| Head Qrs. Army No. Va. |
| 10 March 1864 |
| |
| Brig General A. R. Lawton |
| Qr. Mr. General |
| Richmond Va. |
| |
| General, |
| When in Richmond in February I
had a conversation with you in regard to the transportation of supplies
from North Carolina. Major French of the Commissary Dept. informs me
today through Lieut. Col. Cole that he has collected at Goldsboro and
other points on the N. C. R. Roads one million rations of meat which he
cannot get transportation for and that he will soon add to this 500,000
rations. Three trains of ten cars each or two trains of fifteen cars
will serve to transport a million rations. I believe that our rail road
transportation can be so arranged as to bring on all these supplies
without delay besides doing the other work required of them and that all
the difficulties can be overcome by attention, energy and diligence on
the part of the officer in charge of this transportation. I beg you to
use every effort to cause these supplies to be brought forward and
relieve this army in a measure from the precarious condition in which it
has been placed for some time past for want of supplies. |
| I am very respectfully Your obt. Sevt. |
| R. E. Lee Genl |
|