| Jackson Tennessee |
| Nov. 4, 1861 |
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Maj. Genl. Polk
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Dear Sir,
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| Enclosed you will find the copy of a
letter from Capt. Wm. D Hart the agent of the Govt. at this place
giving the facts in regard to the late shipments from Nashville to
this place. It will be seen that this freight has been sent from
Nashville to Stevenson over the Chattanooga road & from there to
Grand Junction over the Memphis & Charleston road & from there
here over the Mississippi Central road. Where its proper route was
from Nashville to Decatur & from there to Corinth & from
Corinth here. Capt Hart in one of his dispatches states the loss to
the Government at $32 a car load. But when he sent this dispatch he
only referred to the sending the freight on to Grand Junction, not
then knowing that it made the circuit round by Stevenson. The
sacrifice to the Government must be largely over that amount. The
Memphis & Charleston Road instead of transporting it from Decatur
to Corinth a distance of 93 miles has transported it from Stevenson to
Grand Junction a distance of 219 miles. I state these distances from
memory but I think I am correct. |
| It seems that Capt. Ross Superintendent of
the Memphis & Charleston Road obtained an order to ship to Grand
Junction by telegraphing that "the freight could not be got
through on the Mobile & Ohio Road." Now it can be proved
positively that Capt Hart had notified the officers of the Mobile Road
that this freight was coming and a large number of cars had been sent
in advance for it, & that there was as good if not better prospect
to get it off from Corinth than it was from Grand Junction. In a
subsequent dispatch from Capt Ross he says that "Freights for
Jackson, Trenton & Humboldt were ordered via Junction to prevent
delay of freight &c. Now freight could not get from the Memphis
& Charleston road to either Trenton or Humboldt without going on
the Mobile Road according to his statement, therefore, to prevent
delay on the Mobile & Ohio Road, freight must be sent across the
Mobile & Ohio Road at Corinth & then sent back to it again at
Jackson & then shipped on it from Jackson to Trenton &
Humboldt!! If we could take freight at Jackson why could we not take
it at Corinth? The truth is it is mostly an attempt to cover up a
fraud on the Mobile road & a still greater one on the Government. |
| Most respectfully yours |
| Milton Brown Prest |
| Mobile & Ohio R. R. Co. |
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