Summaries

Synopsis

Born on the Indiana frontier in 1827, Lewis Wallace was an active boy who enjoyed hunting, fishing, and reading, but hated school. After he left home, he followed in his father's footsteps and studied law. He was also fascinated with military lore and tactics. Upon recruiting a company of soldiers, he was elected as their Lieutenant and served in the Mexican-American War.

When the Civil War began, he was appointed Adjutant General of Indiana, then accepted a commission as a Colonel in the Union Army. He was promoted to Brigadier General and then to Major General--at age 34, he was the youngest to hold that rank in the Union Army. He served with distinction in several battles, including Romney (Virginia), Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and most notably the Battle of Monocacy, in which he prevented the Confederate capture of Washington D.C.

After the war, Wallace served on the military commission that tried the Lincoln-assassination conspirators, then headed the military commission that tried Henry Wirz, the commandant of the infamous Andersonville prison camp, for war crimes. He also wrote his first historical novel, "The Fair God", about the Spanish conquest of Montezuma and the Aztecs.

Wallace was appointed Governor of the New Mexico Territory, from 1878 to 1881. He was sent to clean up the mess from the Lincoln County War. He met secretly with Billy the Kid, to persuade him to testify against others. But when Billy later escaped jail, Governor Wallace signed the Kid's death warrant in his own handwriting. While in New Mexico, he finished his second historical novel, "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ".

Lew Wallace was then appointed as U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and served for 4 years, from 1881 to 1885. By that time, "Ben-Hur" had become quite popular and made Wallace a wealthy man. The book has never been out of print. It spawned a hit Broadway play that ran for 21 years, then 3 film adaptations. Lew eventually wrote 7 books and many articles, and his wife Susan published 6 books. Lew was also an inventor, with 8 patents to his name. He was a proficient artist, producing sketches, several paintings, and at least a couple of sculptures. He was a musician, playing the fiddle. He crafted several violins, giving the completed ones as gifts to friends.

Mr. Wallace designed and had built a private writing study, separate from his house. Construction began in 1895 and ended in 1899. The building is mainly a single room, 25 feet square. It contains elements of Periclean Greek, Romanesque, and Byzantine architecture, which Lew had observed during his travels abroad. It originally had a moat and reflecting pool, but those were later filled in. The study now serves as a museum.

Lew Wallace died in 1905. He certainly was a Renaissance man: attorney, author, politician, diplomat, artist, musician, inventor, and military leader, serving in 2 of America's wars. He remains a true American hero.