Colonel Lyons.
Fort Donelson, June 4, 1863.—Soon after I went over to headquarters this morning, an order came to me from General Rosecrans to send the 5th Iowa Cavalry to Murfreesboro, and then another directing me to gather up horses and mount enough infantry for patrols, pickets and scouts. The cavalry will cross the river tomorrow and march by Clarksville and Nashville. The 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, now at Eddyville, will join them at Clarksville. This order settles matters here by throwing the command of this post on my shoulders, and probably fastens us here for some time. I do not know, but presume, that Colonel Lowe will have a cavalry brigade at the front. We don’t hear a word from him. You know I feared this result when Colonel Lowe was ordered to headquarters. The responsibility of this command is heavy and I would gladly avoid it. It would be a very honorable command for a Brigadier-General, and is a larger and more responsible one than many of them have. Unless there is some change I have a laborious and anxious summer before me, but I will try to get along with it. I shall start an expedition in a day or two for horses.
