Dew, Ironmaker to the Confederacy, p. 202 |
| "{Joseph R.} Anderson,
in his letter of April 30,1864, asked the President to allocate
government-controlled steamer {blockade-runner}
space to his firm at the rate fixed for military cargo. To support
this extraordinary request, the Tredegar head expressed his intention
to rebuild vital portions of the works destroyed by fire the previous
May, the locomotive shops in particular. "We think the keeping up
[of] the Rail Roads, if the war continues, will depend on early
preparations to build Locomotives," he added. Anderson also
sought permission to send an agent abroad to negotiate the sale of
Tredegar cotton and to purchase machinery and other critical
materials. |
| The President met only part of Anderson's
request. Davis was willing to permit the company to dispatch an agent
to Europe and the War Department issued the necessary papers. Shipping
on government vessels or using space reserved for military freight was
quite another matter, however. The Chief Executive told Secretary of
War Seddon to inform the company that it should seek its own
transportation. The president did admit, however, that if Anderson
could not accomplish his plans through ordinary private channels,
"the matter is of such importance that further attention should
be given to it." {Endorsement of Davis, May
2, 1864, to Anderson's letter above} |
|