Presidents and Celebrities: Benjamin Harrison and Lew Wallace
Before it became an epic movie starring Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur (it's full title was Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ) was a best-selling novel, published in 1880, that was considered to "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century" according to Amy Lifson of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The book's author was a lawyer, a soldier and a diplomat, who befriended another lawyer and soldier named Benjamin Harrison.
Lewis Wallace, referred to by most of his contemporaries as "Lew", was born on April 10, 1827 in Brookville, Indiana, the second of four sons born to David and Esther Wallace. His father was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, but left the army in 1822 to move to Brookville, where he established a law practice and entered Indiana politics. David Wallace served in the Indiana General Assembly and later became the state's lieutenant governor, and governor, and a member of Congress. In 1832 the family moved to Covington, Indiana, where Lew's mother died from tuberculosis on July 14, 1834. In December 1836, David married nineteen-year-old Zerelda Gray Sanders Wallace, who later became a prominent suffragist and temperance advocate. In 1837, after David's election as governor of Indiana, the family moved to Indianapolis.
As a young man Lew Wallace joined the Marion Rifles, a local militia unit, and began writing his first novel, The Fair God. It was not published until 1873. By 1846, the nineteen-year-old Wallace left the study of law to establish a recruiting office for the Marion Volunteers in Indianapolis. He was appointed a second lieutenant, and on June 19, 1846, mustered into military service with the Marion Volunteers in the Mexican War. He served in the army of Zachary Taylor, but did not participate in combat. After the war he returned to Indiana, to practice law and to operate a Free Soil newspaper.
It was at this time that Wallace and Harrison met and began their friendship. Wallace described Harrison as being "modest in manner, even diffident, but he had a pleasant voice and look, and did not lack for words to express himself." In 1855 Harrison formed a law practice with Lew Wallace's brother William Wallace. The practice was not a lucrative one. As William Wallace put it, "the truth is, it was a struggle for bread and meat for both of us."
When the Civil War broke out, Lew Wallace was appointed by Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton as the state's adjutant-general, in charge of raising the 4600 men that the state planned to contribute to the Union cause in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. Wallace took command of the Eleventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Wallace accurately predicted that the war would not be over quickly, as other had suggested, but that it would be "a long and bloody conflict." Enlistments were slower than anticipated, and following a discussion with Governor Morton, Benjamin Harrison refused to ask others to enlist without enlisting himself. Morton offered to appoint him as commander of the regiment, the Seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, but Harrison accepted an commission as a second lieutenant because of his lack of military experience.
Wallace and Harrison different in their politics. Wallace was a former Democrat while Harrison was a solid Republican. Both would serve the Union cause honorably. Wallace, who attained the rank of major general, and participated in the Battle of Fort Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, and the Battle of Monocacy. He also served on the military commission for the trials of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, and presided over the trial of Henry Wirz, the Confederate commandant of the Andersonville prison camp.
Harrison rose to the rank of Colonel and was appointed to the rank of Brevet Major General. He fought under General William T. Sherman in the Atlanta campaign.
Wallace resigned from the U.S. Army in November 1865. He was appointed governor of the New Mexico Territory (1878-1881) and served as U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire (1881-1885). Wallace retired to his home in Crawfordsville, Indiana. In 1884, when Benjamin Harrison had been chosen as the Republican candidate for President, he called on his old friend and fellow soldier Wallace to write a campaign biography for Harrison to use in the campaign. A friend of Harrison's approved of the choice, writing to the candidate, "I see from the papers that General Wallace is to biograph you. That is excellent. He did so well on Ben-Hur that we can trust him with Ben Him." Wallace moved from his home in Crawfordsville to Indianapolis, where he listened to Harrison's speeches and researched his subject. The biography was published in a hurry, for release on September 1, 1884. In the book's preface, Wallace apologized for his hasty writing, stating that due to his tight deadline, the book might have "many crudities in the was of unstudied sentences and inappropriate paragraphing, not to mention words badly chosen." Despite the author's humility, Harrison was very pleased with the finished product.
When Benjamin Harrison died on March 13, 1901, Wallace wrote of his old friend that Harrison "had every quality of greatness - a courage that was dauntless, foresight almost to prophecy, a mind clear, strong and of breadth by nature, strengthened by exercise and constant dealing with subjects of national import, subjects of world-wide interest. And of these qualities, the people knew, and they drew them to him as listeners and believers, and in the faith they brought him, there was no mixture of doubt or fear."
Wallace continued to write until his death in 1905. He died at home in Crawfordsville, on February 15, 1905, of atrophic gastritis. He was seventy-seven years old
Lewis Wallace, referred to by most of his contemporaries as "Lew", was born on April 10, 1827 in Brookville, Indiana, the second of four sons born to David and Esther Wallace. His father was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, but left the army in 1822 to move to Brookville, where he established a law practice and entered Indiana politics. David Wallace served in the Indiana General Assembly and later became the state's lieutenant governor, and governor, and a member of Congress. In 1832 the family moved to Covington, Indiana, where Lew's mother died from tuberculosis on July 14, 1834. In December 1836, David married nineteen-year-old Zerelda Gray Sanders Wallace, who later became a prominent suffragist and temperance advocate. In 1837, after David's election as governor of Indiana, the family moved to Indianapolis.
As a young man Lew Wallace joined the Marion Rifles, a local militia unit, and began writing his first novel, The Fair God. It was not published until 1873. By 1846, the nineteen-year-old Wallace left the study of law to establish a recruiting office for the Marion Volunteers in Indianapolis. He was appointed a second lieutenant, and on June 19, 1846, mustered into military service with the Marion Volunteers in the Mexican War. He served in the army of Zachary Taylor, but did not participate in combat. After the war he returned to Indiana, to practice law and to operate a Free Soil newspaper.
It was at this time that Wallace and Harrison met and began their friendship. Wallace described Harrison as being "modest in manner, even diffident, but he had a pleasant voice and look, and did not lack for words to express himself." In 1855 Harrison formed a law practice with Lew Wallace's brother William Wallace. The practice was not a lucrative one. As William Wallace put it, "the truth is, it was a struggle for bread and meat for both of us."
When the Civil War broke out, Lew Wallace was appointed by Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton as the state's adjutant-general, in charge of raising the 4600 men that the state planned to contribute to the Union cause in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. Wallace took command of the Eleventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Wallace accurately predicted that the war would not be over quickly, as other had suggested, but that it would be "a long and bloody conflict." Enlistments were slower than anticipated, and following a discussion with Governor Morton, Benjamin Harrison refused to ask others to enlist without enlisting himself. Morton offered to appoint him as commander of the regiment, the Seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, but Harrison accepted an commission as a second lieutenant because of his lack of military experience.
Wallace and Harrison different in their politics. Wallace was a former Democrat while Harrison was a solid Republican. Both would serve the Union cause honorably. Wallace, who attained the rank of major general, and participated in the Battle of Fort Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, and the Battle of Monocacy. He also served on the military commission for the trials of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, and presided over the trial of Henry Wirz, the Confederate commandant of the Andersonville prison camp.
Harrison rose to the rank of Colonel and was appointed to the rank of Brevet Major General. He fought under General William T. Sherman in the Atlanta campaign.
Wallace resigned from the U.S. Army in November 1865. He was appointed governor of the New Mexico Territory (1878-1881) and served as U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire (1881-1885). Wallace retired to his home in Crawfordsville, Indiana. In 1884, when Benjamin Harrison had been chosen as the Republican candidate for President, he called on his old friend and fellow soldier Wallace to write a campaign biography for Harrison to use in the campaign. A friend of Harrison's approved of the choice, writing to the candidate, "I see from the papers that General Wallace is to biograph you. That is excellent. He did so well on Ben-Hur that we can trust him with Ben Him." Wallace moved from his home in Crawfordsville to Indianapolis, where he listened to Harrison's speeches and researched his subject. The biography was published in a hurry, for release on September 1, 1884. In the book's preface, Wallace apologized for his hasty writing, stating that due to his tight deadline, the book might have "many crudities in the was of unstudied sentences and inappropriate paragraphing, not to mention words badly chosen." Despite the author's humility, Harrison was very pleased with the finished product.
When Benjamin Harrison died on March 13, 1901, Wallace wrote of his old friend that Harrison "had every quality of greatness - a courage that was dauntless, foresight almost to prophecy, a mind clear, strong and of breadth by nature, strengthened by exercise and constant dealing with subjects of national import, subjects of world-wide interest. And of these qualities, the people knew, and they drew them to him as listeners and believers, and in the faith they brought him, there was no mixture of doubt or fear."
Wallace continued to write until his death in 1905. He died at home in Crawfordsville, on February 15, 1905, of atrophic gastritis. He was seventy-seven years old