| Engineer Bureau |
| July 4th 1863 |
| |
| Capt. E. T. D. Myers Corps Engrs PACS |
| Richmond, Va. |
| |
| Captain, |
| I have received your letter of yesterday,
reporting that you had informed the Board of Directors of the Piedmont
Railroad Co. of your intention to be relieved of duty on that road
about the 15th proximo. |
| This work, on which you have been engaged
from the beginning, is one of the first importance, as you are well
aware and its early completion is much desired by the Government and
to this end every effort has been made by the War Department to assist
the Piedmont Company in the construction. It is still desired to do
every thing possible to forward the work. Your full knowledge of all
past operations in the prosecution of the enterprise makes it
important that you should conduct it to its completion. |
| To entrust the direction in the future to
another officer would, it is feared, result in delay. I must therefore
that you will not urge to be relieved entirely from all communication
with the road, as proposed in your letter. The Bureau is well
satisfied that you have done all that was possible for the engineer to
do, in furtherance of this important connection and that your past
experience will enable you to bring the work to completion sooner than
any other officer I could assign to the task. |
| As an officer of the Confederate Service,
will you please to give me your views with reference to a more active
prosecution of the road. Is there, in your opinion any different
policy that could be adopted that would ensure satisfactory results.
If such should be your opinion you will please to state what it is
with particularity, and you r reasons in support of such opinion. |
| I am Sir, Very Respy Yr Obt Servt |
| J. F. Gilmer |
| Col Engrs & Chf of Bu |
|