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The Trials of Lew Wallace
A
presentation to the Palm Beach County Civil War Roundtable
Obviously, in our time this evening, I can only focus in on small
aspects of his life. As will
become evident shortly, I have chosen these points to illustrate the
theme which holds my imagination.
The seven items shown on this slide are these points.
I must explain his early life or else the theme will not have
“grounding.” We will not,
however dwell on this period.
Likewise, we need to look at some events leading up to the battle
of Shiloh, but only briefly.
Shiloh was the seminal incident during his Civil War service so a fair
amount of time will be devoted to same.
Rumor and innuendo followed from this event so that they will
have to be explained. He was
then placed “on the shelf” so to speak.
During this time fortune intervened a number of times such that
he was recalled to service in spite of people who would have rather seen
him on the “scrap heap” of history.
Time and time again he was the right man, in the right position,
at the right time. One of
these times needs further illumination so we will focus for a bit on the
battle of Monocacy. We will
conclude with the trial of the Lincoln conspirators.
This
talk will be developed using the vehicle of four trials; two real ones
and two that were going on in the head of Lew Wallace.
The real trials were the investigation of Gen. Don Carlos Buell
and the trial of the Lincoln assassination conspirators.
The “head trials” concern his reaction to the aftermath of Shiloh
and how others judged him over the years.
His
formal education was full of fits and starts.
It was begun in a one roomed schoolhouse with a sadistic Irishman
at the helm. This teacher’s
flogging, to use Wallace’s words: “made a playground for his practice”
on the boy’s back. The
Irishman had another, more benign, influence on young Lew; he taught him
to read. Once that happen,
he fell in love with the written word.
On his first day in school he discovered another talent, drawing,
about which more will be said.
The next school year the Irishman had taken flight and in his
place sat a woman. At first
Lew was skeptical that a female could be much use as a teacher, but when
the caning rods vanished and the learning began, all was forgiven.
Of particular note was his exposure to Olney’s geography and the
illustrations of foreign scenes.
He continued to draw and be romantically drawn to exotic
drawings.
When
his mother died, in 1834, Lew and his brothers were “farmed out” to a
neighbor. During his years
in Covington he spent as much time as possible in the woods and by the
Wabash River. Two years
later his brother William was sent to the “preparatory department” of a
college in Crawfordsville, 30 miles to the east.
Lew age nine, determined to join his brother, mounted up his pony
and rode away. Picture the
sight: In turn, the two
teachers and a handful of students were amused at the sight of a
barefoot boy, one toe wrapped in a rag, his trousers rolled to his knees
and supported by a single suspender, his buttonless shirt exposing a
sunburnt chest and neck, his shock of unkempt hair covered by a ragged
and rain-stained straw hat, demanding admission to college. Though only
two years older, William seemed a sophisticated gentleman by contrast.
He matriculated young Lew, clothe him, got him room and board,
and played along with this farce for two months after which time Lew
Wallace returned to the woods!
When the next school year came around Lew found himself at a
county seminary run by a clergyman who also had a sadistic fondness for
flogging and terrorizing young boys.
That experience did not last long as his father arranged for him
to live and work on a farm six miles to the north.
In
1837 David Wallace, newly wed to a 19 year old, was elected governor so
the family moved to Indianapolis.
On again off again schooling was supplemented by long hours in
the Indiana statehouse library.
He gained as much from self-education as he did from formal
education. Exasperated, his
father sent him at age 13 to live with an aunt in Centerville.
Here he got a first rate education from a reputable schoolmaster.
Here he was encouraged to write and write well with a focus on
clarity and an emphasis on Anglo-Saxon vocabulary over the Latinate.
By 1841 he was back with his father and self-educating once
again. But here he joined
the Union Literary Society whose weekly meeting generated far more
learning then most colleges.
It was here that Lew discovered the law, parliaments, and moot
legislatures. But, as often
happened, adventure got in the way, so he ran off to see the world, got
in a bit of trouble, and was returned home by the constable who was his
father’s father-in-law. At
this point David explained to his son that his “education” had cost him
quite a bit and he was now turning him loose on the world.
To make his way in the world he began to work in the office of
the county clerk. So ended the
formal education of Lew Wallace.
At
this point I would like to casually expand three points: drawing,
writing, and playing at war.
What started as a diversion from schoolwork, drawing was to become a
life-long passion. He had
real talent to execute recognizable portraits such that his classmates
peppered him with requests for their likenesses.
At one point he stole some castor oil to fashion crude, homemade
oil paints. During the
aforementioned Black Hawk War the boy covered slates and papers with
sketches of military maneuvers and combat scenes.
In later life he was able to draw practical maps and views of
military life as good as any professional illustrator.
Although he was indifferent to formal schooling, he began to have a deep
interest in the written word.
He had access to the state library and book collections in the
place where he dwelled. At
the age of 14 he joined the aforementioned Union Literary Society of
Indianapolis. This
organization held weekly meetings where he participated in debates,
recitations, and critiques of member’s compositions.
He even tried his hand at poetry, inspired by some young ladies.
And as he put it: “lyrics flowed freely from my pen.”
At this point he turned his hand to historical fiction and
produced 15 chapters for a book titled: The Man-at-Arms: A Tale of
the Tenth Century. It
was a romantic fancy undeterred by the fact that Lew knew almost nothing
about the 10th century!
The plot was ridiculous, but the young author stuck with the
writing such that it proved his ability to stay harnessed to a task.
As we will see later, Wallace’s psyche was driven by honor,
chivalry, and derring-do.
This was to color his decisions throughout his life and have great
bearing on the trials to be developed later in this presentation.
As
noted above, the Black Hawk War brought military action right to his
Covington doorstep. When his
father gathered the “troops” Lew tagged along to the town square.
Although the men had few real arms and all sported homemade
“uniforms,” the sights and sounds of the assembly made a deep impression
on the boy of five.
When David Wallace marched his band to the river bank, Lew hid in
a clump of weeds on the hillside.
The thrill of regimental drill turned to panic when the mass of
men wheeled around and fired a volley of musketry at the hill where our
hero was located. With that
the future general Wallace took flight and beat a hasty retreat.
That night, tucked safely in bed, he began dreaming of military
glory and becoming a soldier.
In
1842 Lew was inspired by the Texas war of independence, such that he
tried to recruit other 15 year olds to travel down river and make their
way to the Rio Grande. Alas,
he could only scrounge up one other lad, so the two intrepid warriors
acquired a skiff and supplies and headed off in search of adventure.
They got about 10 miles south of Indianapolis where they were
“ambushed and apprehended by Dr. Sanders, his father’s father-in-law and
a local constable. Lew was
grateful his capture was effected by the strong arm of the law so that
he could save face in front of his classmates.
Texas became an independent nation in 1836.
President James Polk, an avowed expansionist, was dead set on
swallowing up Texas as well as New Mexico and California.
The dispute festered for years.
Texas, was, by the mid-1840s, in a border war with Mexico,
welcomed troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor who were sent under the guise
of “defense.”
When Mexico did not pay, what amounted to extortion money, Taylor
marched into Mexican territory along the Rio Grande.
By 1846 the fight was on.
Wallace followed these events with interest.
While many people objected to the war, our boy was lusting for
glory and hungry for war. In
what would later become a familiar role, he opened a recruiting office
and in three days had raised a company of men.
These men honored him by electing him a second lieutenant.
Three Indiana regiments were so raised.
Wallace was surprised to discover that he knew more about
drilling troops than almost any other officer
in all three regiments.
On July 5, 1846 the
Hoosiers boarded a steamboat bound for New Orleans.
Lew’s spirit was high, but the rain and mud of their Louisiana
camp brought him down to a fairly soggy ground.
All of them, the officers, the men, and Lew Wallace was glad to
be sailing for Los Brazos de Santiago near Padre Island.
Other units stayed in Brazos for just a short period of time, but not
the First Indiana. Wallace
dreamed that the call would come to break camp, move inland on a grand
march, fight a few battles, and enter in triumph Mexico City.
But instead, he and his men were left to guard the beach and
entertain themselves as best they could.
Bugs, heat, and disease were the lot of Indiana’s finest.
In six months one regiment buried 500 men who had succumbed, not
to battle wounds, but dysentery, smallpox, mumps, and measles.
Although many in command thought stern military discipline was
the way to deal with the troops, Lew Wallace did not.
This made him very popular with the men of his command, although
not with his commanding officer, one CAP McDougal.
McDougal was a tyrant and a stern disciplinarian.
Which brings me to a sort of trial of Lew Wallace.
When
the steamboat Colonel Henry was wrecked while bringing supplies
to Brazos, Wallace assisted
in the rescue of the crew and cargo.
He borrowed an overcoat from a broken barrel of uniforms to keep
warm during the night. The
steamboat’s clerk claims that he also “rifled his trunk.”
Never one to miss an opportunity, McDougal added to his grief
with slanderous attacks.
However, accompanied with a group of armed men Lew took the clerk from
his berth and brought him before COL Drake.
The clerk was forced to testify the next day before a court of
inquiry whereupon he exonerated Wallace.
This resolved the issue at hand, but not his disdain for those
above him in the chain of command; a problem which will dog him during
the Civil War.
Unit
after unit left the coast to go into combat with Taylor, but not the
Hoosiers. Finally, in
December GEN Robert Patterson ordered the 1st Indiana to the
front. Wallace and his men
were jubilant. However,
after a 200 mile boat trip and 180 miles of marching, Taylor ordered the
unit to stop and return to their “accursed camp” Brazos.
During the Civil War Wallace learned from Patterson that he had
no authority to order the move and did so out of pity for the suffering
of the Indianans.
All
was not lost. On the way
back to that “hell hole” of a camp, another set of orders came through.
Two companies were to return to Brazos and the rest were sent to
Matamoros. On the way by
steamer, the troops ran out of supplies so a forage party was organized.
That shore party was ambushed with 3 killed and 2 survived to
return to the ship. Company
H, commanded by Wallace was part of the volunteers who went to deal with
the enemy. That force
charged across a meadow, climbed a high bluff, clambered over a log
palisade, and drove the Mexican from the town.
The American units continued on to Matamoros which was a real
town. Life in quarters was a
whole lot better than their seacoast encampment.
The
Hoosiers stayed there until February of 1847 when they finally got their
orders to join Taylor. That
too turned out to be a disappointment.
Lew’s mental image of Zachary Taylor was that of a gallant
commander. What he found was
a “little fat, round-bellied, gouty old man who was slovenly dressed.
Still, he longed for joining “Old Zach” in battle.
The closest he got to real combat was on the fringe of Buena
Vista. Not finding action there,
he got himself attached to another unit.
That group got themselves isolated in a hacienda and surrounded
and surprised by Mexicans.
They had a good defensive position and held out for three days on
minimal rations until the enemy gave up and left.
While Wallace won this little tussle, the battle of Buena Vista
was taking place. So Lew
missed out on another chance for glory.
Once he got back he observed the aftermath of the battle which
was a tad less glorious.
Here the victors were dragging the bodies of the slain Americans to
deposit them “in ghastly rows” in pits dug as mass graves.
However, Lew Wallace was a romantic to the core so his take on the
horror of battle was one of indignation that General Taylor had, as we
might say today, “dissed” the honor of the Indiana regiment.
In his report Taylor stated that the Second Indiana had been
driven back and could not be rallied.
In fact the unit had been ordered to retreat by its commander who
then abandoned the Hoosiers to fight as a Private with Jefferson Davis.
The Second Indiana rallied themselves and fought with the Third
Indiana. This was a
foretaste of his dishonor at Shiloh.
Wallace was ordered to return home as the enlistments of the regiment
was just about up. So he
missed out on the battle of Chapultepec and the occupation of Mexico
City. His last assignment in
Mexico was to return to Brazos.
It was here that he organized the reburial of the exposed bodies
of his fallen comrades.
Since this war was not popular back home his reception was not unlike
returning Vietnam veterans ; full of scorn and hatred.
There is no doubt that his experience both in Mexico and the
facts of his return left their marks on his psyche.
Quite consistent with Lew’s romantic tendencies, marrying for love was
concentric with his character.
He set his sights on Susan Arnold Elston, daughter of one of
Crawfordville’s most eminent men.
In Susan, Lew had found a kindred spirit, however, it took a bit
of time to convince the young lady of that fact.
And once that had been accomplished, it took more persuasion to
get her dad’s blessing.
Major Elston had remembered Wallace’s boyhood antics.
Having won the girl he promised to “make something of himself.”
So he returned to his studies and passed the bar in 1849.
He got a job in the court, ran for public office, met Abraham
Lincoln, and finally in 1852 married the fair Susan.
Her father still thought he would never amount to much, but he
had given his consent.
Wallace found himself as a prosecutor and tried to use that as a jumping
off point for a career in politics.
The politics of the day was the rise of the factions.
As a man of honor and principles, he could not support slavery
even though the extreme views of the abolitionists caused him great
angst. He found himself
squarely in support of Union.
He even looked forward to a fight over it.
In 1856 he formed a military company called the Montgomery
Guards. In order to lead, he
once again returned to self-education devouring military textbooks.
He found useful knowledge in Hardee’s Infantry Tactics.
When he stumbled into a book on the French military, he converted
his unit to a Zouave company that fed his sense of the theatrical.
The unit paraded around the local towns and even in Indianapolis.
Susan composed a company theme called “Song for the Montgomery
Guards.”
Although he was pro-union, he continued to support Stephen Douglas.
Impressed by Lincoln he still voted against him in 1860.
When Lincoln won, local Democrats argued that Indiana should
stand with the South. That
was too much for Wallace. He
went to Governor Morton, who had abandoned the party to become a
Republican, and admitted that he too had been wrong.
He offered Morton his services and the services of his unit
should it come to war. And
on April 13, 1861 it came to that with the firing on Fort Sumter.
By
June the regiment was ordered to Cumberland, MD for training.
On the way Wallace learned that the site was threatened by
Confederate forces in Romney, VA, 45 miles to the south.
Without orders, he marched at night over mountains and presented
himself in front of Romney at dawn.
Although outnumbered he led his Zouave troops into a fierce
fire-fight. When the smoke
had cleared the Rebs had fled leaving the 11th Indiana with a
pile of booty which they took with them back to Cumberland.
While this was not a great battle, the North was looking for any
success so Wallace was praised by the leadership right up to the office
of the President. After
that, the unit was attached to commanders who were not predisposed to
fight, so the big battle he was expecting never materialized.
With the 3 month enlistments up, Wallace returned to Indiana to
recruit new men for a three year term.
With
a new 11th Indiana, Wallace found himself in Paducah, KY
under the command of Gen. Charles Smith.
While he got along with Smith, he once again complained in public
about the lack of action on the part of the senior commanders.
Wallace was labeled a malcontent.
He was still basking in glory back east, so in September he was
promoted to brigadier general.
He was put in charge of a brigade that included the 11th
Indiana. Grant replaced
Smith and there were officers on Grant’s staff who would later come to
mistrust Wallace.
Late
in January, 1862, Grant proposed an advance up the Tennessee River.
Wallace’s brigade was part of Grant’s forces, but during the
successful attack on Fort Henry, the Indianans marched on Fort Heiman.
This was a work in progress fort when the Confederates realized
that Fort Henry was not the impregnable bastion they first thought it to
be. Lew was anxious to be in
combat, but General Smith wisely held him back to allow the defenders to
flee in haste. Not a shot
was fired. Even more
disappointing to our gallant boy was the order from Grant to take
command of forts Henry and Heiman while the rest of the expedition
marched on Fort Donelson.
The
initial fight there did not go well for Grant, so he ordered Wallace to
send two regiments to the fray.
When he arrived, Grant put him in charge of a division; 7
regiments 6,000 men.
Although the fort destroyed many of the ships of the river fleet, and
held off the Yankees in front, Gen. John Floyd realized his position was
hopeless and devised a plan of retreat.
First he tried a breakout sending Pillow and Bushrod Johnson to
attack McClernand and Wallace.
McClernand fell back and Wallace, disobeying orders to hold went
to McClernand’s rescue. That
carried the day and the rebels retreated.
When Grant personally arrived he ordered Wallace and Smith
forward. They were
successful with Wallace holding high ground when a messenger from Grant
ordered Wallace to stop and retire.
Wallace did stop, but he once again disobeyed orders and kept the
hilltop. At this point Floyd
gave his command to Pillow who in turn gave it to Buckner; another story
for another time. Floyd and
Pillow escaped and Buckner asked Grant for “terms.”
Grant gave his famous statement: “No terms except an
unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.
I propose to move immediately on your works.”
Grant obtained national exposure as “US Grant” and Wallace gained the
fame he so craved. At age 34
he was promoted to Major General, the youngest to hold that rank in the
west. This was a turning
point in the war as it opened the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers
and caused the fall of Nashville.
Now
the scene was set for Shiloh, but before we launch into that story, one
incident must be told.
Wallace was resting comfortably aboard his steamship headquarters
writing his report of the action.
About a week later Grant’s aide-de-camp Captain Hillyer, who had
praised Wallace on the battlefield, confronted him by saying Wallace had
omitted his role in delivering orders.
After conferring with his staff, Wallace informed Hillyer the
report would stand as no one had seen him delivering orders during the
battle. Wallace was not
happy to offend someone on Grant’s staff.
And his unhappiness foreshadowed the grief that would come his
way on the field at Shiloh.
Grant and Halleck had a command tiff with Grant being removed and then
being reinstated in command.
As Grant left for Savannah, TN, some 90 miles to the south, this dustup
between the commanders was to impact Wallace in the days to come.
At
Crump’s Landing Wallace hears the gunfire and realizes the battle has
begun. He orders his
brigades to assemble at Stoney Lonesome, point “A” on the map.
He is expecting to march to Purdy
Road to support where he thinks Sherman’s right flank is.
At 8:00 AM Grant arrives and meets with Wallace.
Now the controversy starts.
Wallace claims he told Grant that the division is at Stoney
Lonesome and wants to move to support Sherman.
Grant tells him to “hold the division ready to march in any
direction.” Grant now leaves
for Pittsburg Landing.
Wallace is champing at the bit.
Here
is where the story gets interesting.
To take the River Road the division would have to back track and
cross a water covered bridge approach.
Then it would have to march west to meet up with Sherman.
Wallace took the obvious route towards Purdy Road.
Wallace, not realizing the critical nature of the need, allowed his
troops to take a half-hour dinner break.
However, they moved 5 miles in record time and by 1:30 PM were
just a short distance from the bridge at “D.”
Just at that moment a lieutenant rode up, gave Wallace Gen.
Grant’s compliments, asked him to hurry, and Wallace not suspecting
anything said he would be up shortly.
Shortly after 2:00 PM CPT Rowley, of Grant’s staff, rode up in
great agitation. Now
everything became clear.
Sherman had been whipped. If
they continued in the current direction they would behind the entire
Confederate Army. For a
moment Lew considered striking the enemy’s rear, but then Rowley gave
him Grant’s order to march to Pittsburg Landing.
Now
he had a number of problems.
First, he had to turn his whole division by countermarch.
He did this to keep his head brigade in the front so as to be
ready for combat. Next he
needed a guide to find a shortcut to Wallace’s Bridge.
Finding a guide, who might be a rebel sympathizer, the division
moved in the direction of a forest path noted by the letter “H.”
Again, another of Grant’s staff officers, Rawlins, rode up fuming
with dissatisfaction at the pace.
As will later be important, Rawlins thought Wallace was “cool and
indifferent.” Rawlins
suggest that only the infantry move up, but Wallace refused.
At the approaches to the bridge the water logged road made
passage very difficult.
Wallace kept moving albeit slowly.
It
was the Indiana guns that opened the second day of the battle.
Once that was begun Wallace went back to look for Grant.
Grant, who had spent a terrible night was in a foul mood.
He made no mention of the issues of Sunday.
He seemed to Wallace as if he was confident and merely asked if
they were ready for action.
Grant, once again, gave the skimpiest of verbal orders to move out
towards the west. Wallace
asked if there were particular orders for the attack and Grant said “No,
I leave that to your discretion.”
Grant had every reason to be confident now that Buell had brought
up the Army of the Ohio. In
his orders Grant seems to have forgotten that Wallace was not on the
battlefield on Sunday nor was he briefed on the current situation.
Although he is ignorant that Buell has arrived and uncertain of
his support on his left flank, Wallace does his Lew Wallace thing and
advances on Braxton Bragg.
The
fight continued to go well as the Indiana troops moved against little
resistance. They got to the
area of Shiloh Church when a Louisiana artillery unit rained down
murderous fire on both the units under Wallace and Sherman.
At that point Sherman’s men, who had been victimized the day
before turned tail and ran.
Not wanting to retreat himself, Wallace ordered the First Brigade to
halt and take cover. From
noon until 12:30 he waited for Sherman to rally, which they did and
continued the advance.
Amidst the blood and gore of battle it is good for us to consider his
mindset. In An
Autobiography he writes: “Up rose all the flags, and up the men, and
forward - a glorious sight I may never see again!”
In this respect he seems to have the same feelings about war as
George Patton some 80 years later.
A few minutes later, the Union right was under counter attack in
what Sherman called “the severest musketry fire I ever heard.”
Again Sherman’s men gave way with the Rebels whooping it up in
pursuit. Once again
Wallace’s officers calmed their men, held the line, until support from
Buell’s Army arrived on the scene.
In addition, for the third time, Sherman brought his men back and
the advance continued. By
this time the presents of Buell’s Army meant that there were an
additional 40,000 men on the field and victory was assured.
This became clear to Beauregard too such that by 2:00 PM the
South was in full and general retreat.
At
about this time Grant rode up and again talked briefly with Wallace.
He commanded the division to wheel to the right in order
straighten the Union line for an advance.
That was all and Grant rode off.
Wallace realized he was in advance of the whole Army.
It gave him much satisfaction.
Except for some light skirmishes, the battle had ended.
The rain returned and ghastly task of burying the dead and trying
to save the wounded began in earnest.
It all appeared well to Lew Wallace.
He believe his division and he himself had done a great job and
was certain to bask in the glory in the near future.
Sadly, this was not to be.
Things began to unfold in a different manner.
On April 12th Halleck arrived and promptly relieved
Grant of active command.
Wallace figured that with 120,000 under his command, Halleck would move
swiftly to defeat Beauregard.
He did not. Grant was
bitter about his treatment.
Wallace, on the other hand reveled in the flood of congratulatory
letters for his action. It
led him to make statements in public critical of Halleck.
It galled him that Halleck was promoted to command all of the
armies in the field. Wallace
and the division was stationed in Memphis.
With Grant back in command, Wallace asked for and got two weeks
leave to go back home.
Before the first week was up Gov. Morton asked him to come to
Indianapolis to do some recruiting work.
Wallace hated this kind of a job and told Morton he would rather
be back with his unit. It
was then that Morton showed Wallace a telegram from Stanton saying
Wallace was relieved from command.
It came as a shock.
Without receiving anything about punishment or even a reprimand, Lew
Wallace was put on the shelf.
It looked like his military career was over.
Wallace thought Halleck had done this to him, but the real story
was a bit more complex.
In
his rapid rise from colonel to major general, our boy had been very
indiscreet. Drunk on dreams
of glory, he had shot his mouth off many times.
In the days that followed Shiloh the country was ablaze with
magnitude of the loss of men and material.
The nation was looking for someone to blame.
At first the press wrote that Grant was drunk and Sherman had
mismanaged the battle. There
were cries for a court martial.
When Lincoln was asked to relieve him he famously replied: “I
can’t spare this man; he fights.”
So Grant survived and Sherman was promoted.
Wallace became the scapegoat.
When
Grant became president he collected versions of the battle that
substantiated his version of events.
Wallace wrote Grant at this time with his version
of the facts and in a letter to Wallace Grant recognized his
later service made it unlikely that he would not follow orders.
However, Grant in public never varied from his feelings that
Wallace was to blame. As in
battle, Grant was stubborn so that once his mind was made up, he just
stuck to his story. Wallace
never received an official reprimand, but Grant and Sherman became
national heroes, so the near defeat and horrible losses of men was
shifted to Lew Wallace.
For
the rest of his life Wallace suffered under the shadow of being badly
treated. This trial by rumor
and innuendo is what makes the next two trials important to us this
evening. It is Wallace’s
feelings toward Buell and Mary Surratt that I find so interesting.
In
August Governor Morton summoned him to deal with Braxton Bragg and Kirby
Smith, who had broken loose from Chattanooga and was a threat to
Kentucky and Indiana.
Morton, who had organized five regiments that needed Colonels, asked
Wallace, who was a Major General, if he would head one of them.
Lew swallowed his pride, accepted the provisional rank of
Colonel, and took command of the 66th Indiana.
To get back into the field he was ready to do anything.
That same day he reported to Brigadier General Jeremiah T. Boyle.
Needless to say Boyle was dumbfounded to have a Major General for
a regimental commander.
Wallace explained he was on “special business” and was glad to offer his
services.
His
orders kept changing. First,
he was sent to Lexington, KY.
When he got there he was ordered to the Cumberland Gap to support
General George Morgan.
Realizing Morgan had been bypassed, Wallace set up a defensive position
to meet the much larger force under Kirby Smith.
He found marvelous ground for a defensive position along the
Kentucky River. He
confiscated all of the boats and used river locks to flood the fords and
there he waited for Smith.
Four cannons from Cincinnati and the horses to bring them in were
procured. Thus Wallace had
supporting artillery.
Everything was set for a great defense.
But then an opportunity came up to pick off one of Smith’s
advanced units. Wallace was
all set to do this when he was placed under the command of William
Nelson. Nelson rejected the
planned attack and Wallace, deprived of his role, took a train to
Cincinnati.
He
was not back in town two days when he received a telegram ordering him
to return to Lexington.
Nelson had been disastrously defeated because he did not stay behind the
defenses constructed by Wallace.
The Union lost 4,000 of their 6,500 troops.
While Wallace was on his way, another telegram ordered him back
to Cincinnati to plan a defense of the city.
His staff tried to tell him not to accept this command as there
were no more troops with which to conduct a defense.
Determined to try Wallace announced that the 200,000 residence of
Cincinnati would have to defend themselves.
He declared martial law and had every citizen report for work
details. 15,000 citizens
began to dig breastworks and rifle pits.
Governor David Tod of Ohio mobilized the countryside.
Some 60,000 irregulars nicknamed the “Squirrel Hunters” poured
into the city armed with a motley collection of muzzle loading
hunting rifles.
Kirby Smith divided his army and sent Henry Heth against Cincinnati.
A cavalry unit tangled with Wallace’s pickets.
When Heth rode up he probed the defenses for a weak spot.
He found none. Heth
withdrew leaving Cincinnati unthreatened.
The citizens held a “splendid triumph.”
Congratulatory telegrams poured in and Wallace felt vindicated
for the first time since Shiloh.
His fortunes were beginning to turn.
Wallace was appalled at the conditions at Camp Chase that was home to
6,000 soldiers. The men were
dying in droves from the unsanitary conditions in camp.
Forgotten by their own government, the inmates had sunken into
depression. The place was
ripe for mutiny and the citizens of Columbus lived in dread of the “nest
of pestilence” in their midst.
So what did Wallace do?
He immediately dressed in full regalia with sword and sash for
his first appearance in the camp.
He rode is horse, Old John, into the warren of slovenly shacks
that passed for housing at the site.
As he rode amongst the stinking, verminous, and unshorn mob he
was threatened and shouted down.
Unperturbed, Wallace faced them down.
He explained that he was a new man on the job and that things
were going to change. He
ordered the men to wash, shave, cut their hair, and restore
self-discipline. He promised
back pay, new uniforms, and new tents.
Three days later the first company was ready and was marched into
Columbus to get paid. When
the paymaster informed him that there was no money for that purpose,
Wallace had him arrested, seized the keys to the safe, and took the
money by force. He then went
to the quartermaster and new uniforms were obtained.
Within a week a new camp was established and named for Ohio
Governor Tod. Camp Chase was
abandoned. As to his mission
to suppress the Sioux, Wallace overlooked mass desertion and recommended
to Washington that they should just let these suffering men alone; which
Washington did.
As
for the Sioux, they had been captured earlier when their land and food
had been seized by settlers and they had been driven by starvation to
raid a warehouse. As one
settler put it: “let them eat grass or their own dung!”
In November these Santees were tried.
303 were sentenced to death.
Lincoln reviewed the record, reprieved the vast majority, but 39
were hanged on December 26, 1862.
This was the greatest mass execution ever held in the United
States. Fortunately, Wallace
was far from the scene when all of this high drama was playing itself
out.
Although Buell’s headquarters was only about two miles away from the
battle he did not know it was going on due to unusual acoustical
conditions. He did not know
the fight had started until it had been going on for two hours.
Thus he failed to support Sheridan and McCook.
Once he realized what was going on he sent orders for a full
counter attack, but alas the courier got lost in the creek bottom and
Bragg was allowed to escape into east Tennessee.
It
was rich with irony as Halleck whose caution at Shiloh had allowed
Beauregard escape from Corinth appointed Wallace to judge Buell.
Wallace, who was relieved of his command for “dilatoriness,” was
now the president of the commission investigating Buell for the same
charge. Some have concluded
that Halleck did this to heap even more shame on Buell.
Wallace, however, did not see it that way.
He believed that this assignment was a compliment; proof that
higher commands had respect for him and his judgment.
He argued that when Buell let Bragg and Smith slip through his
hands it was Wallace alone who kept them from capturing Cincinnati.
Buell was not really on trial, as this was but an investigation.
None the less Buell was a skilled litigant and he treated the
proceedings as a trial. He
cross examined witnesses as if he had spent his whole life at the bar.
Wallace concluded that Buell did not get along with his own men.
This was very strange to Lew Wallace.
Because this inquiry brought in many of the high ranking and
famous military leaders of the war, he snapped at the chance to befriend
those who might have some influence on his career.
But this assignment dragged on from November 1862 until May.
The judge advocate, one Major Donn Piatt, made it very clear that
this commission was to convict to enable Stanton and Halleck to get rid
of Buell. It was the opinion
of the commission, written by Wallace, that while Buell showed skill in
moving his troops to Perryville, he was too cautious and rigid to be
successful on the field of battle.
The commission unanimously agreed.
Wallace blamed Halleck for delaying Buell’s march, but in the end
these proceeding ruined Buell’s career.
While sitting at home he got a telegram from Governor Morton that the
famous cavalry raider John Hunt Morgan had crossed the Ohio and entered
Indiana. It was rumored that
Morgan wanted to recruit Hoosiers, but if that was his goal he had a
funny way of doing it by slash and burn.
Morton put out the call and within two days had 65,000 armed
citizens turned out to defend the state.
Morton was all aflutter fearing Morgan could release 6,000 POWs
and arm themselves from the state’s arsenal.
He got Stanton’s permission to release Wallace so that he could
command the state’s forces.
Wallace told Morton not to worry, he could do it.
When no men appeared, Morton informed him that he could only
supply 1,100 raw recruits.
Undaunted he loaded his ragtag crew onto filthy cattle cars and headed
into the breach. Expecting
an unfair fight, Wallace was greatly relieved to find that Morgan had
already retreated into Ohio.
He was next ordered by Morton to form a defense such that Morgan would
stay in Ohio and not to menace Indiana again.
Morton was not interested in going after Morgan, but Lew Wallace was.
But alas, he had to stay put and watch events unfold.
After a number of unsuccessful attempts to cross into Ohio from
the south, Morgan was captured and imprisoned in the penitentiary in
Columbus. However, Morgan
being Morgan escaped by tunneling out of his cell block and over the
wall to freedom. This was
late November. Changing into civilian clothes he coolly boarded a train
to Cincinnati, crossed over into Kentucky, and rode home to North
Carolina in time for Christmas.
With the threat of Morgan gone, Wallace was back on the shelf.
He
tried letter writing again.
He asked Halleck for a court of inquiry and challenging Grant’s comments
in the official record of the battle of Shiloh.
Halleck did not respond, but did write on the back of the letter
“ I do not think that Genl. Wallace is worth the trouble & expense of
either a court of inquiry or a court martial.”
Wallace wrote to Sherman asking for a position in his command.
Sherman wrote back a long and tactful letter, but no offer of
help. Sherman suggested that
Wallace, once again lay low and wait for fate to intervene.
Wallace took Sherman’s advice and withdrew his request for a
court of inquiry.
Lack
of tact again hurt Wallace.
When he got word that Morton had asked Stanton permission to let Lew
travel around the state making speeches, Wallace was hurt.
He informed Stanton that nobody speaks for him.
Stanton informed Wallace to go home.
Stanton asked Lincoln to remove Wallace from the service.
Now Wallace realized that Stanton was not the friend he had
believe him to be, but an “implacable enemy.”
This
was not a peach of an assignment.
Maryland had many secessionists and was a hotbed of trouble for
the Lincoln administration.
The president wanted Wallace to subtly insure his reelection.
Stanton told him that this would be your “first trial.”
Adjutant General Townsend explained that the entire Middle
Department was under martial law.
He explained that Stanton is a dictator and you will be his
agent. Stanton will do the
driving and Wallace will do the pulling.
With that Wallace set up shop in Baltimore.
With
the election but two weeks away, he decided to see how much help
Governor Augustus Bradford would be to him.
So, with the style reminiscent of the demonstration at Camp
Chase, Wallace gather up his entire staff in full mufti and boarded a
special train to Annapolis.
There he marched to the Statehouse and took the governor by surprise.
No commander of the Middle Department had ever called on him
before and never in full regalia.
Wallace explained to Bradford that many Union men in the state
had requested troops keep order on election day, but as head of federal
forces he could not do this.
But, the governor could request troops, and if he did Wallace would
provide same. Would the
governor do this? Bradford
said he would. The election
went Lincoln’s way.
In
the summer of 1864 things were going well for the Union with Grant
hammering away at Richmond’s door.
The government felt secure in Washington.
It was Lee who felt threatened when David Hunter attacked in the
Shenandoah Valley. So Lee
sent Jubal Early to strike at Hunter and then move north.
When Early appeared in front of Hunter the latter thought he was
outmanned. Like so many
Union commanders before him Hunter beat a retreat.
Early, not one to miss an opportunity to move forward followed
Hunter in spite of the fact that he outran his logistical base.
Even though many in his army were barefoot and hungry, Early
pushed through the old battlefield at Antietam and into Maryland.
Only
gradually did the Northern command become aware and only one commander
did anything about it; Lew Wallace.
Wallace seized the initiative while Halleck at first dawdled and
then was frantically ineffectual.
Although it was outside his area of responsibility, he decided to
mount a defense at Monocacy after a reconnaissance on July 4th.
The river and some stone buildings seemed to make for fairly
decent ground to hold off the enemy, but Wallace had no idea what he
faced. He was certain that
Early’s goal was Washington, so this spot would slow them up.
Wallace called up all the troops in the department that could be
spared in spite of the fact that he had no authority to do so.
Early was having his own problems fighting his way in the
direction of Monocacy. By
the time the battle was to begin Wallace had 5,000 men in his command.
The forces that were bearing down on him numbered about 20,000.
Wallace knew he could not win, but he reasoned that if he could
slow up Early Grant could send reinforcements to protect Washington.
As
the rebel forces reached the area near the Monocacy River, Early
realized that a frontal assault would be futile.
The obvious route would be to cross the river on his right,
Wallace’s left. Around 11:00
AM on July 9, 1864 Gordon’s forces found a ford and crossed the river to
face Ricketts’ Corp. By noon
Wallace had delayed Early by five hours.
It was obvious that with the rebs on his side of the river the
fight would soon be over. If
he could keep his positions until five or six o’clock he could burn the
bridges and thus keep Early from advancing on Washington before the next
morning. Ricketts repelled
the first thrust with the confederates surprised with the fight left in
the Yankees who were outnumbered at least three to one.
When the next assault came Ricketts men held their ground and
even counter attacked. By
3:00 PM it was essential to begin to organized a withdrawal.
Wallace tried to send telegrams Grant and Halleck, but found his
telegraph operator had fled.
He ordered a rider to go to the next telegraph station and alert the
high command. At 4:00 PM,
after two more repulses of Gordon by Ricketts, the weight of the attack
was more than the Union forces could handle.
With their work done these men withdrew in an orderly fashion.
The
rebel pursuit was not particularly effective as Early’s forces had been
badly mauled. Wallace
praised his men to Halleck saying the 6th Corp fought magnificently.
It was not until Monday afternoon that Early reached the outer
defenses of Washington, DC.
On Sunday only 209 soldiers manned Ft. Stevens, but by the time Early
arrived there were 10,000 troops available for the defense of the
capitol. Early was late.
Late by the one day Wallace had gained for the Union.
As usual, Wallace was blamed for not beating Early at Monocacy.
He was even removed from command by Grant.
But, as the panic died down Wallace was given credit for saving
Washington. Newspapers
praised his gallant stand and even Grant grudgingly spoke well of him.
As for Wallace himself, he believed that this “defeat” did more
for himself than any of his victories.
Wallace, who had kept his eye on Mexico all these years, argued that in
desperation Confederate forces might broker a deal and fight on forever
from Mexico. Wallace’s old
foe Kirby Smith had actually begun arrangements for just such a
strategy. In January, Grant
agrees to send Wallace to the Rio Grande to inspect the military
situation. It took until
March 5th for Wallace to make connections and arrive at Brazos, his old
haunt from the days of the war with Mexico.
After a bit of time he met up with Confederate General Slaughter
and Colonel Ford under a flag of truce.
Wallace sent a message back to Grant that these two rebels were
looking for an honorable way to get out from under a failing South.
They agreed to take a message to Kirby Smith that the
trans-Mississippi states would be accepted back into the Union with full
amnesty for the soldiers in exchange for Kirby Smith’s surrender.
Wallace thought he had a deal, but it fell apart when higher ups,
namely General Walker and Kirby Smith, wanted no part of surrender.
Smith offered his services to Maximilian, but by May 26th it was
an empty gesture. With only
a handful of followers, Smith went into exile south of the Rio Grande.
In November he returned to the United States, took the amnesty
oath, and became a college professor.
Archduke Maximilian did not do so well.
In June of 1867 he was captured by his Mexican enemies, court
marshaled on the spot, and executed by firing squad soon thereafter.
On
May 9th he was relieved of his responsibilities at the Middle Department
to serve on the military commission charged with trying the eight
prisoners charged with conspiring to murder Lincoln and top members of
the government. The evidence
against most of those charged was overwhelming.
We will look at one of these who may or may not be guilty in more
detail shortly. I believe it
offers great insight into Wallace’s own psyche.
The
whole trial and the treatment of the accused is an interesting study of
the difference between justice and vengeance.
The Military Commission convened for the first time on May 8th in
a newly-created courtroom on the third floor of the Old Arsenal
Penitentiary in Washington.
Note that this was before all of the commissioners were
assembled. The fact that
this was a military trial and not a civilian trial was questioned by
many including Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles.
The President of the court was Major General David Hunter.
He was appointed to this role perhaps because he agreed with
Stanton that the courts martial should be brief followed by the rapid
execution of the defendants.
Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt served in the problematic dual roles
of chief prosecutor and legal advisor to the Commission.
Lew Wallace had personal experience with this kind of justice.
I
find the case against Mary Surratt of particular interest as it speaks
to Wallace directly. Now I
personally think that Mrs. Surratt had more knowledge of the conspiracy
then she let on and more than her apologists acknowledge.
However, and this is important, Wallace did not lift a finger nor
speak of the procedural injustice.
Wallace was the second ranking member of the commission, he was a
lawyer, and he had seen “railroads” up close and personal.
He had full knowledge of evidence being withheld from the record
and he did nothing. When a
plea was made by defendants Surratt and Mudd, Judge Advocate Holt
overruled the plea. Mrs.
Surratt wanted Senator Reverdy Johnson to defend her, but this was
disallowed because he was a Southern sympathizer.
The charges of murder and conspiracy should have been separated.
While Surratt may have had knowledge of the conspiracy she was
not part of it and certainly did not partake in anyone’s murder or even
attempted murder.
While the government’s case was being presented there was little for
Wallace to do. But, he had a
responsibility to listen.
What did our boy Lew do? He
resurrected his boyhood interest in drawing.
He drew fine portraits of the commissioners, distinguished
visitors, and the defendants themselves.
Later in life he committed these pencil sketches to oil paint.
He even painted a hypothetical scene with all the conspirators
posed together, except for Mary Surratt, but including Booth and Mary’s
son John. Obviously, such a
scene never took place, but the painting reveals his commitment to the
equal guilt of all concerned.
Wallace seems to have been set against Mary Surratt.
Most of the evidence against her comes from the testimony of
Louis Weichmann. In an
attempt to save himself, Weichmann gave states evidence.
It turns out that in spite of his testimony he probably knew more
of the plot than Mary did.
Wallace believed his story completely.
The prosecution used a drunk and a convicted horse thief to
testify against Surratt. Holt along with Wallace suppress the evidence
that would surely have disqualified that witness.
This was transparent even to the press who criticized Wallace by
name for unethical practices.
In
the end there was some movement to spare Mary Surratt from the death
sentence. President of the
commission Hunter and four of the commissioners sent a plea of clemency
to President Johnson.
Wallace was not among the four.
Johnson never received the plea and the executions were carried
out. Wallace had no remorse
for his actions. Members of
the commission received criticism for the actions in later years, but
not Wallace. This time it
was his fame that kept him from abuse.
This is a marked turnaround from the period after Shiloh.
Wallace was quick to forgive the southern officers he met after
the war. He could admire a
fellow comrade in arms. I,
for one, find this interesting.
There are other trials and the story of Lew Wallace’s career after the
war. It is time, however, to
bring this tale to an end for now.
Last changed: 01/09/13 |
Good
evening.
There
could be more, a lot more, but these tales will consume all of the time
we have for tonight.
Most
of you know that I am not a historian and am far from the most
knowledgeable member of our stalwart band.
Like
all of my work on these lectures, this presentation is not original.
What
we know about Wallace’s early life comes from his autobiography and some
of the letters he wrote in later life.
The
story of Lew Wallace and the war with Mexico is not the glory festooned
tale of his childhood.
The
years from 1847 when he returned from Mexico until the outbreak of the
Civil War were important for Wallace.
Gov.
Morton asked Wallace to become the Adjutant General and raise the six
regiments Lincoln has asked for as the Indiana quota.
A
grand flotilla headed south on March 13th Grant, Wallace, and
30,000 troops were all aboard some 70 riverboats.
In
anticipation of a fight Wallace made a detailed terrain study such that
he located the roads and bridges in the area.
Notice
where Sherman is sitting, fat, dumb, and happy!
With
his untrained troops Johnston decides to hold off the attack until
Sunday morning.
When
Grant arrives at Pittsburg Landing the scene is really a mess.
He
did not know it, but the day was lost.
If
Bragg had intended to fight he could have mauled the Indiana division
badly as they moved down from their position on the high ground into
gouge with Tilghman’s Creek at the bottom.
Both
armies were exhausted.
At
first Grant had only praise for Wallace.
However,
for our boy, there was nothing he could do but follow orders and close
his mouth as to “put a sock in it.”
Wallace
concluded that his service was appreciated everywhere except where it
mattered, Washington and Indianapolis!
To
say that Lew Wallace had seen and experienced injustice would be the
height of understatement.
When
the inquiry ended in May, Wallace found himself back home in Indiana
waiting for orders.
With
the high command seemingly arrayed against him, it did not look good for
our boy.
Finally,
Lew Wallace got his reputation back.
Wallace
was on the train returning from Texas when he learned about the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln.