Colonel Lyons.
Fort Donelson, June 7, 1863.—I have a hard, anxious summer before me. At home some, I suppose, will think that it is a nice thing to have the command of a post like this, garrisoned with a large force, with a fort and lots of artillery, and no commander over you but General Rosecrans. It is a very honorable command, one that a higher and more experienced officer might well be proud of; but when you remember that it is a place much coveted by the rebels, one where several bloody battles have already been fought, and where we have always been victorious; a place that no commander would surrender so long as he had a man left to fire a gun; a place where above all others death would be preferable to defeat, and where we are almost entirely out of the reach of reinforcements for several months in the year if attacked, you can imagine that the responsibility more than equals the honor of the position.
The most pressing work now is to finish the fort, build the magazine, build a guard-house inside the works, procure forage to last all summer, get a light-draught steamer to carry our mails as long as possible; mount, equip and organize about 200 men for scouting purposes; besides several minor matters which require attention.
When these things are accomplished I shall ask for a leave of absence. Do not let any one out of the family see this letter. It is egotistical, and I have no right to be that with outsiders.
The telegraph wires are down between here and Clarksville.
