Colonel Lyon’s Letters.
Nov. 13, 1864.—I have been to Stevenson, changing troops on the railroad. Was out all Tuesday night and came back last night very tired. A ten-hours’ sleep straightened me up, however, and today I am as good as new.
I think things are sufficiently settled now for you to come here, and I have just forwarded an application to General Thomas for leave. If granted, I can get it to you soon after the first of December, and if we have any trouble at all this winter it will likely come before that time; but I fear that we shall fail to obtain the permission. An application of the same kind made by the pilot of a gunboat to General Sherman has come back refused, with a statement that the General has prohibited women from coming south of Nashville. Yet the Chaplain got permission for his wife to come and she arrived at the regiment yesterday. This permission came from General Thomas. I think I shall move into another house where there are furnished rooms and where we can have better kitchen accommodations.
I will tell you now what I have kept still about. I expected that Hood would cross the river and move in this direction, and I had orders from General Thomas what to do in case his army came here. I was ordered to fall back towards Stevenson, resist him at the streams, obstruct roads and retard his movements as much as possible. I think that danger is pretty much passed, at least it will be by the time you get here. With such orders in my pocket, and while there was any prospect of an occasion arising for executing them, I knew that it would be folly to ask General Thomas to let you come.
I have taken the female college, a treasonable Methodist concern here, for a general hospital; and have had several interesting sessions with the lady proprietors about it. Dr. Evans will move here in a few days to take charge of it.
I have had some nice presents lately. My chief scout gave me a gold watch, which he took from the dead body of a rebel Colonel killed by him in some fight before Atlanta. An artist here, Mr. Fry, gave me a beautiful picture of General McPherson, worth $30, and the chief clerk of our post Q. M. gave me a gold pen.
