Life and Letters of General W. H. L. Wallace

by Wallace, Isabel; Simon, John Y.; Wallace, William H.

• ISBN13: 9780809323487
• ISBN10: 0809323486
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Southern Illinois Univ Pr

Summary

Originally published in 1909, this biography by Isabel Wallace recounts the life of her adoptive father, the little-recognized William Hervy Lamme Wallace, the highest-ranking Union officer to fall at the battle of Shiloh. Born in 1821 in Ohio, Wallace and his family moved to Illinois in 1834, where he was educated at Rock Springs Seminary in Mount Morris. On his way to study law with Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in 1844, Wallace was persuaded by local attorney T. Lyle Dickey, a close friend of Lincoln, to join his practice in Ottawa instead. Wallace eventually married Dickey's daughter, Martha Ann, in 1851. When the Civil War broke out, both Wallace and Dickey immediately volunteered for service with the Eleventh Illinois, which assembled in Springfield. Wallace was elected as the unit's colonel; a successful lawyer, a friend of President Lincoln, a generation older than most privates, and an officer with Mexican War experience, he was entirely suited for such command. Wallace was appointed brigadier general for his performance at Fort Donelson, the first notable Union victory in the Civil War. Wallace's troops had saved the day, although the Eleventh Illinois had lost nearly two-thirds of its men. He then moved with his troops to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, where Confederates launched a surprise attack on the forces of Major General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh Church on Sunday, April 6, 1862. Wallace, who held only temporary command of one of Grant's six divisions, fought bravely but was mortally wounded as he began to withdraw his men on the afternoon of the battle. His wife, who had arrived at Pittsburg Landing by steamer on the day of the battle, was at his side when he died three days later. Grant praised Wallace in 1868 as "the equal of the best, if not the very best, of the Volunteer Generals with me at the date of his death." Isabel Wallace traces her father's life from his upbringing in Ottawa through his education, his service in the Mexican War, his law practice, his courtship of and marriage to her mother, and his service in the Eleventh Illinois until his mortal injury at Shiloh. She also details his funeral and her and her mother's life in the postwar years. Based on the copious letters and family papers of the general and his wife, the biography also provides historical information on federal politics of the period, including commentary on Lincoln's campaign and election and on state politics, especially regarding T. Lyle Dickey, Wallace's father-in-law and law partner, prominent Illinois politician, and associate of Lincoln. It is illustrated with fifteen black-and-white halftones.

Author Biography

Isabel Wallace was only four years old when her father fell at Shiloh. She lived at The Oaks, the family home in Ottawa, Illinois, until her death in 1933.

 
John Y. Simon is a professor of history at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is the editor of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, published by Southern Illinois University Press.

Table of Contents

Parentage --- Early Life	1	(7)
Goes to Ottawa. Studies Law	8	(5)
Mexican War --- Journey to Mexico	13	(8)
Marching into Mexico	21	(11)
On the March to Buena Vista	32	(8)
Battle of Buena Vista	40	(15)
The Illinois Troops Return Home --- Wallace Endeavors to Re-enter the Army	55	(7)
Courtship and Marriage	62	(8)
Dickey and Wallace Against Lovejoy in 1856 and 1858	70	(17)
Lincoln's Nomination --- The Feeling in the Country Before his Inauguration	87	(11)
Lincoln's Inauguration --- Firing on Sumter --- The Country Prepares for War. Mr. Wallace Made Colonel	98	(17)
Colonel Wallace's Regiment Enlists for the War. The Command Moves to Bird's Point, Missouri	115	(11)
General Fremont in Command of Western Department. Large Rebel Force Near Bird's Point	126	(11)
Major General Halleck in Command of Western Department. Battle of Belmont	137	(13)
Capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson	150	(18)
Congratulatory Correspondence --- The Troops Move up the Tennessee River to Savannah	168	(11)
General Wallace's Command Moves to Pittsburg Landing. Mrs. Wallace's Journey to Pittsburg Landing	179	(9)
Battle of Shiloh	188	(9)
Death and Burial of General Wallace. Pathetic Letter of Mrs. Wallace	197	(14)
Public Opinion of General Wallace --- His Services as an Officer --- His Character as a Man --- Memorial Window	211	(12)
Mrs. Wallace	223	(4)
Index	227