One of the great Hoosier authors of the early 20th century was Gene Stratton-Porter. Her literary career began its ascent at the turn of the century and continued until her death in 1924 when her limousine was hit by a streetcar in Los Angeles. She had moved to Los Angeles […]
People Lew Knew
24 posts
“A victory so great, so unprecedentedly glorious, could not have been purchased without loss on our side. Among the 700 heroes who were slain and wounded on that bloody day we who knew him from infancy have to mourn the death of Captain Kinder. Poor Truss. The glory which shall […]
On October 14, 1895, a local news item announced that a lecture bureau out East had arranged for a lecture speaking tour. Lew Wallace was named as one of the important people to be a part of this tour. The tour was unusual because of the diversity of the assembled […]
Sometimes history remembers an educator less for their accomplishments than for the history made by their students. Such is the case with Samuel K. Hoshour. In 1840, when Lew Wallace was 13 years old, his father, David, once again sought to impress the importance of education. Centerville, Indiana David sent […]
Charles B. Landis was a close friend of Lew Wallace. He also happened to be a United States Congressman elected from the 9th District near Delphi. Landis was born in Logansport and was an 1883 graduate of Wabash College. After graduating he worked on the Logansport Journal, but moved to […]
Recently I had two literary guests visiting the Study who asked about Charles Major of Shelbyville, Indiana. I didn’t recognize the name at first, though I should have—Major is remembered now for having written The Bears of Blue River, but he was a celebrated author in his day. His book […]
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 […]
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 […]
Lew Wallace was not the only famous member of the 11th Indiana Volunteers during the Civil War. Colonel Dan Macauley also became famous. His face graced the cover of the sheet music for the “The 11th Indiana Quickstep” a toe-tapping song composed for the piano by Hubert J. Schonacker in […]
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 […]