Richmond, January 21, 1864
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| General J. E. Johnston |
| Dalton, Ga. |
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| General, |
| Several dispatches from yourself in
reference to the condition of the Western & Atlantic Railroad,
suggesting the transfer of sundry trains to Atlanta and a change of
management at Atlanta, have been received and acknowledged by
telegraph. Full explanations I have reserved for this letter. |
| It is certainly true that the condition
of the Western & Atlantic Railroad is not such as could be
desired, but its supply of rolling-stock is the same as that which
sufficed General Bragg's army at a distance 30 miles beyond the
position you now occupy, and is far in excess of that on the
Virginia Central, which is supplying the Army of Northern Virginia.
The fact is not to be disguised that most of our railways are in a
critical condition, and the needs of transportation must continue to
cause greater anxiety in the further progress of the war; but it is
a fact established by actual inspection, and otherwise notorious,
that the railways meeting in Atlanta are in the best average
condition and best supplied with rolling-stock of any roads meeting
at any one point in the Confederacy, while your army is nearer its
sources of supply than any other large army in the country. In
regard to the six trains running from Augusta toward points in North
Carolina, I beg leave to state that Major Peters is mistaken as to
the freights they transport; they are not all, nor the most of them,
devoted to cotton. The forces in Virginia and North Carolina depend
for most of their supplies upon Georgia and a small portion of South
Carolina, thus requiring armies to be supplied from a distance of
500 to 800 miles. This causes excessive pressure on the railways
between Georgia and Richmond, increased in South Carolina by the
demands of the city of Charleston, and a long coast constantly
threatened; and I will add that so far as these trains are devoted
to the transportation of Government cotton, they are performing a
most important service, for I see no hope of keeping our armies in
the field without the shoes, blankets, and woolens which we receive
from abroad in return for the cotton exported. I submit these facts
in reference to the present demands and means of transportation in
the hope that our views will not differ when they are based upon the
same information. I have applied to the Governor of Georgia to apply
the remedy on the road controlled by that State, and will endeavor
to make some addition to its rolling-stock from the small number of
cars and locomotives which we have saved from the enemy in the
falling back of our armies. Railroad transportation is scarce
everywhere, but I am satisfied your army is at this time better
served than any other in the Confederacy. I regret that you did not
adopt my suggestion, made by telegraph, to inquire into the manner
in which Major Hottle conducts railroad transportation at Atlanta
(through your chief quartermaster or otherwise) before you insist on
a change there. Major Peters was ordered to Mississippi to act, with
the advice and assistance of Samuel Tate, esq., in the construction
of railways in that section some time before you took command at
Dalton. He was only permitted to remain in Atlanta until Major
Hottle should be fully instructed, and to prevent temporary
confusion, but he has remained there up to this time, and therefore
no injury can be attributed to the change you refer to. I am
satisfied that Major Hottle's past experience in railway matters and
his great physical energies will be found equal to any emergency.
Major Peters (a most worthy officer) is advanced in years and was so
pressed that he tendered me his resignation, which I declined to
approve. |
| Permit me to add in conclusion, general,
that I will be most happy to render all the assistance in my power,
and after you are fully possessed of all the facts to act upon your
wishes, as far as I am able to do so. |
| A. R. Lawton |
| Quartermaster-General |
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