Lew Wallace

Lewis "Lew" Wallace (April 10, 1827 - February 15, 1905) was a Civil War general, statesman, and author, and is best known for his book Ben-Hur.

Notes toward an article

• Born in Brookville, Indiana (father elected state Governor), served in Mexican-American War, admitted to the bar in 1849
• Helped raise troops in Indiana for at start of Civil War, rose to Major General in Union army fighting (with some controversy) at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Monocacy.
• Participated in trials of Lincoln assassination conspirators and Henry Wirz, commandant of Andersonville prison camp
• Served as Governor of New Mexico Territory (1878-1881), and U. S. Minister to Turkey (1881-1885)
  • As Governor he offered amnesty to many men involved in the Lincoln County War. In the process he met with Billy the Kid.
• Author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880) which has never been out of print and has been filmed three times
• Died in Crawfordsville, Indiana

Sources and external links

• Good short overview: http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~rcadams/
• Lew Wallace site in Crawfordsville: http://www.ben-hur.com/
• Wallace in Indiana Civil War history: http://www.mach500.net/liggetkw/incw/hoosier/wallace.htm
• Project Gutenberg e-texts of some of Lew Wallace's works