duties gave to his mind early the judicial cast. With few books, he reasoned out principles and sought to judge justly. In 1850, he removed to Burlington, a small growing village, and formed a partnership with a lawyer already established in prac tice. Business increased, and, as his capac ities expanded by study and experience, he sought a broader field, and in 1855 he removed to Racine, on the lake shore, then and ever since a growing town, with a large commercial and manufacturing business to afford work for lawyers. He served as a district attorney for the county of Racine four years. In 1859 he was elected to the " Assembly," that is, the lower house of the State legislature. Although without parliamentary experience he was elected speaker, because everyone relied on his perfect fairness and candor. He applied himself to the study of the " manual," and acquitted himself so admirably that on the following year he was returned and again the unanimous choice of his party for the speaker. Perhaps no man in the State was better fitted to succeed in politics than he when at thirty-eight years of age he finished his second term as speaker. Popular with all, with a kindly manner, suggestive of perfect sincerity, courteous and affable, he enjoyed a measure of confidence and personal re gard which argued brilliant success in the future, and all the roads to political honors seemed opened to him. But the war came on. With no taste for military display, none of the impulses or ambitions that lead many to the field, he felt it a matter of cold, disagreeable duty to do his part. He enlisted one hundred splendid citizen soldiers, tendered their ser vices to the governor and was commissioned captain of one of the companies of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry, which was quite famous in the army as "the Live Eagle" regiment — as its pet was " Old Abe," a Wisconsin eagle borne upon a perch beside the colors. He
entered the military service in September, 1 86 1. With this regiment he served in the campaign against New Madrid and " Island No. lo," afterwards in the battles of Farmington, Corinth and Itika. This was one of the marching, fighting regiments of the Army of the Tennessee, constantly in the most active of service. Captain Lyon served until August, 1862, when promotion took him from this regiment. He then con sented to accept the colonelcy of a later regiment, and became commander of the ißth Wisconsin infantry, a splendid organiz ation, recruited largely from his section of the State. His talent as an administrative officer kept the regiment in the rear. It had a laborious and hard service, doing an unusual amount of marching, picket duty, and guarding of lines. Such confidence was placed in Colonel Lyon that his command was usually detached to guard some out post, or exercise a military government over a conquered district, where a just, merciful and watchful commander could be trusted. Hence, the fortunes of war cast upon Colonel Lyon with his command the duty to pre serve what had been gained, to hold posi tions upon the safety of which great move ments depended. It performed laborious garrison, patrol and picket duty and scout ing. For over two years, its men were on detail about half the time. While suffering little in actual battle, it suffered heavily from the hardships of the service in malarial dis tricts. Colonel Lyon 's duties were vastlygreater and more trying than that of a colo nel brigaded in a compact army at the front; and he performed them with strictest fidelity. Among the important posts commanded by Colonel Lyon was the post Stevenson, Alabama, in the fall months of 1863, before and after the battle of Chickamauga. It was at that time the depot of supplies of the Army of the Cumberland at and about Chattanooga. After the battle of Chick amauga, for many days the post was in hourly expectation of attack; and the im
