Charleston and Savannah as well as the South Caroline Railroads in their reach. The former is occupied and the latter imminently threatened. The urgent necessity of a more interior line has doubtless presented itself to your mind. The Legislature of South Carolina appears deeply impressed with the importance of such a step. I presume that the resolutions on this subject, unanimously passed a few days since by it, have been forwarded to you by Governor Magrath. These resolutions invite your co-operation in the speedy construction of the direct road now under way from Columbia to Augusta Railroad Company, have invited your attention to the subject on former occasions. In my last you gave the authority to detail not exceeding forty contractors, upon certain conditions. In July and August I made a fair beginning, and by October we had about 600 hands. General Orders, No. 77, took off many of our contractors and hands. We still had inreased the number of hands to hands to about 400 when Sherman started from Atlanta. The military authorities at Augusta took about 300 of them to fortify that city. These contractors, being from Georgia, returned with their slaves to their homes after being discharged at Augusta. We still have between 500 and 600 hands at work, and are adding to the force every week.

The great difficulty has been in getting contractors exempt or definitely detailed since Order No. 77. I have not exceeding eight or nine contractors now detailed. The others are exempt from other causes or over age. If the Department can definitely and absolutely detail or exempt not exceeding sixty contractors, I think I can get from 1,500 to 2,000 slaves on the work, and have a portion of both ends of the line ready for the rails by April, and grade the remainder as fast as the track could be laid. Some of the iron would be to haul one mile and a half at this terminus until the bridges across the Congaree near Columbia could be finished. The distance from Columbia to Augusta by the line adopted is seventy-nine miles, but we propose to connect with the South Carolina Railroad at Graniteville, ten miles this side of Augusta, and cross the Savannah at Augusta, and cross the Savannah at Augusta on the bridge of that road. This would leave only sixty-nine miles of road to construct for Government purposes. The great desire of this company now is to subserve the military purposes of the Government, and with a view of pressing the work vigorously it would respectfully request that the War Department would authorize the detail or exemption while at work of not exceeding sixty contractors and laborers. I believe a lesser number will answer, as I require every grading contractor to bring not less than twenty-five hands. Give the company the right to subsistence and clothing for hands at Government prices, with the privilege of transportation of all supplies on the railroads second only to military transportation. With these privileges granted the Government will bring a large amount of private capital to the vigorous prosecution of the work. But contractors must be exempt from being impressed into the Army and their slaves from coast defenses, when practicably. The hands can be had now if the authority with the privilege of providing for them is granted. The Government will have to provide the iron, chairs, and spikes, and can lay it down on the track should you deem it best. If in our disaster we should be unable to save the iron of the Charleston and Savannah, or that portion of the South Carolina Railroad iron below or south of Branchville, the rails of the Union and Spartanburg Railroad, seventy-five miles long, would be more than sufficient to lay the entire track of