Lot 29
Letters and Original To Rebuilt The Bridge In Loudon, Tenn. Seven letters, plus two duplicates and two printed diagrams on silk, regarding the rebuilding of the bridge at Loudon, Tennessee that was burned by the Confederates in September 1863 to keep Union General Ambrose Burnside and his troops from using it. It was the longest bridge crossing the Tennessee River on the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad and ran between Knoxville and Dalton, Georgia. It was an important transportation link between the southern and western Confederacy and was heavily guarded by Confederate troops to prevent its destruction by Union troops. In the end, the Confederates burned it themselves to prevent their enemy from using it. The first letter is from D.C. McCallum, Col. and Gen. Manager of the RR Div. of the Miss., datelined from the Office of Supt. Military Railroad, Dept. of the Cumberland, Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 9 1864, informing Lt. Col. J.L. Donaldson, Gen. & Supr. Qr. Ms. Dept of the Cumberland: "I have this day closed a contract with W.H. Bristol for the reconstruction of the Tenn. River Bridge at Louden…I have in behalf of the U.S. agreed, that men, materials, and supplies shall be transported from Cincinnati or Louisville to Nashville, by Boat or Railroad, at the rates paid by the United States, and from thence to Louden free…."; this letter is a true copy, with a duplicate true copy. A letter from Donaldson, Chief Quartermaster's Office in Nashville, also dated Feb .9, to Brig. Gen. Robt Allen in Louisville, orders him to fulfill the terms agreed upon in McCallum's letter; a true copy is included with the original letter. Four other letters contain technical information: the chief engineer of U.S. Military Railroads orders a pile driver sent to Johnsonville; another discusses splice blocks, rails, spikes, and ties, etc., and their costs; another letter (poor condition) is from the manufacturer of a steam pumping machine (with image on envelope); and a letter from the manufacturer of a drilling machine with pile driver and hydraulic sand pump. The letters vary from Poor to Very Good, having dampstains and foxing.
Two printed diagrams on silk, one 19¾ x 18 in., headed "BRIDGE / 50 Feet clear span, Scale 4 feet to One Inch," and one 21 x 42½ in are in Very Good condition.
Estimated Value $800 - 1,000.
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