Lew Wallace

[major bill]

Today I read Monocacy July 9, 1864 the Battle That Salved Washinton. this made me wonder if Lewis "Lew" Wallace deserved all the negative comments about his service in the Army. He was blamed and then given credit for Monocacy and also blamed for his actions an Shiloh. Was Wallace that poor of general? His actions at Shiloh were not great nor were they poor. Teh Battle of Monocacy is open to debate. What is your view of General Lew Wallace?

 

[novushomus]

Shiloh historian Timothy Smith argues that Wallace, his counter-march miscues of April 6 aside, performed excellently at Shiloh as a tactical division commander on April 7. While the other division commanders of the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio all made frontal attacks, Wallace was able to turn the Confederate's left flank several times. Each time the Confederates would withdraw to a new position, Wallace would flank them out of it. He seems to be a skilled commander who was an easy scapegoat for Grant's and Sherman's embarrassment. I think he could have been a great corps commander at Vicksburg and Atlanta and that his sidelining may have hurt the Union military skill pool.

 

[damYankee]

I just finished reading The Lincoln County War and have come away with a greater respect for Wallace.