Wallace, Lew(is) (1827–1905)

US general and novelist. During the American Civil War he commanded a division under Gen Ulysses Grant at the Battle of Shiloh (1862), and was credited with saving Washington, DC, from capture by Confederate forces. He also served on the tribunal that tried those accused of conspiring to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. He wrote several historical novels, including The Fair God (1873) and Ben Hur; the latter has been in print continuously since it first appeared in 1880, and was filmed three times, initially in a one reel version in 1907, then in 1926 and 1959.

Wallace was born in Brookville, Indiana. He served with volunteer troops in the Mexican War, practised law, and was active in political and militia affairs in Indiana. Following the Civil War he became governor of New Mexico and minister to Turkey.