Knoxville toward Southwestern Virginia, and at this time was in the worst condition. The track was laid originally on an unballasted mud roadbed in a very imperfect manner, with a light U-rail on wooden stringers, which were badly decayed, and caused almost daily accidents by spreading apart and letting the engines and cars drop between them. The total length of the roads in use was as follows:

Miles.

Nashville to Chattanooga.................................151

Nashville (south) to Dark's Mill......................... 39

Stevenson to Huntsville.................................. 60

Chattanooga to Charleston................................ 42

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Total....................................................292

Upon examination it was found was on the above roads the following rolling-stock:

Forty-seven U. S. Military Railroad locomotives that could be made available, 3 locomotives borrowed from Louisville and Nashville Railroad; total, 50 locomotives, of which 11 were disabled and in the shop for repairs, leaving fit for service 39.

Four hundred and thirty-seven U. S. Military Railroad freight- cars, about 100 cars borrowed from Louisville and Nashville Railroad; total, 537 cars, of which 400 hundred were in running order, the remainder being disabled.

My attention was first directed to the most efficient organization of the men employed. Two distinct departments were projected - the "transportation department," embracing the operation and maintenance of all the lines in use, and the "construction corps," for the reconstruction of the railroads which might fall into our hands as the army advanced.

The following orders and instructions* were issued to the principal officers in charge of these respective organizations:

GENERAL ORDERS,
OFFICE General MGR. MIL. RAILROADS UNITED STATES, Numbers 1.
Nashville, February 10, 1864.

A. Anderson is hereby appointed general superintendent of transportation and maintenance of roads in use, and w. W. Wright chief engineer of construction, in the Military Division of the Mississippi. They will be respected accordingly.

D. C. McCALLUM,

Colonel, U. S. Army, General Manager Railroads United States.

Approved.

U. S. GRANT,

Major-General.

The transportation department embraced the following division of sub-departments:

First. Conducting transportation or managing the movements of trains.

Second. Maintenance of road and structures, keeping the roadway, bridges, buildings, and other structures in repair; building new structures; rebuilding old ones when and where necessary.

Third. Maintenance of rolling-stock, keeping in order the locomotives and cars, and managing the shops where such work was done.

For conducting transportation each principal line was operated by a superintendent of transportation, who was held responsible for the movement of all trains and engines over it.

Subordinate to the superintendent were one or more masters of transportation, according to distance operated, who were constantly

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* See McCallum to Anderson and McCallum to Wright, Series I, Vol. XXXII, Part II, pp. 371, 172.

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