Friday, July 29, 2011
Welcome to the Journal of Henry Vandergrift.
Welcome to the Journal of Henry Watson Vandergrift. My blog will be written as if I am writing it back in the 1850s through 1870s. I hope to discuss topics that were of importance of those days and may be of interest to those interested in the 150th commemoration of the American Civil War, early agriculture and railroads, and history of Virginia, particularly during that period of time.
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The day commenced hot and steamy, not so unusual for this portion of Virginia. I have recovered from my excursion to Cannon Branch Fort near Manassas Junction last week. Hard to believe that it has been more than a week since the brave Virginia boys and those from other Southern states send the federals skedaddling back towards Washington. I was out at the fort, inspecting the tracks of the Orange and Alexandria RR that pass immediately by the fort.
ReplyDeleteSince May 24 of this year, when the federals, at invitation of not a single true Virginian, came across from Washington City to Alexandria, our railroad's eastern most terminus has been and remains, to this day, Manassas Junction.
Loss of Manassas to Virginia and to the Orange and Alexandria RR is great. Alexandria has been our primary (read only) shops - engine houses, round house, maintenance sheds, tools, staff, and company offices and records. Much of our engines and rolling stock, as well as rails, chairs, and spikes are now in the possession of the federals.
I have issued instruction to our engineers and mechanics to do what they can do to maintain the equipment and keep it in operating condition as best they can. On a positive note, we were able to get 13 of our 16 4-4-0 locomotives out of Alexandria and into Manassas Junction ahead of the federal forces. The 3 that we left were no great loss, except for parts, though I have the feeling that a day will come when we will wish we had those parts. A much greater impact is not having the rails and tools, and the company records. For you see, as Chief Engineer and General Manager, I am responsible for both keeping the trains running, but making sure that they are making money. We are required, by the State Legislature, to make an annual report of our financial status. I will be unable to provide this report this year, unless I can retrieve the records at some time.
Perhaps the time won't be long until we once again have control of Alexandria. I can still see the rather stressed look of the faces of those northern boys as they headed back north and east. Perhaps if we hadn't burned seven bridges between Alexandria and Manassas Junction, we could have loaded our boys on our flatcars and gave those bluecoats a bit of a race to Washington City.