Editing Lew Wallace (section)

==Early law and military career==
Wallace was admitted to the [[bar association|bar]] in February 1849, and moved from Indianapolis to [[Covington, Indiana]], where he established a law practice. In 1851 Wallace was elected prosecuting attorney of [[Indiana's 1st congressional district]],<ref name=Gronert71/> but he resigned in 1853 and moved his family to [[Crawfordsville, Indiana|Crawfordsville]], in [[Montgomery County, Indiana]]. Wallace continued to practice law and was elected as a Democrat to a two-year term in the [[Indiana Senate]] in 1856.<ref>Stephens, pp. 9, 11, 13; Boomhower, pp. 41, 44.</ref><ref name=Forbes388>Forbes, p. 388.</ref><ref name=Morrow9>Morrow, p. 9.</ref> From 1849 to 1853, his office was housed in the [[Fountain County Clerk's Building]].<ref name="SHAARD">{{cite web|url=https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/welcome.html|title=Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) |publisher=Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology |format=Searchable database|access-date=October 1, 2015}} ''Note:'' This includes {{cite web|url=https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/23210/N/Fountain_CO_Clerks_Bldg__Nom.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424131731/https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/23210/N/Fountain_CO_Clerks_Bldg__Nom.pdf |archive-date=April 24, 2020 |url-status=live|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Fountain County Courthouse |access-date=October 1, 2015|author1=Carol Ann Freese |author2=Nancy Wagner |date=December 2001}} and Accompanying photographs.</ref>{{rp|8}}

While living in Crawfordsville, Wallace organized the Crawfordsville Guards Independent Militia, later called the Montgomery Guards. During the winter of 1859–60, after reading about elite units of the [[French Army]] in [[Algeria]], Wallace adopted the [[Zouave]] uniform and their system of training for the group. The Montgomery Guards would later form the core of his first military command, the 11th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the [[American Civil War]].<ref name=Forbes388/><ref>Stephens, p. 14; Boomhower, pp. 4, 44.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ben-hur.com/meet-lew-wallace/timeline/|title=Timeline|date=November 25, 2023 }}</ref>