Posted on 08/20/2016 5:56:01 PM PDT by 11th_VA
The incredible story of how a disgraced Civil War general became one of the best-selling novelists in American history.
Lew Wallace was making conversation with the other gentlemen in his sleeper car when a man in a nightgown appeared in the doorway. The train was bound for Indianapolis and the Third National Soldiers Reunion, where thousands of Union Army veterans planned to rally, reminisce, and march in a parade the New York Times would later describe as “the grandest street display ever seen in the United States.” It was Sept. 19, 1876, more than a decade since the Civil War had ended. Wallace had grayed a bit, but still wore the sweeping imperial moustache he’d had at the Battle of Shiloh. “Is that you, General Wallace?” the man in the nightgown asked. “Won’t you come to my room? I want to talk.”
Robert Ingersoll, also a veteran of Shiloh, was now the nation’s most prominent atheist, a renowned orator who toured the country challenging religious orthodoxy and championing a healthy separation of church and state. Wallace recognized him from earlier that summer, when he’d heard Ingersoll, a fellow Republican, make a rousing speech at the party’s nominating convention. Wallace accepted his invitation and suggested they take up a subject near to Ingersoll’s heart: the existence of God...
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
I really enjoyed the book. I am skeptical of a modern version of the movie.
Victor Davis Hanson has a great Lew Wallace story in his “Ripples of Battle” book.
Wallace was in charge of the Union rear guard at Shiloh and was ordered to march around in circles on the first day.
The next day he fought bravely and effectively.
Afterwards the newspapers and politicians needed a scapegoat for the Shiloh slaughter and blamed Wallace.
His promising military career was destroyed.
Good read. I went to see the remake last night. It was terrible. Worse movie I’ve seen in a long time.
“Every calculation based on experience elsewhere fails in New Mexico.”
He was correct to this very day.
So, when will we see Wallace’s THE FAIR GOD made into a movie! It was promised back in 1962!
Cortez Conquers Mexico! Think of the PC rewrites!
His orders weren’t confusing, he chose poorly as to implementing.
He was down river from the battle. near Crump’s Landing. He was ordered down a road that would have him approach the battle down the Purdy Rd, but, the Rebs had already passed it and the bridge over Owl Creek was blocked. He was ordered to come in by way of the Savannah Rd, but, instead of just telling everyone to spin around and march back the other way, he had his lead unit (now at the end of the column) march through the other troops. This took a lot of time that could have been used to have the tail end of his column appearing on the battlefield hours earlier.
He did perform well afterwards, and at the Battle of Monocacy Junction in 1864, but, his reputation as a soldier was too tarnished at this point to recover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Wallace
I recommend the chapter on Shiloh in Shelby Foote’s book. Great overview of the whole situation without too much detail.
If you are a wargamer, I recommend “Bloody April”, if you can find it. Regimental coverage of the battle. You can have Wallace ignore the countermarch and try to bust through the Owl Creek Bridge.
Ambrose Bierce
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/OccOwl.shtml
As I understood it, Grant actually sent TWO orders to Wallace, and somehow the second got there first, and (memory fuzzy) but as I recall Wallace actually turned his column around twice.
Bump!
...Ambrose Bierce
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”...
Made into a Twilight Zone episode in 1964.
One of my all-time favorite books!
Always wondered if they were the same Owl Creek Bridges. I had a record of it being read by David McCallum.
Very cool!
The John Swansburg article at the link is a bit shorter than the novel BEN HUR (but for a while I was wondering). It provides interesting info on the novel’s admirers including prominent ones in the South.
Hmmmm...this passage right before the end:
” Doubtless, despite his suffering, he had fallen asleep while walking, for now he sees another scene - perhaps he has merely recovered from a delirium. He stands at the gate of his own home. All is as he left it, and all bright and beautiful in the morning sunshine. He must have travelled the entire night. As he pushes open the gate and passes up the wide white walk, he sees a flutter of female garments; his wife, looking fresh and cool and sweet, steps down from the veranda to meet him. At the bottom of the steps she stands waiting, with a smile of ineffable joy, an attitude of matchless grace and dignity. Ah, how beautiful she is! He springs forwards with extended arms. As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a cannon - then all is darkness and silence!”
made me think of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12iorWj83P0
LOL !!! My thoughts as well, was wondering if this was a term paper of his from college :)
According to the Wikipedia article, there were three!
Personally, I look at it like this. He was in a tough place and had to make tough decisions. His only real mistake was not just countermarching, but, sending his lead unit back to lead the column back the other way. He wanted his best unit on point, and, so, history was made.
AS it was, his troops, while tired from marching, were fresh for battle and it may have saved the Union Army’s Bacon.....hmmmm bacon.
I’m 70 yrs. old. My great-great grandfather was a Rebel
soldier in the Battle of Shiloh. When my grandmother was a
child; she asked him what it was like at Shiloh, and did he
kill anybody.
He answered her, “Izora; it was the biggest mess I’ve ever
seen in my life. Such a mess of confusion, I do not know if
I killed anybody or not. . but, I can’t see how I could have
kept from it if I had even wanted to. It was such a MESS!
I grew up with my parents taking me to Shiloh several times.
First time I ever saw THE BLOODY POND, it was dark, dark,
old blood-stained from where men from both sides crawled to
wash off their wounds. It has faded with time; but it was
stained dark for many years. Shiloh is a part of my life.
Just as WWII is a part of my life. My people have been
warriors.
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