Lew Wallace (1827-1905) won fame for his novel, Ben-Hur, and for
his negotiations with William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, during
the Lincoln County Wars of 1878-81. He was a successful lawyer, a
notable Indiana politician, and a capable military administrator.
And yet, as history and his own memoir tell us, Wallace would have
traded all these accolades for a moment of military glory in the
Civil War to save the Union. Where previous accounts have sought to
discredit or defend Wallace's performance as a general in the war,
author Christopher R. Mortenson takes a more nuanced approach.
Combining military biography, historical analysis, and political
insight, Politician in Uniform provides an expanded and balanced
view of Wallace's military career - and offers the reader a new
understanding of the experience of a voluntary general like Lew
Wallace. A rising politician from Indiana, Wallace became a Civil
War general through his political connections. While he had much
success as a regimental commander, he ran into trouble at the
brigade and division levels. A natural rivalry and tension between
West Pointers and political generals might have accounted for some
of these difficulties, but many, as Mortenson shows us, were of
Wallace's own making. A temperamental officer with a 'rough'
conception of manhood, Wallace often found his mentors wanting,
disrespected his superiors, and vigorously sought opportunities for
glorious action in the field, only to perform poorly when given the
chance. Despite his flaws, Mortenson notes, Wallace contributed
both politically and militarily to the war effort - in the fight
for Fort Donelson and at the Battle of Shiloh, in the defense of
Cincinnati and southern Indiana, and in the administration of
Baltimore and the Middle Department. Detailing these and other
instances of Wallace's success along with his weaknesses and
failures, Mortenson provides an unusually thorough and instructive
picture of this complicated character in his military service. His
book clearly demonstrates the unique complexities of evaluating the
performance of a politician in uniform.
General
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