To Mrs. Lyon.
Camp five miles south of Corinth, Friday, June 13, 1862.—I have been doing picket duty at Booneville. We shall probably remain here some time. Indeed, I think we are in summer quarters, unless some exigency of the war should call us away. We are encamped in scattering timber, on a dry and, I think, healthy location. We have hot days, but cool and comfortable nights, and no mosquitos. The water is tolerably good.
General Halleck turned all of the lying newspaper reporters out of his camp after the battle of Farmington. Hence their hostility to him. The army is well satisfied with him and has unbounded confidence in him. He was not fooled by quaker guns, for there were none of these weapons at Corinth except a rusty revolver of mine which won’t shoot! I have already explained to you that the position was what we wanted, and it does seem to us here that it was better to win it without much bloodshed. Talk about soldiers getting blood-thirsty! Why, the desire which seems prevalent at the North that thousands of us should have been uselessly butchered before the formidable entrenchments at Corinth beats us blind in cool blood-thirstiness! My dear, put not your trust in the newspapers!
