Nathaniel
Banks was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, on 30th January, 1816. After
a brief education he worked as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory.
Banks became a journalist and edited a weekly paper in Waltham before
studying law and being admitted to the bar. A member of the Democratic
Party, he served in the Massachusetts legislature (1849-53). Banks
was a strong opponent of the Kansas-Nebraska
and this eventually resulted in him joining the Republican
Party.
In 1855 Banks was elected to the House of Representatives before becoming
governor of Massachusetts in 1858. Banks was initially opposed to
the American Civil War. Lincoln managed
to persuade Banks to change his mind and in 1861 appointed him Major
General of Volunteers. He was now the fourth highest ranking officer
in the army, junior to only Winfield Scott,
John C. Fremont and George
McClellan. This angered senior army officers as Banks had no military
experience.
In the summer of 1862 Banks was defeated by Thomas
Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah
Valley. He was given the command of the Military District of Washington
before succeeded General Benjamin Butler
at the Department of the Gulf in October, 1862. His attempt to open
the Mississippi River from the South ended in failure. His military
inexperience also resulted in the deaths of a large number of soldiers
at Port Hudson, Louisiana (July 1863). His Red River expedition (March-May,
1864) also ended in failure when he was defeated by Edmund
Kirby-Smith.
After these series of military set-backs, Banks was replaced by Major
General Edward Canby and he returned
to the House of Representatives. After the American
Civil War, Banks was a staunch opponent of the reconstruction
policies of President Andrew Johnson.
Elected to Congress in 1865, 1866, 1868 and 1870, Banks also served
as U.S. marshal for Massachusetts (1879-88). Nathaniel Banks died
in Waltham, Massachusetts, on 1st September, 1894.
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