fore regarded as eligible to command troops, he secured
an order assigning himself to command according to his brevet rank
of Major, which made him superior to Lyon. Hagner had been five years
longer in the service than Lyon, but his commission as Captain was 20
days junior to Lyon's. Lyon energetically protested against Hagner's
assignment in a letter to Blair, who was then in Washington, D. C,
looking out for matters at that end of the line, in which he said:

55

It is obvious that the fine stone wall inclosing our grounds
affords us an excellent defense against attack, if we will
take advantage of it; and for this purpose platforms should
be erected for our men to stand on and fire over; and that
artillery should be ready at the gates, to be run out and
sweep down a hostile force; and sand-bags should be prepared
and at hand to throw up a parapet to protect the parties at
these pieces of artillery; inside pieces should be placed to
rake the whole length, and sweep down each side a party that
should get over the walls, traverses being erected to
protect parties at these pieces. A pretty strong field
work, with three heavy pieces, should be erected on the side
toward the river, to oppose either a floating battery or one
that might be established on the island; and, finally,
besides our houses, every building should be mined, with a
train arranged so as to blow them up successively, as
occupied by the enemy. Maj. Hagner refuses, as I mentioned
to you, to do any of these things, and has given his orders
not to fly to the walls to repel an approach, but to let the
enemy have all the advantages of the wall to lodge himself
behind it, and get possession of all outside buildings
overlooking us, and to get inside and under shelter of our
outbuildings, which we are not to occupy before we make
resistance. This is either imbecility or d----d
villainy, and in contemplating the risks we run and the
sacrifices we must make in case of an attack in contrast to
the vigorous and effective defense we are capable of, and
which, in view of the cause of our country and humanity, the
disgrace and degradation to which the Government has been
subject by pusillanimity and treachery, we are now called
upon to make, I get myself into a most unhappy state of
solicitude