Susan Elston Wallace was one of the nine children born to Isaac & Maria Elston. One of her sisters was Helen Elston Blair, who built the Gothic Revival home at the corner of Wallace and Wabash in Crawfordsville. Helen had a niece named Rose Blair Marsh. Rose came to know […]
Lew Wallace
69 posts
In 1864, Maryland had a series of important elections, resulting in emancipation of Maryland’s slaves. Lew Wallace was instrumental in making sure the elections went smoothly without interference. Over the course of the war, Lew had become an abolitionist. In an 1862 speech Lew gave in Evansville, he said, “this […]
Tomorrow is the anniversary of Lew’s death in 1905. Lew died at his home in Crawfordsville on February 15. Wallace Scholar Chandler Lighty at the Indiana Historic Newspaper Digitization Project has a great blog post about Lew Wallace’s obituary. The post collects several of Lew’s obituaries from across the country. […]
On May 30, 1881, Lew Wallace boarded a rail car on the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe to leave New Mexico Territory. Lew had calmed the Territory during his term in office from 1878 through 1881, and his tenure in office was considered successful. He accomplished much in addressing […]
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. […]
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. […]
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 […]
According to the Department of Defense, Armed Forces Day was created in 1949, which means Lew would never have celebrated it. It would probably have been an important holiday to him, however. Lew was very proud of his military service and remained active in veterans’ associations and war memorial efforts. […]
It might surprise you to learn that Lew Wallace may have celebrated Cinco de Mayo. But the idea isn’t as crazy as you might think! Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Lew was busy with the aftermath of the Battle of Shiloh in the […]
The conservation movement was in its infancy when Lew Wallace was alive. An avid sportsman, including hunting and fishing, Lew loved the outdoors. The Grand Kankakee Marsh One of Lew Wallace’s favorite places on earth was the Grand Kankakee Marsh that spread across Northwestern Indiana into Illinois. Over the course […]