Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace was born in 1827, in Brookville, Indiana, the son of David (the future governor of Indiana) and Esther Test Wallace (the daughter of Indiana's first US congressman). He left school at the age of 16, and worked as an assistant in his father's law firm until the outbreak of the Mexican War. Wallace joined the fighting as a second lieutenant in the First Regiment of Indiana Volunteers but did not see much action. During this time, he worked on his first novel. After the war, Wallace returned to law and was admitted to the Indiana State Bar. He was eventually elected to the state senate, where he served until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861,…
