Raids.
The damage done by Yankee raids, like that of Averill, does not pay for the losses they suffer. As far as any injury they do to railroads is concerned they have never effected anything. A railroad is one of the few things which is more difficult to destroy than to create. The raid of Averill accomplished next to nothing in this respect, and the same may be said of all the raids which have taken place in Virginia and elsewhere. But it is shameful that these attempts at mischief, however insignificant in their results, should go unpunished. Congress and the Legislature ought to devise some system to meet these incursions, and repel and chastise the raiders. An efficient organization of the home population, supported at convenient distances by regular garrisons, would soon put an end to this species of annoyance. The subject demands the immediate attention of the legislative bodies.
