The Daily Dispatch: March 25, 1865., [Electronic resource]

It was said by some of Sheridan's troopers, in their late raid, that they did not care about taking Richmond; that Richmond, in fact, was a thing of very little consequence indeed; but that their object was to destroy the country, and thereby destroy General Lee's army. --When remonstrated with by families for taking their little household supplies, the answer was, that they meant to take them, so that they could not supply General Lee's army. For this, the people were plundered; for this, the mills were burned, as well as canals and railroads cut. They also expressed their astonishment at the amount of provisions they found in some parts of the interior. They had been told, they said, that we were in a state of starvation, but they found an abundance that they had not dreamed of.

It needed not their declarations to inform us of their object. Richmond, they have discovered, is not the back bone of the rebellion. It is that army; that host of war-worn veterans who, for four years, have confronted them with invincible courage, and whom they have given up all hopes of conquering except by starvation. It is for the people to say whether this attempt shall succeed. If they prefer to hold on to their supplies and run the risk of being cleaned out by the Yankees, they have the right to make the election. If they wish to succeed they will send to General Lee's army every article not indispensable to their family use, and pour into the treasury every article of jewelry, of plate, of gold and silver in any form, which will help the country in its necessity. The army must be fed; the treasury must be supplied, or, in trying to save a part, we shall lose all. Even an enlightened self-interest, to say nothing of patriotism, demands the sacrifice.