No1 Fi'. 0, 15'418

No1

fi'. 0, 15'418

,RAILROADS OF THE SOUTH BEFORE 1860

THESIS

Presented to the Graduate Council of the

North Texas State College in Partial

Fulfillment of the requirements

For the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Jame s D. Carter, B.S.

Evant, Texas June, 1950 ' C.LIP

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page LIST OF TABLES . . . . * . . . * ...... * . * vi

LIST OF MAPS ...... vii

Chapter

INTRCDUJ TION ...... *

Characteristics of the South and Its Transportation Before 1830 Factors contributing to the Need for Better Transportation System Summary of the Geography of the South Natural Trade Centers of the South Factors Related to Railroad Construction

I. THE INTRODUCTION O RAILROADS INTO THE SOUTH . 18

Charleston's Problems Projection of the Charleston and hamburg Railroad Construction of the Railroad Early Success Projection of Feeder Lines Louisville, Charleston, and Cincinnati Project

II. MAJOR RAILROADS OF GEORGIA ...... 44

Georgia R railroad and Banking Corpany Central of Georgia Railroad System Macon and Western Railroad Southwestern Railroad Western and Atlantic Railroad

III. MINOR RAILROADS OF TE EASTERN COTTON BELT . . 80

Inland South Carolina Railroads Coastal Railroads of South Carolina inor Roads of Southern Georgis and Florida Minor roads in the Western Part of the Area Final Attempts to Build Trans--montane Lines

iii IV. RAILROADS OF TOBACCO REGION OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA ...... 104

Railroad Construction in Virginia Connection of Virginia and Tennessee Railroads Summary of Railroad Construction in Virginia North and South Railroads of North Carolina East and "est Railroads of North Carolina Summary of Railroad Construction in North Carolina

V. RAILROADS OF THI BLUE GRASS RGION ...... 144

Early Transportation Situation Railroad Construction in the Region Summary of Connections to other Regions Sumnary of Railroad Construction in Tennessee

VI, RAILROADS OF T WESTERN COTTON tELT EAT OF THE :IISSIIPPI RIVER ...... 164

Minor Roads of New Orleans Area The New Orleans-Nashville Project The New Orleans-Memphis Railroad The Mississippi Central Railroad The Mobile and Ohio Railroad Links in a Savannah to Vicksburg railroad Minor Roads of the Region Characteristics of Railroad Construction in the Region

VII. RAILROADS W&T 0 TH11OF ISISSIiYI RIVER . . . . 195

Railroad Construction in Texas Railroad Construction in Louisiana Railroad Construction in Arkansas Outlook at Beginning of Civil War

VIII. T1E SOUTH AND ThE PACIfIC RAILROAD ...... 228

Conflicts tffecting the Location of Routes Evolution of the Southern Pacific Poutes Prospects for Construction in Early Fifties Reasons for Failure to Construct a Pacific Railroad before 1860

iv IX. CONCLUSION ...... ,. . . . , , , . . . 241

Character of' Railroad Consruction in the South Improvements in Construction and Operation Summary of Mileage Financial Structure of Southern Iailroads Southern Railroads and Labor Effects of Railroad Construction upon the Eco- nomuic, Social, and Political Structure oi the South The ailroads and tie Negro before 180 . The Regulation of Railroads in the Ante-Bellu South Strategic Position of Southern Railroads in the Coming Civil War

ILIORAPY ...... 267

V LIST OF TABLES

T able Page 1. Growth of Georgia Railroad and Banking Company from 1834 to 1860. Part I . . . . . 52 Growth of Georgia Railroad and Banking Company from 1834 to 1860. Part II . . . . 53

2. Central of Georria Railroad Earnings, 1840-1860 ...... * * * ...... 59

3. Macon and Western Railroad Company Statistics, 1848-1860 . . a - a - a a a a a a . . . 63

4. Statistics of Southwestern Railroad Company . . 67 5. Western and Atlantic Railroad Financial Summary ...... 78

6. Railroad Statistics of Virginia 1860 . . . . . 133

7. Growth of ailroad Mileage in North Carolina .. 141 8. c Kailroaa onstruction in Texas 1854-1861 . . . 219

9. Land Grants to Texas Pailroads -- Ante-Bellum Period . a . -...... 219 10. Loans made to Texas Railroads before the Civil War...... 220

11. Surveys of Pacific Railroad Routes . . . . . 238 12. Railroad Mileage in the South to 1860 . . . 245

vi LIST OF MAPS

Maps page

1. Railroads Constructed in South Carolina before the Civil War ...... 43

2. Railroads constructed in Georgia before the Civil War ...... * . . . . 79

3. Railroads of the Tobacco Region ...... 143

4. Railroads of the Blue Grass Region with Con- nections to Surrounding Regions in 1860 . . 163

5. Railroads of the Western Cotton Belt East of the Mississippi River ...... 194

6. Railroads West of the Mississippi River . . . 227

7. Railroads of the South 1840 ...... 261

8. Railroads of the South 1850...... 262

9. Railroads of the South 1860 ...... 263

vii INTRODUCTION

The South, before 1860, was an area that produced

staple crops and depended almost wholly upon the outside

world to consume then. Outside sources supplied the area with a large part of its food supplies and almost all of

the needed manufactured products. The first settlers of the

area established their homes along the seacoast and rivers.

As late as 1818,, Colonel Abraham Blanding stated that two-

thirds of the market crops of South Carolina were raised

within five ,iiles of the rivers and tne remainder within ten 1 niles of other navigable water. The methods of transporta-

tion of the people and their goods remained about the same

as it had existed for many generations. On land the inhabi-

tants walked, rode horses, or bounced about in crude wagons

or carriages drawn by horses or by oxen. On the sea sailing

vessels were used. but sails were found to be impractical on

rivers, and canoes and barges were propelled by human power

except in the most favorable places where horses drew keelboats.

Progress was tiresomae and slow under the most favorable circum-

stances, and under adverse conditions broke down completely. 2

1 Niles' National Register, Vol. XV, p.,135. 2 Franklin M. Reck, TheRomance of American Transpor- tation, pp. 236-237. 1

IM~eiMa siR 2

The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 made possible a great expansion of cotton production 3 and at this time there seemed to be an unlimited market for cotton. The indigo planters, whose market and production failed about 1800, turned their labor toward the production of cotton, as did the rice planters who had suffered severely because of the embargo during the Napoleonic Wars.4 Practi- cally all Southern capital was invested in plant at ions., leaving very little for investment in other activities. The capitalists living in the South were not interested in invest- ing in transportation facilities, leaving to the rest of the world the commerce between the world's ports and those of the

South. The concentration of the products of the plantations for export and the internal distribution of supplies were difficult for outside capitalists to undertake. Consequently, they were undertaken by the Southern people. As the more accessible areas became crowded., men gradually forced their way inland alone the routes most easily traveled, leaving large areas un- developed. As this process continued a dire need arose for the development of a faster and easier means of transportation, if further profitable development was to take place. An article written in the La Grange, Georgia, Monument in 1853 reported an estimated cotton crop, in that interior area, of 120,000

JU.B. Phillips, Life and Labor in the Old South, p. 94.

Stuart Dagget, Principles of Inland Transportation, p. 78. 3

bales, stating that at the present (1853) ratio of progres-

sion in cotton culture, in three more years all the ox-teams

available could not move the crop. In addition to the

routes from the interior to the seaports, there was a need

for routes connecting the areas, one with another, to facili-

tate the exchange of needed products.

The geography of the region not only determined the need

for transportation, but also the location of the routes and

the engineering problems to be solved in their construction.

A survey of the South reveals that it is composed of seven

natural divisions, each of which has particular and specific

transportation problems.

The Tobacco Region forms one of the most important divi-

sions of the South. It is made up of Lowland and Piedmont Virginia, most of Maryland, and the Albermarle district of

North Carolina. Along the coast is the tidewater belt ranging, from fifty to one hundred and fifty miles wide, the soil of which is alluvial and rich in the valleys of the

several rivers that cross it transversely from the mountains farther back. Between the river valleys there are slight rises, the soil of which is poor, made up chiefly of shifting sand dunes. The rivers are broad, muddy, sluggish, and

La Grange Yonuent, reprinted in the New Orleans Picayune, March 10, 1853.

6 U.3. Phillips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to~1860, p. 1. 4

subject to overflow, with low banks and broad valleys.

They are navigable for some distance upstream and the mouths of those emptying along the coast of Virginia and iMaryland offer good harbors as a rule, but those of North

Carolina are blocked with sand bars. Behind the tidewater belt, and between it and t he mounta ins, is the Piedmont belt from forty to fifty miles wide. It is a plateau country, rugged, broken, and hilly. The line between the tidewater belt and the Piedmont is known as the "fall line", so called because the rivers, when passing from the Piedmont into the tidewater belt, drop so abruptly that rapids, and in some instances falls, are formed. Above the "fall line" the rivers are not navigable. The Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Range of mountains forms the western boundary of the Tobacco region, the name derived from its chief product, tobacco.

It was the tobacco culture in the plantations along the

Rappahannock and James Rivers which first showed that Negro slaves could be e employed with profit,. Slavery spread fr om this area to the plantation areas producing indigo, rice, cotton, and sugar cane. 7

The transportation problem of the Tobacco Region is not so acute as in other regions. It is chiefly an individual problem of hauling the tobacco from the plantations to the river wharves and supplies from the wharves to the plantations.

7 A.P, Brigham, Geographic Influences in American history, pp. 187-188. 5

below the Tobacco Region on the coast is the Rice

Region, sometimes called the Charleston-Savannah Coast

District. It is made up of the tidewater belt of southern

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, sixty to seventy miles wide. It is comparatively small, being hemmed in by the Pine Barrens, a strip sixty or seventy miles wide, characterized by shifting sand over which communication is very difficult. The soil of the region is very fertile and subject to over-flow from the rivers. The country is well suited for rice culture, though indigo and sea-island cotton are produced also. The coast ha2 four excellent harbors: Charleston, Beau- fort, Savannah, and Brunswick.

The transportation activity of the Rice Region, like that of the Tobacco Region, was concerned with reaching deep water transportation from the interior, although it was somewhat more difficult to accomplish. 9 The next region is that known as the Eastern Cotton Belt. It extends from the southern edge of Virginia to Central Ala- bama. It is confined almost wholly to the Piedmont section which lies between the coastal plain and the Applachian mountains. The area is hilly and cut-up by rapid streams. The soil is clay, subject to severe erosion. The principal product of this region is cotton.

Phillips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 2.

9 Ibid. 6

The outer edge of the Eastern Cotton Belt region can be reached by navigation on a few of the largest streams at the

"fall line", but easy natural means of transportation do

not exist. To transport cotton out and supplies in, the in-

habitants must cross either the difficult pine barrens on

the East, to the coast, or the equally difficult mountains

on the West to the navigable streams of the Mississippi

River system. Of the seven divisions of the South this region was the most difficult to reach with a reliable transportation system before 1860.

Another region is designated as the Western Cotton Belt, which extends from eastern Alabama into Texas and from the

Gulf of Mexico to the southern edge of Kentucky.10 A great portion of this region lies in river valleys, the soil of which is alluvial and rich, the upland districts somewhat re- sembles the Piedmont district, though not so rough and sharply cut-up; yet subject to washing. The rivers are numerous and exhibit the characteristics of those of the other coastal regions. There are three good harbors: Mobile, New Orleans, and

Galveston. The chief products of the region before 1860 were short -staple cotton, sugar cane and rice, the last two being confined to the coastal region of Louisiana and small areas in

Mississippi and Texas.

The abundance of navigable rivers in the Western Cotton

10 Ibid., p. 3. 7

Belt simplified the transportation in the region. .Except in

Texas and the deep interior of Tennessee and Alabama, transportation act ivity consisted pr incipally of hauling produce and goods to and from the wharves of water borne transport. L3efore 1860, the deep interior of Texas had not reached a stage of development demanding extensive transportation. The region comprising the states of Kentucky and Tennes- see, sometimes known as the Blue Grass Region, composes another division of the South.11 This country, outside the valleys of the Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers, is chiefly prairie, originally covered with a lux- uriant growth of excellent grass known as Blue Grass. The soil of the valleys is alluvial and of the prairies clay loam. The chief products of the region were tobacco, grain, hemp, and livestock.

The region has a water outlet over the Ohio and Oumberland rivers, thence dwn the rMississippi river, but this route is long and circuitous. A sharp need for a direct route to the Atlantic seacoast was noticed, likewise connecting links with the other regions where ready markets for its products were available. The connecting valleys betwe en the Blue Ridge and Alle- gheny mountains compose a sixth region, called the Tennessee-

Shenandoah Region.12 This region is totally hemmed in by the

11 Ibid. 12 Ibid., p. 13. 8

mountains and is rough in contour. It has no easy natural route for transportation and was not developed until it was reached by & railroad.

The last and least important region before 1860 is the 13m Florida peninsula.1 The soil is barren and sandy, covered to a gre at extent in the southern part by aarshes known as the

EvErglades. There were no important products, and probably its greatest economic importance was that it lay in the way of the coasting trade. Its transportation problem was not its own so vuch as that of the rest of the South, in that a route across it was needed to cut down the distance from the Gulf ports to the Atlantic seaboard.

All regions have natural trade centers, the requisites

of which are access to the outside world and a tributary pro- vin0e around or behind e ach of the. An examination of the

$outi will reveal four types of natural trade centers serving

it before 160U.

First, there are the seaports, of which Baltimore, Nor- folk, Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, and Talveston arc the chief..

Second, there are the cities located at the heads of navigation on the larger streams., including Alexandria,

Fredericksburg, Richmond, Petersburg, Fayetteville, and Macon

on the rivers flowing into the Atlantic, and Columbus,

13 Ibid., p. 4. ivontgomery, Shreveport, ifashville, and Knoxville on the

rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mlexico.

Third, subsidiary cities found on strategic positions

along the courses of the larger rivers, of which Natchez,

Vicksburg, Memphis, Louisville, and St. Louis are the chief.

fourth, the cities at the penetration points of the natural barriers, of which Atlanta and Chattanooga are the

chief.

All of these cities are the concentration points of commerce which are made possible by transportation. The problem of commerce then was to reach them as rapidly and cheaply as possible.

The geography of the &outh has directly and indirectly placed barrirs in the way of railroad construction. The

Pine Barren, a strip of shiftin?, aundy, infertile soil sixty to seventy miles wide, covered with pine, and extending along the entire east side of the Cotton Belt, placed a difficult engineering problem before the railroad builder. The same is true of the mountain ranges that parallel the coast line from the northern limits of the area to Alabama. The numerous rivers, which are subject to overflow, are a constant menace to the expensive trestling and bridging that it is necessary to construct. Geography is the determining factor which made the South an agricultural region. 1 4 It was

14 De Bows Review, Vol. XIII, pp. 483-484. 10

sparsely populated, which necessitated the building of' long

railroad lines so as to collect enough freight to insure a

reasonable return on the investment. This same geography permitted and encouraged Negro slavery. Generally speaking, slave labor had to be constantly guided, and overseers were cruel and generally bad characters. Slaves abused and mis- treated the work teams, broke tools maliciously, and those with bad dispositions fought the other slaves.15 however,

President Goodman of the Uississippi Central Railroad Company said that slave labor was highly satisfactory as it was free of strikes, drunkenness, and other labor difficulties. 1 6

The Eeography of the South and the existence of iNegro slavery developed the Plantation System which hampered the growth of cities, discouraged and discredited manufacturing, commerce, and banking, lowered the social standing of white labor, and drove free labor out o the South. The tedious heat had a tendency to make the population slow and time- taking, easy going except when angered. Many were made half invalid because of hookworm.'17 Furthermore, the population was periodically ravaged by epidemics of malaria, typhoid, and

15 U.B. Phillips, PlantatIon Documents, Vol. 11, pp. 35-40. 16 T.D. Clark, A Pioneer Railroad of the South., p. 91. 1P Phillips, Life and Labor in the Old South, pp. 1-6.

------pampowalm MIR 11

yellow fever, along with other aillents typical of sexui- tropical regions.

The fact that the crops of the South were seasonal, produced a rush season when railroad- facilities were over- taxed, followed by a season of total idleness for a substantial part of the railroad's equipment. Diversification, however, would partially remedy this situation. After expensive construction, the railroads were not sure of profitable traffic because they had to comripete with the river boats in most sections, enough at least to keep rates and earnings low f or the amount of business.

Then finally, the South was conservative, as are all land holding areas, and outside of the cities it did not readily accept new ideas and innovations. 1 8 The farmers said the railroads were a monopoly, a kind of monster which, if encouraged, would over-ride all popular rights. They feared that sparks would set fire to their hayricks, barns, and other property, that the noise would frighten the hens so that they would not lay and the cows would not give milk. 1 9 Others were concerned over the tremendous loss to be suffered if horsepower was abandoned. Some believed that taxes might be raised.

One genius professed to discover a new disease superinduced by rapid travel on a railroad in England. An English scientist

Phillips, A Hist ory f Transportationin the astern Cotton Belt to 1860 pp. 4-11.

John JMoody, TheRailroad Builders, pp. 5-7.

kw- 12

expressed the opinion that railroads would soon burn up

America's "limited supply of coal". The scoffers branded the railroad promoters as "harebrained", "fools", "idiots", "visionaries", and "knaves" who "almost deserve to be sent to the mad-house".20 The following song, popular with those engaged in other forms of transportation, is self-explanatory.

$ong of the Wagoners

Come, all ye bold wagoners, turn out man by man That' opposed to the railroad or any such plan; 'Tis once I made money by driving my team, But the goods are now hauled on the railroad by steam.

Ikay the devil get the fellow that invented the plan, For it will ruin us poor wagoners and every other man, It spoils our plantations, where ever it crosses, And it ruins our markets, we can't sell our hoses.

It ruins our land lords, it xmaakes business worse, And upon every other nation it has been a curse. It ruins wheelwrights, blacksmi.ths, and every other trade; 21 "Damned" all the railroads that ever was made.

All of these factors tended to impede railroad construction and kept practically all outside capital from entering the

South.

The geography of the South placed some serious obstacles in the way of railroad construction, however, there were some geographical features that were helpful. F.. Holcomibe, an engineer, in 1847, pointed out that the splendid forests of

C.F. Carter, When Railroads -Vere New, pp. 9-11. 21 D. Phillip Locklin, Ekconoaics of Transpotation, pp. 44-46.

afilamr.-JoMwAsawalmomm'-wo 13

the South were a great advantage in the laying of super- structures for the roads.22 Alfred Cruger, the chief engineer of the Central of Georgia Canal and Railroad

Company, noted in his report to the company that the grade for the road they were building was very gradual, on the greater portion of the route not exceeding ten feet to the mile.23 This same observation was made in the report of chief engineers of most of the railroads constructed in the

South before 1660.

As already stated, Southern capital was scarce and foreign capital was reluctant to invest in railroads in the

South because of the obvious obstacles of nature and man.

The only way that expensive railroad construction could be undertaken was by some cooperative measure on the part of a group of people. In most instances the joint stock company was used for this purpose. It was no uncommon occurrence for the states, counties, and cities to subscribe for stock in these companies. They also endorsed the bonds of the companies that they might be more attractive to European inves* tors. In addition, the interested and affected cities provided bounties for railroads making them their termini.

To encourage and assist struggling early lines, the states granted them special privileges and exempted them from

22 Phillips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 386. 23 ibid., p. 257. 14

taxation for long periods of time. In some instances the states built connecting links between the lines to provide for through traffic.

The iron used in the construction of early Southern railroads was imported, either from the North or from Europe.

There was no rolling mill in the South until 1858, the first being established at Atlanta in that year. The tariff on imports of iron increased the cost of railway construction 4

Convention after convention in the South called upon the

Federal Government to reduce or abolish the tariff on railroad iron.2 % In 1832, Congress passed an act providing for the remission of duties on railroad iron if lain within three years of importation. This law was in effect until 1843, and during this eleven-year period approximately 46,OOO,000 was remitted, estimated to amount to $2,000 per mile for every mile of railroad constructed during this period.26 This act constituted the first aid granted by the United

States. By 1838, railroads had developed to the point that the United States government considered them suitable to serve as post-roads and they were granted mail contracts.27

24 De Bow's Review, Vol. XVII, p. 96.

2b Ibid., p. 641; Vol. XX, p. 250.

26 Locklin, op. cit., pp. 62-63.

27Robert Edgar Riegel, he Story of the Western Railroads, p. 4. These Mail contracts provided a steady and dependable source

of income which greatly assisted the struggling roads to

overcome the financial difficulties that, without exception, each faced. The first land granted by Congress to a railroad was to the Tallahassee Railroad Qompanyr in I6b, consistIng

of a one-hundred-foot right-of-way through the public domain, together with sites for depots and termninals, and the right to use timber, stone, and other materials from the adjacent public lands in Florida. 26

One of the main problems that faced the people of the

United States following its establishement was the separation of powers of government between the State governments and the Federal government.. Generally speaking, the people who populated the Southern states subscribed to the theory that the United States was a federation of sovereign states and that all powers exercised by the Federal government were delegated to it by the states. This concept of the nature of their system of government caused them to view the prob-

lems of internal improvements as state problems rather than problems for the Federal government to solve. No material change in this attitude took place until after the introduction of railroads and the realization from their experience that Federal aid was needed.

In 180, Congress passed a land grant measure to assist

28 16

railroad cons truction. The first 6rant to a southern railroad wa3 made to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company of alternate even numbered sections along the right-of-way. By 1860, land grants had been made to the states of Arkansas, Flo- rida, and Louisiana for the benefit of railroad construction. 2 9

As traffic grew, many changes had to be made, involving not only improvements, but usually total reconstruction, the cost of which was often enormous.

The easiest way, in the beginning, to secure funds for reconstruction work was to issue bonds, and often the bond holders' investments totaled more than the stockholders'

This abuse of the borrowing power of the corporations made it next to Wpossible to sell railroad bonds in Europe during the latter eighteen forties and the eighteen fifties. 3 0 The attitude of the American people toward speculative financing is summed up in an editorial in tiles' National register of November 25, 1837, as follows:31

We are highly gratified at these evidences of the enterprise and activity of our countrymen. They have done more, in ten years, than all the hard ra2e.y governments of Europe in the last ten centuries. We rejoice at every mile of road that is completed, as adding to the ties of union, developing the resources of the country, and increasing its military defenses.

29 Slason Thompson, A Short history of American railway, p. 125. 30 Arthur Tx inning Hadley, railroad Transportation, Its iryand Its Laws, p. 147.

31 Niles' National sister, Vol. LIII, p. 196. 17

To Charleston goes the honor of introducing the railroad into the South. It was brought about by jealousy.

Charleston observed with grief that Savannah, Mobile, and New Orleans were growing rich as a result of their trade with the interior, made possible by their position on water

1 arteries of co mierce. 4hen the news of successful operation of railroads in England reached Charleston, she immediately siezed upon it as a me ans to overcome her natural handicap and grow with her sister cities and at their expense. Char- leston built a line to Hamburg, across the river from Atlanta, and Savannah, becoming alarmed at this threat to her pros- perIty, built a line to lacon. The cotton receipts of Gulf ports decreased, and the Gulf ports, in turn projected roads into the interior. In the meantime the other Atlantic ports were busy projecting lines into Tennessee-Shenandoah region from the North-east by way of Virginia, and were racing for connections with the West.32 To this jealousy of the ports, the South owes its railroad system. The greater portion of this study will be devoted to the construction of these railroads.

32 Phillips, A History of Transortation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, pp. 16-20. 0hATRI

T1EK ITROJUCTlOn IKRALLOADS INTO TI' -SOUTH

hen the panic iand depression of 1819 struck the South,

the business world almost came to a standstill until conditions

changed and recovery began in the latter part of 1820 and the

early part of 1821. Immediately, it was noticed that Charles-

ton was not recovering as rapidly as her sister cities because

the inland chain of towns extended across the state front North

Carolina to the Georgia boundary line were intercepting the trade she had once enjoyed. Being a commercial rather than an

industrial town, Charleston had nothing to fall back upon to compensate for the loss of her trade, and she faced slow death because of her natural handicaps. It was also noted in Charles- ton that the SavannahRiver borne commerce, connecting Savannah with the interior, was largely contributing to the recovery of that Georgia city. hen the news of successful railroad operation in England was received in Charleston, she immediately seized upon it as the most plausible method of tapping the rich western trade and regsining her position in the commercial world.

The Charleston and Hamburg railroad was promoted to rectify the

"freak of despiteful nature that emptied the water and water- borne cotton of the Savannah River at Savannah instead of

Charle ston".1

ISlason Thompson, A Short History of American Ralwas, p.. b2.

WWWA - 19

A railroad project was agitated for some years and a great deal of enthusiams prevailed, but there was a scarcity

of capital for the undertaking. In December, 1827, a citizens

meeting was held in Charleston, and a petition was formulated

to present to t he le gislature, praying it to make an investi-

gation of a railroad route to the West. This petition was

denied, but the legislature provided for private companies to

take the desired steps. A Charleston representative, Alexander

Black, then presented a bill, which was enacted into a law, providing for a railroad between Charleston and the inland communities of Camden, Columbia, and hamburg. The charter was

,ranted on January 30, 1828, to the South Carolina Canal and

Railroad Company, but the line it built was known as the

Charleston and Hamburg Railroad. Citizens of Charleston continued preliminary activities, appointing committees to make Investigations and estimate costs and probable revenues. A brief of their reports follows: Costs

Grad ing and tracks ...... %504,000.00 Bridges, trestles, and engines ...... 96,000.00 Total G00,000.00 Revenue 100,000 bales of cotton @ .50 each per year 50,000.00 Revenue from an equal amount of Freight . . . 50,000.00 Ten passengers per day @ } fare of stages . . 22,500.00 Nail at the contract price ...... 7,000.00 Toll at the bri ges from travelers . . . . 200000 Total '131,500.00

2 John W. Starr, Jr., One hundred Years of Aerican ailr oading, p . 37 20

Deducting 10,000 per year for repairs and 410,000 as a fund for reconstruction, 111,$00 would be left for gross earning s or about 19' of the total investment?

This report spread confidence and heightened the enthusi- asm of the people, even though it left out the important factor of operating expenses. After William Howard surveyed a route which the promoters would not accept, Horatio Allen was employed as chief engineer in 1829. He changed the survey, laying out a route almost airline from Charleston to Aiken. His route lay far enough northward to avoid crossing the Ashley, passed through Summerville and Blackville, and crossed the

Edisto some thirty miles above the point suggested by Howard.

This survey was fourteen miles shorter than the first and met 4 with the approval of the company.

The selection ofi Horatio Allen as chief engineer gave the

Charleston and Hamburg railroad an engineer with more experi- ecnce and knowledge concerning railroads than any other Ameri- can at that* time. He had observed the construction and operation of the Quincy Railroad which had moved the stone f or the Bunker

Hill Mounment from the quarries to tidewater, and the Mauch

Chunk Railroad built to move coal from the Summit Mines to the

Lehigh River. Allen had also bought the iron in England for the railroad which the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company was building.

U.B. Phillips, A History of Tranportation in theEastern Cotton Belt to 1860, pp. 138-139.

Ibid., p. 147. 21

While in England he had investigated the railroads built

there and observed the experiments with steam engines built

by Losh and Stephenson. While in England he had purchased

four locomotives for his employers and upon his return to America, volunteered to set up and try-out the first loco-

motive to arrive, named the "Stourbridge Lion".

The specifications as finally approved for the roadbed

and track called for iron strap rails on wooden timbers six by nine inches, five feet apart. The rails were to be of the best heart pine, squared on the inner edge for receiving the

iron plate and beveled on the outer edge so as to shed water.

These were to be supported upon sills of liveoak or lightwood laid transverse at intervals of eight feet and sunk in the ground four to five inches, with the rail and sill let into each other and made fast with hardwood pins. At the middle of each space between the sills, a lightwood post was to be placed under each rail. Where the level of the road was to be above ground, the rails were to be raised on piles properly tied together and braced. In case horse power was to be used, the horse path could be built along the side or on both sides and a small friction wheel be set against the inner edge of the rail to counteract the obliqueness of the pull. 6

SC.F.Carter, When Railroads were pp. 12-20.

Phillips, A Hist of Tr'ansptation in the Eastern Cotton Belt in 1860., pp. 146-146.

Aw- - - , 4. I - WL Z:, -, - ,-, 22

For motive power Allen recomnehded to the directors that they adopt the steam locomotive. E.. Miller of Charleston, who was connected with the company, had also seen Stephenson's engine operate in England. At a foundry in West Point, New

York, he built for the line an engine which was tested Decem-% ber 9, 1830, on the six miles of completed road. The results were unexpected, a speed of fifteen miles per hour was attained, and the engineers believed that this speed could safely be raised to twenty-five miles per hour. "The gentlemen who made the excursion were highly delighted with this successful experiment of an American mechanic. The performance of the engine and the certainty of the engineers that they could im- prove its speed and efficiency caused the Board of Directors to adopt it as the motive power of the railroad in preference to horsepower, which up to that time had been seriously considered. The engine, named "The Best Friend of Charleston", ran at irregular intervals on excursions on the short track until the summer of 1831. In June,, 1831, as the "Best Friend of Charleston" was being turned around on what was described as the "revolving platf orm", the Negro fireman, growing tired of the noise made by escaping steam from the safety valve, sat down on the safety valve lever and caused the boiler to explode.

Carter, cit5,p. 26...

Niles' National Register, Vol. XXXIX, p. 90. 9 &.h. Holbrook, Th tory of thx Aaerican jilroad, p. 23.

V- ." -: %w 'v -, .4100iii;kllqllw, - .- P,., 4". 1 -- . - I - -- . -F- 23

The Negro fireman was killed, Allen was injured, and the

Best Friend of Charleston" was badly damaged. Thomas Dot-

terer, believed to have been a machinist from Reading, 10 Pennsylvania, was employed to rebuild the damaged engine.

Re-named the "Phoenix", the rebuilt locomotive gave good ser-

vice to the road. Its speed of sixteen to twenty miles per

hour when loaded and thirty-five to forty miles per hour when

unloaded was surprising when the condition of track, cars, and 11 engine is considered. It is interesting to note that Thomas

Dotterer remained in Charleston and later established the first engine building plant in the South.

Construction advanced slowly in 1831, until by May,eight

miles were completed and eighty-eight miles of the road gas 12 under contract. The work and progress of the construction

was slowed down and the expense correspondingly increased by a

prevailing shortage of labor. The floating supply available

proved entirely insufficient., since most of the slaves were en-

gaged in the routine work of the plantations, The free Negroes

were few and not inclined to Work hard, and white labor was not

attracted by the type of work offered. Moreover, with the approach of the malarial season, the greater per cent of the

10 Association of American Railroads, When the Railroad Came to !ean;,p. 19. 11 Phillips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 150. 12Nilest National Register, Vol. XL, p. 181.

Ow 24

white laborers that were so essential as directors of the

Negro laborers left, and those staying demanded a considerably higher wage. Gray and Company, one of. the largest contractors, imported labor from the 'North and from Europe, but this practice added expense and ran the cost of construction far above the estimates. The unskilled labor was responsible for accidents, costly in time as well as in damage to 13 machinery.

On November 19,, 1831, the labor force at work totaled six hundred and thirty-seven persons 14 and by March 10,, 1832, two thousand persons. Twenty-one and one-half miles of the road were then completed, upon which two trains were operating By April 13, 1833, seventy-two miles of the road had been completed. 16

On June 3, 1833, the South Uarolina Canal and Railroad Company issued a financial statement as follows:

Stock subscribed, 0813 shares . . . 4581,340.00 State loan ...... l00,' 0.00 Individual loans ...... 75,420.00 Discounts from bank ...... 53,04.00 Receipts from col-leted road . . . . 18,982.92 Receipts fr om land sales ...... 2,717.00 Total ;831,49.00

13 Phillips, A Histr of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, pp. 148-155. 14Niles' National register, Vol. XLI, p. 249. I5 Ibid., Vol. XLII, pp. 437, 22. 16 Ibid., Vol. XLIV., p. 98. Expenditures to date ...... t31,365.s1 Expenditures to complete road for iron, locomotives, cars, etc...... 73,044.20 17 Amount still to be provided . . . 73,910.15

The company was successful in raising the additional

money and the line was comQleted to Hamburg in September of

1833, at which time it was the longest railroad line in the world. The total cost of the line was S904,499.00 or

5,62 . 2 per mile, including seven locomotives, forty-six

freight cars, some horses, a few Negro slaves, valued at

<6,146.00, and several parcels of real estate, valued at

41,366.2b. The comQany had on order four locomotives from

Engiand and three to be built in Charleston. The company was

faced with immediate reconstruction problems due to the decay-

ing of the timbers at the surface of the earth, which caused

the abandonment of the piling system in favor of embankment

and trestles. On Decexmber 20, 1834, the total cost of the road had risen to 1,336,000.00.18

These early railroad builders did not believe that passenger traffic would constitute any considerable part of their revenue, as nearly everyone possessed horses.19 The interest,

however, of the people in riding the railroad caused the

17Phillips, A history of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton %Beltto 1860, p. 162. Also Niles' National Register, Vol. XLVIV, p. 311.

iCles' National register, Vol. XLVII, p. 269.

Walter .W, Splawn, Government Ownership and Operation of Railroads, p. 340. 26

Charleston and hamburg o Company to establish in December of

1830 the first scheduled steam passenger service in aerica.20 As early as March 10,1832, this service returned to the com-

pany an average of two hundred dollars per week. 21 Before this little road was built, passenger traffic between Charles-

ton and haburg had been adequately cared for by one two-seaed

stagecoach, which made three trips a week. During six months

of operation in 1835, the Charleston and hamburg railroad carried 15,959 passengers, who paid $53,000.00 in fares.

To encourage passenger travel, after the explosion of

"The 'Best Friend of Charleston", a car loaded with cotton was- coupled to the locomotive, then a car carrying a Negro brass

band; the white passengers rode in the last car, as far away

from the engine as possible in case of another explosion. 22

To the fear of explosion was added another in 1834: "Yellow

fever in Charleston

business -.*23

Not only with passenger business but also with freight

traffic all estimates were exceeded in the years 1834 to the first half of 1838, as the following brief of business for the

20 Association of American Railroads, American Railroads, p. 6. 21 Niles' National Register, Vol. XLII, p. 437,

22 C.G, Hall, Through b Rail, pp. 31-32. 23 Niles' National Register, Vol. XLVII, p. 260. 27

years 1834 to the first half of 1838 will show:

Year Amt.of pass. Amt.of freight Mail Total re ve nue revenue revenue

1834 79,050.00 $ 83,214.00 4,294.00 4166,559.00 1835 109,576.00 134,792.00 8,374.00 249,753.00 1836 129,982.00 140,033.00 1,597.00 271,613.00 1837 132,282.00 138,269.00 10,663.00 280,214.00 lrst half of 1638: 24 80,648.00 78,046.00 5,541.00 164,231.00

Interest in the great loads of freight carried by this railroad was illustrated by this notice published in 1834:

"Three locomotives, with sixty-eight freight wagons in their train, and laden with nine hundred and eighty bales of cotton recently arrived in Charleston, by the railroad, at one time. 0,25

Traffic became so heavy that it was necessary to move trains by night, which had not been anticipated in the beginning.

Allen, the chief engineer, had a small flat car made . He covered the platform with sand, and on top of the sand built a fire of pine -knots. This fire-car was Qushed ahead of the night-running erjie and gave a sort of weird and jumpy illumination of the track. 26

A survey of accidents occuring on the Charleston and Ham- burg Railroad indicate that fire was the chief hazard. The following report is typical of many that appeared in the press of the day: "On October 8, 1833, fire destroyed a car with twenty-one bales of cotton and a previous fire had destroyed

24 Ibid., Vol. U., p. 40,

25 Ibid., Vol. XLVII, p. 260.

2 olbrook, op. cit., p. 3c. 28

thirty-six bales" 2Another cause of accidents was the

failure of mechanical equipment, illustrated by this item

appearing in Nilest Aational Register: "OnI March 5, 1836,

the axle on the tender gave way; five freight and baggage

wagons were destroyed in the accident". 28 Other accidents

were caused by the incompetence or inefficiency of railroad

personnel, as illustrated by the following: On April 8, 1837,

sparks set a fire that burned out a trestle, "the engineer

was warned to watch for such conditions, but did not heed the

warning and as a result the train crashed to the ground twelve feet below".29 Still another class of accidents were those in

which the railroads were only indirectly responsible, illus-

trated by this item from the Augusta Constitutionalist,

March 20, 1832: Hodges, a farmer from the upcountry who had never heard of a steam engine, happened to be driving his team near the track when the train came along on full steam. His mules ran away and destroyed his wagon and its contents. hen picked up, the waggoner was asked why he had not held on to his

team -"'Hold on' said Hodges, ' How the devil could you ex" pect me to hold on, when I saw Hell in harness coming down

on me.30

27 Niles' National Repister, Vol..XLV, p. 118. 28 Ibid., Vol. L, p. 3.

29 Ibid., Vol. LII, p. 86. $0 Phillips, A Historl of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt of 1860, p. 149. 9,

The following rules and regulations regarding passengers and freight were adopted by the officials of the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad and are here included because of their general interest and because they constitute the first such rules and regulations regulating railway traffic in the south:

Passenger

1. All baggage at owner's risk, 75 lbs. allowed. 2. Servants not admitted, unless having care of Children, without the consent of the Passengers. 3. Passengers are not allowed to stand on the outside platform. 4. Smoking is prohibited. 5. No Gun or Fowling piece shall be permitted on the Cars unless examined by the Conductor. 6. The feet not to be put on the Cush- ions, nor the Cars soiled, defaced, or injuried in any way. 7. Dogs not admitted into Passengers Cars. 8. At the ringing of the Bell, Passengers will be allowed one minute to take their places. J. Seats must be engaged and paid for fifteen minutes previous to the hour of departure. As a general direction, the Conductors of the Carriages are instructed not to permit any conduct that is inconsistant with good order, or the comfort and safety of the Passengers: for which especial ends these. Rules have been established, and are required to be enforced with civility, but strictly.

Freight

1. Freight will be forwarded agreeably to the order of the time it is received. That intended for the morning trip must be at the Depository by 2 o'clock the day previous, in good orde; and marked with the nane . of the station of the line it is to be left at, ar it will not be received. 2. Freight for Jerico, and the other stations up and including Reeve' s if payable at the Charleston Depository, ant to be left at the place directed, at the risk of the owner. 3. All freight must be paid for at the Depository on its delivery. 4. No

.1-11 -1. 4' 'AW M ONW 4. - -,- , 30

packages of any description, for any of the stations, entered on the freight list for less than 121 cents, and no receipt given for a less amount of freiWft than 50 cents. 5. GUN POER prohibited.

vith the campletion of the main line and the development

of traffic greater than had been expected, Charleston's posi-

tion as one of the most important American ports was assured.

This success encouraged the people of Charleston and the South

Carolina Canal and Railroad Company to embark upon projects for providing extensions to this main line. The dream of Char-

leston had expanded to join that city to the West by a line reaching to Cincinnati. In the meantime, the Georgia Railroad

Company had completed its line into Augusta, across the river

from Hamburg, but that city, in the interests of its draymen

and tavern-keepers, had forbidden a junction of the lines or

a nearer approach than one mile.

Before the completion of the Charleston and Hamburg line, the leaders of railroad projects were busy laying plans for

a system of local branches to connect with that road, and in promoting a line into the Northwest with Cincinnati as its farthest terinal. As early as 1828, E.6. Thomas of ;incinnati proposed a ricinnati-Charleston railroad. Later Louis-

ville and Knoxville, as well as other communities along the proposed route, showed an inter Est in the road. Edgefield

Phillips, A history of Transportation in the astern Cotton belt to 1860, pp. 16l-167. 31

and Greenville were exerting themselves in an effort to con-

struct a line to connect with the Charleston and Hamburg at

Aike~n. Columbia was interested in a branch line to connect

that city to the Charleston and harrmburg line at Branchville.

It appears that Charleston inspired most of these ideas be-

cause of her desire to establish a tbrxving trade with the

interior towns.

On Oct ober 14, 13T3, citi zens of iadis on, ,,c airy, har de-

1a. a-ett-, shelky, and Titon counties o Tennessee met in a convention at olivar to discuss railroad plans. They passed resolutions urin 6Uongress and tUe legjslatures of the several states to build a railroad ,between the Atlantic seacoast and the ississippi River to pass through the states of 'outh Car-

olina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. 32

In the same yegr (1833) a meeting of the citizens of

Buncombe County of North Carolina adopted a resoultion calling for a convention to meet at Asheville, northh Carolina, to discuss railroad Jlans, to which delegates from Tennessee and

South Carolina were invited. In this convention a move was sponsored to investigate a possible route from Columbia, South

Carolina, to the iouth of the bolichucky riverr in Tennessee,

thence along the ?rench broad and Holston Rivers to Lnoxville.

The iresldent of the United statess was asked to send Colonel

Long of the Army Enjineers to make the survey, which he did.

2 Niles' National r tsjer', Vol. XLV, p. 204. o2

The 3outh Carolina legislature voted A1,000 for its part of the expenses. The other states did nothing, and the matter was dropped for two years. During 1833-1834, President Elias horry of the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad made a study of the proposed Cincinnati route and reported that it was feasible. In the spring of 1835, a meeting was held in Cincinnati.

A committee reported that a line to the Southern states was feasible and desirable, and would probably cost less than any other proposed route.34

Meanwhile, the interest of south Carolina centered on the Branchville to Colu~mbia road. In 1834, A.A. Dexter and

C.E. Detinold made a survey advisin g that the line follow almost a straight line to Columbia. The direction was slightly west of north, a distance of fifty-five miles. About thirty miles of the proposed route out of Branchville lay almost level upon the watershed and offered no particular problems. The other part had to cross several creeks and the ConGaree River just out of Columbia; inclined planes were to be used in crossing valleys of these streams. It was proposed to cross the

Congaree River by adding a second story to a wagon bridge already constructed and to pull the cars into Columbia with horses.

The odore D. Jervey, y andaRobertY isTimes, p. 384.

Phillips, A history of Transportation in the astern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 172. 33

The track of the proposed Columbia branch was to consist of an iron strap rail three-fourth inch thick with a one-fourth inch downward flange, spiked upon wooden stringers which were to be dove-tailed into the cross-ties, five feet apart, and the cross-ties were to rest upon longitudinal sleepers lying in the earthen road-bed. The engineers estimated that a speed of eighteen miles per hour would be safe over such a track. The cost was estimated at ,547,000 upon which a 11.;6 earning could be expected.35

In 183b, the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company resolved to undertake the construction of the line and authorized the issuance of 3,000 shares of stock for that purpose;

5,757 shares were applied for, indicating the mania for speculation that had arisen. In November of 1835, it was decided to begin work, but there was dissatisfaction with the route chosen. It was changed so that it would make a wide bend to the eastward and serve as a part of a branch line to Camden.

This change also removed all need for the use of inclined planes. It ran from Branchville northward seventeen miles to

Orangeburg, thence twenty-three miles northeast to the eastern bank of the Congaree River, thence twenty-eight miles northwest into Colubia.

The work procee ded haltingly because of the overshadowing trans-miontane project and the severe business depression of

35 Ibid., pp. 172-173. 34

the thirties and early forties. The first part of the road was constructed by the 6outh Carolina Canal and Railroad

Company and was then completed by the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Charleston Railroad Company which had bought out the 36 original corporation on March 21, 1838. The Charleston

Mercury of June 18, 1842, announced the completion of the railroad to Columbia and on Tuesday the 28th of June "there was a great celebration in Columbia, in honor of the event".

About the time that construction started on the Branch- ville to Columbia railroad (1835), Robert Y. Hayne pointed out four arguments in favor of the trans-montane line to Cininnati as follows: " (1) it is essential to the prosperity of the

South and West that they be connected by a railroad from the

Ohio to the Atlantic; (2) such a road would open an inconceiv- able great traffic and such a work is practical; (3) it can be completed within a few years and it is within the means of the states involved; (4) the cheapest and most practical route is one connecting with the South Carolina Rallroad." 38 In October,

1835, General William H. Harrison and others from the meeting in Cincinnati approached the business men of Charleston about the estimated six hundred and nine mile line.39 Resolutions

36 Jervey, p. 459. 37 Niles' National Register, Vol. LXII, p. 288. 38 Phillips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 176. 39 Jervey, op. cit., p. 382. were adopted to set in motion further investigations.

The South Carolina legislature appropriated t10,000 with which to make surveys of the intervening territory. One of the routes was six hundred seven miles long, to begin at Cin- cinnati, passing through Paris, Kentucky, the Cumberland Gap, to French Broad River, and thence through Columbia to Charles- ton.40 In July of 1836, a route considered the most feasible lay across the Blue Ridge, down the French Broad River, up the

Saluda Valley to a point convenient to go out by Butt Mountain, through Knoxville, and across the Cumberland Mountains at Cum- berland Gap, thence through Kentucky by Williamsburg, Mt. Vernon,

Crab Orchard, Lancaster, and Nicholasville, to Lexington, and thence along the ridge to the Ohio River at Covington and Cin- cinnati. A branch line might be built to aysville, and a branch line into Georgia by way of Rabun Gap, or by turning the flank of the mountains. The engineers also recommended that the company make its rails for the middle section of track at Cumber- land Gap where iron and coal were available in great quantities.

The cost of a double-tracked road for the entire distance was estimated at $10,814,046.41

On December 19, 1835, the legislature of South Carolina was the first state legislature to charter the Cincinnati and

40 Niles' National Register, Vol. XLVIII, p. 1.

41 Phillips, A history of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 179. harleston Railroad, later called the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Charleston Railroad Company. Thee company was permitted to issue 46,000,000 in stock; 4,000,000 being the amount prerequisite for organization. The company was also granted wide powers and privileges, with the concurrence of the other states affected. The North Carolina legislature incorporated the company with a charter in 1636. 42 The State of Tennes- see shortly granted the co pany a charter for that portion of the line to be located in Tennessee; and by March 19, 1836, 43 Kentucky had also granted the company a charter for that state.

The charter as granted to the company by Kentucky demanded greater Kentucky representation on the board of directors of the corapany than the mileage and membership in that state war- ranted. In order to get the company under way, the South

Carolina promoters surrendered some of the places allotted to them.

On July 4, 1836, a convention with three hundred eighty delegates in attendance from the states of Indiana, Ohio,

Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, 44 Alabama, and Tennessee met at Knoxville, Tennessee 4. Robert

Y. Hayne was selected as the chairman. The convention com- mended the Cincinnati to Charleston railroad project and

42 Niles' National Register, Vol. XLVIII, p. 283.

Ibid., Vol. , p. 33.

Jervey, p. cit p. 400. 37

approved a route by way of the "valley of the rench Broad

River, over the Blue Ridge into the heart of $outh Carolina".

Georgia was to be perxitted to build a branch line from that state to Knoxville. The total cost of the project was esti- 45 Mated to be $19,000,Q00. ' The Georgia delegation, disappointed

in not having their proposed route chosen, withdrew and held

a convention of their own, resulting in the organization of the

Western and Atlantic company. John C. Calhoun proposed a

change in the route across the mountain by way of a newly dis-

covered pass rEported to be lower than any shown by the pre-

liminary survey. The Kno ville convention adjourned July 8, 1866, with high optimism for the early realization of the project.

The subscription books were thrown open and by November

the required 4,000,000 had been subscribed but this amount

was rot enough to insure the success of the Cincinnati to Char-

leston project. The Louisville, Cinciinnati, and Charleston

Railroad Qompany was organized in January, 1837, with Robert

Y. ayne as President and renewed efforts were made to raise

the 10mount of stock subscribed.46 To strengthen itself the

company. asked the various states to grant it banking privileges.

North Carolina granted this request by January 28, 1837.47 On

November 10, 137, the Charleston Iercury reported that Hayne

Niles National egjster, Vol. L, p. 362.

0 Jervey, ,cit., p. 442.

4 iles ' tiona1 Rlei-te, Vol. LI, . 3 . had declared his intention to buy out the Charleston and

Hamburg Railroad. 4 8

The following article concerning the Charleston and Cin- cinnati railroad was published November 25, 1837:

The president is to receive $6,000 per year but Gen. Hayne declined to receive more than $4,000 and his traveling expenses. The treasurer's salary was fixed at 22,000 per annum. Major NcNeill is the chief engineer and is to receive $8,000 per year and $2,000 traveling expenses. He has four brigades of engineers under him, each comosed of a chief, a survcyor, u dranughsaan, and a leveller, with the neces ary operatives. Mr. Cheeseborough is the head of the Western brigades and is to receive a salary of1 #,000 n& Mr. Drayton of one of the outh Carolina briades and is to receive f2,000 salary. Ir. Colcook has been selected as assistant to the chief engineer and will receive k2,UO salary. Capt.Williams will continue until the end of the year and will receive 06,000 for his services but will terminate is connection with the company at the end of his year as the finances of the company will not ad:nit the employment of two eminent engineers such as Mr. McNeill and himself.49

Further coment was as follows:

In South Carolina, we behold a company, fully organized, just undertaking the most magnificent work of the age - a road nearly 600 miles in length, reaching from a point on the Charleston and Augusta road to the Ohio River. It is expected that the worgwill be completed in less than seven years.

On March 21, 1838, neg otiations culminated in the sale

46 Jervey, . c4t p. 44b. 49Niles'tNational f sister, Vol. LIII, p. 1%9.

60 Ibid., p. 196. of the Charleston and Hamburg road to the Louisville, Cin- cinnati, and Charleston Railroad Company.51 The price paid was $2,000,000 stock in the Louisville, Cincinnati, and

Charleston Railroad (Company and $400,000 in deferred payments of cash.

At a board of directors meeting reported on Septem- ber 15, 1638, President hayne reported that banking privileges had been granted to the company by North Carolina,

South uarolina, and Tennessee; the State of South Carolina had subscribed 41,000,000 in stock and had guaranteed a loan for % 2,000,000; Tennessee had subscribed 4650,000 in stock; total stock subscriptions exceeded $8,000,000, including

02,000,000 taken by the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad Com- pany; the Charleston and hamburg railroad had been purchased and itprovements begun upon that railroad; sixty-five miles of the new road had been laid off and contracts let for the work; and surveys were proceeding on to the Ohio. 52

The sale of the companyt s bonds, loans on Charleston and

Hamburg Railroad stock, and a five dollar installment on stock subscriptions gave 63,250,000 as the cash resources of the company. It seemed that the dreamsof Charleston were about to become a reality. Just at this time tragedy struck President Robert Y. Hayne died. 3

Jervey, p cit., p. 4b9.

Niles' National Register, Vol. LVI) p. 40.

Phillips, A Listory of_ Transportation in the Bastern Cotton !elt to 186U4,p. 201. 40

The third Augusta Convention of October 15, 1338, with delegates from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South

Carolina, and Tennessee passed resolutions urging the connection of the Southern seaboard and Middle west with a railroad by way of Georgia. The activities of Georgia railroad companies and conventions were providing a competitiVe route. Reverses were also cutting short the prosperity of the

Louisville, Cincinnati, and Charleston Railroad Company. The cotton crisis of 1839 cut off payment of stock installments and also weakened the banking activities of the company dan- gerously. Disaffection set in, the stock holders of North

Carolina and Tennessee wished to withdraw from the Company and asked that their money be refunded. The State of Ten- nessee did likewise. The following article appeared in the Knoxville Ti es in 1359:

Very few persons know how nearly the route from Knoxville to Charleston by way of the Hiwassee railroad, is completed. The following is the present state of the work. From Charleston to Augusta, 136 miles - finished and in use. From Augusta to Green- bor o, 100 mi le s - f ini she d and in use . Fr om Greenboro to Madison, 20 miles -graded but no rails laid. From Madison to Decatur, 50 miles - nothing yet done. From Decatur to Red Clay on the Tennessee line (Western and Atlantic) 115 miles - 100 miles nearly graded, heavy forces at work. From Red Clay to Knoxville, by Hiwassee railroad, 97 miles - 70 itales will be graded in six weeks, heavy forces at work on the remainder.

64 W.W. Davis, Ante-Bellum Southern Conventions, p. 154. 41

Thus we see that the way by the Hiwassee railroad to Uharleston (510 miles) has nearly one-half in use, while 426 miles have the rails laid or are graded for them. It is strange that any man should advocate the Charleston and Ohio Railroad when more than four-fifths of the Hiwas see route is so near completionS05

Bowing to the inevitable, October 19, 1840, the private stock holders of South Carolina met at Charleston and decided upon reorganization, allowing the out-of-state stock holders to withdraw their payments, except two dollars fifty cents per share of stock which was used to pay for the surveying that had been done. The amalgamation of the Louisville, Cin- cinnate, and Charleston Railroad Company with the South Carolina Railroad Company was placed under consideration.

The South Carolina legislature passed an act in 1842 granting its permission for the amalgawration of the two companies, and by act of December 19, 1843, completed the merger.

General economic conditions improved, cotton prices returned to normal in 184b, and the new company prospered.

The construction of the Camdem branch, thirty-seven miles north to Camdem from Kingsville on the Columbia branch, was undertaken and completed in 1848. Plans for the renovation of the main line caused some trouble since some stock holders in the company were opposed to it, but the project was undertaken and accomplished by 183.

The period from 1848 to 1861 was one of prosperity for

65 Niles' Pational 3ejister, Vol. LVII, p. 67. 42

the road, as well as the nation as a wh ole. The company's stock had been somewhat deflated, and the road was now operated on an economical and conservative basis. Several vexatious problems of the earlier dayswere solved. The shortage of labor was partially remedied by the purchase and tr aining of slaves . The cOIopany p ossess e ight y-eight male slaves in 1860 valued a t $80,000. The gap bet ween the Geor-

,ia >a ilroad and the Oharles ton and Lamburg was closed through the purchase from Augusta of the right to make the juc otio. in

1667. The Oroblems incident to the use of the inclined Plane between Aiken and haliburg were solved by the introduction of more powerful locomotives and the relocation of tUE line

5i7 throu a 'deepercuts around the steer grades.

2 vere nverlhe execttions of tic early proiot r realized - the ro te across tie Dlu idg.e was never built. however, a connect>: vith Cincinnati was establisL by Klink- iln' scverall ieendnt lnes by way of Eorgia.

Several writers on the story of the Lousvile, CIncin- nati, end Oharleston railroad C company have spe lated that had the rrad 'eenbuilt, South carolina might not have braced

te'sit,thereby prec ipitatin tile &ii Cxar.

Jshn LeIs 'err , 10 LoulsvillE and

IlliLps, A history of Transportation in the astern

Cotton elt to pp-16. . 022t. 43

-99

2 i

4 p

sC u( 4 V 4 -I

iq o

tC 4I CHAPTER II

i4AJOR RAILROADS OF GEORGIA

The launching of the great Georgia Railroad and Banking project was probably due to the stalling, in the deep Georgia mud, of a great ox-team hauling a boiler to a cotton mill in

Athens from Augusta. In June., 1832, the Southern Banner began to carry editorials pointing out the feasibility of a railroad from Augusta, across the river from the Hamburg terminus of the Charleston and Hamburg railroad then under construction from Charleston , to Athens. A mass meeting of the citizens of Athens was called for the Wednesday following June 22, 1832.

This mass meeting urged an investigation of the possibility of constructing a railroad and appointed a committee to contact the citizenship of Augusta and other communities along the proposed route., When approached on the subject, the people of

Augusta were rather cold toward it, fearing no doubt that the prosperity of their town would be transferred to Athens if the road was built.

Without the aid of Augusta, a committee of citizens of

Athens, on August 17, 1832, petitioned the Georgia Legisla- ture to charter the Georgia Railroad Company to build a railroad from Athens to Augusta. The capital of the company

Niles' National Register, Vol. XLIV, p. 406.

44 was set at I,500,000 with the privilege of enlarging that

amount if necessary. The company was empowered to build the

main line of the railroad westward from Augusta to Atlanta

with branches to Athens, tadison, and Eatonton, and with the

privilege of extending the Athens branch to the Tennessee

River, It was also granted extensive privileges, some to

last thirty-six years and others in perpetuity. Freight rates

were restricted to fifty cents for one hundred pounds for one hundred miles. Passenger rates were restricted to five cents

per :ile. Provision was made for the stock holders in each

branch of the line to organize separate companies at their

discre tion. The Athens commissioners were instructed to pro-

ceed with the organization of the company, which was aec omp-

lished on March 10, 1834. At the time of granting this charter the Eatonton charter granted in 1831 was repealed.2

President Camak, in 1834, described the route as a

southward detour from Augusta to gain the ridge with a moder-

ate grade, then running along the watershed a little north of

Warrenton, through Crawfordville, seven miles north of Greens-

boro, and two miles west of LexingtCon, to the Oconee at Athens.

Beyond Athens the extension was contemplated as running just

north of Lawrenceville, across the Chattahooche, between the

courses of the Tallapoosa and the Etowah, to the Coosa River,

2 Phillips, A History of Tranaportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 227. 46

and thence to the Tennessee River at Decatur, whence a railroad was reported to be under construction to the mississippi

River at Memphis. However, the road east of Athens was all that was under active consideration in 1834. 5.E. Thompson,

the chief engineer, estimated the cost of construction to

range from $9,000 to $9,800 per mile for grading and laying

a superstructure of pine mud-sills, light-wood or oak cross- ties and stringers, and an iron plate-rail two and one-fourth

by five-eights inches in breadth and thickness. 3

Upon the completion of the survey, the company called

for an installment of fifteen dollars on each share, in addi-

tion to the five dollars paid at the time of subscription,

On June 1, 1835, contracts for twenty-four miles in one mile

sections were let and for twenty-six miles more in November, 1835. The work proceeded slowly because of a labor shrtage

and the primitive methods of construction, Other installments

on stock were called for in May, 1835 and April 1936. To in-

crease the demand for stock and to facilitate the payment of

installments, the company applied to the Georgia legislature for banking privileges, which were granted December 18, 1835.

The company was reorganized as the Georgia Railroad and Bank- ing Company, the capital stock was increased to $2,000,000,

The company was empowered to establish a bank with as many as three branches as soon as fifty per cent had been paid in on

3 Southern Banner, January 8, 1835. 47

the stock subscribed and to carry on a banking business with

the use of one-half of the company's capital. It was empow-

ered to issue notes, with a penalty of ten per cent tax if

the payment of specie was suspended, and to incur debts to

three times the amount of the banking capital.

By the Aiddle of April, 1836, the fourth installment on

stock had been collected, fulfilling the fifty per cent re-

quIrement of the charter, and the bank was placed in operation.

It is interesting to note that in January, 1837, 'a premium of

ten dollars to eleven dollars and twenty-five cents was offered per share on the company's stock. 4

Meanwhile construction of the railroad had proceeded un-

haipered by any shortage of funds. &ders had been placed with

Baldwin of Philadelphia for seven locomotives, two of which

were to be delivered in November of 1836. The company pro-

posed to build its cars in its own shops. 5

During the panic of 1837, the president of the company

issued a statement showing that the company was in the best

financial condition of any in the South. At the same time it

was announced that contracts for the last twenty-six miles of road to Union Point had been let, and for seven miles and

four miles on the Greensboro and Athens branches respectively.

Ibid., January 21, 1837.

:Phillips, A History fTransportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860. p. 232. Work was in progress on a short spur to Warrenton. A delay in construction was caused when the contractor's sawmill burned. It was some three months before it was rebuilt and 6 the production of stringers for the superstructure resumed.

In June, 1838, the company offered 2,500 shares of stock for sale for the construction of the Madison and Athens branches of the road, being unwilling to encroach upon the banking capital. Before the end of 1837, the company placed a part of the line in operation and employed coaches and wagons to cooperate with the railroad in the hauling of passengers and freight. The company also assumed the care of the teams and vehicles of passengers, pending their return from their trip to Augusta.

At the annual meeting of the stockholders in May, 1838, it was decided to speed up construction, since very little time was left for the completion of the road under the terms of the charter. The track reached Greensboro near the end of 1838; Madison and Athens in 1841. Much of the grading in

1839-1340 was paid for in stock, which the contractors con- sented to receive in part payrent.t

The idea of a western extension from Athens to the

6 Ibid., p. 234.

Southern Banner, November 18, 1837.

Niles' National jQgister, Vol. LVII, p. 377. Tennessee River had been given up in 1836 when the Western and Atlantic Railroad was launched from Atlanta to Chattanooga

by the state of Georgia. The Madison branch was extended to

a junction with the Western and Atlantic at Atlanta providing

a through route from Charleston to Chattanooga. The line to

Athens from Union Point thus became of secondary importance

and was laid with light rails over which the cars were drawn

by horses until 1847, when a small three and one-third ton

locomotive was purchased for motive power on this branch line?

April 30, 1839, ended the first year of operation of any

part of the railroad. At that time seventy-seven miles of

road were in operation, and the total cost of construction

amounted to 61,100,000. The total receipts for the first year %ere $147,453.88; the total cost of operation for this year was 10 $63,362.14; and the net revenue for the year was $84,091.74, On April 30, 1840, the stockholders received a dividend

of eight per cent and <60,000 in profits were left in the

treasury. At this time it was announced that one hundred and forty-seven miles of line were nearly finished. 1 1

In 1842, the headquarters of the company were transferred

to Augusta, which by this time had wrested the control of the

Phillips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 236. 10 Niles' National Register, Vol. LVI, p. 263. 11IDid., Vol. LVIII, p. 230. corporation from Athens. Thereafter the combination of

votes from Augusta, Charleston, and the towns along the main

line to Atlanta continually defeated any local policy of the

Athenian stockholders. Thenceforth, the Athenians felt that

they were discriminated against in the service they received.

Economic Conditions from 1840 to 1844 seriously inter-

fered with the operation of the road and also the bank, which

applied to the legislature for relief from paying out 8pecie,

Relief came from an unexpected source when Charleston and

Augusta presented new subscriptions for stock. 'They brought

pressure to bear for an early completion of the line to

Atlanta to get ahead of Savannah and Macon who were reaching out for a share of the western trade with the Central of

Georgia Railroad. No dividends were declared during this period and the company's resources were strained to reach Atlanta September 15, 1845.12 One month later the Central of

Georgia railroad had reached Atlanta. At this time the Georgia

Railroad had a total mileage of two hundred and thirteen, of

which one hundred and seventy miles were rain line. To this was added an eighteen mile spur to the town of Washington in

1853*

The materials used in the construction of the road had been so light and of such crude workmanship that, as traffic increased, heavier rails had to be laid, the roadbed widened

12 Thomas H. Martin, Atlanta and its Builders, Vol. I, p. 32.

91109L - 4, -,"14- - ." i-AM 51

and blasted with crushed] stone, and the trestles and bridges strengthered to accomcuodate heavier trains, By 1852, the road and equipment were in excellent condition, traffic increased nn the branch lines, and the company seemed to be on the verge of prosperity.

The ccntpany was wise in pursuing a policy of paying for the major portion of the construction as it was built. As the traffic grew in the fifties, its stock proved to be a steady

and remunerative investment. The company was able to sub-

scribe to the stock of other companies, notably the Nashville

and Chattanooga, La Grange, East Tennessee and Georgia, Rome, and Waynesboro Railroad companies, all of which were made to help construct feeder lines, Labor and supplies increased in price but unlike the case of most railroads in the South, the

traffic increased so that the percentage of expense did not materially increase, enabling the company to reduce passenger fares and through freight rates considerably. The chief profit- eating factors were the hauling of empty cars from the markets and the seasonal nature of a part of the traffic resulting in part of the equipment lying idle at times. Another disadvantage was that the laws of Georgia forbade the movement of freight on

Sunday, causing the traffic to congest at times. The panic of 1857 did not greatly affect the company, since the price of cotton did not remain low, and the policy of the directors had prevented over speculation. About 1858, a junction was effected with the Charle ston and Hamburg by a cash payment to the city of Augusta and tie lines tien began to operate a sleeping car service Irom Oharlest)n to Atlanta. The report is that before the Civil ar no passeier had lost his life on one of its trains.

TABLE 1

GF GRT 14 iEORGIA RAILOAD AND BAKING GOPAiY 10M 1834 TO 1660

Capital Miles7 -4No. of Earnings Ye ar Stock of S )oCars Paid in Road F . ~~I tPass.Mil 1834-35 1835-36 F622 117 -> 1836-67 1 170", 75 1837- 8 1,910, 215 40 ? ? 12,9 23,l164 c 2 6o ' 1833- T 6 1,8 1 7 =10 ?7? 68.,789 6 , 4 14 - 183 -402, 19392T 12 ? ? 121,098 3 6b 184,63 1840-41 ? 10b162 66,22 152, 225 1841-422 201 612 147 12 ? ? 162,l, 224,2db l842-46 ?_148_12.I ? 6091 61,9 0 246,026 1846-44 _148 12 ? 178-766 6 , 0- 2483,")6 16445-4616 4 44 b" TU60-141 14 a ? ??104$/1152l1 77~,~035~76 2-21 -- 71,2 7 T84T4 2,288,4T0 O9II ? 221,700 3764 42 1846-47 2,26,0, 213 22 214 6232,89 1646,6 40,4&4 0,9~65 1847-48 2,2 120 22 ? 280,4 7,694 68,871 4775 1884 2,22 0 216 26 22 r ~37T97 166, 464 38 ,573 582, 01 1849-6094,00,000 213 29 258 19 398,006 1 s9,65b0 93,14 ) b6,807 400-00 ,0 0 00 213 3n 604 21 446,4J9 244,028 38394 728, 923 8l-b2 4,000,000 213 41 b02 2b 486,49 6 265,,21 44,111 Tb1I 18b2-53 4 000700 216 42 44 2 091907 -7,9O9 44,306 34124 185-4 4,.N00 0219 b ?? 91671 340,005 t h 93 1.76 l(b4-U 4 241? ? ,6 343;20 JFF ,06,694 853-56 4,169000 231 48 683 21 701,160 3229,46 4, ~~2 18o6-57 4,1b6,000 231 52 692 24 687,239 377,96 44,006 lUu681 mT3 7 : i' 4,16 000 231 ?3 2,9 66,2784453T3677 18b8-59 40156,000 231 55 _635. 765,554 34,562 44,605 154,624 189-04 5,001 231 56 163419?-70 ,- _1 I P44- I1,59t6 TFiscal Years Ending iay prior to1840;April 1 thereafter

13 C,0. Jones and Saleim Dutcher, History of Augusta, GE orgia, pp. 481-601. Z5'3

H- H (0 0 > F LO H 0 a) to tO H --Al tO U)C 9' 0) H 1~ L9 to (0 H 9' H co ------21 0 - CO (0 0 Hr +N1% N t4)o 0 00 co 0 10 0 CIO0 U' %44 L O01o-L 0 0 m .o 0) O HfC;I 0D( Sro 0 r C C C 9 0 0s IA H O O0 tO O LO to L o L HO (0 4-3 0 00 co c3 o 0 0

S0 *0 CI co C) (O 00 0 t-0 ) C\H) -0">oH L O r4 t 0 (0CD H O HH !: ,0 * 0 C *0) H Q tOt! 0 0 ( o t o L 0 -- 4)1 p t o) 4) 'H to Or+ (00 co to Q0 to 01>) H o OH r-4 4-1 CH oo,4 Clv()'0)co'9 9' 9' m 13

H 0 iH H H tO 10 H)LL Cl PQ C.C)H I ItO CaH F

0 0 r7,) H-4>- 0 '0CO4) -44 4 H M V) 0CQ %1O0 H 0 o ~Q~0 C0) N tCo 0 C-?1o H1>?>C\ HCO r4I 4 0 H 00'H CQW0(0, c OC1)O0) 0 0?>10C0a) c D1- C s4 L'-- Co L a 2o C C _0 D)tQ 0 tCo C%44 Co H 4.-1 p% 'ft 9% 494'S ^ Lo % 9 '9 0 % COS) 0 ttO O 0 0>CO C 04 %4L0 C)0)1A Cd0Ca 4 CO? t -0C t co01t0oto CQ HHr-I 0Q _r 4HHH HHHCQ H Hc\Q 0 02 O 0 a ai ao atkr, Q, tt403408:% O4ee 0 C OcO00O Co o4(to01>-a) 'H Lo A~~~~ OH HH4Otoo 0.H 4 C1-0C0)1-0 >C HH 4 O H I CCO RY) 04C tCo 1 d4 0-0O OO OCO1 CO4 O H C 4 C0(0 tO 0 0(t0o La0 v O jH Cd CI-13 wH H0 CQ

CQ4 Z C\2(o C M OH fa o to 0CD qdi LQ n. O 4 m0 CO0-0 L tOtO tO tO O) )C\ CO a) r-4 MH0) ) ? 0C ,,4 4 t rO l7)?>CQ LO LO H O C\.LoNPV"4 (o0'p H tQo r- J -i0V4 0D a) L_ 4j0 C'2rt 0 'o 00oO 0 ot0- )o 4 co r -iL* - 0) -,I' LO L%-LO O 0 o C1 1 v4 4 0 1.0'C l C H HHHH rO C- tOtO q-J4t44tO o O t O ) 2010toco0310C24 2to C o t0 o Q t 0 0 r-tO 60e-O(0t4O H O C\ 2 tO >O 10C\ to O?1 -* O1 "I tOo C at03C 1H 0 H?%Ht C Cv0 0 i10 C.Q nCotoLOtoQ u-C LQ co0C H H 0 44r-114 ri

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k"m 54

The Central of Georgia Railroad system had its beginning

with the building of a railroad from Savannah to Macon by a

company chartered under that name, The idea of the project was conceived in the early eighteen twenties, as an alternative to a system of canals and turnpikes to connect the

interior with the seaport of Savannah. It gradually gained headway as railroads proved to be practical. Savannah did not

take the lead in this early movement, because she had a fairly

good connection with the Pie dmont belt by way of the Savannah

River. acon and the cotton district beyond the Georgia pine- barrens started the agitati on, and Savannah slowly followed until the Charleston and Hamburg railroad, projected into her

trade territory, threatened to divert her accustomed trade to Charleston. State pride was strong in Georgia and influenced the entire state to favor Savannah rather than Charleston as an export center. The Georgia Statesman, Georgia Courier, and 'ed r al carried editorials favoring the construction of an "all Georgia railroad'.

In October, 1833, a mass meeting vas held in Savannah, when a citizen's committee, with John . Berrien as &hairman, urged the Savannah City Council to subscribe for 0J500,000 worth of stock in the proposed project. The council agreed to do so, and steps were taken to secure concerted action in

Macon and Columbia. A charter for the Central of Georgia

Railroad and Canal Company was granted by the legislature and promotive power was vested in the city carporatis a Savannah and Macon. The City Council of Savannah requested lb Berrien to secure an engineer and make a preliminary survey. Alfred Cruger, the engineer selected, recommended a

route to the Ogeechee River,twelve westward from'les Savan-

nah thence northwest along or near the banks of the Ogeechee

for some eighty miles to Jefferson County; thence up the val-

ley of a tributary creek to the latitude of Sandersville;

thence south of west across Washington County to the Oconee

River, and across that and the next 'watershed, in a westward

line, to the ocomulee Hiver at Macon. The advantaes of this

route were that the grade was easy except for the last ten

ri tles, that te pine-barrens were crossed in the shortest line,

that the cotton producing belt was reached at the nearEst

point, and that the road would cross three freight-bearing

rivers at strategic points, inviting the construction of feeder

lines to the upper parts of tieir valleys. There were two

chief disadvantages: the route was circuitous and there was

daingr of floods on the tqeechee River.

Tie engineering on this route was simple, as the maxiur

grade required on the first one hundred miles was ten feet

to the mile, and the maxium grade in crossing the watersheds

and river valleys need not exceed twenty-five feet to the mile. The descent into Macon would not require the use of

inclined planes. Cruger advised tihat the superstructure and

15 Thomas Gauiblet, Jr., istorto the City Government of Savannah, pp. 170-176. track be constructed as follows: an iron strap rail one and

one-half inches wide by five-eights of an inch in thickness

weighing twenty-seven tons per mile, resting upon scantlings

of oak and spiked with it to heavy stringers of yellow pine

which, in turn, were to be pinned to wooden cross-ties lying

embedded in the earthen roadbed. This construction, including

bridges, side-tracks, and water-stations, was estimated to

cost an average of <10,000 per mile. His specified equipment

included four locomotives, weighing four aid one-half tons,

for passenger trains and twelve "heavy" locomotives, weigh-

ing six and one-half tons, for freight trains, these locomo-

tives costirw respectively '5,000 and 4,6,000 each; also,

twenty passenger cars costing ;600 each, four cars for baggage

at 4300 each, and one hundred eighty freight cars at 43b0 each.

The estimated cost of two hundred i.les of road and the speci-

fied equipment amounted to <2,200,000. He estimated the life

of the wooden rails at fifteen years, the covered bridges at

thirty years, and the iron rails at fifty years. He was of

the oPinLon that it would be necessary to manev the wheels of

the cars thee times in two years and the wheels of the loco-

muotives five ties in one year. stimated earning were ten

to seventeen per cent.1

T e charter, g ranted Pn 1. 3, Athorito a caItal stock

of Y,0,000 in 4100 smaes, d fitted the organization

16 Aillia F. SwItzler, report on the Internal Qonmerce of thi_ United States, pp. 341-342.

QUM-WONAW", of the company when half of the stock had been subscribed.

The Savannah City Council took five thousand shares, indi-

viduals in Savannah took one thousand eight hundred forty-

nine shares, and seven hundred shares were taken by individuals

in Macon, ilIledgeville, and Sanderville. The shares sub-

scribed totaled enough for organization of the company but

the money was not sufficient to insure the success of the

undertaking. To make the stock more attractive to investors,

the legislature was asked to grant banking privileges. The

request was granted and the authorized stock was doubled in December of 1835. Some additional shares were sold to in-

dividuals, and the city of Macon took twenty-five hundred

shares. By January, 1836, the Central of Georgia Railroad

and Panking Company began its operations. Small assessments

were levied on the stock and work began in the fall of 1836. further stimulus was given to the project when the legisla-

ture authorized the construction of the state-owned Western

and Atlantic, which would form a junction with the Central of Georgia line. 1 7

Operations were hampered to sore extent by the crisis

of 1837; but by May, 1838, the Central of Georgia had com. pleted sixty-seven miles of grading and twenty-six miles of

track, over which trains were operating from Savannah.

17 hliLIat0 o rnp 1/hilllps, A History of T ransportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 258. Expenses of construction were staying well within the esti-

mat es, as the right-of-way and timber were usually iven by

the landowners. The Ailledg;eville people had asked that the

route be changed to pass through that town, but the change

was considered impractical. In May, 1339, rrading contracts

were let to the vicinity of Sandersville and seventy-six miles of track were laid with construction proceeding at

about one mile per week. One change had been made in the meantime; the T-rail -ad been introduced, replacing the strap-

rail and doing away with the ribbon scantlings. Labor troubles

arose duritc the year but were solved by leasing slave labor -

the owners being paid one-fourth in cash and three-fourths in

stock. Un February ,1o40, a report stat-d that one hundred

thirty miles of the route had been graded and that ninety-nine miles of the road were in operation. in May of the same year,

the labor force had shrunk to three hundred men, and the head

of the road was seventy miles from Macon. In 1841, only ten miles of trackage were completed, and a flood had destroyed

056,000 worth of road - closing it to business for six months.

Cotton prices at this tie were at starvation levels and the whole economy of the South was paralyzed. The company's bonds would not sell, and only a few of the contractors would accept

theta at the reduced prIce of 20.00 Per 100.00 bond. Practi-- cally nothing was done during 1840-1841 except to secure eouvh rails for the completion of the road. President Gordon died

18 Niles' National Register, Vol. LVII, p. 377. 59

at this time. i.h. Cuyler became president and brought fresh enerLy to the adinListration. Furthermore, the state legislature had directed the early completion of the Western and Atlantic, and the Monroe Railroad Company, building from lVoacon

to Atlanta, gave promise of finishing their line within the year. Cuyler made a trade with two contractors to complete the

line to lacon for which they were to be paid in bonds, receiving an advance of twenty per cent upon the former contract price. The wrk was pressed to completion on October 13, 1843. The Central of Georgia railroad was 190.5 miles long' and required seven years of labor for its construction, at a cost of approximately u2,500,000, or about $13,000 per mile.

TABLE 2 19 CENTRAL AND GERGi1A RAILROADB GOVMiANY EARNING , 1840-1860

Year Gross Net Year Gross let 1840 Z113,827 9l194 1i 74 27 4067r 1841 , 185 2 946 508 1842 133,535 62,781 1853 917 082 509,348 183?? 1854 1:-09,1793 -- 5 4,526 184 201 464 ?Q8 2862 79 5 164 328,42 4 180,704 1b66 l,341 711 l4 ? ,970 7 122,64442,6 1847 33,863 l'71,39-)5 1858 ,3 37 22 756,61 ET- -- ,68 6 47,87 l9 ,4 4 851,211 1840 668,383 330, 7 5 1860 1,p164- b ~,574 1850 6325, ,26 35-__

It will be noted from a study of the accompanying chart that the earnings of the company were low and uncertain until

1848, thereafter the company became serenely prosperous to 1861.

19 Phillips, Historl A of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton (elt in 1860, p. 263. 60

As soon as it became a settled fact that the railroad from Savannah to rvacon was to be built, the people of the

Ilonroe district began clamoring for a railroad from Forsyth to Macon. In 1833, the legislature chartered the Monroe

Railroad Company with a capital stock of .200,000. It was required that the company sell one-half its capital stock within one year and begin construction within two years. The requirements were not met and the charter lapsed. The company was rechartered in 1835. This charter was amended by the legis nature in 1836 to grant the company banking privileges, to raise the capital stock to i600,000 - with permission to doLble this amount, and to empower the company to extend its line and form a junction with the western and Atlantic at

Atlanta, then being provided for. The act also directed the governor to purchase t200,000 worth of the company's stock for the state. 2 0

Grading was begun on the road early in 1836, and the track was completed into Torsyth, a distance of twenty-five miles by 1640.21 The extension to a junction with the Western and Atlantic was much harder to accomplish. The cotton crisis, at this time, hurt the company badly, because it had conducted its banking operations recklessly and had been extravagant in building a pretentious bank and general headquarters in Macon.

20 Ibid., pp. 264-266. 21 Niles' National Register, Vol. LVII, p. 377. 61

In October, 1640, of. the seventy-seven miles of the

route above Forsyth, fifty-one miles nad been graded. The

eleven miles into Barneaville were laid with wooden rails

over which horses pulled the cars for about one year until

they were replaced wvith iron rails. The same make-shift was

then employed to reach Griffiri.

The Monroe company appealed to the governor to take the

Q200,000 worth of stock as provided for in the charter, but

the financial condition of the company was so bad that the

governor delayed action until tbe legislature could repeal

the law, The city of savannah gave the company some relief

by subscribing L,000., but ttis s rot enough to complete

the work. The Central of Georgia Qompany would have helped;

but it, we have already seen, was in desperate.straits at

this time. The company borrowedrort&age enough money on a

to complete the track to within twenty miles of Atlanta in

164b, only to be forced into bankruptcy, and the road sold

for little more than enough to pa its debts. The invest-

ment of the stockholders was an almost total loss. Jerry

Cowles of Macon, the purchaser, sold the road to Daniel Tyler

of Norwick, Connecticut, who reorganized the coMpany under

the rame of the rAacon and Western railroad Ucompany. The

operation of trains was resumed after a lapse of about one

year; the track was completed to the junction with the Vstern

and Atlantic; a iew charter was secured in 1847, and the road proptI jput on t pay

aw.qm4.mw IJ

that the co>.vary be caoitalIzed at O1,00,000, in share's of

-1Q) each. all of the stock WSa sold, but only ,42.00 per

share was required to be paid In. large portionx of the

stock in tre new coptny hjad been sold In Jew York, and the

directors 'w re 1dely scattrd. Priotion develop) ed over the

poli yto be followe i payig dividends; the northern stock-

holders demanded dividend sthe bouther. stock.ald7 m iu1e8

t, use the money f or Uimprove ms nt.

The rie of cotton recovered d an the line bean to pros- per. Tak in adv arta>, of th rcovr. In cotton pices, the

co n Ze 2 n 164, te renovate ion of the line hise had beei built o che- a9ad iht mkterIals. In 1850, in prepara-

tli 'or thle increase in traffic expected it th'heCOlelon of the I 5fes n cnd Atlantic, the entire lite w as 1-elaid 6vith heavier ra5ls. Th tore y to crr on tIs work wea cur from receipts of thie , sale of bcids@, ad ale of stoek forfeited and resold. >y 1663, the road was in excellent condition, for the times, earnan e -iht per cet dividends.

ThI sPro sp rit r continue d until 1860.2

The following chart graphically presents the growth and develouteaf of their vlacon and fEstern Hailroad company from

1648 to 1u60.

Phillips, A history of TransportAtlon in the Eastern Cotton e It to 1860, pp. 266-272. b3

TALE 3

ACN AND EBTERN RAILELUAD C0ANY STATISTIC) 1848-1860

kile Ye ar of Capital Bon Gross iunning Net Divi- Road Stock receipts Expenseq Erning dends 1848 (llmo. 101 630,00 none 141,132 ,63247 j677884 1"30 ,000 184 101 630,000 none 198,467 87,698 110, 769 75, 000 1660 103 684,240 13b,000 208,666 108,228 104,438 67,600 1761 103 11103,966 13b,000 216,621 1066509110,112 78,b32 16,12 103 1j,214,000 l16 ,0 2 69,0 9 (J19,64 10,31 97 1120 18 43 103 1,288 370 163,000 280,516 131,53 149,062 97,120 1854 103 1,230,660 120,000 313,178 163,561 149,617 112,822 185 103 1,353,7b4 129,000 360,802 157,427 193,375 126,443 1856 103 1,3b4,50O 129,000 349,907 207,791 142,116 134,415 1857 103 1,438,b60 96,000 293,260 162,554 130,706 125,278 1868 103 1,438,800 96,000 326,465 162,058 164,407 115,104 18a9 103 1,438,800 23,000 37O,20 16b,46b 209,786158,268 160 103 1,600,000 none 407,3744 192,941 27J,49J 27A,42 Y ending November 1.

petty line, sixtee miiles long branching from the vIacon and 'e stern, was built by the Trhomaston and jarnesvill1e ailroad

CmuanyI etween 163 and 1867. The strug>ling company went bankrupt in 1660 and was bought by a group of local citizens aided by th e Macon and 'Western Cow-pany. Later the road was absorbed by the Central of Georgia.

A plan was formulated in 1846 to build a railroad from Macon

3outhwestward to the Chattahoochee River, to connect there possi- bly with a road projected northeastward fromi lensacolo, 1orida.

23 Phillips, A HISto of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton elt to 186p. 36 64

Branches to Colunbus and Albany were also contetplated. A charter with very liberal provisions, as to route and privileges, was granted by the legislature in December of 1845.

When the subscription books were opened no shares were applied for, but the promoters managed to secure a loan from the Cen- tral of Georgia with which to make a survey.

f.1 r holcotbe, an experienced railroad engineer, was employed to make the survey. He described the country to be crossed as a table-land, less than six hundred feet above sea level, cut into rolling country by streams whose valleys were about three hundred feet above sea level. The larger ridges and valleys ran across the route but some paralleled it. His plan was to follow these ridges as much as possible, making only necessary descents. The first fifty miles would be the most expensive, since several deep cuts and large fills would be necessary. 'or the remainder of the main line and the branches also, ridges could be followed with no rock cuts any- where. As to traffic, lolcombe estimated that the line would handle 160,000 bales of cotton annually. He pointed out that the area to be served was not fully developed, being only sparsely settled.

As result of Holcombets report, a few shares of stock were sold, and the Central of Georgia promised to take

12& ,000 in stock as soon as a like amount had been subscribed by the area to be served. The city of Savannah promised to take 1250,000 in stock as soon as the completion of the road 65

could be assured, the stock to be paid for with Central of

Georgia stock at par value. The city of Macon, as well as

its citizenship was lukewarm on the proposition, because it

was feared the new road would divert part of the city's

trade instead of adding to it. By February, 1648, sufficient

stock had been subscribed to per mit organization, and the

Southwestern Railroad Gompany came into being. Contracts for

the first grading and laying of track were let. During 1848,

enough stock was sold to meet the requirements for the pro-

ised subscription of the Central of Georgia. At the request

of the company, Savannah reduced its subscription to 4150,000, paying for it with seven per cent. bonds. The su obtained was

used for the purchase of rails.

Construction was pressed forward until the middle of 1850;

but work was tien hampered by a rise in wages and a scarcity

of labor. The cornpany refused for the time to proceed on borrowed funds but used its stock for part payment for grading.

In July, 1862, the road was completed to Oglethorpe on the

Flint River, fifty-three miles from Savannah. During the same

year the Muscogee Railroad, being built eastward from Colubus, was reaching out for a junction with the line at Fort Valley,

and the KMobile and Girard and the Columbus and Opelika were preparing to build southwest and northwest respectively from

Columbus, thus offering the hope of considerable through traffic.

Furthermore, the people of southwest Georgia were reviving in-

terest in projectr.ons of the line in that area. During 1862-1853,

*WWAKWAW4WM*WAW the citizens in and about Awericus subcribed and paid for

275,000 in stock., in return for which an extension was built

to that town from Oglethorpe. Soon afterward the people of

Albany took like measures to secure an extension of this branch

2 4 to their town. The Georgia and Florida Railroad Company had

been engaged haltingly in building a railroad southward from

Americus to Albany. In 1857, the Southwestern absorbed that

company at a cost of 4266,322 in stock, taking over twenty-five

ailes of road and coopleting the line to Albany. The total cost

of this extension was 4400,000.

The railroad from Columbus to a junction with the South-

western at Fort Valley was partially constructed by an independent company, the Muscogee Railroad Company. As early as 1837,

the Chattahoochee Railroad and Banking Company was formed to

connect Columbus with the railroad system taking form in the

state of Georgia, but the ensuing panic killed the project. A consultation with officials of the Central of Georgia resulted

in the launching of the Muscogee Railroad Company which was

chartered in 1845 . This company was empowered to build a rail-

road from Columbus to a junction with the Southwestern. Little

was done until a rival line was proposed in 1847. Columbus promised to subscribe for 150,000 worth of stock in the Mus-

coGee company, and construction began toward Fort Valley. The company was not strong enough to complete the line to the

junction. The Southwestern took over the eastern half of the

24 Ibid., pp. 275-280. route and built a track to meet the fuscogee Company's, comnpleting the connection early in June, 18b3. In the meantime the city of Coluibus became deeply involved in promoting roads into Alabama and sold its stock in t he Muscogee Coompany in 18L. 25 Later in the year the iMuscogee Company was merged with the Southwestern and disappeared from history.26

In 1857, a branch line from mericus through Dawson and Cuthb ert to the hat tahoochee River near F ort Gaines, and also a branch from Cuthbert to the Ghat tahoochee opposite the Ala- ba1a town of

aord o 1. irtor ai for the 'radin -1pa in :tar Ind part in stock. In 113c, 445 laoorcrs were at work on these ext nsiIs wIi Ch Were 1inised b, t e Iddle of 1 '60.

TALE 4

SATISTI OF "UTETER14 KALROADi CILIWPA NY

eilesc apital Boids Gross Net Divi- Stock Receipts Earnings dends Road 1852 50 6,700 4100,000 4129,3965 8 16 _3 140,068 76,807 4 184 !64364,000 220,8bl 121,60 4 I MU 2b6,59642 141, L 9 1856 353,092 202,265 57 _____-___,213 __ 07 1358 192 391,540 208,771 2 1869 2,2b4,000 631,000 ?1? 8 _T = 63,1 279 ' 396,5 0 676,1 =2352 1

The above chart will give a picture of the growth and

illipst, _ itor, of ransportation in the Eastern Cotton elt to 1660, p. 294. development of the Southwestern Railroad Company from 27 1853-1860, the fiscal year ending August 1.

The towns of filledgeville and Eatonton were hampered

in getting a railroad built into their area by the uncer-

tainty of the prospects of the town of tilledgeville. it

was located at the fall-line on the Oconee, a stream of minor

importance. The city owed its importance, not so auch to its

commercial activity, but to its position as capital of the

state. Because of its political importance its people were

Lc.lined to look for favors rather timan for opportunities to

lab or and invest e earnings. Fur t he rore, their e were peri odic

agitat1ons "or the removal of the capital to another location,

which had a tendency to paralyze the energies of the town. In

1837, a charter was Lranted for the construction of a railroad branching from the Qentral of Georgia at Gordon to ifilledge- ville. Organization of the Milledgeville Railroad Company

took place in the late forties and construction on the line began in 18St. The Central of Georgia materially aided the

struggling company by furnishing it with plate-rails from its

orIinal track, now being replaced with T rail, and accepting

Milledgeville stock in payment for them. The road reached

Milledgeville in 1851. Meanwhile atonton, encouraged by a promise of old rails from the Central of Georgia, formed a co-rpany to continue the line to that town, making the total length of the branch thirty-seven miles. These two little

27 Ibid p .279 ). companies soon merged and the new company was taken over by

the Central of Georpia in 1855 on . perpetual lease at a r mental of ;28, 000 per year.

From the iddle thirties the Central of Georgia conten-

plated the construction of a branch line to connect Augusta

with Savannah. In 1839, a convention was held in Augusta

that advocated the construction of the branch, but the cotton

crisis suspended the movement. Later the Georgia Railroad

Company and some of the business men of Augusta opposed the

branch as probably danger ous to the interests of that company

and to the trade of the city. The Central of &eorgia persisted and the people of Savannah, aynesboro, and Burke County supported its efforts. In 1846, the Central of Georgia proposed

to the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company that they cooper-

ate in the undertaking, but the Georgia company declined.

Those favoring the project secured a charter and organized the

Waynesboro Railroad Company. In 1847, the Central of Georgia

subscribed for 4100,000 worth of stock, the city of Savannah

60,000, and individuals in Savannah and along the route for

enough additional stock to secure the construction of the road.

The road from killen on the Central of Georgia to Savannah,

fifty-four miles in length, was completed in 1864, and was at

once taken over by the central of &eorgia on lease, at 73,000 per year.28

28 I ,id_., pp. 2o3-284. 70

it is o'bserved that the Qentral of "e orgia pursued an a'-ressivepolioy of yexiansion. ore 4 the branc roads were Purchased and others leased. Through this system of expansion, the company became a strong power in politics and exerted its strength h to pr-vent the state frou granting aid to roads in competition with it. This was especially true of roads that would build up the port of Brunswick at the exprise, it was felt, of the Central of Georgia system and the port of avannah.

The most pressing pr oblem of routine administration was that of freight rates. The policy of the company was to fix the tariffs as high as the traffic and competition with the rivers and the Georgia Railroad would allow; through freight demanded and received a lower rate than local traffic. In

1860, the city of Jacon forced an agreement that freight rates to Savannah i rom that city s should never ce :reater th an four-fifths of the rate from Forsyth and Oglethorpe to Savan- nah, and that an annual payment of 5,000 be paid to iacon before permission should be granted for the railroads entering that city to form a junction. To encourage the production of cotton, which, in time, would increase the freight tonnage of the system, the company established a freight rate of' one dollar per ton on fertilizer in carload lots. This price was obviously below the cost of transportation, but the company did not suffer since the up-traffic was largely of empty cars returning to the production areas.

UNWOMUMMMONgm , - -, , . jgm 71

As in most railroad experience in the past, the adminis-

tration felt justified in complaining of the frequency of

heavy expense from damage suits for accidents on the roads of

the system. It was declared that claims were decided by juries

alIost uniformly against the company re .ardless of the nature

of the accident and the testimony. To reduce the mishaps to

livestock on the tracks, the company was forced to fence the

right-of-way. For the killing of persons crossing the tracks

there seemed to be no remedy against the proneness of juries

to penalize the railroad.

Further westward extension of the Southern railroads was

accomplished by the Western and Atlantic Railroad. This rail-

road was unique in that it was the only railroad built in the

South wholly by state capital. Its great importance lles in

the fact that it was the connecting link that made Georgia the

keystone state of the $outh, and Atlanta, the gate city from

the northwest to the eastern cotton belt.

The demand for the building of this railroad came from

the Oiedmont cotton belt, supported by the coast cities. The

cotton industry, developing with remarkable speed, caused a

great concentration of activity in that one occupation, and

led the people of the Piedmont to look outside their section for supplies of all sorts. The most pressing need at first was for connection with the coast, whici was accomplished by

the construction of the railroads already studied. Then followed the demand for an adequate route to tap the West 72,

and bring cheap foodstuffs. The building of the Western and

Atlantic railroad was the decisive step in solving the pro- 29 tie 1- .2

in 1u26, Wilson Lupkin examined the country through

Georgia and the Cherokee territory to the northwestward and

reported an excellent route for a railroad to the Tennessee

River at the 'northwestern corner of Georgia. This route went

undiscussed for the next few years because of the agitation

in south Carolina for the route to the west through her ter-

ritory, designated as the Charleston-(incinnati project. It

is unnecessary to recapitulate the newspaper agitation and

convention oratory in support of a rail line to connect the

aest with the Atlantic ports. however, it is necessary to

cover one subject of discussion at the Knoxville Convention

of July, 1836, that has not already been noted. At this great

convention the eorgia delegation attepted to point out that

tIe route through Georgia was not only better but could be

constructed at less cost and completed sooner. So much enthusi-

a d asm h beEn created in sUpport of the route advocated by the

South Carolina delegation that the Georgia proposal received scant attention and was rejected. The convention passed a resolution granting eorga permia0ili to muild a branch line fr o any uoint in that st at e t o hKnoxvil-e . Te CcorgIa deleatio witLdre-v in disgust and went houe.

r Rev , Vol. tV, s. 219. 30 ihat Ioal L git erVol. L, p.362. 73

Th ftermwth of the falrl ( ,atth t 1noxville conven-

tior inst 1:. f a) Vone.ntotn ataoon for t -e>ir purpOs

C l fror te12srut1 1of 02lroa to m eet the

e t4 (jr tt l iVatur iotuIQd a rio -Wirit h. pUi i J- 'a "rnd WI L AC ne iosville (Ohatttanoog:a) to s oale suita-

b'Lep oint nar t) he iat t ao9 4 Ive r , an to author 4ze

2 C O9 aIE 10nS 5IV 1the 12 at e aid to aulG or anchr Ir >0 nay

01 IT. onterueo h tat C-r adt (jtt n f 01umus

iors '1 i6). Athe vs On. 1 be r3 21L, I6t, thleCi slature

passed t.Ge recoieded leislati on, appropriating; 30,000-for

the first year, 60,000 being specliicallb desigiated for the

iece ssary surveys. Te ron: was ncmer the tcttri aid

Atlantic, and th'ae appointment of a uperihtendent and engineer

vas prvided for with a grant of appropriate powers. by an

act of D'Ecember, 1637, the control of the road was given to a

conm iin K thr c personas to be elected by the legislate;

the southern terminus was to be located not more than eight

mile s 'outhe ast of the 'hatt ahoochee ; and an fi>cre ased provi-

Sion of funds Was made by authorizing te -ale f stAte bonds

in amounts of riot rore th 500,000 in any one, ear. an

act o. 13, and aproprlation of ,1,54,000 in state bonds

to run for thirty -ars at six aer cent 3supIemnted and

32 Yale heviev, tol. XV, . 263. :Kles' satioaal Veitr Vo1. L>1, p. "04,

I 74

superseded the earlier provision.33

in 182, the le gislature had estaDlished the Central

Bank, which was in reality the state treasury. It was established because of the Federal prohibition against the issue of currency by any state. The capital of the bank con-

'isted of all ,ioneys, bonds, and stocks owned by the state and all debts due it. It engaged in all banking activities.

This institution went hand in hand with the VvesterAtlantic railroad, acting as its fiscal agent and furnishing the necessary finance until the panic oft34

Under the authorit y of ti iact of 1836, the survey had

proceeded and by the end o" 1837 specifications for the first fifty miles of the road iere completed. The board of Coxmis- sioners organized in January of 1838, and by October let contracts for the grading of o.e hundred miles. The payment of state six per cent bonds for construction met with favor among the contractors, as shown by the fact that one hundred seventy of then bid on a thirty-eight mile section from White 3$b Plain to Ross' Landing on the Tennessee River.

In February, 1837, the commissIoners were working about two thousand men. A progress report on February 8, 1840,

Phillips, A hist2L Cry_Transportation in the Lastern cotton Belt to 160, p. 311

34 Yale Review, Vol. XV,p. 26o. bNiles' National Register, Vol. LVII, p. 400. 7$

stated that grading on the first one hundred miles was nearly $6 completed and that contracts had been let to Ross' Landing.

however, troubles care in a flood with the panic of 1839; the

Central Bank let out its funds to assist in curbing the panic

and the railroad was left without funds. There was also a hot debate going on as to the advisability of abandoning he project. iome contractors agreed to work for scrip, but the price of this scrip fell so low that work came to a complete halt. T'is was not as bad as it Laight aGear 'or the western

and Atlantic was a connecting< road and the work on the roads with wnich it was designed to connect had also been forced to

stop because of final rcial troubles. In Feoruary, 1841, the

commission decided to suspend all work except to lay the rails

on the first fifty-two riales of the road. Financial aid was

given to the private companies that were to form a junction with th'e westernn and Atlantic in an effort to gain a small

amount of revenue from the operation of a part of the line.

The legislature approved the plan, dissolved the commission,

and appointed a disbursing officer to carry out the plan for-

Mulated by the commission. These plans were followed. In

184t, the fifty-two miles of track were completed and a

junction effected with the Georgia Railroad, followed by a

junction with the Central of Georgia and wacon and Western

from savannah in 1846. The Western and Atlantic now began

36 Ibid., p. 377. 76

to earn some revenue which was devoted to further construc-

tion. Furthermore, the crisis was easing. in 1847, the legislature ordered the completion of the road and granted

639b,000 in State bonds for the purpose. Chattanooga was fi nally reached in the spring of 1851, thus completing the epoch of primary construction and the first American railroad across the mountaiL s.

An act of the legislature in 1843 had instructed the

governor to sell the road when he could get 11,000,000 for

it. A committee that went over the road, after its comple-

tion, deprecated any further agitation to sell the road and recommended the purchase of better equipment and more rolling

stock. The governor passed these recommendations on to the

le gi slat ure . That body concurred in the conclusions of the

coanittee and passed legislation to iplement the recommaended ilproveents in February, 1863; Georgia was now definitely

in the railroad business.

From 1853 to 1857 there was agitation in the legislature

to lease the Western and Atlantic on the grounds that the road had not been a wise investment, had not paid any divi-

dends, under state management, and that state operation was a 38 failure. Bills to accomplish this, however were defeated.

The state ownership of the We stern and Atlantic brought

Yale Peview, Vol. XV, pp. 267-271. 36 Phillips, A history _of Traxnsportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, pp. 322-327. r7

problems tat were not encountered by other railroads. The

Hiwassee Company applied to the legislature for permission to

build a line across north Georgia to connect east Tennessee with the South Carolina railroads by way of the Georgia rail-

road systems. Governor Johnson, on ."arch 1, 1856, vetoed the bill granting this permission, giving as his principal reason

that the proposed Hiwassee line would deprive the Western and

Atlantic of a large part of its remunerative traffic. His

action was assailed by the people of Blairville as unjust, but

the Atlanta Intelliaencer defended it on the grounds that the

interest o the whole people should not be subordinated to the

welfare of one. remote district. 4 0 A more vital problem was that of freight rates. Here the

crux was the question whose interests the State road should

priuarly subserve. Personal and sectional attitude on the

issus dc d arely uon questionot of >"wh>e 0 was

ore. The legislature declined to attesuipt the fixing of

rates. Theadministration of t heroad set tle rates in accordance vith the view that te -road should pay a reasonable

re turn upon the investment and that it should promote the

general welfare of the state. At the suggestion of Atlanta the rates were zoned, but when Dr. Lewis assumed control of

the road he cut the rates and put them on a flat rate basis. He also cut bulging salaries and inaugurated a policy of

strict economy. 'Even with the utmost alertness and economy, it proved impossible for the road to earn a percentage on its

40 Yale Review, Vol. XV, p. 277. 78

cost coifJmesurate with, the dIvIdends tiat neiKooring zoads w

far n0, Cue to tnr expesit construction, the disproport1on of da rnd ut traffIC, and the lack of cotton or other precious

fe iht U90n wheCn hgh tariffs coul be levied. 0

The following tale of statistics ill reflect ahe fscal history of tbe +Western and Atlantic from 1836 to 1861.41

T ABLE

WESTE4N SAD ATLANO IC RA LtO. FIiAKOIAL SUMMARY

Yeat Leitshtixe Expenditure Receipts Expenses Net Payments 1800 Appropri on Con- from on earnings to the ation struction Operation Operation State Treas

037 150,000 --- 36.90t 000T

42-_41.7 -~

41-42 521,051.35 - ~

42-44 ?

44-45 ? - -~- - - ~

_____ 3___ _,127 .32 - ~

46-475 ,483.8& 51,616.'9 T7TJ 3 . __3 47 T-4 375,75-61,258 .15 T,75.3 3,7277 .T1 " ,h7.7JJ3 -

48-49 371,434.t 232,106.70 _?_-~ 47 . , _____ T77W6. '

6-61 25,s2.6,2 28,280.44 _ Jj.32.2 ),1/..6~rrws ~ 2 j 00u 9 6 40,033.00 478,816.06 21,167.Ou 227,70 .01 - 3-543":24 ,E4234 1,T4823,31.78338,130 4-2&3 ,360.12 68,0307 .b6 269,883 .33 429,0 47 .023 uu0. _____ 79T,2TT.65 71,366.53 380,668.85 490,697 T4; 7 567 = 383,b61.04 900,808.95 45,827.55 464 981.40T h1000T -403$%.63 800,001.28 394, 227.844 --17,00 58- 9 27,326.40 Q832,34 337t,)01.30 44 4 3 __402 000 59 60 E8o519.o 418-;464.&ub 417,454.60 450,00OT 60-61T 892,4367.96 34,3C.J3 Ett7VLiS -438,000. FIscal year ran from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

40 Phillips, A HUst ory of Transpottation in the Eastern Gotton Belt to 1860, pp.327-334. 41 Yale1 eview YLe eve, Vol. X, .271. eha f wo4

RAILROADS CONSTUCTED IN GEOGRIA BEFORE ThiE CIVI IVAR

-4

tmn

/titn

44 GAlis/fble 7Aem~sM //r// 7 e n MiWdr

A Gsin / Y a W;

Marks

samammassamamemamewwww.am-se CHAPTER III

1{ OR RAIlROADS 1 .f E EAUTi COTTUA BELT

The preceding chapters have dealt with the relatively early, successful, and important railroads and their sub-

sidiary lines that were projected in the Eastern Cotton

Belt. There remains a number of independent minor roads and several large projects to deal with in the period before the

Civil War.

The minor roads in the Eastern Cotton Belt fall into

three groups: (1) upland roads rendering local service and

forming junctions with trunk lines to the coast; (2) ad-

ditional lines from the seacoast across the pine-barrens into

the Piedmont; and (3) lines parallel to the coast. In most

cases te projects that were unrealized would fall into one

of these groups. The remainder were transmontane aspirations.

A study of railroad construction in Georgia reveals that, as a rule, the interior roads vere more or less intimately associated with one c the great railroad systems in that state and shoUld be studied in relation to them. On the other

iand, in Piedmont South Carolina and in the adjacent portion of North Carolina, the railroads were built by independent coil- panies, to serve local needs. They were financed by local

00 - 81

subscriptions and statc-aid, receiving no material assist-

ance from Charleston or from the South Carolina Railroad

COm pany.

Before the depression which began in 1837, the people

of the Piedmont had not recognized the need for railroads

in their area; but their distress during the period of depres-

sion pointed out that they must have cheap transportation.

When the price of cotton began to recover in 1844-1845 and

capital became available, the area broke out with a rash of

projected railroads to the several prongs of the South

Carolina Railroad. Columbia, Aiken, and Camden on the South

ia rolIna Railroad began to compete as termini for the pros-

pective roads. The communities in the Piedmont competed

with each other for the routing of the roads for their local

advantage. As a result of this competition, the routes of

the roads that were built were determined by the stongest of

the competitors. The roads were either crooked or relatively

straight, depending upon the strategic and financial pressure

put ucon the promoters of the roads.

For the service of the area north of Columbia and Camden,

South Carolina, a project was launched in 1846, with Char-

lotte, North Carolina as its northern terminus. At once, local promoters became active along the possible routes, securing subscriptions for stock conditioned on a designated route. A charter wss secured and an organizing convention called to meet at Charlotte on September 9, 1847. After 82

some haggling between those who wished Camden as a terminal

and those who preferred Charlotte, the route between Char-

lotte and Columbia was chosen. The route chosen followed

the' ridge northward from Columbia through Winnsboro to Ches-

terville, deflecting thence eastward of north to Charlotte.

Gradi.ng began in 1843 on all parts of the route.

In October., 1848, subscriptions totaled 4917,900 and

the first few installments were paid promptly. The price

of cotton fell briefly, drying up the payment of installments, and the company appealed to the legislature for assistance in buying rails. The price of iron had fallen to about '28.00 per ton in England. The legislature subscribed for 250,0000

in stock, to be paid for in six per cent bonds of the South

Carolina .ailroad. These bonds were sold at a ten per cent discount, and the iron was purchased in 1849. In October,

1850, thirty miles of track were completed - a year later seventy miles. The line in operation at this time showed gross earnings ranging from four to five thousand dollars per month.1 Final completion of the road was announced in Novem- ber, 1852. All earnings for the next three years were used for the improvement of roadbed, track, and equipment. The cost of construction was 41,823,639, of which '390,b00 was outstanding in bonds in January, 1868, After 186, annual dividends of six per cent were issued.

U.3. Phillips , A history of lanspor t ation in t eastern Cotton Belt to 176 , p. 340. 8

Yorkville and vicinity had offered the Charlotte and South Carolina Pailroad Company a handsome cash bonus to route its line through that town, but the offer had been re-

fused. Yorkville gathered its resources and built the King's

Mountain Railroad, fifteen miles in length, from Yorkville to

Chester, cogpletine the work in 185 . The road formed a

branch of the Charlotte and south arolina system. The capi-

tal remarkable to record -- was sufficient to build the

road with a surplus of ;14,000, which waa invested in stock

of other roads. The earnings of 1856 and 1857 yielded a

dividend of about five per cent. This modest yield was

maintained until the outbreak of the Civil War. 2

The charter for the Greenville vnd Columbia Railroad

Company was granted in the winter of 1845-1846 by the legislature of South Carolina in response to the demand from that portion of the state northwest and north north west of Co-

lumbi a. This road was sub ject to jockeying by local interests, similar to that exercised in the location of the

Charlotte and South Carolina railroad,. By May, 1847, the subscriptions taken were sufficient to permit organization, and a convention of stockholders at Columibia ordered a pre- lirminary survey. In the fall of 1847, a convention at New- berry settled th.e crucial contest over the route of the propose,, road. The route chosen ran around Lar'Urens district instead of across it. Ti Laures stockhoLdevs withdrew w and

1b1d., p. 346. 84

about one-half of the directors resigned, almost paralyzing the company. Greenville tried to withdraw but her subscriptions had been given unconditionally, and she was forced, by law, to remain in the corporation.

At a stockholders meeting in May, 1848, subscriptions stood as follows: from Charlest on, S78,300; from Columbia,

8 ,900; from Fairfield district, $28,450; from Newberry,

130,000; froim Abbeville,, <189,200; from Anderson, 7315,000; from reenville, 1103.,.50; and from 'North Qarolina, <20,600.

The Greenville and Columbia line was put under contract for construction, and shortly afterwards the company applied to the legislature for aid in the purchase of rails. The legislature granted t250,000 in securities for this purpose, with a market value of $225,000. Early completion of the line was stimulated further by the launching of the Laurens- ville and NewberrY project and the Spartanburg and Unionville project, both of which would constitute feeder lines to the maini line. During 1849 both projects made good progress.

More subscriptions came in from Abbeville - about 7b,000O and a branch line was undertaken to that community. The state added <75,000 to its subscription for the completion of the line .romAnderson Courthouse to Greenville, and additional subscriptions came from Greenville and vicinity.

This extension was undertaken by the company. It was realized e arly that the resources of the company would be strained

Ibid., p. 343. to coiLplete thle. projected i , and, as. measure oC conOMy, the company brought the discarded flane-rails of the South

Carolina railroad 'o an . Floods and labor shortage delayed completion of tie lins to reenville until Dece bcr of Id86.

lrich Pi111lips dEscribed the road with these words: " A crude, zigzag, hill-and-dale roadbed, with a shoddy track, and cheaply built and insufficient riollitn stock". 4

The Laurens railroad was undertaken by the Laurens Rail- road company with a total stock subscription of $16b,670. To comrplete the thirty-two miles of road in 18b5, the company issued $3b00 in bonds and contracted a floating debt of

180,6KO. The construction was so flimsy that renovation was necessary, almost before completion, to continue the operation of its light train on a fif teer -iile-per-itour schedule.

There is no record . available of any dividends being paid before 1860, because the teaser earnings of thts small enterprise were used for improvemnnts.

The Spartanburg and Union branch line was chartered in

1847 but failed to secure enough subscriptions for organization until loO. The state made several offers of assistance.

The company could not meet the stipulated requirements until

1862 when the stock subscriptions reached t00,000; then the state was called on to subscribe ''250,000 in compliance with its latest offer. The total stock subscription in August

18>4, was $757,260.

4 Ibid., p. 34!b. Competition over the route to be followed by the sixty-

mile partanburg and Union line delayed the start of con-

stru'tion until 183, when the grading of the entire line was

undertaken. in ibo, fo'ty iles of the line were in opera-

tbin, but the company had exhausted its funds. Londs were

offered on the open market but would not sell, except at a

discount of more than twenty per cent. The legislature en-

dorsed the company's bonds, trus enabling it to secure the

neces sary forney for t he Completion of the line in l8bJ-1$59.

Pe tot a l as t was 1,2b0,0 . Traff ic was handled as early

as l8b, but no dividends were pad in the ante-bellum period.

One otter iailroad, the heraw and Darlington, was built in the interior South Carolina bef ore 1860. Cheraw was not financially strong enough to carry through the eighty-five mile projected railroaK project from Cheraw to Conwayboro.

By 1847, tme Wiinigton and ancestorr Pailrocd (Company was b uiIdiata line to run some fort' yMiles south off Sher av, thus decreasing Gheraw's problem by one-half. In 1852, the

Iorth East2rn Railroad Gompany was launched by G(harleston interest to bu1d north fro :nharleston. The city authorities of Charleston offerE dto subs ribe l00,00o in a Ciheraw comyan/ if it would route its road to strike the iluington and Mancihester at a coa 4muon point with the North Lastein. The

Lorth eastern aared to subscribe $25,000 to be paid in transportation. With this encoura geient, the nher'w and Darling- ton iRallroad U mp«N was organized. A'ork on the line bean

, 1-111--l-11-1., :- NOXR -, d 7

Early in 1064 and was ) complied in ovember of l8b, at a

toti cost of ;388,30 exhausting the funds of the comu-

pny. The company did -rot buy any rolling stock but rented

the facilities of other companies. In 1866, a flood des-

troyed a part of tte line. 1o effect repairs and provide

needed water stations and depots, the COupan borroweo

4V',000. tNo dividends were paid brior to 1860.

Agitation for a railroad to connect the port of Wilmin:-

ton, north Carolina, with Manchester, South Carolina, on the

South Carolina Railroad, developed in the early forties. In

Aupust, 1846, a promotinal convention which me t at Marion,

South Carolina, decided to undertake the construction of the pr oject. Durin-g t he following winter hartor were se cured

row the legislature s of North Carolina and South Carolina, and a survey of the route was "a"e.The total length of the proposed route was one hundred eiGhty-five miles, of which, one hundred fifty-one miles were straight running. The country traversed was comparati-vely level and easy to grade, except for one section which crossed the High hills of San- tee . 4The cost of gradi g was estimated at i1,700 per mile.

The total stock subscription in 1851 was %951,000; the state of North Carolina offered to take $200,000 in stock but the offer was declined because of the conditions imposed. Lo finish the railr oad, the lilmington and Manchester Railroad

Company needed ,600,000 whi ch was obtained by the sale of

6 Ibid., pp. 349-361.

W40wwwf Q - 08

convertible bOnds. Construction was pushed as rapidly as

possible through h 18,1 to comtiletion in 1854. Although

freit traffic from the beginning of operation was con-

sidEred &ood, no dividends were declare:] before 1860, because

the earning s had been applied to the retirement of the bonded

debt and the renovation of the line. It is obvious that the road was one of light traffic, serving only local interests, with little hope of developing a role of great importance to the states traversed.

As already indicated, the gap between Florence - the s southern terminus of the Ch eraw and Darlington on the Wilming- ton and 1an chester - and Charleston was closed by the North

Eastern Railroad Oopany. The latter company, sponsored by

Charleston interests, was chartered in 1851 and organized in be bruary 1852. A survey of the route was made in the spring

of 1872, and the one hundred and three miles across the coast al lainwere found to be almost tdevoid of grades and curve s, except across the Santee River and swamp. Tihe estimated total cost, including sixty pound rails and the rolling stock, was <1,240,337. It was estimated that it would require v130,000 to cross the Santee ,River and swarps. Char- leston subscribed 400,000, the banks of that city subscribed

080,000, and the state of South Carolina subscribed a block of securities which yielded >220,000. Individual takings ran the total to $768,150 in 1863, and contractors' takings to

4889,700 in March of 1854. Advancing labor costs caused 839

expenses to exceed the estiztate by 250,000, 'no another

unexpected drain on the company's funds was the high cost

of the right-of-way in and near Charleston. The deficit was

met with seven per cent bonds, which were sold at a ten per

cent discount. Construction was started in 1804 and finished in October of 1857, with 700,000 outstanding in bonds and a floating debt of 4300,000. The state was forced to come to

the rescue of the floundering comPany, endorsing about ,300,000 in second mortge bonds.

The yellow fever epidemic of 1858 prevented the North

Eastern Railroad Company from making normal profits during

that year. Traffic was of necessity light as only one weak

feeder line (Cheraw and Darlington) and one town furnished

traffic. It is true, the road traversed two productive plan-

tation districts, but both were served by water routes which

continued to handle a large per cent of the freight. "On

the ole, the North Eastern Railroad was built as a forlorn

hope to relieve Charleston's decadance. "

Southeastern Georgia posSessed an excellent harbor, but

the country surrounding it was unproductive. In 1826, a

group of promoters acquired a tract of land on this harbor

suitable for building wharves, secured a city charter, and established the pre-sent city of Brunswick. The promoters had

also secured a chartEr for the construction of a canal to the

Altanaha River, but because of financial difficulties this

6 Ibid., P. 355. project failed immediately. By 1834, Boston capitalists

were interested in either the resurrection of the canal pro-

ject or the construction of a railroad. A charter for the

brunswick and Florida Railroad Company was secured, but the crisis of 1837 caused the project to fail. Meanwhile,

southwestern Georgia and northern Florida were developing rapidly and clamoring for an outlet on the Atlantic for their produce. In 1854, the Brunswick and Florida Railroad Company was revived, and late in the year funds were available with

which to undertake the construction of the road. 7

Ia 1647, savannah projected a competing line into the soutvest Georgia area, but the Savannah, Albany, and Gulf railroad Company, in 1855, discovered that the Brunswick and

Florida Company possessed a monopolyof the route west of Way-

cross. The state of Georgia proposed that a third company be organized to build the railroad westward from a junction of the two lines at Waycros0 . Georgia also agreed to sub-

scribe $1,000,000 in stock of the third company when other interests had subscribed .W1,200,000, or a less amount, in

the same proportion. This compromise suggestion was accepted

in November of 1855. Construction by all three companies began immediately. Forty-eight miles of the Savannah, Albany, and Gulf road were completed by October, 1867, seventy-two miles during 1858, and the road finished in 1869, the City

Council of Savannah endors'Ing 4P300,000 worth of the Company's

7 Ibid., p. bsG. 91

bonds for completion. The Brunswick and Florida effected

a junction with the other two lines at Waycross and the At-

lantic and Gulf reached Thomasville about the time of the

outbreak of hostilities in the Civil War. T here are no sta-

tistics available as to traffic or earnings before the war.

Brunswick made an effort to secure part. of the trade of

Central Georgia by projecting a railroad to Macon, but the

Civil War began before it was able to build any roadbed. 9

Railroad construction began in Florida before that territory was admitted to statehood in 1845. During the territorial period many railroad projects were agitated, but only four ever reached a stage of actual operation- the

Tallahassee and St. Marks, two short lines into the interior from St. Joseph, and the shorter Arcadia road.

St. Marks on the St. Marks River served as a port for the rich planting region of Middle Florida and even some of the counties of southern Georgia. This port had no adequate water connection with the interior; the growers.. auled their cotton to tidewater over the miserable trails of the region in wawon trains. It is not surprising that these planters were among the first to agitate for the construction of a railroad. In 1833, promoters were selling shares of stock in a proposed company to be named the Tallahassee Railroad

8 Ibid., p. 223. 9 Phillips, A history of oTranportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 359.

-Vffffiqftvp ,, -- - ., -,", " t - - , - ". , *#wFO"- ,,, .", -a- 21.1. Company.10 Their hopes were not in vain - the Legislative

Council granted a chartEr to the Tallahassee Railroad Company

February 10, 1834. Five months later sufficient stock had

been sold to guarantee the construction of the road. The com-

pany was purely local in character -- the one thousand shares

of stock being held by over one hundred buyers.

On March 3, 1835, the United States Congress granted a

right-of-way through the public domain to the Tallahassee

Railroad Company. This right-of-way was to be sixty feet

wide for the roadbed, with ten acres of land for sites of

depots and terminals. It was further provided that the com-

pany might use timber, stonE, and other materials from the

adjacent public lands. This grant was the first land grant

of any character r made by the Federal government to a rail-

road; however, such grants had been made to assist in the

construction of canals. 1 1

Construction began immediately and was completed to St.

kariin 1837, a distance of about twenty miles. 1 2 The road

was placed in operation with mules as motive power, but in

the latter part of 1837, a steam locomotive was acquired.

An extension was constructed to deeper iater at Port Leon,

10 Jiles' National Peister, Vol. LXIV, p., 403.,

11 V'.A. Martinn, "Internal Improvements in Alabama", Johns iopkins Univ. Studies, Vol. XX, p. 6&. 12 Phillips, A history of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton elt to 1860, p. 359.~ but in 1843, a terrific hurricane and tidal wave destroyed that town- and the railroad extension., St. Marks then became the terminus of the road.

The traffic on the road consisted of from thirty to forty thousand bales of cotton annually and considerable quantities of building materials and fertilizer, which was sufficient to justify the conclusion that the enterprise was prosperous.

Toward the close of October,, 1835, t he St. Joseph

Railroad Company succeeded in placing their line from Lake

imico to St. Joseph Bay under construction. It was reported at this time that two hundred carpenters and laborers were at work and several hundred more were expected from the

North.. An advertisement dated Au:ust 13, 1836,, revealed the fact that two baldwin locomotives were at work on the line.

The road was abandoned about 1840 or 1841; sold for its debts, dismantled, and the rails used in the construction of a Georgia log ging road. 1 3

The rest Florida railroad Company was organized by St.

Joseph interests to construct a railroad from St. Joseph to

Tennessee Bluff on the Apalachicola River, whwre Iola was later located, in an effort to tap the trade of south Georgia for St. Joseph. Construction of this short line was completed 14 in 183. Because this project did not produce the expected

loHanna, o. c.t., p. 188. 14 Niles' National Re-stor, Vol. .LVII, -p. 205. coMmercial activity, an extension to Tallahassee was proposed in the latter part of 1839. During the sunuter of 1341, St. Jose4h was ravaged by yellow fever, and in 'e1 tember, a hurricane continued the work of destruction from which St. Joseph never recovered. ler railroad projects died with her. 1 The Aroadia Railroad Company succeeded in constructing a short line, about six miles lone, froI Arcadia to ensacola

r y. Ihe road was placed in operation by 1840, but continued

to operate for only about one yenr thereafter. 1 6

Agtation for a Florida, Alabama, and &e orgIa railroad

wit iPensacola as the southern terminus dates back to 1833.

By January 3, 1837, the Florida, Alabama and eorgia railroad was under construction. efore tie end of the year it proved another casualty of the Panic of 1837, when the sank of Pen- sacola failed and forced the dishantlinz and sale of the road to satisfly its creditors.

Further railroad construction did not take place in Florida until aft(r the passage by the state legislature in 1852, of the first Internal Improveuent Act sponsored by Senator Yulee. This act provided for a "line of railroad" from Jacksonville to Pe nsacola Bay and from Fernandina to the

Gulf coast (Cedar Keys). These roads were to 'e built by

Hanna, op. 21t.,-P. 170.

Ibid., p. 188. 17 ibid., pp. 170-172. private c companies assisted by the state. It was envisioned

that the state's assistance would consist of bonds for the

purchase of rails and equipment, such purchases constituting

security to the state.18

Two companies were organized to construct the line from

Jac ksonville to Tallahassee: the Florida, Atlantic, and Gulf

Central for that portion between Jacksonville and Lake City,

and the Pensacola and Georgia from Lake City to Tallahassee, with provision for extension westward to Pensacola. Jack- sonville, Pensacola, and the counties of? olumabia, Madison1 , Jefferson, and Leon raIsed 2$500,000 with which to grade the roadbed and lay tie2. ie State issued its bonds to the two companies for the rails and equipment. By 1860, the road was in operation between Jacksonville and Tallahassee and was proceeding with construction toward Pensacola when the Civil

War brought construction to a close.

Tnc blorida Railroad Company was created to construct the railroad from iernandina to Cedar Keys under the same conditions as those under which the railroad from Jackson- ville to Pensacola was being constructed. It was completed just at the outbreak of the Civil War.20

183 Ibid., p. 2b2. 19 Phillips, A Hi story of Transjortation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 360. 20 Hanna, 2 cit., p. 262. In addition to assistance granted under the Act of 1855, t e state of Florida apr rojriate d e iht million acre s of land, estimated at that time to be worth $3,000,000.21 At the outbreak of the Civil

St. Andrews to the Chattahoochee River was undEr construction. in tlorida. The route was partly raded and some of the superstructure built, but all was abandoned before any rails were laid.

in 1853, the harle ston and Savannah-'al road was launched. Charters were quickly secured from the legislatures of South Carolina and Georgia. In the spring of 1854, a survey of the route was cade at the expense of the City of Charle ston. The route was found to be one hundred te-n miles long and over favorable ground by detouring around Port Royal Sound and the network of creeks along the coast. The city authorities and people ofSavannah welcomed the new pro. ject, but the municipality of Savannah did not subscribe for any stock . The city of Charleston subscribed for '260,000, worth of stock and the state of South Carolina subscribed for $270,000. In 185b, the Charleston and Savannah contracted with the Central of Georgia for the use of its tracks between the Augusta road and the Ogeechee canal and of its depot for three years at o10,000 per year, and for three additional

21 Gamble , op.. cit., . 223. 22 lbid.j, .227. 97

0) 7 years, if desired, at V1,000 per year. In 1867, the

state of outh Carolina guaranteedd tie Uharleston and Savan-

nah ( oipany's bonds for t!,000 per mile, enabling the con-

struction to be complete d in N ovember of 1860. The Charleston

and Savannah railroad offer red to haul cotton to Charleston

for fifteen cents per hundred pounds it was thought that

the excellent water freight lines would attract export cotton 24 to Charleston. There are no records of operation available for the period prior to 1860.

A railroad project to connect Atlanta, Georgia, and ontcgorery, ^labama, crosing a rich cotton lantaton region in between, was agitated in the early forties. Because about ninety Miles of tie route lay in each state, it was decided to organize two coa.hnies for ti construction of the line. The state of Georia chartered the Atlanta and VWst

Point Railroad Comipany, in 1646, to build the portion of the line lying in eorwlia fromu Atlanta to West Point. The topo graphy ot the country was such that the survey was comparatively straight . ihe Alab ama legislature chartered the

Western of Alabama ailroad Company about the same tise to construct the Alabama portion of the line between iontvomery and West Point. It was also across favorable terrain and was ne early straight . The pe ople of Montgome ry and of the

24 Phillips, A listor > 1fTransportation in the Eastern Cotton oelt to 16dO, oP. 364. 98

territory to be served by the Western of Alabaila were enthu-

si-astic about the railroad, and proceeded rapidly with con-

struction. The state of Alabama also rendered financial

assistance, and by 18&0 the eighty-eight and one-half miles

of railroad were comPleted at a cost of 21,286,209.26 The

Atlanta and est Point Railroad Company was unable for several years to secure enough stock subscriptions to begin

work, chiefly, because of the indifference of the town of

La Grange. By a sales campaign in 1849 and heavy subscrip-

tions from the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, enough money was raised to construct the road from Atlanta to Newman.

By 1852, money was available to continue the road through

La Grange to a junction with the Western of Alabama at West

Point in 1863. The Atlanta and "est Point used six and one- half miles of the iacon and Western line for entrance into

Atlanta at a rental of 93,000 per year. These railroads passed through the heart of the cotton country of Georgia and

Alabama and soon had a profitable trade. Dividends rose to eight per cent and left comfortable balances with which the companies siade improved ents until 1860.

As the network of railroads in the Estern Cotton Belt and the Tobacco Region began to take shape in the middle

25 Vm. F. Switzler, Report on Int. Commerce of U.S., p. 443. 26 Ibid., p. 442. 27 Phillips, A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p. 366. fifties, it was observed that by building some connecting links, an "Air Line " route from the eastern cities to New Orleans could be formed, skirting the Blue Ridge on the east, and shortening the best route then available by some two hundred miles. Two companies were formed to build these connecting links into Atlanta, the $outh Carolina Air Line and the Georgia Air Line. The Georgia company was chartered in the early part of 18b6 and opened its subscription books with a grand flourish in July of that year. By 1858, 2750,000 had been subscribed but this amount Aas not enough to build the proposeC section. In 189, grading 'was started at Ander- son, Touth Car olina. In the s ame year Colonel L.P. Grant

transferred his holdings from the "Air Line" to the Georgia

Western Railroad Company and used his influence successfully to secure the withdrawal of the subscription of the city of Atlanta fromn the "Air Line" project. The "Air Line" did not recover from this blow before the outbreak of the Civil War caused the comPlete abandonment of the project. 2 8 The Georia westernn Railroad Company Aas chartered in P8 6, to run due west from Atlanta, Georgia to Jacksonville., Alabama, a distance of eighty miles, penetrating a cotton, coal, and iron producing region with the prospect of forming a link in a route from Atlanta to Memphis and Vicksburg.

The city of Atlanta subscribed -300,000 worth of the stock and, as a result, killed a project to construct a railroad

2 d . 100

fr ot Mariletta to Jacksonville. On June 21, 1860, the Geor- gia RaIlroad and Banking QomApany subscribed for 250,000 in

stock provided 800,000 was subscribed by other interests, but later it wit'drev the subscription pending further

developments. Construction contracts were never executed, since the Civil War brought new railroad construction in the South to a halt. 9

Then the Georgia Railroad Company launched its plan to

build a railroad penetrating to the Tennessee region in 1835, th e leading spirits of Knoxville, Tennes see, determined to build a from line that city to meet the Georgia company at the eorgia-Tennessee boundary line. The Tennessee legislature granted the promoters a charter which led to the organization of the Hiwassee Railroad Company in 136. Being assured by the Georgia Railroad Company that it was their intention to press on with their line toward Tennessee, the

i assee iiailroad Company, aided by a heavy state subscription, spent nearly a million dollars in trading their route, only to find the Georgia comp any delayed d. The delay was fatal to the Hiwassee company; it went bankrupt in 1845 under a load of debt. The project was revived in 1848 as the East TennesseE and Ce orgia Railroad Company. Track laying began at Dalton, Georgia, on the Vestern and Atlantic in 1850. By the close of 1862, eignty-t'o miles were in operation. The The discovery of copper, near Ducktown, stibulated traffic.

Ibid., 37J-372. 101

Construction procee,ded slowly, reaching Knoxville in 1856.30 The coImpany now turned its attention to the construction of a branch line from Cleveland to Chattanooga and to the ret- pvation of the main line. On June 1, 1858, the total cost of one viudred forty miles of line in operation was 43,795,440 of Ni 1ch 90,726 had been paid from the net earnings of the ro od; 41,b 79,8'2 were outstanding in debt,.3 rom this time onward Prosiects were bright for the East Tennessee and Geor- gia, connections having ben '-ade with Virginia on the east end and with Nashville and Memhis on the west. The ulue Rdge ailroad Company was a final effort of South Carolina interests before the iar to revive the transmontane Louisville , Cinc i'nati, and Charleston project. The rout e pr oposed was to extend from nnd Erson, South Carolina through hab-un Gap, thence along the course of the Little Ten- nes e Rive r across the panhandle of iort h Oarolina, the nce deflecting northward to iinoxville, with a westward branch to Chatt aiOQ. The' first half of the one hundred nin-ety-five miles betveen AndE"rson and :noxville was through very rough Count rt. y. surve-y calle for'tirteen Lunnels, one of which was 5,00 feet long. ' tsall amount of construction on the prop ose d route 'lad be en Oac'odllis e d by te1 endle t On Lailr oad zclmpavy wfic2aDeen aobed by h t1hle idge Coi 2,any,

Jase a Cu r t is alla h, Ed ., The outt' in t ebuLld in M "f) ation, Vol. V, P. 361. 31 nillis SA History of TransortatiOl in the eastern Cott on Uelt t o1_360, p . 375. Charters were secured in 11-1852 from the four states tr versed, The companies formed under these charters promptly

assined 1 all their franchises and resources to tie South Car- olina blue hidge railroad Coupany. State aid was promised y Iennessee and South &iroli na, substartlal aid was pledged by the city of QCarleston, and it as hoped that thc counties along the route would provide soBe assistance. In the fall of 183, the company ade a contract 'with Anson Bangs and company of New York for the building of te road. The Blu Gtide Company be camle suspicious that the Bangs Company was irresponsible and canceled the contract, at which time it was found that the more difficult portions of the work had been neglected. New contracts were let and the work pressed to the end of the company's resources. The legislature of South Carolina declined to grant request s for aid in 1858 and 185j. The coMpany went bankrupt after building only fifteen miles of usable railroad even though over one million dollars

had been spent ox preliminary construction. The construction of the main arteries of rail transporta-

tion, with their Bminor branch he s, :-ave the Eastern Cotton Belt a more satisfactory transportation system. However, in 1860, there were areas that were almost as isolated as they had been, because no highway system existed. Even with the short comings of its railroad systems, the Eastern Cotton 3elt possessed the greatest mileae, the wost completely developed, the most

Ibid., pp. 375-380. 103

econoically built, ard tne most efficiently operated railroads In tie outh before 1860. All other regions of the

South were con-iected witdh the Eastern Qotton Belt, and Geor- fa became the keystone of the southern transportation system.

The new city of tlanta became the ,ost important railroad center in the region and aS such was of great military value to the Condederacy during the (dvil War. because of its value to the South, Atlanta became one of the prime objectives of Union military plans. CHAPTER IV

RAILROADS OF THE TOBACCO REGION OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA

Throughout the history of the United States, the Tobacco Region has contributed much to the leadership, wealth, and culture of the nation, When the era of the development of rail transportation opened, the region was in the forefront of the movement. As the Baltimore and Ohio on the north and the Charleston and Hamburg on the south pushed westward, the promoters of the Tobacco Region projected a north and south line between them and also three westward lines, one of which made connection with the Mississippi Valley by way of the Blue Grass Region railroads.

The first cars to be drawn on rails in the South were those on a tram-road constructed about 1810 or 1811, which was located on Falling Creek about ten miles from Richmond,

Virginia. It was about one mile long and was used to transport powder from a mill to a magazine , using horses f or motive power. It is believed that this was the fourth such road built in the United States.1

1 George William Fisher, A Comparative History of Certain Phases of ar Railroad Constu_ on,Financn-k anW3Adminis- tration in England, , France, Germany, and the United~States, p. 25.

104 105

The first railroad in the Tobacco Region was the Peters. burg line built by the Petersburg Railroad Company which received its charter from the legislature of Virginia, February

10, 1830.2 The route was over favorable terrain. It connected navigable water at Petersburg, Virginia, with Weldon,

North Carolina, just below the falls on the Roanoke River.

Connection was made also with Gaston, North Carolina, by means of a branch line. The purpose was to draw the commerce of eastern North Carolina, and particularly of the Sound Country, to Petersburg.3 The specifications for the construction of the track differed in minor details only from those used in the construction of the Charleston and Hamburg railroad in

South Carolina. The gauge adopted was four feet eight and one-half inches.4 The exact length of, the main line cannot be determined, as it is reported by contemporaries as being from fifty-nine miles 5 to sixty-three miles,.6 The branch line to Gaston was reported as being eighteen miles long, making a total of about eighty miles of railroad. Early in 1830, the citizens of Petersburg "subscribed the sum of $326,400 towards

2 William H. Clark, Railroads and Rivers, p. 114.

Almon H. Parkins, The South, p. 170.

4William F. Switzler, Report on Internal Commerce of the United States, p. 36.

5 Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. IV, p. 289. 6 Switzler, a. cit., p. 36. 106

the proposed railroad", 7 By December 2, 1832, thirty miles of line had been constructed and were in operation, using the loco.* motive "Roanoke " which on that day pulled a thirty-ton load into Petersburg. Two English locomotives, the "Liverpool" and the "Pioneer" were in service by April 13, 1833.9 The line was completed before the end of 1833.10 The total cost of the enterprise was 01,411,762,1 1 of which amount the state of Virginia had subscribed about three-fifths. 1 2 The passenger rate was published as five cents per mile per person and the freight rate as ten cents per ton per mile.13

Before the Petersburg Railroad Company completed its line, a charter was granted to the Chesterfield Railroad Company by the legislature of Virginia for the construction of a short railroad from the coal mineson Falling Creek to the head of tidewater at Richmond, a distance of thirteen miles.4This line was constructed for the sole purpose of moving coal from the mines to the water-borne lines of transportation and was not a common carrier.

Nilest National Register, Vol. XXXVIII, p. 389. 8Ibid., Vol. XLIII, p. 241.

9 Ibid., Vol. XLIV, p. 98. 10 Switzler, . cit., p. 36.

II Ibid., p. 20.

12 Ibid., p. 22.

13 Niles' National Register, Vol. LI, p.109. 14 S.H. Holbrook, The Story of American Railroads, p. 23. 107

By early 1831, the progress'westward of the Baltimore and

Ohio railroad toward Harper's Ferry stimulated the people of

Winchester and the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley in

Virginia to organize a railroad company for the purpose of building a thirty-two-mile line to serve their area. A charter was secured from the legislature of Virginia on April 8, 1831, for the Winchester and Potomac Railroad Company.1lb The state of Virginia took a little more than a third of the capital stock and made a liberal loan to the road. The road formed a junction with the Baltimore and Ohio at harper's Verry in 1867, following a route from winchester to Charlestown, thence to Halltown and on to Harper's Ferry, crossing the Potomac River by means of a viaduct. The total cost of the line was 4906,353,l7

This short road was the only road built in Virginia before

1860 that was not a part of a "system" designed to transport her products to her own ports for export. An extension from

Vinchester to Stanton was surveyed for construction, but the outbreak of the Civil Vvar prevented its construction. This extension would have given t h e Winchester and Potomas a connection with the "system" via the Manassas Gap railroad.

The construction of the Petersburg and Roanoke railroad to

Weldon, North Carolina, roused the commercial interests of

1 Switsler, LL cit., p. -20. T 16"G.' Poussin, "American railroads", North American review, Vol. LIV, p. 454. 17 Switzler, 22. cit., p. 20.

Rpm". WWWAROMMMIN - - - . -', 108

Norfolk and Portsmouth to action to save the valtiable Sound commerce they had been enjoying. A charter was granted by the Virginia legislature,, March 8, 1832, to the Portsmouth and

Roanoke Railroad Company empowering it to build a railroad

from Norfolk, Virginia, by way of Portsmouth to Weldon, North Carolina. Fifty-nine miles of the eighty-mile route lay in

the state of Virginia. 9 Early in 1833, the city of Norfolk added a 469,000 subscription to the private subscriptions held

by the company. The state of Virginia promised to subscribe for two-fifths of the stock when the other three-fifths had 2 0 been subscribed. The specifications for the track, like those of contemporary lines called for a strap-iron rail spiked to heart pine scantlings laid on cross-ties embedded in the earthen roadway, except in those places where it was supported by trestle-work. The gauge adopted was four feet eight and one- half inches. Construction reached Weldon in 1836. The first locomotive was the ten-ton "Raleigh" manufactured in England. Minimum passenger fare was fifty cents and no parcel was accepted for freight for less than twenty-five cents. Passenger fare was five cents per mile, lumber went for seven cents per mile per ton, and general merchandise, properly packed and labeled, was charged at the rate of four mills per mile per one hundred pounds. 21

18 Ibid., p. 20.

19 Ibid., p. 35. 20 Niles' National Reister, Vol. XLIV, p. 99. 21 Clark, Railroads and Rivers, p. 116. 109

The total cost of construction to Weldon was $1,798,787, a large part outstanding in bonds. From the first, the road experienced financial difficulties, owing to the sparsely settled country and cost of maintenance.. In 1840, a part of it was discontinued. Cut-throat competition developed with the

Petersburg railroad. By 1846, the Portsmouth and Roanoke

Railroad Company was bankrupt and the portion of the road lying in Virginia was sold at auction to the Board of Public Works,.

After several reorganizations, the reconstructed line to Weldon was opened for traffic November 10, 1851. 2 3 Construction was undertaken on a westward extension after the reopening of the line to Weldon and had reached Clarksville at the outbreak of the Civil War. Efforts to project the road from Danville into

Tennessee failed.

The Richmond and Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company received a charter from the Virginia legislature Feb- ruary 24, 1834,24 for the purpose of building a railroad from Richmond into northern Virginia, thereby drawing the commerce of that region away from Baltimore to Richmond. Within little more than a year after the presentation of the project to the public, the capital stock was subscribed as follows: state subscription $275,000; all other subscriptions $72,000,25

Niles' National ReEist er ,Vol. LIX, p,. 88. 23 Switzler, a. cit., p. 35. 24 Ibid., p. 20,

25 Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. XXVI, p. 505.

Now" IMINIM"low 11 110

The company was immediately organized and a route selected, which was sixty-one miles long between Richmond and Fredericks.. burg plus an extension of fifteen and one-half miles to Aquia

Creek. This route ran transverse to the natural drainage of the country and required some extensive cuts and fills, but no rock formations were encountered. A gauge of four feet eight and one-half inches was adopted. Construction began in

18a-5 and Fredericksburg was reached January 23, 1837,26 and the whole line was in operation by the end of the year. "The first year of operation yielded a handsome dividend" and its enthusiastic stockholders believed that a dividend of fifteen per cent was possible in the "near future . This dream of high dividends did not materialize as the strap-railsa which had been laid became obsolete almost at once, and the recon- str uction of' the road was undertaken. By 1842, the cost of the road was $2,297,932.28 A dividend of six per cent was reported on 1844, and modest returns were maintained until the depression in the latter part of the eighteen-fifties when earnings fell off to the extent that no dividend was declared in 1859. The Richmond and Fredericksburg and Potomac, like all the Virginia roads, suffered from inferior management, resulting in failure to pay dividends that would compare with those paid by the Georgia roads which were operating on

26 Switzler, f. cit., p. 59. 27 Niles' National Register, Vol. LIII, p. 195. 28 Switzler, . it., p. 20.

wk 11

rates only one-half those charged by the Virginia roads-.

Another company, the Falmouth and Alexandria, had been chartered to build a railroad from a junction with the Rich- mond and Fredericksburg and Potomac at Falmouth to Alexandria, only a short distance from Washington across the Potomac River.

The panic of 1837 brought the project to an end and it was not revived before the Civil War.

The first common carrier railroad company actually to complete a line into Richmond was the Petersburg Railroad Com- pany, chartered May 14, 1836.29 The charter fixed the capital stock of the company at $685,00030 for the construction of a railroad from Richmond to Petersburg, a distance of about twenty-five miles. The route lay over terrain that was favorable to railroad construction and, like most of the lines built in the tidewater belt., was nearly straight. The greatest engineering problem to overcame was the bridging of the James River at Richmond. The specifications for the track "embodied the latest developments of railroad engineers" up to that time, but differed little from those used in the renovation of the Charles* ton and hamburg. The gauge adopted was four feet eight and one- half inches, being that used in England and becoming popular in 31 the United States. The road was placed in operation February

13, 1838,32 with the usual celebration. The cost of the road

29 Clark, Railroads 'and Rivers, p. 114. 30 - Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. XXVI, p. 505. 31 Switzler, 2a. cit., p. 55. 32 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. X, p. 577. 112

was reported to be ,106,90333 of which amount the state had

supplied $865,00034 in stock subscriptions and loans. It will be noted that the state's interest in the road exceeded the

capital stock of the company by $200,000. The cost per mile

of the road was approximately $44,276, which was about twice

the average cost of Southern railroads per mile before 1860. Furthermore, it will be remembered , the line was not built through as difficult terrain as some of the later roads nor of

so expensive materials. Bad management and lack of knowledge

of fundamental principles kept earnings low when other roads of its age were prospering. By 1859, however, the Petersburg

and Richmond was one of the three Virginia railroads that paid a dividend. Its earnings' for that year were six per cent. 3 5

The Virginia Central railroad, from Richmond to Covington,

Virginia, had its origin when the Virginia legislature charter-

ed the Louisa Railroad Company February 18, 1836, to build a railroad from Richmond to Louisa.3 6 Beginning at Hanover, where a junction was made with the Richmond and Fredericksburg

and Potomac, the route extended westward up the valley of Little

River to Louisa, thence to Gordonsville -- a total distance of thirty-nine miles. The line was completed in 1838.37 The Louisa railroad, like its contemporaries, was first laid with strap-rail,

33Ibid., Vol. XXVIII, p. 345.

4 Hunt merchants azine ,Vol. XXVI, p. 505. 35 DDe Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVIII, p. 726. 36 Switzler, ,_. cit., p.20,

37 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. X, p. 577. 113

which proved unsatisfactory almost immediately. dost of the earnings of the company were spent in renovation of the roadbed and replacement of obsolete equipment during the first years of its existence. The Louisa was built as a local enter. prise to serve local needs with state assistance to the amount of two-fifths of its capital stock -- all typical of early railroad construction in the South. With the passage of time, it was apparant that the role of the railroad in serving local needs was incidental, and that its major function was that of a trunk line carrier along strategic routes. As a result of this change and the fortunate location of the Louisa railroad, it became a link in a proposed trunk line penetrating central Virginia. On March 5., 1849, a new company was chartered, the Virginia Central Railroad Com- pany, for the purpose of building a line from Richmond to Cov- ington, Virginia, as a part of a trunk line to the Ohio River,.3 8 This charter provided for a capital stock of $1,817,300 of which amount the 39 state subscribed $1.094,800, and for the purchase of the Louisa road by the Virginia Central. Another small company, the Blue Ridge Railroad Company, had been chartered to build a 16.25-mile line from the Louisa across the Blue Ridge. The route of this line involved one

38 Switzler, , . cit., p. 20. 39 Hunts Merchants Yjag azine, Vol. XXVI, p. 505. 40 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XIII, p. 87. 114

of the major engineering feats in the South before 1860 the excavation of a 4,273 foot tunnel through the Blue Ridge.

The specifications for the tunnel called for a grade ascending

seventy feet to the mile, a height of twenty-one feet, and a maximum width of sixteen feet. Construction began on the tunnel in 1850, and was completed in 1857, without shafts, at a cost of $464,000.41 The Blue Ridge company was also consol- idated with the Virginia Central by the end of 1851.42

The first new construction undertaken by the Virginia

Central was an extension of the old Louisa road from Hanover

Junction into Richmond. The Virginia legislature gave aid both by the issue of bonds and by purchase of stock. In May,

1859, the road of 213.5 miles was reported completed at a cost of 6,582,370.43

In 1852 the earnings were nearly six per cent on the investment.4 4 Like many of the Southern roads, the Virginia

Central used its earnings to help in further extension of the line. However, in 1859, it was one of the three Virginia railroads to declare a dividend, though a small one of only four

and one-half per cent. 4 5 In the meantime , the Virginia legislature had chartered

the Covington and Ohio Railroad Company to build a railroad

41 Henry M. Flint, The Railroads of the U.S., p. 24.

42 De Bow's Commercial Rew, Vol. XII, p. 30.

Ibid., Vol. XXVI, p. 591.

Switzler, p. cit., p. 63. 45 De Bow's Commercial Revie w, Vol. XXVIII, p. 726.

lww*mwAw"mmw--- 115

from a junction with the Virginia Central at Covington west-

ward across the Alleghany Mountains to the valley of the Green- briar River. Though a tunnel was dug, there is no record a- vailable showing the completion of this road before- the Civil War .4 6

When we seek the earliest beginnings of railroads in Eng..

land, we find them closely allied to the coal mining industry.

In fact railroads were the result of a search by coal mining engineers for an easier, cheaper, and faster means of moving the ever increasing tonnage of coal being demanded by a grow-- ing population and an expanding industry. The same condition existed in the United States. Great beds of coal had been discovered within a few miles of tidewater in Virginia, but their value could not be exploited without transportation. The history of the Bright Hope Railroad was typical of several short railroads that were built to move this coal. The charter for the construction of the Bright Hope was granted to the

Clover Hill Railroad Company February 5, 1841.'4 The route lay between the Clover Hill coal mines and Osborn's Landing on the James River, a distance of eleven and one-half miles. 4 8

The gauge adopted was three feet. Construction was completed by funds subscribed by the mine without any assistance from the state. During the eighteen fifties, extensions increased

46Ibid., Vol. XXIV, p. 225.

Switzler,, . cit. p. 63.

Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. XXVI, p. 506.

AWS*.SAW, 116

the length to twenty-one miles and raised the cost to $310,000. It seems to be worth-while to point out that this railroad was not built as a promotional scheme; that it was built without

state assistance; and that its cost, including the necessary

equipment, as well under the average cost per mile of the majority of the roads built before 1860.

During the legislative session of 1836, the Virginia

legislature granted a charter to the City Point Railroad Com- pany for the purpose of building a railroad from Petersburg to tidewater on the James River at or near City Point, a distance of nine miles,. The required stock was quickly subscribed, more than half of it by the state,. The line was finished in 1838. The annual report, in December 1838, listed twelve offic. ials and employees on the pay roll. The rolling stock consisted of two six-wheeled locorrotives , valued at about $13,000; Twenty- eight freight cars; and one eight-wheel, and four four-wheel passenger cars. The cost of the road and its equipment amounted to $112,752. In the fifties the company was reorganized as the Appomattox Railroad Company and then absorbed by the South- side Railroad Company.

Upon the completion of rail connections with Weldon and Richmond, Petersburg turned her attention to a railroad to the west. On March 5, 1846, the Virgini legislature chartered

Switzler, a , cit.., p. 20. 50 De Bow's Ccmmercial Review, Vol. XXVI, p. 591, 117

the Southside Railroad Company for the purpose of building a railroad from Petersburg to Lynchburg.51 The route adopted by the company followed an almost straight line from Peters- burg to Blackstone, then, making a curve of almost ninety degree, passed through Nottoway, Crewe, and Burkeville and

crossed Appomattox Creek. Another abrupt curve was necessary to avoia the hills around Farmville; then passing through

Farmville, Pamplin, Appomattox, and Concord the route arrived at Lynchburg. From Farmville into Lynchburg, the terrain was rough and hilly, and the route more or less meandered to avoid the more difficult places. The length of the route was 123 miles ,52

Construction got under way in 1851 and by 1859, the 123- mile road was completed and placed in operation. In order to secure a more suitable water terminal, a consolidation was effected with the Appomattox Railroad Company. The opening of the Southside, from Petersburg to Lynchburg, had been effected at a cost of 03,673,635, and the purchase of the Appomattox had raised the cost of the entire project to $3,786,387.53 Of this sum private investors had provided only $270,000; the rest had come from the state of Virginia either directly as a subscription for stock ($805,000) or indirectly as a grant of assistance

51 Switzler , f. cit., p. 20. 52 Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. XXVI, p. 505.

De Bow's Commercial Review., Vol. XXVI, p. 591. to Petersburg ($323,500), and in loans or guaranty of the bonds of the company, to the extent of about two million dollars. The state had spent about thirteen dollars to each dollar of private money spent on the project.

The need for the railroads that were built in the South before 1860 was felt and recognized, almost without exception, for many years before they were completed. The first plan to build a railroad from Richmond to Danville was under consideration in 1836,54 but the panic of 1837 prevented the fulfillment of this early plan. It was not until after the launching of the Richmond and Petersburg, Richmond and Fredericks- burg and Potomac., and the Louisa railroads that the Richmond and Danville project was again undertaken. On March 9, 1847, the legislature of Virginia chartered the Richmond and Dan- ville Railroad Company for the purpose of building a railroad between the two cities.55 The capital stock of the company was fixed at $2,000,000 of which the state was to subscribe

$1,200,000 when other sources had subscribed $800,000.56 In November, 1847, it was reported that the voters of Richmond had, by a large majority, decided to subscribe for $200,000 worth of stock to be paid for by a municipal tax.57 Private subscriptions met the requirements of the charter and the

Niles' National Register, Vol. LI, p. 160. Switzler, 2. cit., p. 20.

Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. XXVI, p. 505. 57 Nilest National Register, Vol. LXXIII, p. 166.

"sm"OR.------I,---"- o-O -10 - 119

state gave its maximum subscription.

The route recommended by the engineers and adopted by the company extended from Richmond in a westward direction to

Midlothian; then bearing southwestward, crossed the Appomattox

River and passed through Amelia, Jetersville, Burkeville, and

Meherrin to Charlotte Court House; and thence to Drake's Branch in a reasonably straight line. From Drake's Branch the route bore southward, crossing the Banister River just above its mouth to the valley of the Roanoke River and turning up the valley, followed it to Danville. The total length of the survey was 140.6 miles. 5 8 A gauge of four feet nine inches was adopted for the road.

Grading began at Richmond on the first section, and the company set up its shops at that city. The company decided to build its own rolling stock, the first locomotive being built in Richmond in 1850.59 Difficulties of getting rails delivered and of raising money were the most serious obstacles that delayed work. The company was able to complete its railroad to Danville by 1858. At this time it applied to the legislature for $200,000 with which to build an extension from

Danville to a junction with the railroad systrm of North Caro- v lina.60 This contemplated extension was not built before the

outbreak of hostilities. The total cost of construction and

58 De Bow's Commercial Revie w, Vol. XXVIII, p. 345.

M.rxy Newton Stanard , Richmond, Its People and Its ory p. 134. 60 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXIV, p. 227. 120

61 equipment of the completed line was $3,588,653.6

The activities of Charleston on behalf of a transmontane railroad in the middle eighteen-thirties stimulated activity in Virginia, about the same time, to project a railroad connection between East Tennessee and Virginia. The Lynchburg and Tennessee Railroad Company was given a $200,000 appropriation by the legislature in 1837,62 but the panic, which paralyzed the economic system at this time, killed the project. A decade later, when the economic system had recovered, the project was revived and on March 24, 1848, the Virginia and

Tennessee Railroad Company was chartered to build a railroad

from Lynchburg to Bristol on the boundary between Virginia

and Tennessee . At Bristol a junction was contemplated with

the East Tennessee and Virginia railroad to Knoxville, which

had been chartered on January 27, 1848. A junction at Knox-

ville with the East Tennessee and Georgia would permit a con-

nection with Chattanooga. By 1860, this connection permitted

connections to Memphis, New Orleans, Mobile, Nashville, Louis-

ville, Atlanta, and all of the other important centers of the

South. Connection was madc between the Lynchburg and Tennes-

see with the Southside railroad at Lynchburg and the Virginia Central at Gordonsville.

The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Company was chartered

with a capital stock of $3,000,000 of which, the Board of

61 Ibid., Vol. XXVIII, p. 345.

62 Niles' National Register, Vol. LII, p. 115. 121

Public Works of Virginia subscribed $1,800,000 in 1849.63

Total subscriptions subscribed by other sources amounted to

$1,148,800.64 The engineers reported that the best route lay almost due west from Lynchburg, crossing the Blue Ridge between Bedford and Troutville, thence southwest to Roanoke, thence westward seven miles to Salem, sixty-two miles from

Lynchburg. From Salem the route turned southwestward following the valleys lying between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny

Mountains to Bristol on the Virginia-Tennessee boundary. The total length of the route was reported to be 209 miles. 6 5

Work got underway at Lynchburg in 1850. It was necessary to excavate a 450 foot tunnel near Lynchburg. Trains were in operation on fifty-eight and one-half miles in February, 1853.

The road reached Bristol September 30, 1856, at a total cost of $7,190,550.66

The figures on the following page are taken from the report of the Board of Public Works of Virginia to the legislature

of that state relative to the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad

Company for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1858.67

63 Ibid., Vol. LXXV, p. 206. 64 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVI, p. 338. 65Hunt's merchants mane, Vol. XXVI, p. 505.

66 Switzler, . c2kit., p. 20.

De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVI, p. 339. 122

Actual amount paid by state on subscribed stock $1,740,000 Actual amount paid by others on subscribed stock 1,123,598 Preferred stock subscribed by state . . . , . . 500,000 Preferred stock subscribed by others . . . . . 55,000 Amount loaned to company by state ...... 1,090,000

Expended for grading, masonry, etc. . . . . $,058,366.78 Expended for rolling stock ...... 599,366.66 Discount on bonds ...... 318,874.53 Interest and exchange paid ...... 463,529.40 Profit and loss account ...... 10,726.43 Counterfeit money, etc...... 92.00 Miscellaneous and other expense . . . . . 195,581.05 Repairs to road, bridges, etc...... 415,131.24 Repairs to cars since January 1857 . . . . 25,614.35 Expended for fuel, etc. since September 1856 98,701.77 Train expense since September 30, 1856 . . 84,293.63 Paid Negro hire ...... 38,917.17 Paid for livestock killed, etc...... 11,205.66 Paid state on account of loans ...... 385,006.92 Cost of branch lines ...... 249,450.75 Total,4,834.3Y

There is no record of any dividends having been paid by the company to its stockholders before the Civil War. In fact it appears that the company had still outstanding, in 1859, a floating debt of approximately $417,000. An examination of the report in 1858 does not indicate that the net revenue, before 1860, would more than pay the necessary expenses and retire this floating debt by the close of this period of study.

Three days after the Lynchburg and Tennessee received its charter, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Railroad Company received a charter from the state of Virginia to build a railroad from Lynchburg to Alexandria six miles from Washington, D.C., which gap was closed by the six-mile Washington and Alex- andria Railroad by 1859. The route deemed best for the Orange and Alexandria was a great half-moon arc from Alexandria through 123

Union Mill, Manassaa Junction, near Bull Run, crossing the

Rappahannock River at Kelley's Ford, passing by Culpepper Court House, crossing the Rapidan River in a straight line

into Orange, a total of 88.4 miles. In order to hold the subscriptions for stock from Warrenton and Fauquier County, it

was decided to build a branch line from the main line at War-

renton Junction to the town of Warrenton 9.1 miles long,. 6 8 In

1849, an extension from Orange to Gordonsville for a junction with the Virginia Central was decided upon and the necessary

amendments to the charter were secured. By the end of 1852

the branch line to Warrenton was completed; 6 9 at the end of

another year, the Rappahannock was bridged and track laying was well past Culpepper Court House;7 0 and completion of the

road to Gordonsville was achieved in 1854.71

In the meantime another amendment to the charter had been

secured in 1853 to permit the Orange and Alexandria to extend

its line from Gordonsville to Lynchburg and to effect a junction with the Virginia and Tennessee at that point. The route

selected for the Lynchburg extension ran parallel to the South- west Mountains from Gordonsville to the valley of the Rivanna

River, turned westward up the valley and crossed the river just

be fore entering Charlottesville. From Charlottesville the

68 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVIII, p. 345. Flint, 2. cit., p. 370.

70 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XV, p. 643.

71 Flint, 2R. cit., p. 370. 124

route turned southwestward paralleling the ridges in an almost straight line into Lynchburg, making a total distance of sixty miles from Gordonsville.

During May, 1859, it was reported that the Orange and

Alexandria had 123 miles of line in operation at a cost of $3,010,97.72 Final completion of the line was achieved in

January, 1860. The total cost of actual construction of the

157.5 miles plus equipment was $4,339,375.74

On January 27, 1848, the Tennessee legislature authorized the incorporation of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad

Company and empowered it to build a railroad from Knoxville to Bristol through the region east of Bay's Mountain, but rejected a proposal to issue $500,000 in state bonds for the benefit of this road. This was discouraging, because the building of this road would be difficult and too expensive for the limited resources of the region through which it would pass.

The promoters of the road, however, after some hesitancy, were encouraged to organize the company and begin construction by the realization that soon the region between Knoxville and

Virginia would be the only gap in an important through-line of roads between the Lower South and the East. The East Tennessee and Georgia was nearing completion to Knoxville and Virginia, in 1849, insured the completion of the Virginia and Tennessee by subscribing to its stock. Strenuous and successful efforts were

72 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVI, p. 591.

73 Flint, M. cit., p. 370.

74De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVIII, p. 345. 125

made to secure, sufficient stock subscriptions to the Last

Tennessee and Virginia to permit its organization on November 21, 1849.

Great difficulty was experienced in locating the road.

Finally, it was located to run south of the Holston River,

through Greeneville and Jonesboro and on to Bristol on the

boundary between Tennessee and Virginia. Great difficulty

was met also in financing the road. It was difficult to se-

cure subscriptions and even more difficult to collect the in-

stallments on the stock. Knoxville was inclined to be lukewarm. Most of the support came from Greeneville and Jones-

boro. It was in Greeneville, in 1850, that the Rail Road

Journal began its publication; the first publication in the United States devoted exclusively to the interests of the

railroad industry. Some of the counties gave financial aid

and finally the state granted $300,000 in bonds during 1852

to be used in the construction of bridges. The road had been designated in its charter as being entitled to aid under the

acts of 1852 and 1854 whereby, as the specified twenty-mile units of line were completed,,, loans up to $10,000 per mile

could be secured from the state.75 Even with this aid the

directors were forced to issue mortgage bonds, subject to

heavy discount, to pay the contractors. Stock was similarly

used when it would be accepted. As a last resort the directors

borrowed money on their personal responsibility.

75 John Trotwood Moore, Tennessee, the Volunteer State, Vol. I, p. 447. 126

On March 30, 1851, grading began near McBee's Ferry on the

Holston River. 7 6 On July 4, 1855, the day Knoxville celebrated the completion of the East Tennessee and Georgia to that city, the laying of rails on the section of the East Tennessee and

Virginia between Knoxville and McBee's Ferry was begun. On

February 23, 1856, the first train ran from Knoxville to New

Market, and by the following July trains were being operated to Russellville, about fifty miles from Knoxville.

In the fall of 1856, the Virginia and Tennessee was completed to Bristol and it was now possible to bring rails to the northeastern end of the East Tennessee and Virginia and undertake construction from both ends of the route. Progress was slow, however, caused partially by the panic of 1857, and the difficulty of grading in the Bull's Gap region. On March 20, 1858, the first train reached Greeneville from Bristol and only an eighteen-mile gap separated the two ends of the road. This gap was closed May 14,1858, when President Cunningham drove the last spike with appropriate ceremonies completing the most direct route from Chattanooga to the cities of the East. 7 8 When the route of the Orange and Alexandria railroad was permanently located, the people of Strasburg in the Shenandoah

Valley began preliminary steps toward the construction of a branch line from the Orange and Alexandria into the Shenandoah

76 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XIIp. 330. James Curtis Ballagh, editor, The South in the Building of the Nation, Vol. V, p. 363. 78 Phillip M. Hamer, Tennessee, A History, Vol. 1, p. 451. 127

Valley. The legislature chartered the Manassas Gap Railroad

Company and subscribed for $90,000 of its stock in 1849.79

The engineers selected as their starting point, a point on the

Orange and Alexandria railroad, afterwards known as Manassas Junction, some four miles south of the bridge over Bull Run.

From this point their line ran almost due west to the valley of Broad Run, thence up that valley in an almost straight line through Thorofare Gap in the Bull Run Mountains, continuing some six miles to a point where it was necessary to begin a horseshoe curve, curving southward to an apex at Salem and returning to the base line, thence curving westward and passing through Manassas Gap in the Blue Ridge., and cr ossing the South Fork of the Shenandoah River just above its mouth.

From this point the route continued westward along the valley of the North Fork of the Shenandoah, crossing that stream into Strasburg. In the meantime, it was decided to extend the railroad up the Shenandoah Valley to Harrisonburg. The engi.e neers continued their survey up the west side of the valley of the North Fork of the Shenandoah passing through Woodstock,

Mt. Jackson, and on to fHarrisonburg. The route of this exten-

sion was more favorable to railroad construction than the see-

tion from Manassas Junction to Strasburg. The total length of the survey was 103 miles. 8 0

79 Niles' National Regist er,Vol. LXXV, p. 206. 80 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XIII, p. 87. 128

By September 30, 1856, the capital stock of the company had been raised by the legislature to $2,800,000 of which the state had subscribed $1,404,050, the city of Alexandria $350,000, the counties and towns along the route $200,000, and privaVe investors $386,050.81 On the same date it was reported that the sixty** three miles of line from Manassas Junction to Strasburg had been completed and that work was in progress between Strasburg and

Woodstock. A summary of business was also given as follows: 8 2

Receipts from passengers . . . 24,165 Receipts from freight . . . . 76,031 Receipts from mail ...... 2,479 Total receipts 0102,675 Expenses of operation . . . . 48,402 S54,9273 Less freight charges . . . . . 23,568 Profit 30,705

By 1859, only thirteen more miles had been added to the miles in operation on September 30, 1856, and the cost of construction stood at $2,843,403.83 The report f or 1860 showed that no further construction had taken place, and that the end of the usable line lacked twenty-three miles of reaching Harrisonburg.8 4

On March 17, 1851, the Virginia legislature chartered the Norfolk and Petersbiurg Railroad Company to build a railroad from the port of Norfolk to the rail center of Petersburg some eighty-one miles northwest of Norfolk.85 Becausd Norfolk

81 Ibid., Vol. XXI, p. 404.

82 Ibid., p. 403. 83 Ibid., Vol. XXVI, p. 591.

84Ibid., Vol. XXVIII, p. 345. 85 Switzler, op. cit., p. 20. 129

already had an indirect rail connection with Petersburg, many private investors doubted that the direct connection was a sound investment. Furthermore, Petersburg was not enthusiastic about this new road. It was felt that it could not add to the commerce of the city and would serve to carry western trade away from the port facilities of Petersburg. Several years elapsed before sufficient stock was subscribed to enable the company to proceed. In the meantime, a survey of a route was made. Beginning at a point some five miles west of Suffolk on the Portsmouth and Roanoke railroad, a direct line was surveyed to Petersburg over the coastal plain. A forty-five mile section was the longest stretch of straight railroad track built in the

South before the Civil War. In March, 1858, the Board of Public

Works reported that the grading of the entire route was completed; that all bridges and masonry were finished in a substantial manner; that the rails were "laid half-way from Norfolk to Peters- burg"; that the "ties, iron, spikes, etc.tt had been bought for the entire line; and that "engines, cars, and freight trains." had been contracted for, The Board of Public Works recommended that the legislature grant a loan of $250,000 to the Norfolk and

Petersburg with which to complete the line and place it in oper- 87 ation. The loan was granted. By May, 1859, the eighty-one- mile road was completed. In 1860, the cost of the road was

86 DeBow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXIV, p. 226. 87 Ibid., p. 228. 130

given as $2,353,857. 8 3

As Richmond became the concentration point for a large part of the commerce of Virginia, through the extension of railroads into the interior, her port facilities on the James

River became crowded. A short rail line to West Point on the

York River was projected as a relief measure. A charter was granted by the legislature to the Richmond and West Point

Railroad Company January 31, 1853.89 Stock subscriptions were as follows private individuals $197,200; the state $297,800.

The route was found to be "direct over comparatively level country, and favorable: to construction". The report, as of September 30, 1856, gave the following breakdown of the money expended to that date for construction:90

For realestate ...... 23,032 Land damage ...... 30,596 Gradation ...... 18642 Total expended 7T6

Early in October, 1855, a writer in De Bow's Commercial

Review recognized that the intense sectionalism that was developing in the United States might lead to civil war and, pointing out the military value of the unfinished road, urged the state of Virginia to hurry its completion. 9 1 Construction proceeded, but not at a rate to indicate any realization of urgent

88 Switzler, E. cit., p. 20. 89 Ibid.

90 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXI, pp. 402-404.

91 Ibid., Vol. XIX, p. 449. 131

or imminent military need, The 38.3-mile road was completed by 1860 at a cost of 41,055,286.92 It is interesting to note that the Richmond and West Point was the only road in Virginia built with state assistance within its estimated cost during the entire period to 1860. The estimation exceeded its actual cost by $1,242.

One other railroad project was completed in Virginia before the outbreak of the Civil War. The legislature chartered the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad Company March 15,

1853, for the purpose of building a railroad from Alexandria to Leesburg in northern Virginia.93 Within two years the stock was subscribed, the company organized, the route selected, and contracts for construction let. The route, in the valley of the

Potomac River, was reasonably straight, and did not present any great difficulties to the builders. The gauge adopted was four feet. Construction began February 16, 1855, and three years later the road was reported open to traffic. 9 4 The cost of the road totaled $980,00 . 9 5

The Board of Public Works reported in March, 1858, that an extension of the line to a junction with the Baltimore and Ohio near Piedmont was contemplated. In 1860, it was reported that

41.& miles of line had been completed, but there is no record

92 Switzler-,p cit.p.20. 93Ibid

94 Ibid., p. 70.

De Bow t s Commercial Revidw, Vol. XXVI, p. 591. 132

to indicate that a junction with the Baltimore and Ohio was achieved bef ore the outbreak of the Civil War.

The following summary of the miles of railroad completed in Virginia, at five year intervals, has been complied from the available information and is thought to be reasonably accurate:

Ye ar Mile s Ye ar Miles 1830... ()1850... 384 1835 ... 93 1855... *852 1840 . . . 147 1860 . . .1,599 1845 ... 348.7

Comparison of these figures with those of other Southern states reveals that Virginia ranked second in miles of railroad completed during the decade of 1850-1860. The principal reason for this more than average activity was the liberal aid offered by the state to railroad companies. The table of statistics on the following page will reveal the extent of aid granted by the state. These figures show that of the original capital necessary for railroad construction in Virginia, the state provided about seventy per cent; either in stock subscriptions, loans, or endorsement of bonds. The figures do not reveal a true pie- ture of private interest in the roads, for the amount of city and county subscriptions cannot be determined ffrom the infforma- tion available. It is believed that not more than fifteen per cent of the capital outlay came from private sources. This lack of private capital in the roads and the political aspects of the state's interest in them resulted in mismanagement and high rates.

Complaints were common and would have received more' attention had it not been for the sectional struggle going on at this time. 133

to (0 0 to 0 to 01) Vo vi to L*- 0 0 O Lf% toU) 0F) 00 SOi LO to rl CO a%) 0 to t) V) 10% Lo H0 a H t LO 04 0% Go co co Co (0 a to (t0% (aS H CQ(0 co to (I o cd I e-I 0% 0n esk Q% 0 '4 toft (0a H to a OF) to to to OS H- ft 44 0% 0-1 (0 004 H to 0-% tO 0% t t

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O S3 4PIV4) ~ 0 W p 0C

00 % to0'-)H0 o 4CVaOCS0 r0 0 -i CO 04%-1g 14 .-. C4 ~C - 134

The history of railroad construction in the North Car- olina portion of the Tobacco Region is contemporary with that of the Virginia portion and is divided in this study only to eliminate any confusion that might arise in discussing the state aid features in their history, because each state evolved an independent aid policy. Furthermore, as the construction is studied by states in chronological order it is possible to ob- serve the development of the aid policy.

The first railroad company to receive a charter from 1orth Carolina was the Fayetteville Railroad Company in 1830.96

Three others were chartered in 1831-1832 and no less than ten charters were granted in 1833-1834, one of which, the Exper- imental Railroad Company, built the first railroad in North

Carolina.9

During June of 1831, the capitol of North Carolina burned.

It was to be rebuilt of stone secured from a quarry about one and one-half miles from the building site. For the movement of this stone it was decided to build a railroad. Consequently in 1834, a charter was secured for the project. The total length of the road was 2,200 yards. The June 28, 1834, issue of the Raleigh Register reported the cost of construction to be $2,700 or $2,100 per mile, The Halifax and Aeldon Railroad Company was incorporated

96 Charles Clinton Weaver, "Internal Improvements in North Carolina", Johns Hopkins University Studies, Vol. XXI, p. 77.

Hugh T. Lefler, North Carolina Histor,, p. 236. .135

in 1833, for the construction of a short line from Halifax on the Roanoke River to Weldon. The Halifax and Weldon was merged with the Wilmington and Raleigh which was chartered in 1836 to build a railroad from Wilmington to Raleigh. In 1838, the route was changed to run from Wilmington to Wel- don on the Roanoke River. This change was made so that a connection with the Petersburg and Weldon and the Norfolk and Weldon railroads at Weldon might be effected, 9 8 The route, lying in the tidewater belt, was favorable for railway construction, but was not as straight as it could have been, because of the change of terminus from Raleigh to Weldon. The specifications for the track were typical of the time -- strap-rail on heart-pine stringers. The gauge adopted was that used in Great Britain -. four feet eight and one-half inches*.9 9 Three-fifths of the stock was subscribed by private individuals and the state of North Carolina took two-fifths under the authority of an act passed by the legislature in 1836. Construction got under way in 1837, due principally to the interest of Governor Dudley.100 The road was completed in 1840. This road, typical of those completed about 1840, was immediately faced with extensive repairs and the replacement of the unsatisfactory strap-rail, antiquated locomotives,

98 Weaver., 2. cit., p. 82-83.

Lefler, . it., p 237. 100 Guion Griffis Johnson, Ante.-Bellum North Carolina, p.24. 136

and rolling stock. By 1850, the total cost of the road was near three million dollars. .

The completed road was 161 miles long and at that time was the longest railroad in the world. 1 0 2 By the time the

Wlmington and Weldon reached Weldon, lines in Virginia had been completed between Weldon and Petersburg, Petersburg and

Richmond, and Richmond and Aquia Creek north of Fredericks- burg. Although there were no track connections between the roads, it was possible to make the entire journey by rail by changing cars at the various termini. 1 0 3

In 1852, the road paid a dividend of six per cent and a like amount in 1854, constituting all the payments made during the period covered in this study. The fact that this road lay entirely within the same economic area foretold that there could be no interchange traffic and that such traffic as existed would be local. Potentially, the road was strategically located to become an important link in a north-south trunk line, but that development came after the Civil War.

The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad Company was chartered in 1835 and was able to start construction in 1836, at about the same time that the Wilmington and Raleigh began its line. 1 0 4

The charter empowered the company to build a railroad from

101 Weaver, 20 cit., p. 84. 102 Johnson, o. cit., p. 24.

103 Clark, Railroads and Rivers, p. 114.

104 Lefler, 2. cit., p. 237. 137

Raleigh to Gaston, the present town of Thelma. The route was originally surveyed through Warrenton, but "plantation owners, fearing that their slaves would be made ill by fear of the trains" 1 0 5 forbade the building of the road through the town and it was curved to miss the town. The state guaranteed bonds to assist the company and accepted a clause that in lieu of foreclosure on these bonds, the state could take 5,000 shares of stock in the company. 1 0 6

lost of the capital which resulted in the organization of the company was provided by capitalists of Virginia. Con- struction got under way in 1836 and the road was placed in operation to Gaston in 1839. Total cost of the road was

$10600,000, of which amount the state had subscribed $600,000. In the meantime, the Wilmington and Raleigh had secured permission to build to Weldon and the Weldon and Gaston Rail- road Company was chartered to build a connecting link between the lines. The Raleigh and Gaston absorbed this little company and with state assistance of $300,000 in bonds completed the eighty-five-mile road from Raleigh to Weldon. 108 The March 24,

1840, issue of the Raleigh Register carried an account of the completion of the road and the arrival of the fist locomotive.

105 Clark, Railroads and Rivers, p. 116. 106 Weaver, O. cit., p.86. 107 Caroline E. IvacGill, History of Transportation in the United States before 1860, p. 465

108 Veaver, O. cit., p. 89. On June 17, 1840, seven hundred guests were present to spend three days celebrating the comletion of the line with dinners, dances, and railroad excursions.109 Raleigh now had rail connections with Norfolk, Wilmington, Petersburg, and hichAmond, and the town of Weldon had become an important railroad center, being the terminus of four railroads in 1840. The cost of the

r oad was 01,343,380.44 110 which quickly climbed to '1,600,000, because of the necessity for immediate renovation and replacement of obselete equipme nt. Of this amount North Carolina had assisted the com,_any with 80O,0O0 in oonds.

Tie line fell upon evil days, for in 1848 a journey from Gaston to Raleigh was described in these words: "Aid dust and smioke and constant breaking down, the whole day was consumed in passing over the e ighty miles 'between the hamlet of Gaston and the 2 3tate Capitol.fttl Shortly after this was written the company failed to meet its obligations and the line wa3 sold under foreclosure. The state of North Carolina was the purchaser and undertook extensive repairs beginning about 1848 and continuing until the state was able to sell the road in 1852. In 18b4, a six per cent dividend was paid and this modest return was earned there-after during the period of this study.

Niles' National Register, Vol. LVIII, p. 24b. 110 Lefler, op. cit., p. 237.

p. 8J. 112 Weaver, o cit, Ibid., p. 88. 139

A short branch line to the Roanoke and Gaston was chartered as the Roanoke Valley Railroad by the legislature of

Virginia with a capital stock of $430,000. Individuals subscribed for $30,000, Clarksville $20,000, Norfolk $70,000, and the Board of Public Works of Virginia $310,000. The grading and superstructure was completed and the road placed in operation during March, 1855, at a cost of &444,132. The company did not buy any rolling stock but entered into a contract with the Raleigh and Gaston to operate its equipment over the line for fifty per cent of.the receipts.

A glance at the map will reveal that such railroads as had been built in North Carolina up to this time had been north and south lines. The western part of the state was particularly desirous of being connected with the coast. Beginning in 1849, the state gave aid to four railroad companies building east- west lines. The first of these, the North Carolina Railroad

Company, was chartered January 27, 1849. The course of the road was from Goldsboro on the Wilmington and Raleigh to

Charlotte, the northern terminus of the Charlotte and South Carolina railroad. The most important communities lying on the route were Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, and Salisbury.

The capital stock was fixed at 3,000,000 of which amount the state was to subscribe $2,000,000 after $1,000,000 had been subscribed by other sources. The state reserved the 140

right to appoint the directors of the road. 11 During the same

session of the legislature an Internal Improvements Act was

passed for assisting the construction of railroads in the state. The North Carolina Railroad Company could, if need be, secure

further assistance under this act. Construction began immed-

iately and by 1856, the line was completed, a distance of 223

miles, proudly called "the longest railroad in the world".114 For the completion of the road tax-exempt bonds for $350,000 were issued in 1856. This road handled more traffic than the

other North Carolina roads and did not have the financial difficulties suffered by the earlier projects. In 1860, dividends

amounted to $270,000, or nine per cent. 11 5

In 1852, the legislature chartered the Atlantic and North

Carolina Railroad Company to connect Beaufort Harbor with

Goldsboro. 1 1 6 This line constituted another section of the centrally located east-west line. The legislature continued the liberal assistance policy which it had instituted in 1849.

By 1860, the eighty-five-mile section was completed and in operation. A report of its finances is not available. Also in 1852, the legislature chartered the Western North

Carolina Railroad Company to connect Salisbury on the North

Carolina railroad with the French Broad River in the vicinity

113 Weaver, _2. cit., p. 91. 114 Johnson, . cit., p. 25. 115 Weaver, op. cit., p. 92. 116 Johnson, . cit., p. 25. 117 Ibid.

opopup M-. "WANOWWAVOW 141

of Asheville. The legislature continued its assistance policy with this road and construction had reached within five and

one-half miles of Morganton by 1860.118 The line was continued to Asheville during the Civil War. As the line was not opened for traffic before 1860 there are no statistics of operation. One other railroad company was chartered and succeeded in building a part of its line in North Carolina before the Civil

War. In 1854, the legislature chartered the Wilmington and Rutherfordton Railroad Company to build a railroad from Wil- mington to Rutherfordton. This line was also an east-west line in the southern portion of the at ate passing through

Lumbert on, Moosneck, Rockingham, Wade sboro, Munroe, Charlotte, and Lincolnton. Construction had reached Rockingham by 1860.

Jefferson Davis' map of Civil War operations in Georgia and South Carolina show the line completed to Rutherfordton during the War .

The following table will show the growth of railway mileage in North Carolina:

TABLE 7

GROWTH OF RAILROAD MILEAGE IN NORTH CAROLINA 1 1 9

YearMile s Ye ar Mile s Ye ar Mile s 1840 53 1852 350 1856 691 1841W68 87 1853 420 1857 733 1849 154 1854 570 1858 849 1850-51 283 1855 582 1859-60 889

118 Ibid. 119 Weaver, . cit ., p. 93. 142

It was estimated that the total cost of the 889 miles of railroad in North Carolina, in 1860, was 1il6,709,793120 or about 020,000 per mile which was well below the average cost of the roads built in the South before 1860. Through stock subscrip-m

tions, loans, and the endorsement of bonds the state supplied

approximately sixty-five per cent of the capital needed for the

construction of the railroads within its boundaries.

The liberal assistance of Virginia and North Carolina to

railroad companies gave the Tobacco Region a railroad system

second only to that of the Eastern Cotton Belt, as measured by miles of road in operation. Of the 2,488 uiles of railroad in

th e region, less than 200 miles could be classified as minor roads of local importance only. Connections existed with the

Eastern Cotton Belt, the Blue Grass Region, and, through them, with the rest of the South east of the Mississippi River. Ai-1

though the transportation system of the Tobacco Region was far

from finished, the decade from 1850 to 1860 saw giant strides made in that direction.

120 Lefler, SL. cit., p. 347. 143

st'

,et

-e

/y ItI

/b wa

1 i

RAILROADS O i THE TOBACCO REGION HAP T1ER V

RAILROADS 0e T BLUE GRASS REGION

As the population of the Eastern and western Cotton

Belts grew and cotton production became, more and more, the specla activity of the regions, the lines of communication to the livestock and grain producing Blue Grass Region became increasingly iportant. "By the early thirties the overland roads and the river ater routes were taxed to capacity and further development was dependent upon the expansion and speeding up of transportation. 4 The successful completion and operation Ox the Charleston and Hamburg railroad in South Carolina revealed a solution to the pressing transportation problem of the B3lue Grass Region. It will be remembered that the Blue Grass Region was more isolated than most of the regions of the South and was deeply disappointed at the failure of the Charleston - Cincinnati and hiwassee projects. As the Georgia railroad system took shsxpe, agitation for connection with It arose. A lance at the railroadap in 1860 reveals three connections from Tennessee to the western and Atlantic at Chattanooga: (1) Nashville and Chattanoca; (2) East

TI , Clark, cBe innilg of the Louisville and Nashville, p. 17.

144 145

2Ten s Zee atInd org.a; and () >35 ph is ad Jh

EP Tennessee aia ea : already been studierda irela-

tion to te railro (s if the astern otton Belt. The other

two will ,oLs.13r w1"ith the ra1ir oat of the Lue rass he

be an shortly aft er the location of chattanoo 5 a as the western te rm i2us the s t erw and t 1Ent ic . This agitation res ulted

iC tIh chtrt &rin. oi t 2 NIS lie a0 atft ano osa ilr

O"I:1nY 0 te lFiisltur of Te n.etsse on DoLbr 11, 1345.

The kharteraro<_%drl for 2 00< shares of sto4k at J.00 er

shar hto"e Iacera on sale the irtat Jonday IJanuar y o- 1-46.

n 4,000 shares had been subscribed with a as paymnt of

fi tcentes per sha, the act thes t - r d as

f cxse. UntIl 40,000 s ware vre sold, the company ias in the hands 01 a board of commissIoneras wo werae eowered to accept

subscriptions, ruake prelimilyary surve ys, and estimate the cost

of constr ic tion. Tch omiy was jiiven autnorlty t o ss-ae

sndC, oscur Ci s at-of-iay by odC mtin. proc eedLZ,

if nece ssar, y and t o pur chase and ow n sLves". he c apit a stock to 1 bperptua liy yexm fro ntaxat.tian, andl tihi pnhy i cal ropertie sof the rati ere to be tax-exemt for twenty

1Urs. -iar sea sor rcei.t could ot rxced tirty-five

dcts > hared pounds or ten cen'-s por cubic fot of bulk

ails? Ationa 6ijster, Vol. LXIX, pp. 39;0. 146

per one hundred miles. Passenger fare could not exceed five

cents per mile.3

The commission ordered the preliminary surveys, and the engineers report was received February 14, 1847. The report

stated that to avoid the difficulty of crossing the mountains between Nashville and Chattanooga, it would be necessary to

loc-te the road so that it would run into northeastern Ala- bama, cross th'e Tennessee River at the present town of

Bridgeport, Alabawa, and then follow the Tennessee River northeastwardly, cross Raccoon Mountain and round the point

of Lookout Mountain into C hattanooga. The length of the route was estimated to be one hundred fifty-two idles. Near Win- chester it would be necessary to construct a tunnel about one- half mile in length. The route was pronounced as practical, and the cost was estimated to be >2,810,000.

In the meantime the fiscal aents of the company had secured stock subscriptions ashollows: from private individuals &580,000; from the city of Nashville .1500,000; from

Shelbyville $60,000; from Rurfreesboro '30,000; and from

Winchester 'j25,000. T he subscriptions from Shelbyville and

Uinchester were conditioned upon teir being located on the railroad or on a branch line. The subscriptions fr ImvIur- freesboro were conditioned on the railroad passing through the

Phillip . Kharer, editor, Tennessee, A iiistory, Vol. I, . 42&. 4 Lbid., p. 340. 147

town. On February 4, 1848, Tennessee agreed to endorse

00,000 in bonds for the company. The city of Charleston,

South Carolina, subscribed for :500,000 worth of stock, and the GEorgia Railroad Coirpany subscribed for 1250,000. By

1851, private subscriptions had increased to the amount of <780,000.

First construction contracts were let on August 1, 1848.6

Work was at first delayed because labor was scarce and cholera broke out among the imported Irish laborers who scattered in every direction with great terror. however, work was not completely halted. ails began to arrive from England in the spring of 18O. On December 27, 1850, the locomotive "Tennessee"t with its tender, one passenger car, and thirteen freight cars arrived, and the train was tried out on a one rile run.

At midnight Pebruary 21, 1861, the heading in the tunnel was blown. The event was celebrated by a candlelighted parade t rough the tunnel in which 700 ladies and ne-tlemen took part.

The first passeng er trair on the road was run as far as An- tioch on April 13, 1861,9 and regular service was scheduled as far as2Wartrace in December, 181. The Tennessee River, at

De Bow's Coamercial Review, Vol. X, p. 46A.

Ibid. Vol. XVI, p. 648; Vol. XVIII, p. 401; Vol. XV, p. 211. 7 Hamer, op. ci, p. 431. 8 Ibid.

John Trotwood Moore, Tennessee, The Volunteer State, Vol. I, p. 446. 148

tne pre sent town o& > idga a;t Alatcma, was reached in tie

latter part of 1852. Considerable difficulty was exp erienced

in bridging the 1ennessee River as well as in completing the

lite into Chattanoopa; it was not until January 6, 18654, that

the work train passed over the last rail. Through passenger

service was inaugurated January 1, 1854.10 This first through serve was short lived. Landslides where the road crossed 11 itaccoon Mountain closed tie line until July, 13b4.

Since the line did not run thro 5,h 8helbyville, a branch

2 line was built from artrace to that town - a distance of nine midlcs In lb8O, the '0inchestcr and Alabama -ailroad

oany was chartered to build a railroad from Winchester on the Nashville and Chattanooga to Alabama in the direction of

Huntsville, Uonstruction bEccan but the company could not complete the line. In 1857, Nashville and Chattanooga took over the project as a branch line. It was completed in 1869.

In l8S), also, a branch line company, the Mcinnville and

'Manchester Railroad company, was chartered to build from

Tullahoma on the iashville and Cattanoosa northeastward through Manchester and TJc;innville. &ork got under way in

1864, and by 18t7 the Nasville and 0 hattanooga was operating' trains on the line. In 1852, an extension of this road was chartered as the southwestern Railroad Company to build to

De Bow's Comercial Review, Vol. XVI, p. 648.

H amer, 2.S cit., p. 432. 149

Danville, Kentucky, but construction did not proceed past

Sparta, Tennessee, before the Civil War. A nineteen mile feeder line from near the tunnel on the Nashville and Chat- tancoga to Tracy City was built by the Sewanee mining Com'Pany for the purpose of developing the coal beds discovered there.

The project was completed in 185b.

x4ro.m 1832 to 1837, newspapers and conventions in the Blue

Grass Region agitated for tie construction of railroads connecting the region with the Atlantic, the Gulf, and the

K wississippi, but te panic of 1837 prevented the development of any of these scieMes. The failure of the Louisville, har- les ton, and Gincinnat i and Hisassee projects was especially discouraging to tne eastern portion of Tennessee. It was not until the late elihteen-forties that serious efforts were again adem to construct railroads in the region. arly in 1850, a bill was introduced into the Kentucky

legislature asking for a charter for the Louisville and Nash-

yulle PaIlroad Company, which was granted on March o, 1850.

The company was free to choose the best route, and to build branch lines. Its capit al stock was set at 3,000,000 with

permit sion to rai se this amount to <4,000,000 should necessity

1 2 art e because of branch line construction. The construction

of branch lines from rolling Fork River to Lebanon and. from a

12 lark, The LBeginnin of the Louisville and iashville, p. 23. 150

point five miles souti ofBowling Green to the TcLnnessee state

line, in the direction of Glarksville and Iremphis, Tennessee, were later provided for13

For that portion of the line lying in Tennessee, the leg-

islature of that state granted a charter on Vebruary 9, 1650.

This charter provided a right-of-way from Nashville through

Guthrie, but stipulated that the road should terminate on the

north bank of the Cumberland river across from Nashville and

should pass through Gallatin. It further provided that

freight should be brought into the city of Nashville by horse-

drawn wagons.1 4

Immediately aftcr the Louisville and Nashville Railroad

Company was chartEred, Congress was asked to ;rant aid from

the sale of public lands. A bill to make such a grant failed

to -ass Congress. Local support was generous. Logan County

was permitted 7by the Kentucky legislature to raise 4300.,000 by

tax for a subscription. Bowling Green indIrectly subscribed

41,000,000 through the fowling Green and Tennessee Railroad

which tiey had organized in 1852 with the expectation of

selling to the Louisville and Nashville if the route of that

company should pass through Boiling.Green. 1 5 Warren County pledged 4400,000 and Robertson County pledged 4200,000, if

Ibid. 14 Ibid., p. 25. 1 Kerr, Joseph G., Historical Develo2ment of the Louisville and Nashville railroad System, p. 1. 151

the route passed throu- those counties. The city of Louis-

vIlle subscribed $1,00O,000, Glasgo q300,000, and ulasgow

citizens 02,00, Vashville 300,000, and Tipton County 16 4,000,000. Total subscriptions amounte2d to j4,b6Z,00.

Of three possible routes, the board of directors

decided to locate the line along the route which subscribed

the most stock, which was by no means an uncommon decision among railroad promoters at that time. In the meantime the legislature of T ennessee relaxed the restrictions as to route and entrance into ashville. The route which was finally selected lay from Louisville, to 6hepardville, Muldraugh's

Hill, tlizabethtown, 2'umf ordville, to Bowling Green in Ken- tucky, and from Bow ling are en t o Gallat in, the nce to Nawhville almost in a dire ct line in Tennessee. 1 7 This pleased the promote rs of bowling Green, and the Luisville and 4ashville absorbed the howling &reen and Tennessee railroad Company.

In the construction contracts awarded April 13, 1853, the specifications for track construction were typical of this time . The guage specified was five feet. Bonds were prepared and sent to London for sale but disturbed conditions of

Europe an politics prevented their sale.

16 Clark, Ihe einngs of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, p. 2. 17 Kerr, Fistorical Development of the Louisville and iashville Railroad System, p. 2. 18 Clark, TahseTinning of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, p. 36. 152

on June 18, 18.3, 3,000 tons of iron rails were purchased

to be delivered in January, February, and karch of 1854, with

an additional 17,000 tons Oupon a contingency indicated by IC the uncertainty of the money market at t .stie ".

Financial difficulties caused a suspension of work until

4ovember 19, 1853, when sufficient money was secured to pay for construction up to June 1, 1864. Other delays occurred, but a junction with the Memphis, Clarksville, and Louisville, which gave a connection with Memphis and the coal beds of western Kentucky, was effected. Some earnings from traffic, a

substantial collection upon SUbscribed stock, a grant of

Louisville bonds, a similar grant from Nashville, sole company bonds, and a lban Prom Tennessee provided funds for continued construction and the purchase of additional equipme nt . Dur ing 186, the Lebanon branch was couple ted. By

November, 1367, one hundred miles of the road were completed and in operation, twenty-seven miles froni Nashville and seventy-four miles from Louisville.20 The section lying between the heads of construction contained the greatest engineEring problems on the route and probably the greatest faced by any railroad in the South to 1860. In addition to the tunnel through Maldraughs Hill there wore numerous long and high bridges to be constructed. It was necessary to

19 herr, istor'cal Dev1opment ofithe Louisville and Ntashville Railroad ystem, p. 2. 20 Ibid., p. 47. 153

bul'Id a bridge 1,000 feet lon; tndJ 114 feet 'iih &t al- drau S hill, nd further souti were the .B"arren, the reen and the Cumberland rivers which had to be bridged.

The first of the great iron bridges was that over the

Green River on the Louisville and 4 ashville Railroad, a structure 1,000 feet long and 116 feet high. It contained about Z10 tons of iron, and cost 165,000. The bridge was becun in April 1857, and was ready for trains on July 1, 1669.

It was, at that tie, the largest iron bridge in the United

On October 8, 1359, the Ke ntucky end of the line was completed and workmen on the Tennessee end were within ten days of finishing tneir work. On October 31, 1659, the first train ran through fron LoUisVille to Aashville.

The completed road, except the iMemphis and Lebanon branches, cost the couboany f7,221,204.91 up to March 30, 1860, and President uthrie stated that the road was not fully ballasted, and that wdes,ater stations, ood stations and other facilities were yet to be constructed at an estimated cost of 150,00.

Upon its opening, the capacity of the Louisville end

Nswvilv e line was estimated at 500 tons of freight daily,

21 1jacolmheir, The Iarch of Comierce", The aen2 of Aieric, Vol. IV, p. 11. 22 Ibid., p. 60. 23 Jotn Leneeds Kerr, The Louisville and Nashville, p. 1. 14

but tie drought which prevailed in the South at this time created a demand for 1,000 tons daily, principally grain. The resulting congestion of the line caused a great deal of dissatisfaction among the merchants of iviemphis and Louisville because they received slow service on merchandise. Also, con-

i :rable caustic coaient appeared in the newspapers relative to the anagement of the line.

1y li49, the citizens of Haywood Couxty and tte tovn o

Crownsville, Teniessee, had contra ted the "railroad fever" and, meeting with other interest d promoters in Memphis, determined to launch a railroad project northward toward

Louisville. At a later meeting a connection with Nashville was deemed more desirable. Virst positive action came on

February 4, 1852, when th e Tennessee legislature o;ranted a charter to the Nashville and 2ennessee railroad Copany to build a one hundred thirty-i ile line between ieipHis and Paris,

Tenne ss . e At about the same time.Louisville interests sent out a party engineers to survey a route to Aaemphis, which they reported to be excellent; almost an Uair line", with no heavy rading, and aiple timber along the right-of-way for the superstructure On the wholE, it seems that tie southwestern part of Tennessee did not favor an extension to Louis- ille at this time, since the voters of Haywood County rejected such a proposal May 23, l8h3.25 A number of charters were

al Clark, The rBetirinning of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, P.60~~. 25 I1bid., p. 1 165

were issued by the Tennessee leIislature for projects north-

eastward from Lempis, giving them privleges of forming

connections vith other lines in the regIon and of consolida-

tion. Most vere promotional schemes. 0ut of these schemes

in thL - aEly ,ictr1-i.fLt$I- casa re orpranized company

calle4->e mpand OhI&iot1-loadJo6,tIa ay, whh lO s0Vte d

f utC J toug; IU',1, hnywood, and Tipton counties f>om

MemhistoPar is.

ebru ary, 1629 working connectioni was achIeve with

tfhe oiLe an0 bi at eam It . ooy 160 one hcunrved ril s

of I 1hei ir Din Opeation, 0eti1e Pinpnis ad t e- nessee River, but the last thirty niles to a final junction with the iemphis, Clarksville and Louisville were not completed until in 1861.

On Parch , 1680, the Kentucky legislature chartered the

ow 1Ig >reen and Tennessee Railroad Company to build a line from a junction with the Louisville andNashville at Bowling

Green westward to Clarksville and a junction with the pro. posed hemphis to Paris railroad. A junction with the Merruphis branch of the Louisville and Nashville at Clarksville was also permitted. In i8tS, by a previous act of the Tennessee legislature, this company became a part of the iremphs and 27 Ohio ailroad Corpany.7 By harch 21, 1361, a junction between oiling Green and Paris via Clarisville was effected.

2o Ibid., 86. 27 Ibid.,P. 0 The history of the final link which connected sem is

and Charleston by railroad began on April 13, 1853,28 when

construction began on the forty-five-iJle Tuscumbia, Court-

land, and Decatur railroad. The route lay around Muscle

Shoals on the Tenneswee River and followed closely the route

of an unsatisfactory canal.29 The track consisted of wooden

striners, five inches square, laid down on cross-ties and

thin bar-iron, three inches wide, laid on and spiked to the

stringers. The cars were ,ulled by horses harnessed between

the rails, one in front of the other,. Relay stations were maintained where animals and drivers were changed, as upon

stagecoach lines. A Stephenson locomotive was tried out on

the line but proved to be unsatisfactory. The line was completed December 20, 1835, at an average cost per mile of

"something less than 4,500". The road was not a paying investment, because there was not enough traffic. In 1847,

the road was sold to the Tennessee Valley Pailroad Cormpany that had also acquired the two-mile Tuscumbia railroad built in 1832.

In 1634, idempphis secured a charter for the Mississippi and Atlantic railroad Qonipany withthe object of establishing a railroad connection between Memphis and Charleston (1) by

28 Niles' National Register, Vol. XLIV, p. 218. 29 Iilliam F. Switzler, Report of' Internal xomrmerce of the United States, p. 443. 30 ,4ile "National L'gister, 'Vol. XLVII, p. 404. 157

buildin& a railroad to Tuscumbia, (2) by utilizing the Tus-

cumbia road to Decatur, (3) by building a raiLtad r

Decatur to a junction with the proposed Georgia roads near

the northwest corner of Georgia, (4) by utilizing the eorgia

roads to a junction with the Charleston and harnbur 6 line at

Augusta, Georgia, (5) and by the Charleston and Hamburg to

harleston.31 Grading began on the section between vemphis

and La Grange, but the panic of 1837 forced construction to 32 stop without any completed line. After the depression

the bankrupt company was una ble to resume construction, and

the charter was transferred to a new company in 1848, which

rapidly completed the line to La Grange.33

I 160, it became apparent in Mceihis, New Orleans, and

Charleston that the western and Atlantic would shortly coa-

plete its line to Chattanooga, leaving only the gap from

Chattanooga to La Grange to be built to complete the rail

connection between Lemphis on the Mississippi River and Char-

leston on tbe Atlantic Ocean. With the intention of closing

this final gap, interests in the three cities secured a charter

for the Memaphis and Charleston Railroad Lompany from Tennessee 34 306 in April l850. It was capitalized for :3,000,000 and

31 R,S. Cotterill, The Old bouth, p. 184. 32 Caroline I. Mac Gill, T-istory of Trnsportation in the United States before 160, .70.

DeDe Bos Commercial Review, Vol. V. pp. 87-88. 34 bid., Vol. IX. 1. 222.

Ibid., Vol. X, pp. 467-46; Vol. XIII, p. 83. 158

received liberal assistance from Tennessee, from Alabama, and

j500,000.from MemphisA 6

The Memphis and Charleston took over the Memphis to La

Grange road, bought the Tuscurbia road in 1851, and proceeded with new construction between La Grange and Tuscumbia.

From Decatur new construction extended to Huntsville and on to a jcuAction with the Nashville and Chattanooga at Winchester in 38 1856. A connection from Huntsville to Stevenson on the

Nashville and Chattanooga was completed in April of 1807. The

11emUphis and Charleston entered Chattanooga by using the Nash- ylle and Chattanooga line from Stevenson to Qhattanooga. 3

Thus was formed an all rail route from eanAs to harleston passing through La Grange, Grand Junction, Corinth, Tuscumbia,

Decatur, huntsville, Stevenson, Chattanooja, Atlanta, Augusta, and mny stations of minor importance. The extension from huntsville to inchester gave a convenient connection for traffic north of Winchester through Nashville and on to Louis- ville. A junction with the iississipdi and Jew Orleans at

Grand Junction gave a connection with New Orleans and the stations in between. A junction with the Mobile and Ohio at

Corinth gave a connection southward to Mobile and northward

36 i coeit 11Kcore,2ct., j. 446. 37 CotterW I, o cit., p. 218.

eLowts_ Conue rcei Re viEw., Vol. XVIII., 263.

Cotterill, op it., p. 216. to the 'outh of the Ohio where connection could be secured

with the Illinois Central' to Chicago. At Chattanooga con-

nection was secured with the cast Tennessee and 'Western

Virginia lines to rtach the cities of the east coast north

of Charleston. At Atlanta connection could be secured to

Savannah and points in between.

The brief sunmary of the possible railroad connections

along the route frot Vemiphs to Charleston points out the

principal objectives of the campaigns in the west during the

Civil War. The capture of Grand Junction, Corinth, Chatta- nooga, or Atlanta would be a major calamity to the military fortune of the South.

A project extendin from Nashvilie to New Orleans was

chartered by Tennessee in 1836, but nothing came of it.

Atain on January 23, 16o2, Tennessee charterd the Alabarna

and Tennessee Railroad Company to join these two cities, but

difficulties in Mississippi caused the promoters to drop the

through-line plan. Construction reached Thompson's Station

August 22, l8b, twenty-eight milcs from Nashville. When the road reached the Maury County line, construction was halted, because 1daury County refused to provide aid to the project.

Two years later (18) this diffuculty was overcome and con-

struction was resumed through the county by way of Columbia

and ount Pleasant rid ;a' comple ted in 1 No further

construction took 1ce before the Civil war.

Shortly before the civil Yar another connection between Nashville and Decatur ivas secured by buildin6 the Central

6outn ern fro1 Qolumbia, through Pulaski, to the Alabama boundary where it iade connection vith the Tennessee and

Alabama Central built nortiWard from Decatur. This route from Nashville to Decatur was over three very weak lines, poorly and cheaply constructed, and with insufficient equipment. It constituted one of the weakest links in the

Southern railroad system, which at its best was not equal to the task shortly to be imposed upon it by the war.

The state of Tennessee was the muost liberal in its aid to railroads of all the &outhern states. At one time

(18b4-1860) the state issued its bonds to railroad companies to the extent of 10,000 per mile of completed road. Most of tie roads in Tennessee could not have been built without extensive staDte aid because the grading and bridging were more expensive in that state than in other states in the

south.

At the end of 1050 ten roads were reported to be practically completed in Tenneslee, the entire group lacking about one hundred miles of construction. This group had completed 748 mIles of lines at a constructIon cost of y29,227,S9b, including? 2,149,350 spent for equipment. The capital stock of the group amounted to k11,390,606 all of which was paid in.

The boded debt was $ll,010,449 which included 8,979,000 derived from the state of Tennessee. Their floating debt amounted to 02,033,60,. 161

even other roads were reported to be under construction

in Tennessee -- 463 miles finished and 486 miles unfinished.

The total cost of construction at that time amounted to

416,660,469 of which amount :1,011,014. had been expended for

e quipmerit The capital stock of this group amounted to

v,726,42b of whIch amount o,410,653 had been paid in. Their funded (ebt amounted to 6,684,786 of which amount ,'2,961,000

consisted of bonds granted by the state. The floating debt

of the group amounted to $<93,908.

The seventeen roads in Tennessee, having a completed

4 4 4 rile age of 1211 rile s, had cost > ,888,36 or about ;37,000 per mile, of which amount ll,940,000 was in form of state bonds issued to aid construction. the avera e aid per mile

Was just under 10,000 per mile.

Although soine early construction had taken place in

Ten:ess, there was no railroad in operation within tie

state in 1L20 except the very short extension of the Western

and Atlantic from Georgia to Ohattanooga on the Tennessee

River. Chattanooga, like Atlanta on the other terminus of

the stern and Atlantic, was brought into existence by the

railroad. In l&0, it was one of the most important rail

centers in the South, having connections with the Ohio River

to the north by way of ashville and Louisville, the issis-

si)JJ. at 4empnhis on the w: t, the Gulf at 1obile and New

40 Ja4es Curt s l eadh,editor, The tout h in the uiloin< of t at , Vo. V, pp. 364-36. 162

Orleans on the south, ant0u8 t t mcost at scvera1 points nor th v raannaf. ot anlv as t importait as a ail cea ter, 2 ut the 0I ning at the ca ieodz and o tnr ianeral

C sr nr-by, ad Lsi byt railroads indicted

thIt t would, in ti1e, become a great inustrial cter.

a 4

0aQ0 \H

g H H I r4 zd Fo

E-

I - E H -0 o3

VH 'I 4

MW CHAPTER: VI

RAILROADS OF ThE WESTERN COTTON BELT EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

The first railroad to be constructed in the Mississippi

Valley, and one of the earliest in the nation, was the New

Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. The charter was granted on

January 20, 1830, which in addition to rights and powers for construction of the railroad granted the rights and powers to construct a harbor and docks on the lake with exclusive rights" to their operation for twenty-five years. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $1,500,000, which might be increased if necessary.1 The route was straight with an ascent and descent of only sixteen inches. 2 There is some doubt as, to its exact length, the figures ranging from four and one-half miles, given by Fortier., to six mile, given by Niles. The road was" opened to traffic in April, 1831. It enjoyed a good trade, because many ships used the Lake Pontchartrain harbor rather than sail up the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Banking privileges were granted to the company in 1836.

Probably the first passenger to be killed by a railroad

I A. Fortier, Louisiana, Vol. III, p. 340. 2 Niles' National Re ister, Vol. XL, p. 281.

164 165

in the South lost his life in an accident on July 4, 1835,

"He jumped out of the cars while they were running at full

speed, his foot got entangled, and he fell under the wheels."3

In a previous accident the train pulled by the locomotive

"Creole" was left unattended a few2 minutes and rolled back- wards off the wharf into water twelve feet deep.4

New Orleans did not at first take a graat deal of interest in railroads. She was served by the great Mississippi River,

and her inhabitants could not believe that any form of transportation would surplant the muddy bosom of "Old Man River".

But the railroad was an interesting inovation and convenient, too, on occasion. Therefore, before 1840 some seven or eight railroads ranging from one and one-half to eight miles long were built in and around New Orleans. This system of connaet. ing &suburban areas with the main city might be called the first street car system developed in the South. De Bow men- tions four of these short lines as follows: Bath, one and one- half miles long; Carrolton, seven and one-fourth miles long;

Orleans Street, one and one-half miles long; and Alexandria and Cheneville., six miles long.5

On March 25, 1831, about one month before the Lake Pont- chartrain railroad was completed, the West Feliciana Railroad

Niles' National Register, Vol. XLVIII, p. 364.

Ibid., Vol. XLVII, p. 83.

5 De Bow's Conmercial Review, Vol. X, p. 577. Company was chartered by the state of Louisiana to construct

a railroad from St. Francisville on the Mississippi River to Woodville, Mississippi. Shortly afterward the state of Miss- issippi granted a charter for the seven and one-half miles

of the proposed road lying in that state.6 The survey of the twanty-three-mile line was, made by United States Army engineers under the authority of an act of Congress passed in 1824. Con- struction was completed before 1840. This road, like several others that were built in various sections of the South, was only of local importance. The freight rate was fifty cents per one hundred pounds and the passenger fare was seventy-five cents, both for the entire length of the line. 7

Another local inland road from Port Hudson on the lississ- ippi to Clinton was begun in the thirties. The total length of the proposed road was twenty-eight miles, but the state of

Louisiana had to assist the struggling company to complete the 8 first fourteen miles by 1839. In 1842, the state granted

$500,000 in bonds for assistance. 9 The enterprise was. never to become important as a part of a system, but the local traffic was sufficient to keep it in existence.

6 Ibid.

Hunt's Merchants Maeazine, Vol. XIX, p. 333. De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. X, p.577.

Caroline E. MacGill, History of Transportation in the United States Before 1860, p7477T ~ 167

The Mississippi and Pearl River Railroad Company was not so fortunate. Agitation for a railroad from Natchez to Canton by way of Jackson began in 1834, continued through 183, and culminated in the chartering of the Mississippi and Pearl River Railroad Company in February, 1836. Construction began at Natchez and was completed to Washington in 1838, and six..

teen more miles were added in 1839. By August 31, 1839, a train was in operation, and the company was building a "splendid

depot" at Natchez, two stories high, 320 feet long and 63 feet wide. 1 0 Two short spurs from Fayette and Grand Gulf of six miles each were being contemplated by those towns, but just at this time the company exhausted its funds. Application was& made to the state for help, which was denied. The order of the state of Mississippi to sell the company's 106 slaves and its iron killed 1 1 the project. There is nothing so unusual about a railroad project failing at this time. However, the states usually made an effort to save those railroads that had progres sed far as as this one had. Mississippi politics had taken an un- favorable- turn toward internal improvements and help was refused at the critical moment.

The most important railroad project conceived in New Orleans between 1830 and 1840 was first chartered as the New Orleans and Nashville Railroad Company, January 30,, 1835, by the legislature

10 Niles' National Register, Vol. LVII, p. 64. 11 T.D. Clark, A Pioneer Southern Railroad, pp. 29-37. 168

of Louisiana.12 In addition to the usual provisions contained

in railroad charters of the period it provide d that the capital stock should be fixed at $6,000,000, with which to construct

the line from New Orleans to the Louisiana-Mississippi bound-

ary and to continue the road to Nashville as soon as the con-

sent of the other states through which it must pass could be

secured. The capital stock was to be exempt from taxation for- ever, and all other property acquired was to be exempt for twenty years.

Before 1835 came to a close, the route was determined to be 565.75 miles long and the cost of the railroad was estimated

to be 0.10,063,946, "including the machinery, depots, water-sta-

tions, ect.tl$ The gauge adopted was five feet six inches "to facilitate the handling of heavy loads of cotton".4 The route

"to Nashville keeps the even tenor of its way -- there being scarcely a hillock to obstruct the level of the vista; and very few marshy spots. Timber is convenient to the route all the way.t6

Early in September, 1835, the New Orleans Globe noted that tthe magnificent undertaking, the New, Orleans and Nash- ville Railroad, is to be commenced immediately, the first fifty miles being advertised for contract". The article also pointed out that when the road was- completed the trip to

12 Fortier, . cit., VQl. I1.I, p. 341. 13 Niles' National Register, Vol. XLVIII, p. 41. 14 b ., p. 130. 15 mido 169

Nashville would require only thirty-six hours. Furthermore., "Should the Virginians determine to connect their contemplated

James River improvement with this work, we may expect to

travel from Washington to New Orleans in four days, with an ease and comfort never before contemplated." 16

But trouble developed in Mississippi since the legisla-

ture refused to grant a charter to the company in that state.

Internal improvements, particularly railroads, had become a "hot issue" in the politics of the state. Governor Lynch of Mississippi favored assistance to this and other railroad projects, but his political foes in the legislature possessed a slim majority and were able to block his program. This bit of doggrel describes the position of the Governor during the squabbles over railroads in Mississippi during the eighteen thirties:

You can and you can't You will and you won't. You'll be damned if you do 17 And you'll be damned if you don't.

However, the Mississippi legislature of 1837, after a close contest, granted the New Orleans and Nashville R&ilroad a 1 8 charter, but the panic of that year brought progress to a halt. In an attempt to help the company to ride out the financial storm, the state of Louisiana granted it a b00,000

Ibid., Vol. XLIX, p. 41. 17 T.D. Clark, A Pioneer Southern Railroad, p. 142. 18 Niles' National tegister, Vol. LI, p. 369. 170

loan.19 The financial crisis proved at last to be the undoing

of the company. In December, 1839, the True American stated that twenty-two miles of the New Orleans and Nashville rail-

road had been completed and that further progress had been

"suspendedtill the meeting of the legislature". 2 The appeal to the Louisiana legislature was fruitless, as well as all

other attempts to secure funds. In 1842, the Louisiana legis-

lature revoked the charter granted to the New Orleans and

Nashville Railroad Company and ordered its property, "includ-

ing the land, roadbed, and track, with all rolling-stock and

buildings", sold to pay its debts.21 There being no other 22 purchaser able to buy the property, the state took it over.

By 1841, "the Mississippi legislature was thoroughly

aroused over the necessity of getting the state transportation

out of the mud" and promptly chartered the Canton and Jackson

Railroad Company to which the merchants of Vicksburg offered

some financial assistance. Construction- could not get under way within the tine limit set by the charter and the legislature, which had been "blowing hot and cold" on railroad projects in that state, was now blowing "cold" and refused to renew the charter. However, in 1861, the legislature again changed its policy toward railroads and renewed the charter

19 Ibid., Vol. LII, p. 64. 20 Ibid., Vol. LVII, p. 288. 21 Ibid., Vol. LXIII, p. 32. 22 Louisiana Historical Quarterly, Vol. XXIII, pp. 220-244. 171

of the Canton and Jackson which began construction immediately (January 2, 1852). The English rails were laid on red cedar ties.23

Although the New Orleans and Nashville Railroad Company was dead and the city of New Orleans had lost interest in the project, some interest did remain in a north-south railroad project, especially in Jackson, IMississippi. About 1846,

Mobile began to agitate for the building of a railroad to the mouth of the Ohio. Northern roads had reached the Mississippi

Valley and it appeared that it would be a matter of only a few years until a route between Charleston and Memphis would be completed. The diversion of trade from New Orleans aroused the active revival of interest in the New Orleans to Nashville project. On February 20, 1850, the Mississippi legislature granted a charter to the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad Com- pany which proposed to build a railroad from Jackson to the Mississippi-louisiana boundary toward New Oreleans. With the

Memphis and Charleston and the Mobile and Ohio well under way, a New Orleans to Memphis railroad was proposed in the spring of 1851,24 and a tax was proposed to meet the cost of construction.

On January 15, 1852, a convention was held in New Orleans; as a result of its deliberations, the Louisiana legislature chartered

hIbdi., pp. 47-48o

24 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. X, pp. 465; 690. 25 Ibid., Vol. XI, p, 77. 172

the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad Company

March 11, 1852. The Mississippi legislature cooperated with

Louisiana by revoking the charter issued to the New Orle ans and Jackson Railroad Company and also granted a charter to the

New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern on March 11, 1852. By permission of the Mississippi charter the company absorbed the

Canton and Jackson in November, 1852. Immediately, the Vicks- burg and Jackson and the New Orleans, Jackson, and Gre at North- ern entered into an agreement for joint operation of the line from Jackson to Canton. The New Orleans, Jacklson, and Great Northern took over the completion of the road to Ganton, and the first recorded through shipment of cotton from Canton to

Vicksburg was dated September 7, 1855. However, the line was not officially completed until June 1, 1856.26

On October 19, 1852, the Mississippi legislature had chartered the Canton, Koscuisko, Aberdeen, and Tuscumbia Rail.. road Company for the purpose of building a railroad from Can- ton to the Tennessee River at Tuscumbia. Negotiations resulted in a consolidation with the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great

Northern in October of 1853.

The route selected for the Newv Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern ran up the Mississippi Valley thirty miles, then deflecting due north, crossed Lake Maurepas, and continued in an almost straight line to Jackson, Mississippi, 180 miles from

26 Clark, A Pioneer Southern Railroad, p. .51 173

New. Orleans. The line followed the ridges, between the streams flowing southward, encountering no steep grades, and necessitat-

inrg no rock cuts. The route lay in a rich cotton belt assur- ing heavy freight traffic. The route from Canton to Jackson was almost a straight line,. The extension to Memphis from Can.. ton was in general as favorable to construction as that from

New Orleans to Jackson, except that it curved enough to con- form to the ridge bodering the Yazoo River valley, 2 7 More. than $3,000,000 in stock was subscribed to the Miss- issippi section of the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great North- ern, but efforts to sell the company's bonds in England failed.

The general law for the assistance of internal improvements in

Louisiana greatly assisted the Louisiana section of the road and permitted heavy private subscriptions for stock in the

Mississippi section to come from New. Orleans as well as from municipal funds.

By 1857, 137 miles were in operation. Early traffic was surprisingly heavy and the line immediately showed a substan-

tial profit. On March 31, 1858, the road was completed through

Jackson to Canton, 206 miles from New Orleans. 2 8

The amount expended in the construction of the road from

New Orleans to Canton, including the right-of-way, real estate, depot buildings, station houses, iron rails, wood and water

27 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. VII, p. 89.

28 Clark, A Pioneer Southern Railroad, p. 82. 174

stations , and labor up to December 1, 1860, was. $5,549,211.81;

for locomotives, cam., tools, and equipment for the machine

shop $1,044,661.20; for grading, right-of-way, and real estate

north of Canton $445,000. The total cost of the road and the

rolling stock as of December 1, 1860, was $7,038,873.01. The company had borrowed $2,645,000 on first mortgage bonds,

$205,000 from the state of Mississippi, and issued bills pay-

able amounting to $735.,355.73. The total indebtedness, as of December 1, 1860, was $3,585,355.73.

The total earnings of the road, from freight, passengers,

and mails for 1857 were $277,088.24; for 1858, $593,093.69; for

1859, $954,951.56; and for 1860, $1,272,862.87. The equipment

of the road in 1860 included forty-*five locomotives, thirty-

seven passenger cars, nine baggage cars, and five hundred and three freight cars.

The northern section of the line from Newi Orleans to

Memphis was, constructed by the Missssippi and Tennessee Rail-

road Company, chartered in 1852. The route lay through De Soto,

Panola, Yallobusha, and Tallahatchi counties. Permission was

granted to connect at some convenient point with the Mississippi

Central Railroad Company's line being built from Canton to the

Tenneasee-Mississippi boundary. The pledge of Grenada to pur-

chase $150,000 in stock if that town was made the southern terminus was accepted. Memphis subscribed $650,000 worth of the

Henry M. Flint, The Railroads of the United States, p. 350. 175

stock. On July 4, 1853, the company was organized. The route chosen was, ninety-five miles long, varying only one -half mile from an ltair-line", and the character of the ground precluded the necessity for expensive cuts and fills. Contracts for materials were let July 1, 1854, construction began in Sep.. tembe r, 1854 and continued without serious interruption. By

1856, the road was completed from Memphis to Hernando, a distance of twenty-three miles, and was placed in operation. A loan from the state of Mississippi, a sale of $200,000 worth of bonds, and a United States mail contract of $100 per mile per year assured the completion of the road. In January, 1859, the road was in operation to Enid, but the last rail was not 30 laid in Grenada until July 20, 1861.0

When the railroad fever broke out in northern Mississippi, promoters around Holly Springs endeavored to interest Memphis in projecting one of its railroad routes through that area, but without success. As the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great North- ern project took shape, the promoters in the Holly Springs area applied to the legislature for a charter to build a railroad from Canton to the Tennessee-Mississippi boundary, which resulted in the issuing of a charter to the Mississippi Central

Railroad Company on March 10, 1852. On March 16, 1852, this charter was amended to subject all lands, over five and within

ten miles of the route, to a two per cent stock assessment, and

30 Clark, A QPioneer Southern Railroad, pp. 107-111. 176

lands within five miles of the route, were assessed five per cent, the property owners to receive stock in the railroad company in return for the tax payments.

The southern division of the route from Canton to Carroll

County, Mississippi, was located up Big Black River to Dook's

Creek, thence straight to the Carroll County line. The northern division was located through Grenada, Coffeeville, Water

Valley, Oxford, and Holly Springs, thence to the boundary between Mississippi and Tennessee. Contracts for construction 31 were let in July, 1853, but local jealousy delayed construction*

Each railroad project operating in Tennessee was required to have a Tennessee charter if it received any aid from that state; therefore, to extend the Mississippi Central to Jackson,

Tennessee, a charter for the ississippi Central and Tennessee

Railroad Company was secured November 30, 1853. The company wished to form a junction with the Mobile and Ohio at Jackson,

Tennessee, in order to form a through connection to the Ohio

River. The gap from Jackson, Tennessee., to the Mississippi

Central at the state boundary was forty-seven and seven- tenths miles long. This route crossed the Memphis and Charles* ton at Grand Junction, Tennessee, and permission was also granted for a junction between the lines to effect connections with Memphis on the Mississippi and Charleston on the Atlantic coast.

On November 30, 1853, the Mis sissippi Central and the

31 Ibid., pp. 85-90. 177

Mississippi Central and Tennessee were given permission to con- solidate and also to form a connection with the New Orleans,

Jackson, and Great Northern at Canton, Mississippi.

Rails for the road were imported from England and most of the construction work was done by the slaves of the planters along the line. By February 12, 1856, the line between Grand Junction and Holly Springs was completed. In 1858, a Junction with the Mobile and Ohio was effected at Jackson, Tennessee, and on January 30, 1860, the last spike in the line was driven. An all-rail connection between New Orleans and Bangor, Maine, now existed3 2 via the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern to

Grand Junction, then via the Memphis and Charleston to Chatta- nooga, then via the East Tennessee and Georgia to Knoxville, then via the East Tennessee and Virginia to Bristol, then via the Tennessee and Virginia to Lynchburg, then via the Orange and Alexandria to Alexandria on the Potomac River., completing the portion of the route lying in the Southern states. Cross- ing the Potomac into Washington, D.C*., rail connections could be secured northward along the Atlantic coast reaching to

Bang or, Maine.

The completion of the Miississippi Central had been effected with considerable state aid. In 1852, Mississippi had granted a loan of $200,000 and in 1854, another of $120,000 at eight per cent. Counties along the route bought the companyts bonds paying for them by taxation. The state of Mississippi also

32 Ibid., pp. 90-97. 178

granted additional aid from the Chickasaw School bonds. Ten- nessee granted aid in the form of state bonds to that section within her borders and subscribed about one-half the capital stock.

The building of the Mississippi Central killed a railroad project from Jackson to Nashville which had proceeded as far as organization of the Jackson and Holly Springs Railroad Company.

The Mobile and Ohio railroad was projected by the Gulf port of Mobile to protect her trade territory from the en- croachments of Charleston and Savannah and to intercept New

Orleans' trade at the mouth of the Ohio River. Later the project was extended to St. Louis and joined with the Illinois

Central to form a project connecting the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico.

Early in April, 1847, a meeting of persons interested in the Mobile and Ohio project was held in Mobile, and a committee of citizens soon reported that the route from Mobile to Cairo at the mouth of the Ohio River was about 440 miles long, with

150 miles farther to St. Louis -- a total of 590 miles. The cost of the road was estimated to be $7,000,000.3

The legislature of Tennessee was the first to grant a charter for any portion of the road and, in accordance with its current policy of aiding railroads, subscribed for one- half its capital stock, which amounted to $ 6 5 0 , 0 0 0 . Alabama

De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. III, pp. 328-329. 179

chartered the Mobile and Ohio for $10,000,000 in early 1848.

It was contemplated that the company chartered by Alabama would purchase all of the companies chartered to build the road, thus accounting for its heavy capitalization. Kentucky and Missisaippi followed Alabama in granting charters, which were an extension of all the privileges of the charter granted by Alabama plus grants of right-of-way. Subscription to stock came in liberally, the company was organized, and surveys begun.

The country which the. route traversed was described as "topographically and geographically favorable to the construction and operation of railroads. It is remarkably level, there are no mountains or large rivers to cross, and the soil is rich, producing abundantly".3 In 1848, two routes were under consideration, designated as the eastern and western routes. The western route was chosen for construction, run ning fr om Mobile, Alabama, to Meridian, Mississippi, to Cor- inth, Mississippi, thence to Jackson, Tennessee, thence to

Cairo at the mouth of the Ohio River -- a total of 470 miles.

During 1850, it was decided to halt the Mobile and Ohio at Cairo and leave the Illinois Central to build the section between Cairo and St. Louis. Also in 1850, Congress passed an act granting alternate even numbered sections, six sections wide, of public land along the right-of-way to the companies.

34 Ibid., Vol. VII, p. 79. 180

This grant amounted to 3,840 acres per mile. It was expected

that this land grant would insure the early completion of the 356 lines and bring Chicago within forty-eight hours of Mobile.

Construction proceeded rapidly for that period. Thirty miles of line were opened im 1852. Four years later 153 miles were in operation and the line was completed to Cairo by 1860, where a connection by ferry with the Illinois Central gave

access to Chicago. Direct rail connection would not have been

possible even though a bridge had been constructed, because

the gauge of the Mobile and Ohio was five and one-half feet

while that of the Illinois Central was four feet eight and

one-half inches.

The counties and their inhabitants along the right-of-way

assisted the road with money and labor. The city of Mobile provided $1,000,000 through taxation of real estate at the

rate of two per cent for five years. Mississippi subscribed $1,000,000 in stock in 1852. Tennessee subscribed $650,000

in 1848. The company realized 450,000 from the sale of town

sites. 37 In 1856, because the company was having financial

difficulties, Mississippi subscribed for an additional $300,000

in stock. 3 8 The land given by Congress was estimated variously

from $3,500,000 to $6,500,000. The value of this land lay

35 Ibid., Vol. IX, p. 551. 36 Hunt's Merchants Magazine, Vol. XXIII, p. 688.

De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol.XIV, p.97. 38 J.B. McMaster,, History of the fPeople of the United States, Vol. VIII, p. 289. 181

mostly in its future development, which accounted for the variation of the estimates. Sufficient private subscriptions were received to bring the total capitalization up to ten million dollars plus the estimated value of the Federal land grant .39

From 1831 to 1838, a host of railroad companies, to most of whom banking privileges; were given, were chartered by the legislature of Mississippi. Had all of these projected railroads been built, the state would have been thoroughly grid- ironed, but only one road was completed -- that from Vicksburg to Jackson. 4 0

Although the Vicksburg and Jackson was- chartered in 1831, so little interest was manifested in the project that it was

1836 before: sufficient stock was subscribed and construction could be undertaken. Even at that date construction would have been impossible had not the planters along the route agreed to take stock in the company in return for the labor of their slaves; used in clearing the right--of-way, grading, and cutting the timber to be used for superstructure. This road was almost exclusively a planter's road, built by them, not only to save time in marketing their cotton but to save their oxen from the task of hauling cotton to the Mississippi River through the deep Mississippi mud.

De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XVI, p. 210; Hunt's MerchantsmMNa ene~~VoT .~9V~p.39 7.

40 Robert Lowry and William H. McCardle, A Hist of Mississippi, pp. 280-281. 182

The forty-six-mile route was almost straight, but it ran transverse to the natural drainage of the area, necessitating a great amount of labor with the crude tools of the time to overcome what were then termed great engineering difficulties.

The track was built according to specifications very similar to those employed on the Charleston and Hamburg railroad. By

1838, a few miles of track were completed, and a locomotive, the "Commercial", built by Baldwin of Philadelphia, and a few cars were placed in service. By 1840, the road was completed to Jackson. This road was built during a period of political strife in the state over a policy of state assistance to railroads, and also during a period of severe depression beginning in 1837. The city of New Orleans had not yet taken an interest in the development of railroads in her trade territory and did not assist in its construction, It was built strictly with local capital and local effort.

Before the railroad from Vicksburg to Jackson was built, the cost of passage from town to town by stage was 10, besides

41 more for two meals on the way; the trip required twelve and one-half hours-under favorable weather and road conditions.

The railway fare was $4, later reduced to $2; the time required for the trip was two and one-half hours. Freight rates before the road was opened were $1.50 to (2 per hundred pounds and cotton was hauled for $4 and Qb per bale. Merchandise was hauled by the railroad for thirty cents per one hundred pounds 183

and cotton for seventy cents per bale.41 During a nine months period in 1843, the gross receipts of the road were $137,117.66, and for the same period the operating expenses were $80,839.82, 42 leaving a net profit of $32,179.84. Earnings at this rate would return dividends of ten per cent to the stockholders.

There is no doubt that the success of this pioneer Mississ- ippi railroad in conquering mud, saving time and money for the planters, and at the same time making a reasonable return on the investment, had a profound efife~ct upon the attitude of the people toward state assistance to railroads. No other railroad built in

Mississippi after this period experienced the difficulties of the earlier projects in securing private and public support.

In 1846., the Mississippi legislature passed an act providing for the building of the Southern Railway to extend the Vicks-. burg and Jackson eastward to Brandon, thence to Selma and Mont- gomery in Alabama for a connection to the Atlantic coast at Sav- annah. The Merchants of Vicksburg, supported by New Orleans interests, feeling that the extension would injure their trade, objected to the project. 4 3 As a result of this opposition, the state constructed only the fourteen mile section from Jackson to Brandon and made arrangements for the Vicksburg and Jackson to operate the extension.

41 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. IV, pp. 454; 598; Niles' National Register.,Vol. XLVII, p. 19. 42 Niles' National Register, Vol. LXV, p. 504.

43De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. I, p. 146. 184

In 1849, the cotton crop failed in the area served by the

Vicksburg and Jackson, but the planters were able to recoup

their losses by exporting 70,000 bushels of corn, saving about

$10,200 on freight by using the railroad to ship a product that

heretofore had had no commercial value. The railroad was cred-

ited with "conferring a value on that which was before not only

utterly worthless, but absolutely an encumberance t 4 This new

development and the fact that the mail was still being carried

by four-horse postcoaches between Brandon and Montgomery45 n- fluenced the legislature in 1850 to offer a $300,000 bonus to

any company that would close the gap between those towns.

It is entirely possible that the Mississippi legislature

would have continued its efforts for an east-west connection

except for the fact that between 1850 and 1860 it was deeply

involved in the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern and

the Mobile and Ohio. These two roads gave the interior of

Mississippi deep-water connections on the Gulf and with the Blue Grass Region.

Another link in the Savannah-Vicksburg east-west line was built by the Alabama and Mississippi Railroad Company.

This section lay between Selma, Alabama, and Meridian, Miss- issippi, and passed through the heavy cotton producing region

known as the Black belt. The promoters secured a charter

44 Ibid., Vol. XI, p. 59.7 Niles' National Register, Vol. LXX, p. 20; De Bow's Commercial Review,"VTol.IX,7pT54. 185

from the Alabama legislature February 7, 1850, 46 and proceeded

with the preliminary survey and cost estimate of the first

section from Selma to Uniontown. The route was almost straight

on this first section without heavy grading except in approach-

ing the Cahaba River and two of its lesser tributaries. Build-

ing a bridge across the comparatively small Gahaba River was

the most difficult problem to be faced along the 30.3 miles.

Most of the support for the company came from Uniontown and

the planters along the route, many of whom expected to pay for

their stock subscriptions by using their slaves as construction

laborers. Mobile and Selma were to deeply involved in other roads to give much assistance to the project. On February 27,

1855, the company secured a loan of $28,963.72 from the state and three years later another loan of $23,178.74 was secured from the same source. 4 7 These loans and the stock subscriptions were sufficient to place the first section of 30.3 miles in op- ertion by 1860, but financial exhaustion prevented any further work before the outbreak of war. The cost of the road was $518,965.48

The need for a railroad from Montgomery to Mobile or Pen-< sacola was recognized early. Such a road would penetrate nearly two hundred miles of rich agricultural land, providing a heavy

De Bow'Ls Commercial Review, Vol. XXVIII, p. 344.

W.E. Martin, Internal Improvements in Alabama", Johns Hopkins University Studies, Vol. XX, p. 71.

De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVIII, p. 344. traffic in cotton in addition to the traffic in merchandise

from the ports to IMontgomery. Between 1836 and 1853 various

companies were formed to connect Montgomery with the Gulf

coast without success. In 1853, the Alabama and Florida Rail- road Company received substantial support from the Montgomery

and West Point49 and by October 1, 1858, the Alabama and Florida had opened a road from Montgomery to Fort Deposit, a

distance of thirty-two miles. On December 1, 1858, the head

of construction was within five miles of Greenville, where it was delayed by slides and cave-ins. By 1860, the Alabama and

Florida had reached the state line 115.6 miles from Montgomery, where it made connection with a section of the road built under a Florida charter into Pensacola. It formed a junction with the Mobile and Great Northern at Pollard for a branch to Mobile, 49.16 miles long.

The rolling stock of the Alabama and Florida consisted of five engines, two passenger cars, two baggage cars, ten box cars, thirty-seven flat cars, ten dump cars, seven repair cars, and one iron and crank car. Two of the engines had been purchased from the Montgomery and West Point and had been built to use wood for fuel.50

The Alabama and Florida railroad was one of the six

Alabama railroads to receive a land grant to assist in its

49 Albert Burton Moore, History f Alabama, Vol. 1, p. 372.

Minnie Clare Boyd, Alabama in the Fifties, p. 85. 187

construction. Although this was a Federal grant, it was ad

ministered by the state. The grant was dated May 17, 1856, and consisted of 399,022.84 acres of land. 5 1

The financial report for the year ending January 1, 1860, showed: 52

Receipts from ir eight and Mail $34,654.74 Receipts from Passengers 24,775.43 $59,430.17 Expenses of Operation 12,626.11 Maintenance of Line 10,901.49 Mainteanance of Rolling Stock 132543.27 37 070.87 Pr OM 22* 93

This small amount of business and the corresponding small

profit is accounted for by the fact that the line was unfinish-

ed and only a small part was in scheduled operation. There is

no record of the payment of a dividend to the stockholders be- f ore the Civil War.

As early as 1819, in a message by Governor Bibb, it was recognized that some north and south means of transportation was needed through central Alabama from Tennessee to the Gulf, but at that time it was a question of turnpike or canal. This project was considered as being a state and national undertak-

ing rather than that of a private corporation.

The idea of a railroad came in 1836, when Selma and other interests organized the Selma and Tennessee Railroad Company 53 to build a railroad from Selma through Dallas, Perry, Bibb,

51 Martin, u"Internal Improvements in Alabama", Johns H.- ki Univeri Studies, Vol. XX, p. 68. 52 Boyd, 2, cit., p. 85. 53 Niles' National Register, Vol. LI, p. 416. 188

Shelby, and St. Clair counties. Work was prosecuted vigor-

ously, and over twenty-seven miles were graded from Selma

through a difficult portion of the route when the panic of 1837 brought it to an abrupt halt.

On March 4, 1848, the legislature of Alabama chartered the Alabama and Tennessee Railroad Company and in 1849 54

granted the same privileges to the new company as those con-

tained in the old charter which had been forfeited during the 55 period of bankruptcy. In October, 1850, various counties and towns along the route subscribed some $923',000, subscript

ions payable in labor totaled $242,000, and a large appropriation was made by the legislature, based on the route chosen

and divided pro rata among the sections. The value of the grading done by the Selma and Tennessee Railroad Company was placed at $60,000. The possible resources of the company amounted to well over one million dollars.56 Organization of the company had been accomplished in October of 1849.

In the meantime the legislature had chartered the Tenn- essee and Coosa River Railroad Company to build a railroad from Gadsden to Gunter's Landing on the Tennessee River. The legislature not only provided for a junction between these two lines, but granted permission for a consolidation of the

54 Boyd, 2. s2i., p. 83.

55 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. VIII, pp. 178-179. 56 Ibid., Vol. IX, p. 218. 189

two companies. Although the route of the Alabama and Tenn-

essee railroad in the valleys of the rivers was very favorable

to the construction of railroads, a part through the mountains

involved some difficult engineering and expensive construction.

Ground was broken in December of 1850, and shortly thereafter

a locomotive, tender, thirteen freight cars, and one passenger 58 car arrived in Selma from Chattanooga. The first efforts of the company were to push the road through the valley of the

Coosa to connect with the Western and Atlantic of Georgia at Rome, Georgia. The length of this portion of the proposed

road was about 180 miles. Taking advantage of the earlier

grading by the defunct Selma and Tennessee 5 9 Lewis Troost,

chief engineer, reported on July 12, 1854, that 55.5 miles of

the road were in operation and explained that excessive rain

and the shortage and high price of labor were delaying factors which had prevented the completion of more mileage. 6 0

As the company completed the various sections of grading, the state of Alabama advanced loans from the state's portion

of funds accumulated from the sale of public lands and ear-- marked for the aid of north and south roads in the state.

These loans were granted to the Alabama and Tennessee Railroad

Moore, Hist ory of Alabama, Vol. I, p. 373. 58 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. X, p. 340.

Ibid., p.573. 60 Boyd, opg. cit., p. 83. 190

Company as follows: 6 1

May 3, 1851 65,961.73

May 5, 1852 62,179.83

April 26, 1855 17,726.47 February 15, 1858 225,000.00 Total ~394,046.81

In addition to these loans, two loans were made to the Ten-

nessee and Coosa River branch. The first loan was made on February 15, 1856, in the amount of $33,513.25; the second

in 1859 amounting to $195,000.62 In addition Selma was granted permission by the legislature to raise $50,000 by taxation to aid the project. 6 3

In early 1855, sufficient iron was received to complete

the road to Shelby Springs, four years later actual construct-

ion had reached Talladega&, 109.8 miles from Selma, and before

the Civil War twenty-eight miles more to Blue Mountain were

finished.64 The total cost of construction from Selma to Talladega was 42,264,468.65

The Alabama and Tennessee was built slowly, gropingly, rail by rail. There was no lack of vision or will, but capi-t tal accumulated slowly in a new country, particularly when

61 Martin, "Internal Improvements in Alabama", Johns Hopkins Universit Studies, Vol. XX, p. 71. 62Ibid., p. 70. 63 Moore, History of Alabama, Vol. I, p. 374. 64 Ibid., p. 373. 65 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVIII, p. 345. 191

that country counted its wealth in acres and Negroes , F66ur-

thermore, Alabama's finances had not recovered from the

collapse of her state bank. Taxes were high and the public

w&s sensitive to any addition to the tax burden. There was a

strong spirit of exploitation rather than development in the

population of the state. In addition, there was ugly sectional

jealousy in the state which coupled with a proverbial "strict

construction" philosophy prevented the state from providing

aid to its railroad projects: to the extent exercised in other states.

About the same time that plans were being formulated

for the construction of the Southwestern railroad in Georgia,

plans were projected in Alabama to extend a railroad south-

westward to Mobile from the terminus of the Southwestern in

Columbus. A preliminary survey revealed the route to be a- bout 350 miles long by way of Union Springs, thence down the

valley of the Conecuh River to near the Florida-Alabama bound-

ary, thence on to Mobile. The first fifty-five miles westward

from Columbus presented the most difficult engineering problems

and most expensive construction because of the hilly country to be traversed; however, there were no tunnels or rock cuts to be made.

By 1853, the Mobile and Girard Railroad Company which had 07 been chartered in 1846 had sold $1,546,225.79 stock subscript-

ions, mainly to citizens of Mobile and of other towns along the

66 Boyd, a. cit., p. 83. 67 MacGill, 2_. cit., p. 473. 192

proposed route,. In January, 1855, Columbus, Georgia, voted a bond issue of $50,000 with which to purchase Mobile and

Girard Company stock.68 On June 3, 1856, the company was allotted 302,181.16 acres of the 1850 Federal land grant to

Alabama to be used in aiding railroad construction. 6 9 Con- struction was started, but proceeded so slowly that by 1860 only 57.3 miles of road had been placed in operation from

Columbus toward Mobile at a cost of $2,000,000. 7 0

Lack of progress on this line can be accounted for by the fact that the Mobile and Ohio together with the other roads of the state absorbed the major portion of the private capital in existance in the state and also by the lack of public aid by

Alabama. It will be noted that Alabama granted no state aid to railroads, serving only as the distributing agent of the Federal government :Land grant of 1850 and of the funds alloted to the construction of roads derived from the sale of Federal lands within the state.

In concluding this brief account of railroad construction in the Western Cotton Belt East of the Mississippi River the following characteristics are apparant. (1) The city of Mobile was the only really aggressive supporter of railroad construction in the area. (2) The railroad projects supported by the city

68 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XVIII, p. 119.

69 Martin, 'Internal Improvements in Alabama", Johns Hopkins Univrsit studies, Vol. XX, p. 68.

70 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XXVIII, p. 344. 193

of New Orleans were supported reluctantly and only in self** defense. (3) Much support for the projects launched in the area came from without the area., notably from Savannah and

Memphis. (4) With the exception of Mississippi, state aid to railroads in the region was much less than that in the other regions of the South. (5) Of all the Southern states,

Alabama secured the greatest amount of Federal aid (indirect) for railroad construction. 194

JK.

tie i

eols

RAILROA~DS D1 Th WLV5 1 iSRai COTTON BE LT ATOF THE Li~I$IIPI RIVER

m C ATER JvII

RAILROADS WEST OF THE TNIISSISIPPI RIVER

The history of railroads in Texas began simultaneously with that Republic. The first Congress of Texas which con- vened in the fall of 1836, chartered the Texas Railroad, Navigation and Banking Company. This enterprise was about as wild as any that characterized the period of expansion and speculation before the panic of 1837. The promoters, all promiinent in the revolution that won the independence of

Texas, seem to have had visions of a sort of Credit Mobilier that would have control of the banking and transportation facilities of the Republic and would have unlimited means for speculation in land and all kinds of personal property.

Not much opposition to the scheme developed in Congress at the time of the passage of the charter bill; however, when its terms were made known during the political campaign of

1837, a storm of opposition and panic arose. It was de- nounced as a monopoly, a hydra-headed monster, and a destroyer of the liberties of the people. As a result of bitter attacks and the hard times following the panic of 1837, the stock was never sold and the whole scheme collapsed. From the vantage point which time has given us, it appears that the "ill wind"

I Eugene C.Barker, editor, Texas Hstor, pp. 551-553.

195

w of the panic of 1837 "blew oodl to Texas in the destruction of this ill-advised venture. Three other railroad charters were granted by the Republic of Texas. The only aid granted to them was their right-of-way across the public domain. Not one of them was ever able to get construction under way.

A feeble attempt was made by the unchartered Harrisburg and Brazos railroad under Andrew Briscoe to begin construction in 1840. Briscoe let a contract for 3,000 ties and advertised to hire sixty slaves with which he did some grading. He secured a charter for the Harrisburg Railroad and Trading Com- pany the following year but the enterprise collapsed. 2

The Texas Constitution of 1845 contained no provision for the encouragement of internal improvements in the state. The only provisions relating to the subject were that no appropriation should be made without the concurrence of two-thirds of both houses of the legislature, and that the state should not be part owner of the stock or property belonging to any corporation. During the first years of statehood some railroad companies were chartered but no construction took place.

As a result the charters were forfeited. The following factors discouraged railroad construction: no subsidies were granted by the state; foreign capital was not attracted by the raw newness of the country; domestic capital was scarce; the population was sparse; the traffic in sight was small;

2 Clarence P. Wharton, History of Texas, pp. 394-396. 3 E,.k~iller., A Financial Hisory of Texas, p. 86. 197

and the distance to be covered was great.

The failure of private enterprise to provide transportation systems for the state before 1852 forced the question of state assistance to the forefront about that time. "The fear that free soil sentiment would take root in Western and

Northwestern Texas added a political motive to the economic 4 one in the agitation for a system of internal improvements."

Several methods were advocated. The first adopted was the donation in several special chartering acts of eight sections of land for each mile of complex ted road. Previously, in 1850, statutory permission had been given cities and counties along the route of the proposed San Antonio railroad to subscribe to its capital stock. San Antonio and Bexar County each subscribed 50,000. These were the only subscriptions by local governmental units in Texas before the Civil War.

In 1852, the state received 5,000,000 in United States bonds in part payment for the cession of northwest territory under the terms of the Compromise of 1850 and for the relin-

quishiment of certain clais against the United States. Prom -

inent among the suggestions as to what should be done with

this money was that it be used for internal improvements.

The four years from 1852-1856 were a period of discussion

of the int ernal improvements problems. Out of these

4C.A. Bridges, "Texas and the Crisis of l8bO", (Unpublished .A. thesis, Department of history, University of Texas, 1925), p. 1. 3.Jr, Reed, A Hstory of the Texas Railroads, p. 90. 198

discussions, three plans for securing a system of internal improvements evolved. One was called the "State Plan"e, which was advocated by Governor Pease. It comprehended a system of railroads, canals, and river Improvements. The railroads were to be built and owned by the state, but leased for private operation. The funds for construction were to be raised through the sale of state bonds. The interest on the bonds was to be met by a direct tax until an amount sufficient to meet the interest should be realized from the sale of the public lands or from the profits on the constructed works. The advocates of this plan thought that it would result in construction valued from twenty-five to thirty million dollars within the next fifteen years. "No argument against the practicability of the plan here presented", said the Governor, can be drawn from the experience of other states which have attempted a system of improvements, because none of them have attempted a system 6 like this". Another plan was called the "Iron Policy" because it propsed that the school funds of the state be invested in railroad iron which was to be lent to the roads.

This plan was the second choice of Governor lease. The third plan was called the "Loaning System". It proposed that the state school funds be invested in the bonds of railroad con- panies. A convention called to meet in Austin on July, 4, 1856,

Miller, o. cit., p. 87. 199

f or the purpose of considering the problem of internal. improvements, in which twenty-six counties, were represented, approved the "Loaning System". It was pointed out that the experience of other states with internal improvement& had resulted in Oenormous& expenditures on unprofitable works,. state debts, repudiation, and finally ruinous taxation".

The re jection of the "State Plan" and the "Iron Policy" was, an attempt to avoid the mistakes made by other states.

As the aftermath of state-wide discussion and the convention of 1856, the legislature enacted legislation whereby each railroad received a donation of sixteen alternate sections of land for evezy mile of completed road, the land

to be surveyed at the expense: of the railroad company. In

addition railroad companies chartered by the state would be

eligible for ten year loans at six per cent interest from

the United States bonds belonging to the school fund, at

the rate of $66,000 for each mile constructed; the loan to be

secured by a first lien upon the property of the company.

While the people of Texas: were developing a policy of

assistance to railroads, the promoterss were going forward with

their plans. As already noted the Harrisburg Railroad and

Trading Company had made some., though feeble., progress aa; early

as 1840. In 1847, General Sidney Sherman became interested in this early enterprise and bought all of the unsold lots of the

7lviller, . cit., pp. 87-90. 200

town of town of Harrisburg, nine miles below the present He Houston, at the head of navigation of Buffalo Bayou. the succeeded in interesting Boston capitalists in enter- was granted to prise, and on February 11, 1850, a charter 8 the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railroad Company.

E arly in 1851, John A. Williams , chief engineer,, arrived

from Boston to- make a survey of the territory to be served

by the company, and to locate the termini and the route. Harrisburg was selected as the starting point and Richmond as

the point at which to cross the Brazos River. The r oute was described as traversing uniformly level ground, without

crossing a stream or even a brook, without encountering any

rock and scarcely any timber. Williams estimated the cost of

building and equiptng the road, including depots, at 47,800

per mile. He estimated the earnings for the first thirty miles to Richmond for the first year to be $80,750 for freight 9 and $13,500 for passengers and mail.

Late in 1852, the first ship load of rails and a locomo-

tive arrived at Galveston, but according to the Houston Tele-

izaS of December 3, 1E52, the locomotive "was injured so as to require extensive repairs during the late storm at Gal- veston'. This locomotive was named the "General Sherman" and

laQked only one month being the first locomotive west of the

Texas Almanac, _18-57, p. 79.

Reed, cit., pp. 57-58. 201

flississippi River. F.A. Stearns of Boston accompanied the locomotive to serve as engineer and master mechanic of the road . Some of the grade had been completed, and track laying began iime diately. On January 14, 1853, the Houston

Telegraph reported that the "Bark Stanley with 330 tons of iron for the Harrisburg Railroad arrived on the 3rd instant".

The report added that two other vessels were, expected to arrive daily with sufficient iron rails to complete the first twenty-three miles of the road. In the same issue it was re. ported that about eighty men were at work grading and laying ties. By August 1, 1853, the first twenty-three miles were completed and the event was celebrated by a barbecue at Staf- ford Point.1 0 Two years elapsed before the additional nine miles were completed to reach Richmond on the Brazos. For the crossing of the Brazos a bridge, completed in 1856, was built on piles only six feet above the water at low stage.

The center section was built on a barge so that it might be removed to permit the passage of the occassional river boats navigating the river. During flood stage, drift accumulated above the bridge as first constructed and additional sections were placed on barges to permit their removal during floods, thus permitting the drift to pass through. As the bridge was approached on each side by considerable grades, it was necessary to hit the bridge with considerable speed to cros& when

10 Barker, . c it., p. 553. 202

it could be crossed at all. This proceedure was a trying

ordeal to the nerves of the passenger. If they so desired, the passengers might cross; the river, on the ferry operated at that point, and many of them did. Strange to say, there was only one accident at this bridge before 1860. In 1860

a train plunged into the river resulting in the death of several persons.II

With the passage of the legislation of 1856 for assist-

ing railroad construction the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and

Colorado Railroad Company applied or a land grant and a loan. In June, 1857, the state appointed an engineer, James P. Hector, to inspect the road to determine whether it was entitled to a loan. He reported as follows:

The grade does not much exceed ten feet per mile. The allignment is less. than one degree with very long tangents although the inter- vention of lakes in the Brazos bottoms has- necessarily rendered the road through the same slightly sinuous. Width of roadbed ten to fourteen feet, embankments no where. exceeding twenty feet, smooth and uniform with proper slopes, Drainage, proper and effective, by lateral ditches and open transverse wooden culverts. Rail -- iron of T pattern and of good quality. Gauge uniformly four feet eight and one- half inches. Equipment, two locomotives, five passenger cars, twenty-eight freight cars, engine house and machine shops, three dwell- ings for employees, two turn tables, four

11 P. Briscoe, "The First Railroad", Texas Historical Association Quarterly, Vol. VII, p. 278. 203

water tanks: cost of road estimated $9,000 per mile. Cost of operating estimated $1,054 per month, 12

P. Briscoe had this to say about the first passenger cars that were used on the line:

They were- no doubt made for street cars and probably employed as such in Boston. They would seat about twenty passengers each and were mounted on four wheels. They were used but a short time as it was difficult to 13 keep them on the track.

In the fall of 1859, Eagle Lake station was opened, and

in the following fall, Alleyton, just eighty miles from

Harrisburg, became the western terminus of the road. It was

the original intention of the company to extend the road up

the Colorado River to Austin but only ten or twelve miles of

grading had been accomplish d toward Austin from Alleyton when the outbreak of the Civil War brought construction to a close.

In 1858, it was noted that the natural course of the route was in the direction of San Antonio, and a charter for a branch line to that city was obtained by the Columbus,

San Antonio, and Rio Grande Railroad Company. The outbreak of the Civil War brought the project to a close in its

organizational stage .14

12 Texas. Almanac, 1859, pp. 219-220. 13 Briscoe, o, cit., p.279. 14 Barker, . cit., pp. 553-554. 204

Although the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado was the first incorporated railroad company to begin construction of a road in Texas, the parent stem of the Houston and Texas Central, the Galveston and Red River Railroad C ompany secured a charter from the state on March 11, 1848, three years before the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado began construction. The charter provided that work must begin within two years and that one hundred miles of line must be completed in the next five years. In 184:9, the company was given an extension of two years in which to start work. In 1850, it was given five years from February 14, 1852 to commence- work and three years from that date to finish ten miles of road. Ebenezer Allen, the chief promoter, was unable to enlist capital for the project in either Galveston or Houston.15

In 1852, the inhabitants of Chappel Hill, sixty-one miles north of Houston, became interested in the projected railroad and held a convention on July 3, 1852. It was through the en. thusiasm and active interest of Paul Bremond that the railroad was constructed despite almost insurmountable obataclea that delayed the start of construction until three years after the Chappel Hill convention. 1 6

In order to avoid the expensive bridging across Galves- ton Bay the company in 1853 got the permission of the legislature to change the terminus of the road to Houston. Another

15 Ibid., p. 554.

16,Reed, . cit., p. 66. 20 5

amendment was secured January 23, 1856, granting the company benefits under the Land Grant Act and the law governing loans from the State School Fund; also the state required that twenty-five miles of the road be completed within six months. A construction contract was awarded immediately to JW, wells

and Company of New York to build the twenty-five miles of line,. This company completed its contract by July, 1856, as evidenced by the annual report of the Galveston and Red Rive.r

Railroad Company dated October 1, 1856. This report also gave the following information:

1. Two locomotives purchased at $10,000 each.

2. Passenger cars cost $4,000 each. 3. eight cars cost $1,000 each.

4. Twenty-three men, freight handlers, woodcutters, and attendants at watertanks and switches were paid $30 per month each.

5. One locomotive engineer was employed at $100 per month; one conductor at $65; one fireman at $40; and two brakemen at $30 each.

6. They operated a mixed train and made one round trip each day on the twenty-five mile line, 1 7

With the completion of the first twenty-five miles of road the Galveston and Red River made application to the state for a $150,000 loan, an engineer, Tipton Walker, wa sent to inspect the line. Walker reported that the road and equipment "are of the best character" and may be termed

17 mid., p. 69. 206

a "first class road with the single exception of bad align-

ment". He found that the iron weighed fifty-six pounds to

the yard and he estimated the cost of the road at $15,000 per mile. 18

On September 1L, 1856, the legislature gave its consent for the Galveston and Red River Railroad Company to change its

name to Houston and Texas Central Railroad Company, and about

the samn time the state loan which had been applied for was.

approved. The Houston and Texas Central received the money 19 April 1;, 1857, and immediately began work. The town of

Millican, thirty miles beyond Hempstead was reached by the

outbreak of hostilities.20 In 1858, plans had been made for

a continuation of the road through the Indian Territory and

also a branch line through Waco in central Texas, but neither was undertaken before 1860. Eighty miles of line were in operation in 1860.

When the legislature in 1856 authorized the change in name from Galveston and Red River to Houston and Texas Cen- tral, it prohibited the construction of branch lines until the road reached the Red River. Since Washington County had been left off the line, the people of that county secured a charter February 2, 1856, to build a twenty-one-mile

18 Texas Almanac, 1858, p. 185. 19 Reed, . cit., p. 71. 20 Barke r, p. cit., p. 555. 207

railroad fror Hempstead to Brenham. All of the stockholders

were farers and agreed to take payment for work and materials

in stock with the understanding that they would work on the

grading when they could spare their slaves and teams from farm

work. Although grading began in 1857, only eleven miles to

Chappel Hill were completed by 1859. The state lent the Wash-

ington County Railroad Qompany 166,000 with which to buy rails

and -ranted 236,160 acres of state land. Some funds were secured from Giddings and Giddings of Brenham and through a

loan from the County School Funds, with which two locomotives

and some rolling stock were bought.21 The line began opera-

tion to Chappel Hill within a year after the Houston and Texas

Central reached Hempstead in June, 1858. It was not completed into Brenham until after the outbreak of the Civil War.2 2

It is already obvious that Houston was the railroad center of Texas before the Civil War, but that center had as yet no deep water connection. To provide this most important link the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad Company was chartered February 7, 1853. It had its inception in the desire of Galveston to thwart the growing commercial importance of Houston; however, it was strongly supported by Houston interests.

At a meeting in Houston in May, 1855, the cities of Hous- ton and Galveston agreed to subscribe 4300,000 each to the project. Judge William J. Jones of Galveston was selected to

21 Reed, o cit., pp. 73-74. 22 Barker, cit., p. 655. 208

contact financial interests in other states and in foreign

countries relative to the sale of stock subscriptions and

the bonds of the company. This item appeared in the Feb-

ruary, 1855, issue of Harpers Magazine relative to the activity of agents of the company in England:

It appears that poor Perry is weak. He has fallen now it seems into worse hands than those of Col. Garrett and his court martial; he has fallen -- alas for him! -- into the hands of sellers of American railway bonds of the Henderson, Galveston, and Houston branch. We know nothing of the rail- 23 way, indeed which is perhaps in its favor.

Further editorial comment appeared in the same issue as follows:

Another joke concerning this matter is a correspondence between the moneyed Editor of the Times (London) and a certain person- ase who hfadloomed up in Paris as an American agent for the Galveston, houston and Hender- son Railway. This gentlemen, whoever he may be, pleads strongly for the validity of the bonds of the above road and cites a letter of Mr. Mason (U.S. Minister in Paris) guarantee- ing the general wholesome character of the State of Texas . . . The Times man replies in a way which we fear will sadly damage the 24 sale of the Houston bonds.

It is obvious from these quotations that the company was having difficulty, and it is not surprising that it was early in 1856 before sufficient financial strength was accumulated to justify a belief that the project would

23 p. 416. 24asQth Halazine, Vol. X Ibid., p. 417. 209

succeed. Construction had begun at Virginia Point March 1, 25 1854, but was soon halted until 1856. By the last of

May, 1857, only twenty-four miles had been completed and the

time limit was again extended. When the railroad reached

the outskirts of Houston an epidemic of yellow fever brought construction to a halt.

In the meantime, the city of Galveston voted $100,000

city bonds for the construction of a bridge from Galveston to Virginia Point. Garvin of New Orleans built the 10,000 foot bridge which was finished in 1859.26 The city retained ownership of the bridge. The railroad company was to pay a rental

for Its use, sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds and

create a sinking fund that would retire the bonds at maturity. The bridge was then to become the property of the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad Company.

Tri-weekly train service had been inaugurated between

Virginia Point and the outskirt of Houston. The ferry boat

"Texas" completed the trip to Galveston until the opening of

the bridge. Early in 1860 daily service was started between

Houston and Galveston but before the road could show any earnings its creditors forced the sale of its property on March 6, 1860. The company was reorganized under the original charter.

The railroad hadtwo engines, named the "Preseverance"I

Barker, 2 . cit., p. 555. 26 Reed, . cit., pp. 75-76. 210

and the "Brazos", and sixty-six cars. It empluyed sixty-six persons as its operating force in 160. The gauge of the road was five feet six inches which necessitated the transfer of freight in Houston because the gauge of the other roads entering that city was four feet eight and one-half inches.

The Galveston, Houston and Henderson received 610,560 acres of land in its grant from the state. It was not eligible for a state loan under the provisions of its charter.

Under the charter granted to the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado railroad the city of Houston had been given the right to construct a tap line from the main line of the railroad into the city. After the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and

Colorado reached Richmond, the people of Houston on Feb- ruary 19, 1866, under authority of the legislature voted bonds in the amount of 4100,000 to build this tap line and levied a tax on property in Houston to retire the bonds.

The seven mile long road, from Pierce Junction to Houston, was begun and was completed by October 21, l8b6. According to the Houston Telegraph, trains ran "every Tuesday and Thursday, leaving Houston at o A.K. and returning in tixme for the mail steamer to Galveston". This little road had no official name so was called the Houston Tap Railroad. Its total cost was

$130,000, $30,000 having been borrowed from the State School

Funds.27 In 1859, the city sold its railroad property to the

Houston Tap and Brazoria Railroad Company for 2172,000,

27 Reed, 2 cit., p. 81. realizing a profit of 442,000. This transaction probably cconstitute the first and only profitable municipal railroad venture in the United States.

The Houston Tap and Brazoria Railroad Company continued construction, reaching Golumbia late in 1859. The route traversed the richest part of the state of Texas at that time and was built without the aid of foreign capital. Brazoria County voted $100,000 in bonds and 4300,000 was borrowed from the

State School Fund. Most of the stock was owned by the planters of Brazoria County and was paid for in labor and supplies. it received a land grant of 512,000 acres of land from the state 29 which was sold for $98,162.16 or about twenty cents per acre. The cost of the road was reported to be about $10.,000 a mile, and an inspection engineer pronounced the road to be,:

The best new road I have seen in the State -- Pore, a portion of it which had been ballasted, is in iy opinion, the nearest approach to a first class road in the State.

From early days San Antonio had been the most important center in Texas. The settlement of the Anglo-Ainerican col- onists on the Gulf coast and the development of trade with the United States caused the importance of San Antonio to wane and its population to decline. On September 5, 1850,

San Antonio interests secured a charter and organized the

23 Barker, op. cit., p. 555. 29 ._cit., p. 82. 30 Reed, 2._ Texas Almnianac, 1858? p. 189. 212

San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad Company with the inten--

tion of building a railroad from San Antonio to Indianola and

Lavaca on the Gulf, thereby giving San Antonio a connection with ocean commerce,

As already noted, San Antonio and Bezar County had given

unconditional subscriptions, for $50,000 to the proposed road.

The city and county of Victoria did likewise on the condition

that the railroad "cross the Guadalupe River at the town of

Victoria property. Later San Antonio and Belxar County tried to avoid payment of the subscription, but they had given it unconditionally, so were forced by law to pay. Victoria City and

County did not subscribe, as the road did not cross the Guada- lupe at any point. There were many charges of mismanagement and the issue of fictitious bonds causing the legislature to pass an act in 1853 regulating the issuance of stocks and bonds by railroad companies. 3 1

By the end of 1857 five miles of road had been complete-d in a westward direction from Port Lavaca upon which some eapip- ment was in operation. The state engineer in 1858 reported as f ollows :

The roadbed, ties, iron, etc., are firat class. The completed portion of the road is in constant use. The remarkable fact may be stated that this five miles of road -- ter- minating in the open prairie at a point remote from any settlement or public highway -- has not only been of vast service to the people of

31 Reed, . cit., p. 89. 213

Western Texas, but has actually over-paid running expenses. I witnessed the immense business it was doing; the noise: and bustle, the hundreds of wagons and teams and teamsters drawn to the present terminus or station in the open prairie. I have never seen or heard of an instance 32 like it.

By 1861, construction had reached Victoria, a total

distance of twenty--eight miles, at which point the Civil

War stopped its construction. The annual report re vealed

that $161,200 had been expende d on construction and equip*. 33 ment. The company received and located 263,680 acres of its land grant, which it sold for t67,691.66 or about twenty-five cents per acre. 3 4

With the beginning of construction on the Port Lavaca branch, Indianola projected a road westward. It was, intended that it should pass through Gonzales and Austin to a connec-

tion with the trans-state Vicksburg and El Paso to be located in northern Texas-. A charter was granted to the Indianola

Railroad Company January 21, 1858, and fifteen miles of line to a junction with the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf were completed by the beginning of the Civil War.3 5

By February 10, 1852, sufficient interest in railroads

32 Texas Almanac, 1859, p. 221.

Reed, 2. cit., p. 92.

Texas. Almanac, 1858, p. 188.

Barker, . cit., p. 557. 214

had been developed in Newton and Rusk Counties to bring a-

bout the chartering and organization of the Henderson and

Burkeville Railroad Company. All efforts to carry out the

project at this time failed. On January 21, 1858, business-

men of Beaumont and planters in the region secured a newt charter creating the Bastern Texa& Railroad Company to build

a railroad from Sabine Pass: to Henderson. Like the promoters of the Houston Tap and Brazoria, many of the promoters of the Eastern Texas were slave owners and used their slaves as work-

men in the construction of the line. Work began about eight miles south of Beaumont. The twenty-five miles to Sabine

Pass were completed and placed in operation by the end of 1860.36

There is some evidence that the company was reorganized in

1860 under the same name and a few, more miles of grade thrown

up before the outbreak of the war.37 The Eastern Texaas. Rail- road Company received a land grant from Texas of 281,640 acres. 3 8

The company did not receive a loan from the State School Fund.

Railroad projects in East Texas soon aroused interest in

connecting Texas and Louisiana by rail. By 1859, New Orleans had experienced a decline in her Mississippi Valley trade, because of the projection of railroads from the East coast into the Mississippi Valley. When schemes to build railroads into

36 Reed, o, cit., pp.87-88.

Barker, 2. cit., p. 556. 38 Ibid., p. 576.

39De Bowts Commercial Review, Vol. XVIII, pp. 353-355. Texas from Memphis, St. Louis, and Chicago began to take

shape, she determined not to permit her valuable Texas trade to be diverted to those cities.

The New Orleans, Opelousas, and Great Western railroad

had reached Brashear City, eighty miles west of New Orleans. 0

New Orleans interests secured a charter from the Louisiana

legislature for the construction of a railroad from Brashear

City to the Sabine River to be called the Texas- and New Orleans Railroad -- Louisiana Division. On September 1, 1859, the

Louisiana legislature adopted a resolution addressed to the

Texas legislature advising that body of their action and re-

questing that the Texas legislature change the name of the previously chartered Sabine and Galveston Bay Railroad and

Lumber Company to the Texas- and New Orleans Railroad Company --

Texas Division. The Texas legislature approved the suggested plan Deceember 24, 1859.41

According to the Houston Telegraph of September 2, 1857, work had been started the day before by ground breaking ceremonies. The struggling company was unable to accomplish much work until it received the additional support and encouragement of the two states. By the end of 1860 the one hundred eleven miles in Texas from Houston to Orange were completed. 4 2

40 Phillips, A history of Transportation in the Wastern Cotton Belt to 1860, p*.343. 41 Reed, 2k. cit., p. 84. 42 Barker., aj. cit, p. 556. 216

No work on the Louisiana division of the line was undertaken before the outbreak of the Civil War.

The Texas Almanac, 1861, gave the following information about the road: the rails were English, weighing ffifty..six pounds to the yard, 2,250 ties to the mile, gauge five feet six inches, cost $30,000 per mile, and estimated gross receipts $1,500,000 annually. The land grant of Texas- to the

Texas and New Orleans Railroad Company -- Texas Division was

1,136,640 acres. In addition to this assistance the company borrowed $430,000 from the State School Fund.

The Texas section of the Mississippi and Pacific system was first chartered February 16, 1852, as the Vicksburg and

El Paso Railroad or the Texas Western, as it was frequently called. It was projected to form a connection with the

Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Texas Railroad of Louisiana at the state line and to proceed westward to El Paso. The first seco tion was a branch line to extend from Swanson's Landing on

Caddo Lake to Marshall to be used in transporting materials for the construction of the main line. 4 3

Construction began in 1855 and continued intermittently until August 16, 1856, at which time the name of the company was changed to Southern Pacific Railroad Company, a different corporation, however, fr om that now known by that name.4 4 This

Barker, p2. cit., p. 557.

44 Ollie B. Webb, "An East Texas Baby", The East Texas Magazine, (January, 1929) p. 12. 217

reorganization invigorated the company and construction was continued steadily until twenty-seven and one-half miles of line were completed by 1859. The result was "a hilly roadbed crowned with thin crooked rails over which two small locomotives, the 'Ben Johnson' and the 'Bull of the Woodst, so named because of its very annoying habit of boldly leaving the rails and charging headlong into the near-by woods, pull- ing five small wooden passenger coaches and a mere handful of toy looking freight cars, did service over the first line chartered in the U.6. having in view the building of a line to the Pacific coast."45 A small amount of work was done after the outbreak of the Civil War. The Southern Pacific received a land grant of 562,560 acres and a loan of 150,000 from the State School Fund.

One other railroad company chartered by Texas was able to begin construction before the Civil War. The Memphis and

El Paso, and Pacific was chartered in 1853, to construct a line from White Oak Shoals opposite Fulton, Arkansas, the terminus of the proposed Memphis and Arkansas Railroad, west.- ward along the Red River to the head waters of the Trinty

River, thence across the Brazos near Ft. Belknap, and thence to the Rio Grande near El Paso. The charter provided that construction should commence within two years and that twenty- five miles of road should be completed each year thereafter

Srank Jensen, Personal letter relating this story of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, 1931.

lk 9 218

until completion. It was granted eight sections of state land

per mile of completed track on the condition that twenty-five

miles of line be completed within three years. Three years

passed without any progress; howevEr the legislature extended

the time limit, increased the land grant to sixteen sections

of land per mile, provided for connections with out-of-state

roads, limited the liability of stockholders to the amount of

their subscriptions,, and prohibited the sale of the charter

unless approved by four-fifths of the stockholders. The com-

pany was also given the right to connect with the Southern

Pacific Railroad Company in the vicinity of Dallas and to ef-

fect an arrangement for joint construction or operation beyond that point to E1 Paso. The name of the company was 46 changed to the Memphi-s, El Paso, and Pacific Railroad Company. On May 9, 1866, organization of the company was effected with $1,000,000 in stock subscribed, upon which 4125,000 had been paid into the company.4 Paris, Texas, was selected as the headquarters of the company. On February 1, 1867, construction began in Bowie County near Texarkana, after con- 48 struction was halted by high water on Red River, it was decided to build a branch line from Moore's Ferry to Jefferson with which to bring in iron. Construction began on this branch

46 Reed, cit., p. 93. 47 Barker, o cit., p. 557. 48 Texas Almanac, 1858, p. 185. 219

line near Jefferson and five miles were completed and in operation plus fifty-seven miles of grade on the main line when the outbreak of hostilities brought construction to a close.

The following table is believed to be a fairly accurate summary of railroad construction in Texas from 1854 to 1861 inc lusive:

TABLE S8 49 RAILOAD CONSTRUCTION IN TEXAS 1854-1861

Ye ar aile s Ye ar Miles 1854 .... 32 188 ..... 205 1855 .... 40 18592..... 284 1856.... 71 1860..... 307 1857 . . . 157 1861 . . . . . 392

The following tables summarize the land grants and loans to Texas railroads before the Civil War:

TABLE 9

LAND GRANTS TO TEXAS RAILROADS - ANTE-BELLUM PERIOD

Railroad Acre s

Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado . . 887,021 Houston and Texas Central ...... 819,200 Sai Antonio and Mexican Gulf ...... 263,680 Houston Tap and Brazoria ...... 512,000 Washington County ...... 236,160 Texas and New Orleans ...... 1,136,640 East Texas ...... 281,600 Galveston, Houston and Henderson . . . . 610,560 Southern Pacific ...... 562,560 Total 5,309,421

R. A. Thompson, "Railway Q onstruction in Texas", Transactions Texas Acadyof Science, 1900, p. 78. 220

TABLE 10

LOANS MAE TO TEXAS RAILROADS BEFORE CIVIL WAR

Railroad Amount

Houston and Texas Central . . . . . $450,000 Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and CGolorado . 420,000 Texas and New Orleans ...... 430,000 Houston Tap and Brazoria . . . . . 300,000 Southern Pacific ...... 150,000 Washington County ...... 66 000 Totalv6

The preceding pages of this chapter have briefly told the story of railroad construction in the state of Texas before the Civil War. There yet remains the story of a few lines built in Louisiana and one in Arkansas to complete the aummary of ante-bellum railroad construction in the. South west of the Mississippi River. It appears that this remaining construction had a two-f old purpose*: (1) to serve the local needs of the areas which the roads traversed, and (2) to form a connection with the Texas roads and ultimately to reach the Pacif ic via a Southern route,.

The history of rail connection between New Orleans and

Texas began in 1835 when the Louisiana legislature chartered the Atchafalaya Railroad and Banking Company with a capital of $2,000,000 with permission to increase it to $4,000,000, to build a railroad from the Mississippi River to the rich districts of Opelousas, Lafayette, St. Martin's, and St.

Mary's. 5 0 This was the beginning of a scheme that agitated

50 Niles' National Register, Vol. XLVIII, p. 205. 221

the stata for twenty years before it materialized. In 1837, a company was formed and chartered to build a railroad from

New Orleans to Lake Borgne, and thence to the Gulf of Mexico.

The company promptly began work, and completed about fourteen miles, when it was compelled by the panic of that year to st op.5 1 After re organization of the company in 184452 the road was completed to Lake Borgne in 1846,5 a total distance of twenty-five miles.

On April 22, 1853, the legislature chartered the New

Orleans, Opelousas, and Great Western. The route proposed was to run from Algiers to Berwick Bay and Franklin, thence to the

Sabine River at the most convenient point for continuing the line t o El Paso, Texas. Authority to construct such branches as might be deemed necessary was also granted. The stock of the company was to be exempted from taxation and no taxes were to be levied on the road until it had been in operation ten ye ars.

In the same year (1853) Louisiana passed an act for assisting internal improvements after the following plan: when a company received a special charter granting state aid, it was made the duty of the state treasurer to subscribe to one-half its capital stock. This subscription was made

51 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. I, p. 84. 52 Niles' National Reister, Vol. LXV, p. 342. 53 Caroline E. Mac Gill, Historyof Tr ansportation in the United States to 1860, p. 477.. 222

payable in state bonds, at not less than par, bearing six per

cent interest and running for forty years. These were deliver-

able in the proportion of one dollar for every two dollars act-

ually paid in from other sources. Should the bonds sell for more than par, the over-plus was to go toward the payment of

interest until the road should be able to pay dividends. If

there was no over-plus, the state was to pay the interest un-

til the earnings of the company were sufficient to meet it.

If dividends were earned in excess of six per cent the amount was to 6o into a fund toward purchasing the bonds. The governor

and the senate were given the authority to appoint three of

the directors, and in case of any further aid to roads The

legislature was to ake the same provisions for meeting interest 54 charges and payment of bonds at maturity.

The New Orleans, Opelousas, and great western took advan-

tage of this act and construction by 1859 had reached Brashear City, eighty miles west of New Orleans, were the company

terminated its line. Efforts to close the gap between the

Sabine River and Brashear City were unsuccessful before the

outbreak of the Civil War.

On March 15, 18, the >outhern Pacific, which was men- tioned above in the Texas story, received a perpetual charter

from Louisiana for tihe cons truction of a railroad with one or

more termini on the Mississippi River between New Orleans land

St. Louis as near as might be defined Under the Texas act of

4De Bow's Goraercial Review, Vol. XX, p. 387. 1853. By the provisions of this charter the road was to be completed to El Paso, Texas, from the Mississippi River in ten ye ars and to some point on the Pacific Ocean or Gulf of Cali- fornia coast within fifteen years. The capital of the company was fixed at $100,000,000o The other provisions were those usually found in charters granted during this period.

The company was organized and a route beginning at the

Mississippi River opposite Vicksburg extending northwestward to Tallulah, thence almost due west to Monroe., Ruston, Arcadia, Shreveport, and the Texas boundary was chosen for construction.

Construction got under way but the Civil War brought it to a halt at Monroe about seventy-five miles from the Mississippi.

Another Louisiana stem to a Pacific railroad scheme was chartered on March 20, 1856. This company was known as the

Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Texas Railroad Company. It proposed to build a line from the Mississippi below the mouth of

Red River up the valley of the Red in a northwesterly direction through the parishes of Avoyelles, Rapides, Nachitoches, and De Soto through Shreveport and form a connection with the Southern Pacific road authorized by Texas.

As early as 1853 the route to be f allowed to Texas had been surveyed and found to be almost straight, only four slight &curves being necessary. It was also found that there would be only 3,200 linear feet of trestling to be built and no excavations or embankments exceeding thirty feet in depth

Alcee Fortier, Louisiana, Vol. III, p. 343. 224

or height to be made,. The right-of-way for most of the route would be donated and contracts for clearing and grubbing could be let to planters along the line under the figures contained in the estimates 6 The charter was drawn so as to take advantage of the internal improvements act of 1853. Con.. struction got under way but was halted by the outbreak of the

Civil War at Opelousas -- about fifty miles of the line being completed.

Approximately 230 miles of railroad were built in western Louisiana before the Civil War. Three of these lines were prongs of a projected Pacific railroad, all of which were to have united in Texas before pushing on to the coast.

A similar project developed in Arkansas as Memphis interests sought a connection to the Pacific.

As early as 1847 the Arkansas Democrat outlined and advocated a railroad from the ississappi River to the Pacific

Ocean. The route proposed was from Memphis by way of Little

Rock and thence along the thirty-fifth parallel to the Paci- fic. 5 7 The first move to invite railroads into Arkansas came in 1853, when the state convention recommended the donation of lands by the general government toward their construction. "Transportation was especially needed for shipping lumber.'5 8

56 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XV, p. 641.

57 John Hugh Reynolds., editor, Publications of the Arkan- sas Historical Association, Vol. 1, 206.

5 eStnate Document No. 191, Arkansas 1836-193-i, p. 12. 225

Interest in railroads was especially strong in the northwestern and western part of the state, centering in Fort

Smith, Batesville, and Fayetteville. The big planters and others along the rivers in the tidevater region did not feel the need of railroads quite so acutely. Private individuals were active but Governor Conway did not favor bonding the state or levying a tax to aid any railroad company, although he had declared himself in favor of internal improvements. 5 9

Five charters for railroad companies were granted during the 1853 session of the Arkansas legislature, but there is no record of any railroad construction by them before the Civil

War. During the legislative session of 1854 the legislature chartered the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad Company. A route from Hopefield, opposite Memphis, through Madison on the

St. Francis River, thence through De Vall's Bluff on the White

River., thence through Lonoke, and on to Little Rock on the

Arkansas River was immediately surveyed.

In 1858, the Arkansas Senators and Representatives, led by Representative Robert W. Johnson, secured the passage of an

Act by Congress granting 3,840 acres of public land per mile to aid in the construction of a railroad between Memphis and Little Rock. 6 0

Even with the assured land grant for aid, financial difficulties prevented the start of construction until 1858.

David Y. Thomas, Arkansas and It's People,, Vol, I, p. 114. 60 _bid., p. 115. 226

During that year thirty-eight miles of light line were placed

in operation from Hopefield to Madison. Although wood fuel

by this time had been abandoned on most southern railroads, it

was used as fuel on this shoddy little line. In 1859 and

1860 a forty-five mile section of the route from Little Rock

to De Vall's Bluff was completed and placed in operation.

The center section from De Vall's Bluff to Madison was not

constructed until after the Civil War. This forty-five mile

gap between the two sections was traversed by stage for the

convenience of passengers. The trip, eighty-three miles by

rail and forty-five miles by stage, required thirty-two hours

and cost ten dollars. 6 1

The opening of hostilities in the Civil War brought

railroad construction to a halt west of the Mississippi River.

At that time there were approximately 700 miles of disjointed

lines in operation, of local importance only. No connection

existed between the Texas roads and those outside the state.

It is obvious that the Texas roads ceased to be of any value to the Confederacy with the interruption of the water route

between Galveston and the other Southern ports and it is equally obvious that the loss of the Mississippi would elimi- na the small value of the other roads west of that river.

61 Ibid. 227

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11, IN, "Awl p CHAPTER VIII

THE SOUTh AND TE PACIFIC RAILROAD

When the construction of railroads was first undertaken in the early eighteen thirties they were not looked upon as the major bearer of man's goods. Their early role was that of an auxiliary to water-borne commerce - local in character.

The successful operation of the Charleston and Hamburg railroad fired the imagination of those whose eyes were turned westward. The linking of the Georgia system of railroads with that of South Carolina proved that man was on the verge of a new transportation era. It was only a matter of time until a better solution of the centuries-old problem to transportation from the east coast to the west coast of the North American continent would be evolved.

But so great would be the advantages bestowed upon the communities located on or contiguous to this superior means of transport that the national benefits began early to be sub- merged in the clash of regional interests. Before 1853, there had emerged three well defined fields of conflict: (1) the antagonism of the East to any scheme which would develop the

West, partially at her expense; (2) the rivalry of cities which hoped to become stations on or terminals of the Pacific railroad; and (3) the sectional hostility between the North

228 229

and South, the former desiring to extend free territory and the latter to extend slave territory. The East was charged with having a "marine policy", through which they discouraged the development of the West and the central river systems, and gave emphasis to ocean shipping. To effect this policy the East used 439,000,000 of the $40,000,000 annual revenue of the Federal government for the interest of the Atlantic seaboard states; they restricted the sale of public lands to suit their interests; they walled in the western states with

Indian reservations, where western men were forbidden to trade.

These -charges seemed to be justifiable, to some extent, by the statements of eastern representatives made in congressional debates on Pacific railway bills. The rivalry between cities reveal contests within each of three groups: (1) Boston, New

York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston -- each of which desired to become the Atlantic terminus of the proposed road; (2) Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, New

Orleans, and Galveston - each contending for the designation as the starting point of construction for the new section of the transcontinental line; and (3) Astoria, San Fransisco,

San Diego, Monterey, and even Mazatlan were competitors for the Pacific terminal.

The most serious problem hampering the construction of a Pacific railroad was the sectional rivalry of the North and

I Lewis W. Newton, "Southern Pacific Railroad" (Unpub- lished study, Department of history, North Texas State College), pp. 2-3.

0 230

South. In 1849, the average cost of constructing a mile of railroad in the United States was 35,000. 2 Simple arithmetic revealed that it was beyond the financial strength of any individual or corporation of that time to undertake such a task as a Pacific railroad -- Federal aid was essential if a road was to be constructed. Furthermore, aLmost all of the route to be traversed lay in the public domain, which could not be crossed by a railroad without the consent of Congress. Most promoters believed that the location of the route of a Pacific railroad would determine the slave or free status of states admitted to the Union along its route, thereby changing the balance of power in Congress. The Pacific railroad could not be kept out of politics. One of the avowed objects of the

Pacific railroad, set forth during those troubled times, was that it would help preserve the Union. "If California was to remain disconnected from the other States of the Republic's commerce, how long would it be before she was disconnected politically?"6 In an attempt to compromise sectional differ- ences and secure the benefits to be derived from the connection by rail of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, it was proposed that a northern and also a southern road be built.

When Asa iitney's scheme for a railroad to the Pacific was first presented to Congress, the United States had a valid

2F.A. Shannon, Economic Hit of the People of the United States, p. 197.

ierbert WVender, Southern Commercial Conventions 1837-1859, p. 123. 231

claim to Oregon but not to California. Thus the northern route possessed a distinct advantage at that time. It is reported that scores of cities and eighteen State legislatures had endorsed Whitney's plan by 1853.

Frot time to time conventions for the discussion of internal improvement projects in the South were held in various

Southern cities. In 1845, at a railroad convention held in

Memphis, John C. Calhoun predicted that a Pacific railway would soon be built and spoke approvingly of the project. 4

Robert Patterson, editor of the Concordia Intelliencer, is credited with having first roughly outlined the southern route, October, 1845. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Forshey of Texas prepared a paper and a map in support of a route to run from

Vidalia, opposite Natchez, across the Red, Sabine, and Rio Grande rivers to Mazatlan, which was presented at the Memphis convention.5 The February, 1846, issue of De Bow's Commercial

Review contained an article by Colonel Gadsen, President of the South Carolina Railroad Company, in which he reviewed the route through newly acquired Texas and on to the Pacific at iazatlan. he offered an alternative, though longer, route via the headwaters of the Arkansas or Red River thence to the Paci- fic. In November of the same year, the Railroad Journal published an article outlining a route from Tampico to Mazat- lan provided the United States should seize that territory

4 John G. Van Deusen, The Ante-Bellua Southern Conventions, p. 21.

5 Newton, 2p. cit., p. 4. 232

from Mexico at the close of the >exican WVar. It also called attention to a possible route from Corpus Christi or Aransas Pass, Texas, to Guayamas on the Pacific. By June of 1847, a southern route had strong support.

That month's issue of De bow's Commercial Review summed up six advantages of the southern route as follows: (1) it would pass through a great agricultural region of the southeast through which a system of railroads was almost complete reaching from the coast to Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, and Memphis;

(2) it would be shorter than the northern route by nine hundred miles; (3) the cost of construction would be less; (4) there would be less interference with operation by weather conditions after completion; (5) the country lying along the route was more nearly inhabited or habitable; and (6) there appeared to be a greater probability of the discovery of rich mineral deposits along the southern route. Whitney replied to this article, in the October issue of De bow's Commercial Review, pointing out that (1) too much soft earth would be encountered along the southern route; (2) too many rivers were to be bridged as well as too much danger of overflows in the valleys of those rivers; (3) perishables could not be stored and transported in a southern climate; (4) harbors were too in- adequate; and (o) the country was not more capable of development than that along the northern or central routes. From the vantage point of time it appears that the real issue of the controversy was not stated. The reasons given in support of either route seem trival when viewed in the light of the

M09-4w, - - -- l'--A, -- 090WOMWAmouga"m 2Z3

titanic struggle for economic supremacy, political supremacy,

and the perpetuation and spread of conflicting social orders

then taking place in the United States. The annexation of Texas, the war with Mexico that ended in the addition of the vast western areas, and the discovery of gold in California materially crystalized the thinking of

the American people, both North and South, with reference to the Pacific railroad. Heretofore the transportation problem had been "primarily a local one and now became one of trunk

line connections, transcontinental in character".6 Opposition to a southern route was no longer valid because it traversed foreign territory. Routes that had been proposed to run south of the Rio Grande were dropped as being impractical. The feeling of the value of a southern route for national defense had been enhanced. The proposed routes were no longer general in designation but had become definite. From the welter of articles written, the number of conventions held, congressional memorials, debates of Pacific railroad bills introduced in Congress, and the launching of new railroads running in a westerly direction, there emerged four routes which seemed to possess the greater support. The first was that proposed by Whitney from Lake Michigan to the mouth of the Columbia liver. A second, proposed by Benton of Missouri, from St. Louis to San Francisco. A third, which had its introduction at the second Memphis convention, 1849, frou Vemphis to San Dieo, Monterey, or San Francisco. The

6 Franklin M. Reck, The Romance of American Trans2rtation, p. 132. 234

fourth, whose chief spokesman was 6amt Houston, of Texas, from

Galveston to San Dieo. Te lact two of these routes were considered southern routes, and of the two, that proposed by the rfemphis convention received the greater support of those

southerners as favored a Pacific railroad with which the

Federal Government would be in any way concer n edJ .If southern leaders could not agree on a route, they were definitely agreed that "the railroad to the Pacific should not benefit the ,orth, whatever happened".

The resolutions of the hchphis convention advocating a

Pacific railroad< called for a survey by the Federal tovern- tent, the line to be located by that government, and assistance in the construction of 'the railroad by grants of public land and siilar aid for the conne c ion of all exist ing r railroad s with tie Pacific railroad. 9 The convention recormmended a definite route as follows: "co'mmencing at &an Diego on the

Pacific Ocean, crossing the Golorado of the West, running along the Gila River, or near it in a direction to the Paso del Xorte, and thence across the State of Texas, to its northeastern boundary, between thi 32 and 33 of north latitude, terminatintg at some point on the Mississippi between the mouth of the Ohio River and the mouth of the Red river .... " The

ewton, 22. cIt., p. U C.F, Carter, When Railroads were New, p. 234.

De bow's commerciall Review, Vol VIII, r. 299.

Ibid., Vol VIII, pp. 217-224. 2Z5

later Tiportant railroad conve nations in the South at Ne w Orle ans,

Baltimore, Mephis, Charleston, Savannah, and Vicksburg all

supported the Pacific railroad scheme generally, but local jealouses and lack of unity on a specific project were revealed. 11Illustrative was the reaction of Albert Pike's plan prese nted to the Charleston convention of 1854 by the press of the day. The New xork Times dismissed it with the remark

"Pikets plan is impractical't; the Wichmqond EnQuirer -"A hopeless task oi construction"; and the Charle stone Me r2urq

scarcely an appreciable interest by the Atlanttic States in a Pacific railroad". 12

In addition to the reasons already revealed for the failure of ay w acific railroad project to be launched before

153, werE two others that prevented the development of a southern project of this character: (1) "Southern politicians were not altogether in good favor at 'Washington with the Whig administration; (2) strict constructionists as the Southerners were, they could not make up their minds to approve government aid for such an undertaking"13 even though it appeared that the railroad promoters in the South realized the necessity for such aid and favored it, as was indicated in the resolutions of the railroad conventions.

Ibid . , V013 . XIIl, p . 31,1; XV, p . 267; XVI, pp . 636-637;- XVIII, p. 520; XXII, p. 9 ; XXVII, p. 101. 12 Van De use n., 2. cit ., pp . 96-97. 13 Nevton, a . cit ., . 8 With the beginning of the administratIon of Franklin

Pierce, it appeared that circumstances were the most favorable for the success of a Pacific railroad project along a route favored by the South. The Southern Planter aristocracy was in complete control of the machinery of government, prosperity was general throughout the nation, the West was developing rapidly, and with the national debt at one of the lowest levels in the history of the nation the treasury of the United States possessed surplus funds. In his first annual message to Con- gress, President Pierce advocated the construction of a Pacific railroad and later dispatched Colonel Gadsden, who had been an outspoken advocate oI the southern routes since 1845, to Mex- ico to negotiate for the purchase of territory south of the

Gila River, where General Kearney's expedition had observed a suitable pass for the railroad to cross the mountains. The commission headed by Colonel Gadsden not only made the purchase but gathered proof that the route was practical for the construction of the railway. Colonel Gadsden was convinced that this route was the only practical route for the railroad, as is shown by a conversation reported by President Santa Anna:

Mr. Gadsden said: "The projected railroad from New York to California must be built by way of the Messila Valley because there is no other possible route. The Mexi- can Government will be splendidly indemnified. The Valley nust belong to the United States 14 by an indemnity or we will take it." Following the leadership of President Pierce, the Con- gye as passed an amendment to the army appropriation bill of

14,G Reed, A History ofthe Texas Railroads, p. 96. 237

1853 authorizing the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, to order surveys of possible railroad routes to the Pacific and appropriated $150,000 for the purpose. In speeches made in July, 1853, Davis, a strict construc- tionist, definitely announced in favor of a Pacific railroad to be built with the aid of government lands, basing his argument on the authority of Congress to build military roads. He intimated that he had the support of President Pierce, which if true indicated that this Democratic administration was going to be more favorable to internal improvements than previous

Democratic administrations had been. The Democratic newspaper, Union, strongly supported Davis, calling on the Democratic Party and press to rally behind him in his efforts. The political truce established by the Compromise of 1850 was suddenly shattered at the end of 1853, when Stephen A.

Douglas introduced into the Senate a bill for the organization of the Territory of Nebraska. Various motives have been as- cribed to Douglas for this step, but the principal one was undoubtedly his eagerness to make Chicago the eastern trrminus of a Pacific railway. At this time, if a choice of a route to the Pacific were to be made, conditions favored a southern route, since Texas and New Mexico had organized governments and some settlement to provide traffic, while farther north there was nothing between the Missouri River and California except the iormon community in Utah. The Nebraska territorial bill was Douglas' initial move to better Chicagofs prospect. 1 5

15 John B. Rae and Thomas HiD. Mahoney, The United States in World History, p. 318. 238

The bitter slavery controversy that was reopened by the Kansas- Nebraska bill relegated the Pacific railroad to a position of secondary importance except as it might be involved in that controversey. Secretary Davis summarized the results of the surveys he had been directed to make as follows;

TABLE 11 16 SURVEYS OF PACIFIC RAILROAD ROUTES

Mies Miles s Altitude Dis- Comparative arable non- highest Route tance cost land arable point land Near 47 or 40 p1l St. Paul to Seattle 1,955 A35,671,000 535 1,490 6,044 Near 47 or 49 p1l St.paul to 1,800 125,781,000 374 1,426 6,044 Vanc ouve r Near 38 and 39 p'l St. Louis to 2,29J 122,790,000 o99 1,400 8,373 San Francisco t Near 38 and 39 p l 2,325 iLpractical 865 1,460 10,032 t. Louis to Benica Near 35 pfl inemphis to 2,366 113,000,000 116 1,4.50 7,550 San Francisco Near 36 prl Memphis to 2,090 ,000,000 690 1,400 7,500 San Pedro Ne ar 32 p il Gaines Landing to 2,174 94,000,000 68 1,190 5,717 San Francisco Near 32p' l Gaines Landing to 1,683 72,000,000 524 1,159 5,717 San Diego

It will be observed that the southern route was the cheapest,

16 Dunbar Howland, Jefferson Davis Constitutionalist, His Letters, Papers, and Speeches, Vol. II, p. 456. 239

shortest, and iost practical. Davis felt so confident that

the southern route would be chosen that he advocated that the route to be followed be left to the choice of the company

organized for its construction.

Attempts were made to organize comnianies for the con-

struction of a Pacific railroad along the southern route with-

out Federal aid. Albert Pike proposed that each state in the

South subscribe $2,000,000 to a company to be organized to build the line from some point on the Mississippi between New

Orleans and the 32nd parallel. The remainder of the capital, he thought, could be obtained from cities, railroads, and individuals.17 There is no doubt that the road could have been built by this method had it received sufficient support.

The so-called 1New York Company sought to secure enough support in 'he South to build a line before 18,b3. About 1857, a $outhern Pacific Railroad Grompany was organized and received the promise of a maagnificent grant of land from the state of

Texas, which had retained possession of its public lands upon annexation to the United States. Yerger, president of the

Qompany, was certain that his land grant would build the road and enrich the stockholders besides. 1 s

During the years following the introduction of the Kansas-

Nebraska controversy to the outbreak of the Civil War, the

17 De Bow's Commercial Review, Vol. XVI, pp. 636-637.

10 Newton, 2p. p. 13. 240

United &tates Senate did pass bills providing for a Pacific railroad to be built along both a southern and a northern route, but neither became law. The Democratic party was in control of the government, it is true, but they were not united.

The slavery controversy was causing new political alignments.

The Southern political leaders could not secure unity among themselves for the purpose of building a Pacific railroad.

Some hesitated because of constitutional scruples, others were more interested in acquiring new slave territory in the West

Indies, Mexico, and Central America, still others concentrated

on securing the re-opening of the slave trade, and most failed

to recognize the great value that would have accrued to the

South from a Pacific railroad. Before the South could turn

its attention to such projects as the Pacific railroad with

any degree of unity, the all-disturbing question of slavery demaanded settlement. Early railroad building in the South was incoherent and haphazard, because the lines were local in character and the possibilities of trunk lines had not been realized. Early builders did not realize that they were presiding at the birth of a new type of transportation system. The first lines were built as feeders for the water-borne lines of transportation.

However, early in the history of these short disjointed lines it was realized that they could not adequately serve the needs of the people. Charleston seems to have been the birthplace of the idea of trunk-line railroads, to be constructed either by a single company or through combinations of independent lines. Before the introduction of the steam locomotive, the railroad was conceived as a road upon which the customer furnished his own power and carriage. The single track character of the road and the development of trains of cars quickly eliminated this concept. The construction of the early roads was cheap, as measured by the standards of today, and of a character not likely to be of long life. In one sense this was fortunate, because improvements were developed rapidly in fact most of the early construction was obsolete by the time it was completed. The entire period from 1630 to 1860 was a period of

241 242

experiment, development, and improvement in design, construction, efficiency, and management, but by 1840 the basic pattern had emerged. Experience had taught the engineers the basic design for embankments, drainage, trestling, and bridges, as well as the best materials from which they should be made. Tun- nels were excavated to shorten lines and eliminate excessive grades. Wooden cross-ties proved to be the best for holding the rails in place. Some roadbeds were crowned with crushed stone ballast to secure maxium drainage for the crown and maximum support for the heavier trains. Masonry bridges were found to be unsatisfactory, because the pounding of the trains broke the joints. Wooden rails, plated with iron bars, gave way to the iron rail fashioned on the basic T-pattern, and wrought iron rails wEre replaced with rolled iron rails made in progres- sively longer lengths. The principal problem relative to rails in l60 was the developirent of a satisfactory mode of joining their ends together. The irmprovement of roadbed construction and the use of more Powerful locoamotives by 1860, permitted an increase of speed to an average of twenty-five miles per hour, which was the practical limit on iron rails. More speed and heavier trains had to await the development of the steel rail.

Similar progress was taking place in the design and construction of locomotives and cars. Coupled driving wheels replaced the single drivers for more traction as power was increased. The four-wheeled truck or bogie was designed to support the front end of the locomotive, and its swivel design 243

permitted operation on sharper curves with more speed and fewer derailments. Cow-catchers made their appearance, as did cabs, o the locomotives. The exhaust was turned into the smokestack to develop forced-draught in the fire-brick lined fire-box. Wood was gradually abandoned as fuel with the perfection of the coal burning locomotive in.185.

Chilled-steel replaced the softer metals in bearings. The whistle was first used on locomotives in 1837. The crude fire-car of Horatio Allen was replaced by a huge candle lan- tern which in turn was replaced by an oil burning head light for night trains. A bell, water injector, steam guage, water glass, and sand boxes were added as standard equipment on locomotives. The earliest locomotives had no brakes; later wooden-block brakes operated by hand levers were installed, but no satisfactory brake was developed before the Civil War.

Cars were built longer, the end entrance and center aisle were adopted, and cars were mounted on two four-wheeled bogies to permit them to round sharp curves. The solid cast- iron wheel of greater strength was adopted. Carpets, cushions, and seats with movable backs all made their appearance in the wooden passenger coaches of the time. Stoves were installed for the comfort of passengers in winter and the windows were screened for protection from flying cinders in summer. The coupling system was improved, but not perfected before 1860.

Experiments with sleeping-cars, dining-cars, and other special purpose cars were being conducted. Brakes of a sort, 244

operated by hand-wheels from the tops of the cars by nimble- footed brakemen, were installed.

Earliest trains were operated without any signal system.

Timetables were published, but the schedules were at best poorly kept. On the single-track roads trains ran to a regular stopping place on a siding, where they would have to wait until a train running in the opposite direction passed.

There being no rieans of commu nication, great delay was often experienced. In cases of doubt, the waiting train would sometimes move on slowly, a man being sent ahead to keep a lookout at curves for t e approaching train; This was called

runnIng the curves". Observation towers were installed with a "hi)gh-ball" signal for a clear track on some lines. In

1850, the telegraphwas brought into use to direct the movement of trains, but an entirely satisfactory system of train control was not developed during the period covered by this study.

There was no means of communication on the train itself.

To stop a train at any other than a regular stop the conductor had to ascend to the roof of the cars and run forward until he could attract the attention of the engineer.

The railroad had its origin in Thgland and early Ameri- can railroad builders were firmly of the opinion that English rails and locomotives were the best, in the world. But Eng- lish locomotives vere not adapted to the heavy grades, sharp curves, and slight construction of American railroads. 245

American mechanics and engineers were quick to undertake the construction of locomotives suited to their needs. So great was their success that aftcr 1834 very few locomotives were irr- ported into the United States, and by 1840, American builders had surplanted the i'nglish as leaders in locomotive -construe- ticn. This was prophetic of the rising genius of American industry. The Association of American Railroads has collected data showing that from 1828 to 1840, 121 locoiiotives were imported fror England and 263 were built in America. During 1839 and 1840, sixteen American locomotives were sent to England, and American locomotIves were preferred in many other countries.

The records of the Baldwin Locomiotive Works of Philadelphia show that that firm had built 140 locomotives by 1840.

TABLL 12

RAIELi0AD MILEAE I TETYSOUTH TO 1860

- - - - -I 1-- - r. - .. , . -1. ..., - . .,, _ - -O ii II ! | i i State 1830 1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 South Carolina 6 137 137 257 289 774 93 Virginia 0 936 147 346.8 384 8b2 1,599 Alabam a 0 46 46 46 183 468 743 -0 Louisiana 0 40 40 43 60 210 335 Georgia 0 0 185 480.5 643 74J 1,420 North Carolina 0 0 63 87 154 582 889 i3ssissippi 0 0 46 46 75 519 862 Florida 0 0 40 21 21 21 402 Te nne Ss 6e 0 0 0 0 48 346 1,252 T e xas 0 0 0 0 0 40 307 Arkansas 0 0 0 0 0 0 83 T ot a1 6 316 694 1,329.31,877 4,561 8,866 246

The foregoing table shows the mileage by states and total mileage in the South at five year intervals. South

Carolina took the lead in railroad construction in the South.

She was closely followed by otier states, and by 1860, Vir- ginia, Ueorgia, and Teenessee had surpassed her in mileage.

very state in the South, in time, gave some form of aid to construction of railroads within its borders. Virginia becarIe almost bankrupt in her zeal, although Tennessee was the most liberal -- her grants amounting to almost 10,000 per ale of completed road. north barolina, Louisiana, uississippi, and Wexas were especially liberal vith aid, and Alabama was doubtless the least helpful of the states in ti~s respect.

fiong the cities, Onrlestor. an >ooile were the "ost liberal, their g rants constituting a great burden to their citizens,

Charleston in particular did not receive benefits commensurate with her efforts and sacrifices. in 1860, the approximately

9,000 miles of railroad in the South had cost about 0237,000,000, or *about 726,000 per mile. The larger per cent of this money had been raised through public debt. Of the private funds employed, very little came from the sale of stock to foreigners.

The city, county, and state bonds as well as the state guaranteed company bonds were sold principally in the money markets abroad.

The capitalization of most of the Southern railroad companies approxiraated rather closely the cost of the roads and equipment. Only in the case of a few powerful companies

OWNUMMMMOmmm- 0 WIN , 1 0 1 247

had the corporations begun to increase tneir stocks or bonds for the purpose of acquiring securities of connectingr lines; and none had resorted to stock munipulation nor in any considerable degree to stock-ateing. None of the important

Southern roads had fallen under Wall Street control in the ante-bellum period. The average cost per mile of railroad construction in the United States in 1860 was approximately

732,000 while that in the South was about 625,000. We can safely say that Sout.hern roads ;ere built at little more thran two-thirds of the cost of the Northern and Western roads.

Another interesting side-light on s outhern railroad construe- tion and i anagemEnt is revealed in the record of American railroads that defaulted their bonds before 1860. Up to this date only three Southern roads defaulted bonds totaling t,2,020,000, while in the same period nine -orthern roads had defaulted 430,000,000 and twenty-one Western roads had defaulted 68,120,000. The implication is that Southern railroads possessed a sounder financial structure.

Throughout the entire period to 1860 absolute freedom of contract existed, not only with the contractors who built the roads but between the managers who operated them and the men who worked for the companies. Individualism was the order of the day and no fixed standard of pay existed. It does not appear that slave labor had any effect on the rate of pay for skilled labor positions, but there is no doubt that it did keep the wases of unskilled labor- at a level little more than bare subsistence. 248

A study of the comparative costs of slave and free labor on the New Orleans, Jackson,and Great Northern reveals that slave labor cost about forty per cent of that of free labor.

This percentage was based on the capital outlay of c1,200 per slave plus six per cent interest on the investment, four per cent loss by death and depreciation, and the cost of food, clothing, and medical care for the slave, compared with a wae scale of i3.00 per month for free labor.

One of the most noticeable effEcts of the construction of railroads in the South vvs the sharp rise in real estate values near the routes. Valuation of property along the route of' the South Carolina Railroad in 1830 was l,337,012, in 1846 these values had increased to 419,076,157, representing

. 0ain of about sixty-five per cent. 'Athin the city of Char- leston valuations increased some sixty per cent between 1830 and 1840. Governor Floyd of Virginia submitted figures show- in, an increase in valuations of Virginia between 1820 and

1850 of nearly forty per cent which le attributed to the construction of railroads. Other inflationary forces were at work, but it cannot be denied that speculation, nurtured in part by railroad projects helped to bring about the panic in 1837.

Another very noticeble effect of the construction of railroad was the development of new towns along the routes, of which Atlanta and Ohattanooga, the termini of the Western and Atlantic, are the most striking. After 1849, the discovery

I 249

of gold in California, with the attendant "Gold Rush", ob-

scured the shift of the southern population caused by the

building of railroads, the development of auxiliary industries,

and the chaning of the old rout s of commerce. These latter

shifts are illustrated by the growth of Atlanta. The popula-

tion of this new city was made up principally of capitalists from tie North, merchants and planters from the other sections

of the Cotton Belt, and free white labor attracted to the boo'uing railroad town. The free ;Lhite labor was in political

control of the city government and was anxious to keep Negro

slaves out of the city, for economic as well a3 social reasons.

Atlanta was a new experience for the south. Chattanooga was located astride the best natural railroad routes leading to the

ississippi, the Ohio, and between the Cumberland and Allegheny

fountains from the Eastern Cotton Belt. Furthermore, important

mineral deposits were located near-by and an ample water supply from the Tennessee River was available. These advantages gave immediate impetus to development and foretold a growing importance as the South developed its industrial resources.

The development of houston at the focal point of early

Texas railroads is hardly less remarkable. San Antonio had, frorn the beginnings of Texas history, been the most important center in the re 6 ion. The cowing of the Anglo-Armericans and the changJing of trade routes to New Orleans developed the port of Galveston. The construction of the meager T exas railroad system quickly thrust Houston into a leading position in the 250

economic life of the state at the expense of San Antonio and Galve st on.

Much of the growth and development of the new centers were

at the expense of the Atlantic coast. Earliest railroad con-

struction greatly stimulated commercial activity at Charleston, but as the railroads pushed ever-westward and other ports completed intercepting lines, the dream of vast development failed to materialize. Generally speaking, the effe t of railroad construction upon the ports is well illustrated by the following excerpt from Gamble's History of theSCity Government of Savannah:

Railroads vastly increased the volume of goods received at this port increasing the necessity for improvement of the harbor. A committee of the Council in December, 1840 said: "The constant communication with the interior maintained by means of the railroad has increased our prospe rity, and we are now surprised at our former lethargy . . . ."

However, New Orleans did not experience any expansion of her coerce as a result of railroad construction. Each railroad line completed between the east coast, both Morth and South, and the Mississippi River drained away a part of her river- borne coarmerce and the audacity of her insignificant t ulf port rival, hiobile, in building the 1tobile and Ohio railroad, threatened to reduce her from her high estate as Queen of the Gulf to that of a serving maid in the Piperial Household of Southern

Com erce. New Orleans' capItal built railroads, only because not to do so meant commercial death. Railroad construction lessened New Orleanst prosperity rather than added to it. 251

The construction of railroads, providing reasonably cheap

and fast transportation, made it possible to open up areas of

the South that had not been developed. This was particularly

true of the remote parts of the Western Cotton Belt, tie Blue

Grass Region, the Shenandoah Valley, and other areas difficult

to reach by river transportation. New forests were made avail-

able to the lumbering industry, new agricultural lands could be

placed in production, and the mineral regions beyond the moun-

tains could now be profitably opened up.

The railroads were a new and 6reat industry within them-

selves. They became large local investors and important local

taxpayers. They built permanent facilities and provided regular

eaplyment for a large labor force. By 1860, the railroads had

become one of the largest, probably the largest of the non-

agricultural, industries in the South with the promise of greater

development yet to come.

The railroads brought with thew allied industries. The

South had no steam engine works until after the coming of the railroads. The first rolling mill was established to supply

the enormous demand for iron. New saw-mills were established

to supply the insatiable appetite of the railroads for ties,

bridge-tirbers, and other lumber products. Cheaper transpor-

tation meant increased competition from outside sources for such ,anufacturing industry as existed in the South. Most

Southern industries were not up-to-date relying upon the high

cost of transportation from outside industrial areas to provide 252

them with a margin of profit. Capital became harder to secure for modernization and the purchase of more efficient machinery

or a change-over to specialized production. Furthermore, slave labor had not proved efficient in competition with free industrial labor.

The increase in the production of cotton through the opening up of the new cotton growing areas brought inflation to slave prices, although cotton prices did not proportionally rise. The margin of profit was severely reduced and in many cases there was a loss instead of a profit. This was especially true in the older regions where it was necessary to use fertilizer.

The history of early railroad construction and operation carries many accounts of accidents to machinery, eCMiloyees, and the public. These accidents cannot be treated in detail in this study. Much of the effort and expense that added to the cost of railroad construction year by year were incurred to make railroad operation more reliable, comfortable, and less hazardous for all concerned. Sometimes impeded by heartless and selfish men, progress was as rapid as new discoveries, in- ventions, and developments permitted. The railroad was one result of the industrial revolution and as such was dependent upon all other phases of thcat phenomenon. It is generally accepted that social, economic, and political progress did not keep pace with industrial developments, and it is due to this ttine lag" that many faults of the railroads remained uncorrected for so lons. In the absence of safety regulations and de- vices prescribed by law and safety standards there was considerable hazard in early railroad travel. The editor of the huntsville, Alabaa, Democrat wrote an article on railroad travel in September 1864 in which he suggested the following; "Rules for Safe &ravel":

I. Never sit in any unusual place or posture. 2. An excellent rule in railway traveling is to remain in your place without going out at all until you arrive at your destina- tion. 3. rNever get out until the train is fully stopped. 4. Never get out on the wrong side. 6. Never pass from one side to the other unless it is indispensably necessary. 6. Express trains are more dangerous. Never use them except where necessary. 7. Special trains and excursions are more dangerous. S. In case of accident, causing irregular stoppLage, it is better to quit the train. 9. Beware of yieldin6 to the sudden im- pulse to spring from the carriage to recover your hat. 10. Select carriages near the center of the train if possible. 11. Do not attempt to hand an article into a train in motion. 12. Travel by day, if possible, not in foggy weather.

Any major change that takes place in the social, economic, or political institutions of a large area had its effects upon the whole pattern of life in the area. The development of cheaper and faster transportation enabled Southerners to exer- c1se further their penchant for making extended visits among friends and relatives, and permitted them to have a wider personal acquaintances. T he result was that they were more closely 254

bound together, thus building a social solidarity that had not

existed previously. Furthermore, the development of economic

inter-dependence between the specialized regions of the South,

as the result of rail communication, did much to break down the

social cleavages that isolation aad developed. This caused those areas of the South where slavery was not the predominant labor system to support and defend the "Black Belts" and their peculiar institution". After 1838, the year in which railroads were made post roads, postal rates gradually declined causing, in part, a corresponding increase in the volume of correspondence and diffusion of written matter carrying news and opinion, which, in turn, strengthened social and political solidarity.

b conomic1 and social unification of the South led to greater political unity, culminating in the establishment of the Confederacy. After the Republican victory in 1860, the

South was confident that General Greenville v. Dodge would have sufficient influence on Lincoln definitely to set Omaha as the starting point for the Pacific railroad. They were equally confident that a line to the Pacific in the North would mean that all new states would come into the Union free. This would mean further losses for the South in political strength in the

Senate. Loss of political strength in the Senate was particularly important, because equality in the house had already been lost as the North outstripped the South in population.

The introduction of railroads did not appreciably affect the Aegro slave population of the South. Although the

Now wwwwwwwo plantation owners did use their slaves in numerous instances

to assist in the building of the railroads and the railroads

did buy a few slaves for a part of their labor force, the

industrial status of slaves remained unchanged in the ante- belluiQ period. The railroads did make it possible for the masters more easily to mobilize and ove their slaves, and in

some instances this may have made their life somewhat easier, for the usual method of moving slaves had been to march them

overland. The coming of the railroads did not add to the social

life of the Negroes, for the $outhern railroads would not sell transportation to iegroes except upon the exhibition of passes signed by their masters or guardilans giving them express per- mrission to travel.

State regulation of railroa(ds did riot a:pear in the South very early, because the states offered practically every in- ducement to get railroad development. Most of the railroads of the South were constructed by local companies primarily concerned in local development; hence, civic pride prevented the outrageous abuses that developed in a later period. Also, most states were heavy stockholders or bondholders, and in this manner exercised a measure of control without statutory enact- rent. FIurthermore, the political philosophy of the South could be summed up thus: "The best government is that government which governs least". This philosophy resulted in. a laissez faire policy until abuses should arise in rost of the states.

The charters providing for the creation of the railroad 256

companies exercised a deree of regulation. Some of the more

general regulations provided were: the railroads must render

safe and prompt service and cooperate in through service; they were prohibited from leasing and operating parallel and competing lines; xmaximun rates must be observed and rates vust be published; there was to be no discrimination either in service or in rates; the states reserved the right to participate in the construction of the roads; the life of the charter was somet~ies limited; and the taxes that mciht be levied against railroad companies were soametimes limited.

In 1837, Virginia passed the first general law in the

South for the regulation of railroads. This law consisted of thre tarts: (1) It did away with the requirement of a legislative charter for each company launched, because previously only strong interests had been able to carry their bills through the asseMbly. General regulations were to be deemed a part of all subsequent charters "to the same effect as if the sane were expressly re-enacted in reference to any charter or act may otherwise provide". (2) It sought to safeguard the the property of the railroad and also its toll by a provision to the effect that any part of any charter or act, of incorporation "granted agreeably to the provisions of this act" might be altered, modified, or repealed by any future legislation, except that no law was to be passed taking frort a company its works or property without just compensation, or changing its rates without its consent. It also rovided that the rates

-al.-lukimmawkyAndeam&RAmrawagglangum 257

could not be lowered so that the earnings would fall below

fifteen per cent on the capital within thirty years after the

first dividend was declared, or below twelve per cent after

thirty years and before fifty years from said time, or to prevent dividends of ten per cent after fifty years. (3) The

Board of Public Works was ordered to obtain from each railroad in which the commonwealth was interested, or which lay wholly within the state, an annual report showing the amount of capital stock, the gross receipts, and the net loss or profit for the year. As soon as the reports indicated that the original cost of the road, together with six per cent interest, had been reimbursed to the stockholders, the board was to prescribe such tariffs for the road as would return to the stockholders a six per cent dividend annually.

One other Southern state, Texas, passed general laws for the regulation of railroads in the ante-bellum period. Texas, like the other states, exercised regulation of her railroad companies through their charters until February 7, 1853. At the time of the passage of this first law there were no railroads in operation in the state. The Texas law-makers attempted to take advantage of the experience of other states in framing the provisions of the acts. The first Texas act provided that:

(1) The principal office iust be on the line of the road. (2)

The trains must run on a published schedule. (3) The railroads

I 411iam F.'Switzler, Report on Internal Comrierce of the United Statea, pp. 73-7. 258

were required to furnish sufficient accomodations. (4) The gauge was standardized at six feet. (5) Bridges must not interfere with navigation on rivers. (6) Employees collecting fares must wear identification badges. (7) All railroads were subject to purchase by the state. (8) The placing of baggage or freight cars behind passenger cars was prohibited. ()

Brakes and a brakeman were required on the hindmost car. (10)

Signs were required at all public road crossings. (11) Each locomotive was required to have a bell or whistle to be used to warn the public of the approach of the train. (12) Intoxi- cation of the conductor or engineer was made a misdemeanor.

(13) No dividend was to be declared by an insolvent company or if the payment thereof would render it insolvent. (14) The conductor was authorized to eject passengers refusing to pay fare. (15) The legislature reserved the right to establish rates within certain limitations.

In 1857, a law enacted by the Texas legislature was brought about by some instances of fraudulent issuance of stocks and bonds by certain railroad companies. The main provisions of this law were: (1) T he directors were made liable for the debts of the comapny if they paid a dividend when it was insolvent. (2) A majority of the directors, and the principal officers were required to live in Texas. (3) The companies were required to keep their stock books on the line and

to permit inspection by any agent of the state or by any stock- holder. (4) If an officer made a false certificate or report 259

as to any material fact, he vas liable to a fine or imprison- ment, or both. (5) It undertook to protect the rights of creditors and stockholders in forced sales of railroads.

In 1860, this general law was supplemented by provisions dealing with liability or carriers some of which related to railroads: (1) They were made liable for refusing goods offered at a proper time together with the tender of the proper amount of freight. (2) Thej were required to forward goods in the order in which they were received. (3) The "trip" was to be commenced at the signing of the bill of lading. Carriers were made liable as warehousemen only before the trip began, and, if after three day notice the consignee does not take the goods. The sale of perishable goods was authorized if not removed within a reasonable time. (4) Corpanies were made liable to pay owners of frei;ht tE-n dollars for every overcharge made for freight. Some of the provisions of this act not dealing with freight rates were: (1) Each company was required to have suitable freight depots. (2) To place "effectual cattle guards where their roads entered or left any enclosed field of private individuals". (3) They were made liable for the stock killed, except when road is enclosed, only for want of ordinary care". (4) Officers were prohibited from becoming interested in the construction of the road. (5) This law also undertook to prevent stock-watering. trior to the civill War there appears to have been no

2S,G. Reed, A History of Texas Railroads, pp. 119-122.

wimowwwwm" waww"Now" WORNAMIN w 260

complaints by the public of excessive rates, poor service, or discrimination. There were no legislative investigations; nor was mention of such action in the press of the period.

It is interesting to note that the first attempts at the regulation of railroads in the South took place before the passage of England's first great Railway Act of 1854.

The story of warfare is closely allied to that of transportation. Primitive peoples learned the value of rapid movement in tribal wars, and as man has advanced in civilization he has employed his most advanced means of transportation in his all too numerous wars. In the Mexican War, the first fought after the introduction of railroads, the potential military value of railroads was recognized. One of the motives for the building of a Southern Pacific railroad, pointed out by the early promoters, was its value to national defense. But it was in the bitter struggle of the American Civil War that railroads were recognized as a decisive military factor. The three most important uses of the railroad in war are: (1) to carry the military forces to the theaters of operations and to provide them with a steady and ample stream of replacements in men and supplies; (2) to transport the necessary volume of raw materials to the industrial plants for convErsion into military supplies;

(3) to concentrate export goods at the safest export centers and

to distribute the necessary civilian goods to prevent the breakdown of strained domestic economy.

The following maps will show the location of the Southern railroads in the years 1840, 1850, and 1860. "- .- I M I

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I I I TI I r I L -. --

- -______

mop.

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E4 tP

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frI

I I I I wmm I I

0 -- 1iil I i-I " I

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if s WAMM" I 264

A study of the railroad map of the South in 1860 reveals that a line of east-west railroads, in general, paralled the boundary between the North and South from northern Virginia to Memphis, Tennessee, on the Mississippi River. This line was deep enough within the territory of the Confederacy to be reasonably safe from Union offensive action until defenses could be set up. North and south lines connected with this east-west line in Virginia, Tennessee, andT ississippi whereby movement froi the deep interior to the main line of defense could be effected. North of the east-west line, railroads penetrated nearEr to the frontier in the Shenandoah Valley, at

Covington, at Nashville, ad at Memphis, assisting in moving up forces for the defense of tile whole northern boundary. Two rail lines paralled the 1isssippi River, and should enemy gun-uoats make river transportation impossible transportation would not entirely break down in that area. These main lines to the theaters of operations were connected to the ports and the other commercial and industrial centers with innumerable branch lines radiating into the areas of production of raw materials. Generally speaking, such railroads as the South possessed were well located from the standpoint of its strategic defense. The principal weakness of railroad location was the lack of rail connection with Texas. Such a line was badly needed to secure the food supplies produced in that state, especially beef. The map showing the location of Southern rail lines is deceiving, in that it does not reveal the fact that eleven different guages were used on these roads in 1860, preventing through traffic. Furthermore, there were numerous instances where terminals of lines in the same city had no track connections. Nor does the map reveal the condition of the roads. Many of the Southern roads had been poorly constructed or placed in operation in an unfinished condition and failed to meet even rinimum requirements for military use.

Nor does the map reveal the lack of rolling stock that existed in the South. The Nashville-Decatur line was an example of a railroad in unsatisfactory physical condition. Confederate

President Jefferson Davis had this to say about the Southern railroads:

Not only were the railroads insufficient in number, but they were poorly furnished with rolling stock, and had been mainly dependent upon Northern foundries and factories for their rails and equipment. Even the skilled operatives of the railroads were generally Iorthern men, and their desertion followed fast upon the outbreak of uar.

An analysis of the position of the South in 1860 shows that her water-borne transport was especially vulnerable, because the Confederacy had no naval forces at the outbreak of hostilities with which to defend it. The Mississippi River

pasen at bot' ends for attack by Union forces, both naval

and military. Loss of the Mississippi would cut the Confed- eracy in two. The water-ways and water transport were a

liability to the Confederacy. Thus the railroads were forced to carry a double burden. Clearly, the ability of the 266

Confederacy to maintain military operations was largely dependent upon her railroads.

Entirely too many people have been taught that the Civil

War was fought over the moral issue of slavery and that the

South lost because it was morally in the wrong. The world

has had enough victories by those on the wrong side of a moral

issue to discredit such a theory,, The Southern cavalry leader

General Bedford eorrest is credited with the theory that wars

are won by the side that "gits thar furstest with the mostest",

and among the many causes that brought about the defeat of the

South, the breakdown of her transportation system ranks among the foremost. BIBLIOGRAP HY

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