Lew Wallace and his brother William each married women from prominent families. These marriages brought prestige, money, and important Hoosier connections to the Wallace family. They were not, however, the only sons of David Wallace to marry well. David had six children with his second wife, Zerelda. Three of these […]
Lew Wallace
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The first official Indiana Governor’s mansion was located in Corydon, the first state capital. This home stood on a small rise overlooking the Statehouse. It served as home to Governor Jonathan Jennings and his wife, Ann, from 1816 until 1822. While the home no longer stands, it hosted important social […]
Teaching is a noble profession and many times a student will ultimately outshine the instructor. Such was the case with Jacob Cox, who taught painting. Jacob Cox Jacob was born in 1810 in Philadelphia. He arrived in Indianapolis as a young man in 1833. He opened a business selling tin […]
The years from 1880 to 1920 are often recognized as the Golden Age of Indiana Authors. There had been well respected Hoosier authors before 1880 and certainly many literary leaders in the years after 1920, but beginning with Lew Wallace and his book Ben-Hur, there was an outpouring of best […]
At least eight important sculptors (not counting the General himself) have contributed to the artistry of the General Lew Wallace Study. Inside the building reside a bust of Wallace created by Randolph Rogers, a statue of Ben-Hur the galley slave done by George Peterson in 1888, and two plaster studies […]
One hundred and fifty years ago in April of 1862, the Battle of Shiloh raged in Tennessee. Considered one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, it saw its share of men who would go down in history. Some of these men would be remembered for their valor that […]
It took Lew Wallace almost 30 years to write and publish his first novel, The Fair God. He started working on it at about the age of 19 in the 1840s and published it in 1873 at age 46. After the success of his first book, it took him approximately […]
In 1877, the Republicans won the controversial presidential election between the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio and the Democratic nominee, Samuel Tilden of New York. With his party in power General Lew Wallace anticipated a reward for his support. The first offer that came to him in 1878 from […]
Lew Wallace knew each of the three American presidents assassinated during his lifetime. Abraham Lincoln had known Wallace and members of his family for years and was personally involved in aspects of Wallace’s Civil War career. James Garfield had come to know Wallace during the Civil War, through Republican Party […]
Off Wabash Avenue on the east side of Crawfordsville is Canby Avenue. It is one of the few local reminders of E.R.S. Canby, a local boy, friend of Lew Wallace, and one of Crawfordsville’s five Civil War generals. The Canby family settled in Crawfordsville in the 1830s and lived in […]