Henry Halleck, Union general-in-chief, removed him from field command-an act Wallace never forgave. Whatever the reason for Wallace’s delay, Maj. After a long countermarch, his men finally reached the line, but too late to be of use that day. Armed with a second order from Grant, a messenger found Wallace and had to re direct his line of march. As the hours ticked by without Wallace’s appearance, the Confederates pushed Grant’s troops back toward the Tennessee River. During the first day of battle, Grant called for Wallace to move his division up. Two months after Donelson, Wallace commanded the 3rd Brigade of Grant’s Army of the Tennessee at Shiloh on April 6 and 7, 1862. Wallace’s efforts led to a successful counterattack, the enemy’s eventual surrender and-on Grant’s recommendation-Wallace’s promotion to major general.īut Wallace’s stock fell as quickly as it had risen. There his masterful deployment of infantry and artillery plugged a gap in the Union right flank and cut off the escape of 15,000 Confederates defending the fort. Wallace continued to merit his rapid rise by distinguished service at Fort Donelson, Tenn., under Grant in 1862. Serving ably as colonel of the 11th Indiana Volunteers, he was promoted to brigadier general in 1861. At the war’s outbreak, Wallace, the son of a former Indiana governor and congressman, had been appointed adjutant general of Indiana, and within weeks he had raised more than double the state’s quota of volunteers. Wallace’s career had stagnated since a glaring failure at the Battle of Shiloh, Tenn., which Maj. Here was an opportunity to resurrect his military reputation. When this small force, bolstered by valuable last-minute reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac, met Early’s army at the Monocacy River in July 1864, Wallace knew it was the only Union defense against an invasion of the nation’s capital. And for Union Major General Lew Wallace, saddled with an administrative role since falling from political and military favor, it was a source of possible redemption.Ĭommanding the Middle Department and VIII Corps, headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Wallace’s corps comprised 2,400 green 100-day men from Maryland and Ohio and a few Maryland home guards under Brig. For the Unionists in Baltimore and Washington, it was a source of anxiety. With Rebels threatening Washington in 1864, a disgraced Union general held the line at the Monocacy River-saving the capital city and his career.įor the beleaguered Confederacy, Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s raid into the Shenandoah Valley in the summer of 1864 was a source of optimism.
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