President's Office
| Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad |
| Charlotte, N. C., December 27, 1864 |
| |
| Hon. J. A. Seddon |
| Secretary of War |
| |
| Dear Sir, |
| The occupation of Savannah by the Federals as
well as Port Royal, with a portion of the Savannah River, place the
Charleston & Savannah as well as the South
Carolina Railroads in their reach. The former is occupied and the
latter imminently threatened. The urgent necessity of a more
interior line has doubtless presented itself to your mind. The
Legislature of South Carolina appears deeply impressed with the
importance of such a step. I presume that the resolutions on this
subject, unanimously passed a few days since by it, have been
forwarded to you by Governor Magrath. These resolutions invite your
co-operation in the speedy construction of the direct road now under
way from Columbia to Augusta. You will doubtless recollect that I,
as president of the Columbia and Augusta Railroad Company, have
invited your attention to the subject on former occasions. In my
last you gave the authority to detail not exceeding forty
contractors, upon certain conditions. In July and August I made a
fair beginning, and by October we had about 600 hands. General
Orders, No. 77, took off many of our contractors and hands. We still
had increased the number of hands to about 400 when Sherman started
from Atlanta. The military authorities at Augusta took about 300 of
them to fortify that city. These contractors, being from Georgia,
returned with their slaves to their homes after being discharged at
Augusta. We still have between 500 and 600 hands at work, and are
adding to the force every week.
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| The great difficulty has been in getting
contractors exempt or definitely detailed since Order No. 77. I have
not exceeding eight or nine contractors now detailed. The others are
exempt from other causes or over age. If the Department can
definitely and absolutely detail or exempt not exceeding sixty
contractors, I think I can get from 1,500 to 2,000 slaves on the
work, and have a portion of both ends of the line ready for the
rails by April, and grade the remainder as fast as the track could
be laid. Some of the iron would be to haul one mile and a half at
this terminus until the bridge across the Congaree near Columbia
could be finished. The distance from Columbia to Augusta by the line
adopted is seventy-nine miles, but we propose to connect with the
South Carolina Railroad at Graniteville, ten miles this side of
Augusta, and cross the Savannah at Augusta on the bridge of that
road. This would leave only sixty-nine miles of road to construct
for Government purposes. The great desire of this company now is to
subserve the military purposes of the Government, and with a view of
pressing the work vigorously it would respectfully request that the
War Department would authorize the detail or exemption while at work
of not exceeding sixty contractors and laborers. I believe a lesser
number will answer, as I require every grading contractor to bring
not less than twenty-five hands. Give the company the right to
subsistence and clothing for hands at Government prices, with the
privilege of transportation of all supplies on the railroads second
only to military transportation. With these privileges granted the
Government will bring a large amount of private capital to the
vigorous prosecution of the work. But contractors must be exempt
from being impressed into the Army and their slaves from coast
defenses, when practicable. The hands can be had now if the
authority with the privilege of providing for them is granted. The
Government will have to provide the iron, chairs, and spikes, and
can lay it down on the track should you deem it best. If in our
disasters we should be unable to save the iron of the Charleston and
Savannah, or that portion of the South Carolina Railroad iron below
or south of Branchville, the rails of the Union and Spartanburg
Railroad, seventy-five miles long, would be more than sufficient to
lay the entire track of the Columbia and Augusta Railroad. I have
been pleased to hurriedly submit these views as information to you
in connection with the resolutions which I presume the Governor has
forwarded to you, and to offer the ready co-operation of the company
to the policy of the Government, while
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| I am, very truly, etc. |
| Wm. Johnston |
| President |
| P. S. -- In the absence of my clerk you will excuse
the manner of this. |
| W. J. |
| |
| [First indorsement] |
| January 1, 1865 |
| Engineer Bureau for consideration and report. |
| J. A. Seddon |
| Secretary of War |
| |
| [Second indorsement] |
| Engineer Bureau |
| January 2, 1865 |
| Respectfully returned to the Honorable
Secretary of War. |
| In consideration of the great exposure of the
railroads passing through Branchville, S.C., I think every
assistance consistent with other interests should be given by the
Government in aid of the direct line of road between Columbia and
Hamburg. The details (sixty men) asked for by President Johnston
should, in my opinion, be granted at once. Facilities for
transporting materials over adjacent railroads should also be
extended to the company, and this can best be done by putting them
on the same footing as Government freights.
|
| J. F. Gilmer |
| Major-General and Chief of Engineer Bureau |
|