Marble by Andrew O'Connor in Statuary Hall
The Capitol Building
Washington, D.C.
Lewis (Lew) Wallace (1827-1905) was born to David Wallace, an Indiana Governor, and Esther French Test Wallace in Brookville, Indiana. Wallace was a lieutenant in the 1st Indiana infantry during the Mexican War, 1846-1847. In 1848 Wallace edited a Free Soil Party paper to oppose the election of Zachary Taylor for president because he believed Taylor treated Indiana regiments badly during the Mexican War. After the election, Wallace became affiliated with the Democratic Party. Wallace was admitted to the bar in 1849 and soon began practicing in Indianapolis. A short time later, he moved to Covington, Fountain County, where he was elected prosecuting attorney in 1850 and 1852. Wallace moved to Crawfordsville in 1853 and was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1856 as a member of the Democratic Party.
In 1861, Governor Oliver P. Morton appointed Wallace Indiana adjutant general. For his recruitment services, Wallace was commissioned a colonel in the 11th Indiana Regiment and distinguished himself at the battle of Romney. He was soon promoted to general and fought at Fort Donelson and Shiloh, 1862. He was also in charge of the defense of Cincinnati, 1862-1863, and was credited with saving the city from falling into Confederate hands. In 1864 he commanded a Union force of 5,800 at the Battle of Monocacy that held off an army of 28,000 Confederates and was credited with preventing the capture of Washington, D.C. Wallace was a member of the court-martial which tried the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination, 1865, and he was president of the commission that tried and convicted Henry Wirz, commander of Andersonville Prison, Georgia, 1865.
Wallace was also involved in acquiring arms and men for Mexican rebels fighting the French, 1865-1867. In 1867, he returned to Crawfordsville and was a Republican Party candidate for Congress in 1870. Wallace was named to the committee to oversee counting of disputed ballots in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina after the 1876 presidential election. From 1878-1881 Wallace served as governor of New Mexico Territory. He was then named U.S. Minister to Turkey, a position he held from 1881-1885. While in Turkey, Wallace won the confidence of the Sultan to an unusual extent.
Wallace was probably best known as an author. Among his works were: The Fair God (1873); Ben-Hur (1880); The Life of Benjamin Harrison (1888); The Boyhood of Christ (1888); and The Prince of India (1893).
Wallace was married to Susan Elston in 1852. She was the daughter of Col. Isaac C. and Maria A. Elston. Mrs. Wallace was a frequent contributor to newspapers and periodicals.The Dictionary of American Biography described Wallace as: "... simple in taste and democratic in ideals. For politics he had no aptitude; the law he did not like; the military life challenged his adventurous spirit but could not hold him after his country had no special use for his services; art, music, and literature were his most vital and permanent interests."
Source:
This sketch of the life of Lew Wallace is from Lew Wallace Collection, 1799-1972 Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts and Archives.