Lew Wallace is widely remembered for the successful movie interpretations of his masterwork Ben-Hur in 1925 and 1959. These were not the only times the General’s name (and even the General) showed up in Hollywood movies. In 1914, Wallace’s book, The Prince of India, was adapted as a silent movie. […]
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On April 22, 1861, Oliver P. Morton, Governor of the State of Indiana and Commander in Chief of the Militia signed the enrollment paper for Mahlon D. Manson as Captain of the Crawfordsville Guards. Lew Wallace countersigned the enrollment. Before, during, and after the Civil War, the lives of Mahlon […]
Lew Wallace was what today would be called an alternative learner. In his much-less-polite day, many in Indianapolis referred to Lew, the governor’s son, as rascal and worse. As a youth running around the capital city, Lew and his friends found their way into the basement of the governor’s house. […]
Our Genealogy Lecture series continued last night with a fun and informative talk from Allison DePrey about the 1940 Census. Allison DePrey is Assistant Coordinator for Education and Community Engagement at the Indiana Historical Society. She went over some interesting facts about the 1940 Census and discussed how to read […]
Lew Wallace scholar and author Gail Stephens made a brief stop at the Study Friday while traveling west. Gail serves on the Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society Board of Trustees and wrote Shadow of Shiloh, winner of the 2011 William Henry Seward Award for Excellence in Civil War Biography. A […]
Today is Flag Day–the anniversary of the day in 1777 that the Second Continental Congress adopted the United States Flag. It is also celebrated as the birthday of the United States Army, though according to Wikipedia, the Army is actually two years older than the flag. Rather than talking about […]
One of our Facebook friends recently asked us about Lew’s speech given in Philadelphia after Lincoln’s famous “Hung in Black” speech. As a result, we adapted our research and response for this post. The 1864 Republican National Convention On June 7 and 8, 1864, the Republican National Convention met in […]
Gifts from the Sultan Lew Wallace’s tour of duty as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire ended in 1884. His friend, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, offered Lew a number of gifts. These included Arabian horses, jewels, and works of art. As a representative of the government of […]
We were fortunate to have Wallace Scholar Dr. Howard Miller with us in March for the Historic Artcraft Theatre’s screening of the 1959 film Ben-Hur. Dr. Miller brought a treasure trove of pieces from his collection of Ben-Hur memorabilia to share with movie-goers. He also spoke briefly before the screening to provide […]
We have been incredibly fortunate this weekend to receive a visit from Lew Wallace, Jr.’s 1930 Duesenberg, currently owned by Jack and Drena Miller of Georgia. The car was custom built for Lew, Jr. at an estimated $16,000 or more–and in 1930 that was a lot of money! As the […]