| Richmond, February 6, 1863 |
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| Hon. James A. Seddon |
| Secretary of War |
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| Sir, |
| A practice has prevailed for some time of
sending special messengers with supplies sent from the south this
way. This practice has been adopted in the hope that it would tend
to obviate much of the delay continually consequent in
transportation, and also prevent the very heavy loss of supplies on
the different railroads in their transit.
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| From full information and reflection I have
concluded that this practice accomplishes no good whatever, and at
the same time entails a very heavy and unnecessary expense on the
Government, and therefore I shall give orders that in the future it
be discontinued.
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| The only effectual system to improve the evils
above mentioned, which are daily becoming greater, is to require the
quartermasters stationed at the various points where different
railroads unite, and bulk has to be broken and changed, to
superintend such transshipment and change, and to keep an accurate
account of the quantity and condition of the supplies delivered by
one road and reshipped on the other, noting any deficiency between
amount of supplies delivered and the bill of lading and waybill sent
with them, and immediately informing the quartermaster who settles
the charges of transportation of any deficiency which may have
occurred, and the railroad on which the loss or damage was incurred
and also the commissary for whom the supplies are destined.
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| This will enable the Government to fix the
railroad upon which the responsibility for such loss or damage
properly belongs, and to recover from such railroad the payment of
all loss and damage which they may have occasioned, which cannot be
done now.
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| The existence and enforcement of this
responsibility will beget and insure carefulness and diligence on
the part of all railroad agents.
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| This plan does not propose to do anything
more than require the quartermasters to discharge the duties
enjoined on them by the Army Regulations. |
| From the time that supplies belonging to the
Subsistence or any other bureau are required to be transported from
one point to another, they from that moment, by the Regulations, and
must of necessity, become solely under the control of the
Quartermaster's Department (which is alone charged with
transportation), and so remain until they arrive at their point of
destination, and are delivered to the commissary or other officer to
whom they were consigned. No other system will answer, and it is of
vital importance that the enforcement of these duties should
commence at once.
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| In giving the orders directing the
discontinuance of special messengers I shall further direct that the
commissary making the shipment shall immediately notify all the
superintendents of railroads over which the supplies are to pass
that such supplies have been shipped, and asking them to expedite
the transportation of the supplies over their respective roads.
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| This plan seems to be only a half measure, but
Colonel Wadley requests me to do so, and I shall omit upon no
occasion to do and to order to be done anything that I can to assist
him in the discharge of his duties.
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| In conclusion I beg to urge upon your
consideration the system first herein proposed as absolutely
essential.
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| I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your
obedient servant |
| L. B. Northrop |
| Commissary-General C. S. Army |
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| [First indorsement] |
| Referred by Secretary of War to
Quartermaster-General. |
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| [Second indorsement] |
| Respectfully returned to the Secretary of War. |
| Plans are now being matured which it is
believed will secure the discovery of all losses on railroads, and
ascertain the company which is responsible. It cannot go into
operation immediately. In the meantime Colonel Northrop's
suggestions may be advantageously adopted, and an order to that
effect will be issued.
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| I concur in his further suggestions that the
system of sending with freight special messengers should be
abandoned.
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