| War Department, C. S. A. |
| Richmond, Va., June 29, 1864 |
| |
| General R. E. Lee |
| Commanding, &c. |
|
|
| General,
|
| I have the honor to
acknowledge your letter of the 28th instant relative to the
necessity of obtaining a supply of railroad iron. I agree with you
as to the only mode of accomplishing it, and have already taken
active measures to remove the iron from the less important roads. I
shall have to encounter injunctions and vexatious litigations, but
the necessity is, in my judgment, too imperative to allow hesitation
in assuming the responsibility of disregarding such proceedings so
far as they would prevent immediate command of iron. In this course
I trust to be sustained, if necessary, by the merited influence of
your name and judgment. A force under the direction of an engineer
is already engaged in taking up iron on the York River road {Richmond
& York River RR}. Unless necessity requires, which I hope
will not be the case, the road within the defenses will be retained
intact. |
| Very respectfully, |
| James
A. Seddon |
| Secretary of War |
|