Hoyt,

The Richmond & Danville Railroad ran straight through, using other rail lines below Virginia, to New Orleans. That railroad, along with the Memphis & Charleston, were two of the major railroads connecting Virginia with the southwestern states.

The slight to Richmond in the Mobile paper was probably due to several things. At that point, Virginia had not seceded from the Union and it looked like it might not do so. It was also not considered to be a "Cotton-state." Richmond was the iron center of the South, with 14 foundries and 50 iron and metal works along the James River. The largest plant, the Tredegar Iron Works, employed 900 workers, and provided most of the artillery for the Confederacy- probably including the above mentioned Columbiads. Richmond was an industrial city that compared favorably with those in northern states. Along with being a transportation center, it had 52 tobacco manufacturers, a paper mill, several coal mines, 12 flour mills, a distillery and a brewery.

The location of Richmond VA, its size, and its economy were major factors in the decision to remove the Confederate capital from Montgomery- once Virginia seceded from the Union.