To Mrs. Lyon.
July 5, 1862.—I had a very pleasant visit from Dr. Miller, of Geneva. He is appointed surgeon of the 6th Wisconsin Battery, Captain Dillon, which is at Rienzi, nine miles from us. He stayed all night with us, and then went to his post. I enjoyed his visit very much indeed.
Colonel Heg called to see me yesterday. His regiment, the 15th, is encamped near us. Out of 750 men we have here in camp, not more than 40 are sick, none seriously so. My own health is perfect, not a throb of pain, scarcely of weariness, and the health tingling to my very toes’ ends.
We hold ourselves in readiness to march any hour, and in any direction. We think that Beauregard’s army has not gone to Richmond, but that a part of it is at Vicksburg and the balance about fifty miles south of us on the Mobile & Ohio R. R., near Okolona. I think we shall neither attack them nor be attacked by them very soon. Their cavalry scouts have been within twenty miles of us at Booneville and had a skirmish with our cavalry. Things look better at Richmond since McClellan has changed his front, contracted his lines, and got out of the swamps.
