I’ll check the library for a biography. I knew he was territorial governor of New Mexico and a bit player in the Billy the Kid legend. I checked out “Ben-Hur” because it was mentioned on a thread about some weirdness in New Mexico ;-).
Btw, for anyone reading this, it’s a very good novel, if you don’t mind religious and philosophical discursions amidst your action scenes. Maybe Gen. Wallace had learned in the Army to keep a narrative moving along, because it took me much less mental adjustment to get into it than most 19th century novels.
Gen. Wallace was made the scapegoat for the heavy Union casualties on the first day of the battle. If you Google “Lew Wallace Shiloh” the first items that should come up are the Wikipedia biography of Wallace and the National Park Service account, for a quick introduction to the controversy.