Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 39.djvu/73

 Papers Between Sherman and Johnston. 61

Roads be returned and placed in the service for the supply of your army.

I have written the President demanding the immediate re- turn to the State Road of two Good Engines and forty good Cars which is less than one fourth of the number of v;Iiat the Road has been deprived by the Confederate Government. I have received no reply to this request and fear that from some cause the President may neglect to comply with this rea-soiiablc request.

One of my objects in addressing you this letter is to beg you to urge upon the President's consideration the importance of this subject. Justice to the State of Georgia, to you and to your gallant army requires that Mr. Davis shall neither disre- gard nor neglect this requirement. When the Spring Cam- paign opens, if you are reinforced, as you should be, and as the country have a right to expect, it will not be in the power of the officers of the State Road to transport all your necessary supplies without more rolling stock.

Again, suppose the fortunes of war turn in your favor, as I pray God they may, and you should be able to advance into Tennessee, it will be utterly impossible with our present limited number of Cars & Engines to furnish you the stock to run on either of the Tennessee Roads. At the Commencement of the War no Road in the Confederacy had a better outfit of Rolling Stock than the State Road, but on account of its locality and its immediate connection with the Western Road, which had more limited capacity, constant calls were made upon us for Engines & Cars. We always responded to every call. The re- sult has been our heavy losses above mentioned. And now with- out pretending to return even part of the rolling stock of which they have deprived us, there is a willingness at Richmond to cast all the blame upon the State authorities if there is any object in the transportation if Mr. Davis will return half of what he has taken from us we can transport any and every thing which may be offered to be carried over the State Road. If he deprives us of what we have and refuses to return any portion of it on