1827 Lew Wallace born in Brookville, Indiana on April 10
1833 The Wallace Family moves to Covington, Indiana
1834 Esther Test Wallace, Lew's mother, dies of consumption
1837 The Wallace Family moves to Indianapolis when Lew Wallace's father becomes the sixth Governor of Indiana
1843 Lew Wallace leaves home and begins working
1846 Lew Wallace recruits for the Mexican War and becomes 2nd Lieutenant of the 1st Indiana Volunteers
1849 Lew Wallace passes the bar exam and sets up law practice in Covington, IN
1852 Lew Wallace and Susan Elston are married
1853 Henry Lane Wallace is born in Covington; soon the family moves to Crawfordsville
1861 At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Wallace serves as Adjutant General of Indiana, before becoming Colonel of the 11th Indiana Volunteers
1862 Lew Wallace is promoted to Major General and commands Union military divisions in the Tennessee battles of Forts Henry and Donelson and Shiloh. Organizes successful defense of Cincinnati, Ohio
1864 Wallace saves Washington, D.C. from Confederate assault at the battle of Monocacy
1865 Lew Wallace serves as a judge in the military trial for the men who conspired to kill President Abraham Lincoln and at the court-martial of Henry Wirz, commandant of Andersonville Prison
1868 Lew and Susan Wallace build a home in Crawfordsville
