| War Department, C. S. A. |
| Richmond, Va. |
| September 17, 1864 |
| |
| Maj. Gen. W. H. C. Whiting |
| Commanding, Wilmington, N. C. |
| |
| Generl, |
| Your letter relative to the construction
of a bridge across the Cape Fear River to connect certain railroads
was referred to the Engineer Bureau, which reports: |
| Careful inquiries, examinations,
surveys, and reports have been made and the undertaking found to
require much material and labor. As the gauges of the two roads
meeting at Wilmington {Wilmington & Weldon
RR and Wilmington & Manchester RR} are different, as the
connection through Petersburg is broken, and as the presidents of
the two railroad companies at Wilmington, on direct appeal, decline
to give any aid to the construction of the proposed bridge,
favorable action in the within proposition is not recommended. |
| Respectfully, |
| James A. Seddon |
| Secretary of War |
|