Annette Ranald's Blog: Annette's History Reads - Posts Tagged "lew-wallace"
Lew Wallace: the man who wrote Ben-Hur
When we think of the movie Ben-Hur, we doubtless have in mind the sweeping epic starring one of my classic faves Charlton Heston in the title role. I've seen the movie many times and read the book, which despite its stilted 19th century purple prose does stick with you. The writer of the book, Lew Wallace (1827-1905), was a man with an adventurous life that either Judah Ben-Hur or Charlton Heston would admire, ranging from Civil War service to standoffs with Billy the Kid.
Lew was born in Indiana. Although his father was a West Point grad and governor of Indiana Territory, Lew became an attorney. He saw only brief service as a militiaman during the Mexican War, but otherwise little else happened in his life. He married his wife, Susan, and they had one son, Henry. Then the Civil War broke out in 1861. He was appointed state adjutant General of Indiana and began to raise troops, one regiment of which he commanded himself. His regiment was mostly involved in battles in Tennessee and along the Mississippi River. At Shiloh in 1862, Wallace misunderstood some garbled verbal orders from Grant and ended up showing up on the wrong place on the battlefield to late to be of any use. He did something similar in the Battle of Monacacy in Maryland in 1864. Despite initially being angry with him, Grant always restored him to command.
By 1864, his job consisted of supply arms and aiding the Mexicans to free themselves of their Emperor Maximilian in 1865. Wallace also sat on the military tribunal that tried the Lincoln assassination conspirators, and Henry Wirz, the prison commandant at Andersonville. After the war and these trials, he resigned from the Army and continued to help the Mexican rebels, often out of his own pocket. He was appointed to a succession of political jobs, including becoming Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) at one point, but it's his service as Governor of New Mexico Territory from 1878-1881 that is the most interesting, because it was during his downtime on this job that he wrote Ben-Hur.
During his tenure as Governor, Wallace had two problems. New Mexico and Arizona were still deep in the Apache Wars, fearing bands led by the likes of Victoria, Nana, Mangas Coloradas, Cochise and Geronimo. There was also the effects of the Lincoln County War, one of the many grazing wars in the West between cattle ranchers and sheep ranchers. He offered amnesty to many of the men who'd fought on both sides in the Lincoln County War, including Billy the Kid. The terms called for the Kid to testify against comrades who had not complied with the amnesty. He did provide the testimony, but also kept up his murderous ways. Wallace did not pardon him and, in 2010, Governor Bill Richardson reviewed the case. He also refused Billy the Kid a pardon, which had been opposed by descendants Wallace and Pat Garrett, along with modern-day law enforcement.
Wallace had published his first novel in 1873, a forgotten story about the Conquest of Mexico. He wrote and published Ben-Hur in 1880, and it became a runaway best-seller then. It has never been out of print since, and spawn four movies, of which Heston's is the most well-known. Some historians have indicated that the book, in some ways, is autobiographical. Judah accidentally kills a Roman Commander and suffered years of hardship became of it. Wallace's bad hair day at Shiloh cost him his military reputation, which he worked all his life to correct. He later stated that, despite the success of Ben-Hur, he was still bitter about Shiloh.
Ben-HurHe returned to Crawfordsville, IN, where his home and office has become a National Historical Landmark. He offered to raise a regiment to fight in the Spanish-American war in 1898, but was refused and turned away when he tried to enlist as a private. He died in Crawfordsville in 1905.
Lew was born in Indiana. Although his father was a West Point grad and governor of Indiana Territory, Lew became an attorney. He saw only brief service as a militiaman during the Mexican War, but otherwise little else happened in his life. He married his wife, Susan, and they had one son, Henry. Then the Civil War broke out in 1861. He was appointed state adjutant General of Indiana and began to raise troops, one regiment of which he commanded himself. His regiment was mostly involved in battles in Tennessee and along the Mississippi River. At Shiloh in 1862, Wallace misunderstood some garbled verbal orders from Grant and ended up showing up on the wrong place on the battlefield to late to be of any use. He did something similar in the Battle of Monacacy in Maryland in 1864. Despite initially being angry with him, Grant always restored him to command.
By 1864, his job consisted of supply arms and aiding the Mexicans to free themselves of their Emperor Maximilian in 1865. Wallace also sat on the military tribunal that tried the Lincoln assassination conspirators, and Henry Wirz, the prison commandant at Andersonville. After the war and these trials, he resigned from the Army and continued to help the Mexican rebels, often out of his own pocket. He was appointed to a succession of political jobs, including becoming Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) at one point, but it's his service as Governor of New Mexico Territory from 1878-1881 that is the most interesting, because it was during his downtime on this job that he wrote Ben-Hur.
During his tenure as Governor, Wallace had two problems. New Mexico and Arizona were still deep in the Apache Wars, fearing bands led by the likes of Victoria, Nana, Mangas Coloradas, Cochise and Geronimo. There was also the effects of the Lincoln County War, one of the many grazing wars in the West between cattle ranchers and sheep ranchers. He offered amnesty to many of the men who'd fought on both sides in the Lincoln County War, including Billy the Kid. The terms called for the Kid to testify against comrades who had not complied with the amnesty. He did provide the testimony, but also kept up his murderous ways. Wallace did not pardon him and, in 2010, Governor Bill Richardson reviewed the case. He also refused Billy the Kid a pardon, which had been opposed by descendants Wallace and Pat Garrett, along with modern-day law enforcement.
Wallace had published his first novel in 1873, a forgotten story about the Conquest of Mexico. He wrote and published Ben-Hur in 1880, and it became a runaway best-seller then. It has never been out of print since, and spawn four movies, of which Heston's is the most well-known. Some historians have indicated that the book, in some ways, is autobiographical. Judah accidentally kills a Roman Commander and suffered years of hardship became of it. Wallace's bad hair day at Shiloh cost him his military reputation, which he worked all his life to correct. He later stated that, despite the success of Ben-Hur, he was still bitter about Shiloh.
Ben-HurHe returned to Crawfordsville, IN, where his home and office has become a National Historical Landmark. He offered to raise a regiment to fight in the Spanish-American war in 1898, but was refused and turned away when he tried to enlist as a private. He died in Crawfordsville in 1905.
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I enjoy reading and writing about history. I've loved history all my life and read a ton of books. Now, I'll share a few of them with you. I also want to take you along with me in this new and strange
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