| Quartermaster General's Department |
| Richmond, August 18, 1863 |
| |
| Col. I. M. St. Johns |
| Chief Nitre & Mining Bureau |
| |
| Colonel, |
| On assuming the duties of this Department,
I am made painfully sensible of the scarcity of iron, and the effects
of this scarcity on the efficiency of the Rail Roads for Government
transportation. The pressure of the Navy Department, and Ordnance
Bureau is such, that railways are unable to procure supplies of
wheels, axles, and other manufactured iron necessary to keep up their
"rolling stock." As the principal armies of the Confederacy
are now very far removed from the sources of supply, this deficiency
of transportation threatens to become a very serious matter. |
| In order that I may be informed of the
resources at my command, I beg the favor of you to furnish me with a
rough estimate of the quantity of iron which you are able to realize
per month, through the operation of your Bureau, and the proportions
in which it is distributed to the different Departments, and Bureaux
of the Government. |
| A. R. Lawton, Q. M. Genl |
|