Major General Lew Wallace
by J. Younger
Events
Born: Lewis Wallace
Birthdate: April 10, 1827
Birthplace: Brookville Township, Indiana
Marriage: Susan Arnold Elston on May 6, 1852 at Covington, Troy Township, Fountain, Indiana
Children: Henry Lane Wallace (1856-1923)
Death: February 15, 1905 at Crawfordsville, Indiana
Cause of death: Atrophic gastritis
Burial: Oak Hill Cemetery Crawfordsville, Indiana
The Strategist.
By J.Young
Lewis Wallace was born on April 10th, 1827, in Brookville, Indiana. He was the son of David Wallace and Ester French Test. Unfortunately, in 1833, Wallace’s mother passed away. His father later remarried in 1836 and went on to become lieutenant governor of Indiana in 1931 and governor of Indiana in 1837. David Wallace was also elected to Congress in 1841. Despite losing an election in 1842, he went back to law and became a judge.
Lew Wallace commenced his career in 1843, serving as a copyist for the Marion County Clerk. During this time, he dedicated his evenings to studying the law. While his younger years were not filled with an enthusiasm for education, he attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville and subsequently pursued the study of law under the guidance of his father.
Lew Wallace’s military service began in 1846 when he volunteered for Indiana’s first Infantry of volunteers during the Mexican War. Through his leadership abilities, Wallace was elected as the second Lieutenant of the Marion volunteers. His father’s successful political career is believed to have influenced him in becoming an effective leader. After his time in the Mexican war, Wallace became affiliated with the Democratic Party.
In 1848, Lew Wallace was appointed as the editor of the Free Soil Party’s newspaper, where he skillfully opposed the presidential election of Zachary Taylor. Following his admission to the bar in 1849 and successful reception of his license, he began practicing law in Covington, Indiana with impressive dexterity. On May 2nd, 1852, Wallace tied the knot with Susan Elston, with whom he welcomed their first child, Henry Lane Wallace in 1853. By 1856, Wallace had moved to Crawfordsville and was elected to the State Senate as a democrat where he served with distinction until the year 1860. Notably, in 1856, he established a local militia unit known as the Montgomery Guards, which brought him widespread recognition across the state.
In 1861, the United States was faced with a challenging period as a new President from a newly-formed anti-slavery political party, known as the Republican party, prepared for the Civil War. In this context, William Wallace chose to leave the Democratic party and serve in the Union Army. His remarkable organizational skills made an impression on Indiana Governor Oliver Morton, who appointed him as the state’s adjutant General. Wallace’s main task was to enlist as many volunteer soldiers as possible for the Union cause. After raising a substantial regiment of Indiana volunteers, he personally led them into battle and was subsequently made a colonel in the 11th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. In September of 1861, following victories at Fort Henry and Donelson, Wallace was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.
In February 1862, Lew Wallace was promoted to the rank of Major General. He was entrusted with the command of the third division of the West Tennessee district Army, owing to his well-known expertise in strategy. Later that year, Wallace was tasked with the defense of Cincinnati. In response, he built a fortress on the town’s outskirts and raised an army of volunteers locally known as the Squirrel Hunters and the Black Brigade. Wallace effectively safeguarded Cincinnati from attack and was commended for his successful campaign.
During the Battle of Shiloh, General Lew Wallace was instructed to provide reinforcement to his troops stationed at Pittsburg Landing. Due to a lapse in communication, his unit began the journey late and encountered difficulty in locating the appropriate path. This resulted in their arrival after sunset and the loss of many Union soldiers. As a result, General Grant faced criticism for the failure, leading to speculation regarding Wallace’s responsibility. Although no definitive proof was provided, Wallace’s reputation suffered as a result of the accusations.
In 1864, Major-General Wallace exhibited remarkable bravery and leadership while commanding the Union Army of 5,800 in the Battle of Monocacy. Despite facing a formidable Confederate Army of 28,000, Wallace and his unit held their ground and managed to slow down the enemy’s advance. Their valiant efforts proved pivotal in buying crucial time for reinforcements to arrive, thereby preventing the Confederates from capturing Washington DC. Undoubtedly, General Wallace’s strategic decision-making and tactical expertise played a vital role in the outcome of this battle. As a result of his heroic actions during this historic event, Major-General Wallace has rightfully earned his place in history as a distinguished leader and military strategist.
In 1865, General Wallace led a covert operation to prevent Confederate supplies from reaching Mexico. Following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he was appointed as second in command to lead the prosecution of the Lincoln conspirators. Subsequently, in 1866, he returned to Mexico to provide guns and ammunition to the Mexican Juaristas, resulting in overthrowing Maximillian and the French Army that had invaded Mexico. The campaign was successful, and the Juaristas retook their land, executing Maximilian and two of his generals.
Lew Wallace, a prominent figure of his time, returned to Crawfordsville in 1868. There, he erected an impressive two-story Victorian home on land that had originally belonged to his wife’s father. Although he ran as a Republican candidate for Congress in 1870, his attempt was unsuccessful. He began work on his novel, “The Fair God,” around this time, and it was ultimately published in 1873. During the 1876 Presidential Elections, the Democrats disputed the vote count in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Wallace was subsequently appointed to a special committee in charge of overseeing the recounting of the disputed ballots, which ultimately resulted in a victory for Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes.
In 1878 President Hayes appointed General Lew Wallace to governor of New Mexico territory. He was briefed in Washington DC about the two County Wars, one in Colfax and one in Lincoln. Behind both of these wars was an organization known as the Santa Fe Ring. In Colfax County Lucian Maxwell had just sold his land grant to members of the Santa Fe ring who began to expel its residence on the massive land spread. Clay Allison and many other residents declared war and over 200 men died.
During his travels to Santa Fe, Major General Lew Wallace dedicated time to studying a pocket book filled with notes from Frank Warner Angel, a special investigator from the Department of Justice. Wallace also made stops at Cimarron and Lincoln, both sites of troubles such as the Colfax troubles and what President Hayes referred to as the most dangerous street in America. As governor, rumors circulated that Wallace may have had ownership of a mine in Cerrillos Hills near Santa Fe, but there is no concrete evidence to support such claims.
Ben Hur, a novel written by Wallace during his term as governor and peace maker in New Mexico, was published on November 12th, 1880. In 1881, Wallace resigned from his post as governor and was later appointed by President Garfield as the US minister of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. Following his return to Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1885, he proceeded to write his third novel, “The Prince of India”, which was published in 1893. Wallace immersed himself in writing and even built a large study in 1895 to maximize his creativity. In 1899, Ben-Hur was adapted into a stage play that was performed at the Broadway Theater in New York City. Wallace found writing to be a fulfilling experience, describing it as “a pleasure-house for my soul.”
On February 15th, 1905, Major General Governor Lew Wallace passed away at his home in Crawfordsville, Indiana. His cause of death was atrophic gastritis or possibly an unknown cancer, and he passed away at the age of 77. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
During his final days, Wallace was working on his autobiography, but unfortunately only completed up to his final civil war battle. His wife was able to finish the bio using old letters and documents found in her husband’s study, and it was published in 1906. Tragically, the widow Mrs. Wallace also passed away the following year in 1907.
In 1910, a marble statue of Lew Wallace was unveiled during a ceremony at the Statuary Hall, located at the United States Capitol Building in Washington DC. Additionally, a bronze replica of the statue was placed on the Study grounds in Crawfordsville.
Henry, Wallace’s son, managed the estate and sold the rights to his father’s book, “Ben-Hur,” for an unprecedented $600,000 in 1923. The subsequent 1925 release of the film received 11 Academy Awards and was re-released in 1959. A third version was produced in 2016, featuring Jack Huston. Additionally, in the same year, Lew Wallace’s great-granddaughter, Carol Wallace, published an updated version of the novel for modern audiences.
Lew Wallace High School was established in Gary, Indiana in 1926 to pay tribute to Wallace. Additionally, the Taos New Mexico ski area boasts Lew Wallace Peak, a 12,400-foot tall mountain. Due to his important role in the events regarding Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, numerous popular motion pictures have featured characters based on Major General Lew Wallace.
Colfax County War (click)
The Colfax County War (1873–1888) stands as one of the most protracted and violent range wars in the American West, emblematic of the territorial disputes that plagued New Mexico during its frontier era. Centered in Colfax County, in the northeastern corner of the territory, the conflict arose from ambiguities in land ownership under the vast Maxwell Land Grant, exacerbated by economic exploitation, political corruption, and armed resistance. This struggle, which claimed an estimated 200 lives, pitted settlers and homesteaders against powerful land speculators backed by the notorious Santa Fe Ring, a shadowy alliance of politicians, lawyers, and businessmen who manipulated territorial governance for personal gain. While the war’s roots lay in legal and economic grievances, it devolved into a cycle of assassinations, lynchings, and gunfights that terrorized communities like Cimarron and Elizabethtown. The appointment of General Lew Wallace as territorial governor in 1878 marked a turning point, as his administration’s reforms helped stabilize the region and contribute to the conflict’s eventual resolution.
The seeds of the Colfax County War were sown in the mid 19th century, amid the transition from Mexican to American control following the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). In 1841, Mexican Governor Manuel Armijo granted a massive tract of land, spanning approximately 1.7 million acres in present-day Colfax County, New Mexico, and parts of southern Colorado, to Charles H. Beaubien and Guadalupe Miranda. This Beaubien/Miranda Grant, one of the largest in U.S. history, encompassed fertile valleys, mineral rich mountains, and key trade routes along the Santa Fe Trail. After Beaubien’s death in 1864, his son in law, Lucien B. Maxwell, a prominent frontiersman and entrepreneur, acquired full ownership through inheritance and purchase, transforming the grant into a sprawling ranching and mining empire.
Complicating matters was the Santa Fe Ring, a corrupt network led by figures like Thomas B. Catron and Stephen B. Elkins, who influenced territorial courts, surveyors, and officials to favor large landholders. The Ring’s members acquired vast holdings through fraudulent claims and political maneuvering, often at the expense of small settlers. In Colfax County, this led to a powder keg of resentment, as the land grant company hired enforcers; gunmen and thugs, to drive out residents, while locals formed armed groups to defend their livelihoods.
Blame fell on the land grant company and the Ring, sparking a vengeance campaign by the “Colfax County Ring”, a loose alliance of settlers led by figures like gunfighter Clay Allison, a Confederate veteran turned rancher. Allison and his followers lynched Cruz Vega, a suspect in Tolby’s murder, from a telegraph pole in Cimarron. Retaliation followed: Vega’s uncle, Francisco Griego, ambushed Allison in the St. James Hotel saloon on November 1, 1875, only to be gunned down in self defense. Further violence ensued, including night raids by company hired gangs that burned homes and killed resistors, and counterattacks by settlers who rustled cattle and torched pastures.
In response to escalating chaos, President Rutherford B. Hayes dispatched special investigator Frank Warner Angel in 1878 to probe the territory’s corruption. Angel’s scathing report, describing “more corruption, fraud, mismanagement, plots and murders” than in any other U.S. jurisdiction, led to Axtell’s removal and the appointment of General Lew Wallace as governor on September 29, 1878. A Civil War hero, lawyer, and author (later famed for Ben Hur), Wallace arrived in Santa Fe briefed on both the Colfax and Lincoln County conflicts, armed with Special Agent Frank Angel’s notebook of evidence.
Wallace’s tenure focused on restoring order through impartial governance and legal reforms. For Colfax County, he prioritized addressing the Santa Fe Ring’s influence, which Angel had implicated in Tolby’s murder and other atrocities. In 1879, Wallace supported a new survey of the Maxwell Land Grant, confirming its 1.7 million acres but challenging fraudulent claims by Ring members. This judicial intervention weakened the speculators’ hold, allowing some settlers to negotiate settlements or purchase small holdings from the grant company, which had been foreclosed and sold to Dutch investors.
To enforce peace, Wallace repealed Axtell’s courthouse relocation law in 1878, restoring local jurisdiction and easing access to fair trials. He also deployed territorial militia and coordinated with federal troops to curb gunmen like Allison, who had left the county by late 1876 but whose actions had prolonged the unrest. While Wallace’s direct efforts centered more on Lincoln County, where he issued an amnesty proclamation and met secretly with Billy the Kid, these broader anti corruption measures indirectly benefited Colfax by dismantling the Ring’s territorial dominance. By promoting transparency and federal oversight, Wallace’s administration reduced the political cover for violence, leading to a gradual de escalation.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 1879 survey in 1887, affirming the grant’s size and legitimizing the company’s claims, which forced many remaining settlers to leave or buy out. Sporadic violence persisted until 1888, with the last fatality, rancher Richard Russell’s shootout near Stonewall, Colorado, marking the war’s end. Wallace resigned in 1881 to become U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire, but his reforms laid the groundwork for stability, ending the Colfax County War’s most intense phase.
Gallery
To read the full story of Billy the Kid’s interactions with Major-General Governor Lew Wallace including transcripts of the correspondences and meetings between the Governor and The Outlaw click the link…lets ride!
https://palsofbillythekidhistoricalsociety.com/rendezvous-with-governor-wallace/
To read about a man on the opposing side as Wallace, follow the trail below to learn more about William Rynerson.
https://palsofbillythekidhistoricalsociety.com/william-rynerson/
