Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 1816-1894

Born in Waltham, Mass., Nathaniel Prentiss Banks worked as a child laborer in a cotton mill and as a mechanic before studying law. He served in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives and was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat in 1853. Reelected as a Republican in 1856, Banks resigned his seat in 1857 and served as governor of Massachusetts from 1858-1861. In the Civil War he was given command in the Department of the Shenandoah, where he was defeated by Stonewall Jackson at Front Royal and Winchester and then at Cedar Mt. during the second battle of Bull Run. In late 1862, Banks replaced Benjamin F. Butler at New Orleans and cooperated with Grant in opening up the Mississippi by capturing Port Hudson in July of 1863 and in participating in the Red River expedition of 1864. After the war he served several terms as a Republican representative of Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress.

From the description of Orders of General Nathaniel Banks, 1864 July. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 219644679

...