Nathaniel P. Banks

Nathaniel P. Banks
Portrait by Brady-Handy studio, c. 1865–1880
24th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 7, 1858 – January 3, 1861
Lieutenant	Eliphalet Trask
Preceded by	Henry Gardner
Succeeded by	John Albion Andrew
21st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office February 2, 1856 – March 3, 1857
Preceded by	Linn Boyd
Succeeded by	James Lawrence Orr
Chairman of the House Republican Conference
In office March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871 Serving with Robert C. Schenck
Speaker	James G. Blaine
Preceded by	Justin S. Morrill (1867)
Succeeded by	Austin Blair
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts
In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Preceded by	Edward D. Hayden
Succeeded by	Sherman Hoar
Constituency	5th district
In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879
Preceded by	Daniel W. Gooch
Succeeded by	Selwyn Z. Bowman
Constituency	5th district
In office December 4, 1865 – March 3, 1873
Preceded by	Daniel W. Gooch
Succeeded by	Benjamin Butler
Constituency	6th district
In office March 4, 1853 – December 24, 1857
Preceded by	John Z. Goodrich
Succeeded by	Daniel W. Gooch
Constituency	7th district
Personal details
Born	Nathaniel Prentice Banks (1816-01-30)January 30, 1816 Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	September 1, 1894(1894-09-01) (aged 78) Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (1844–1854) American (1854–1857) Republican (1857–1872) Liberal Republican (1872–1873) Republican (1873–1891)
Spouse	Mary Theodosia Palmer ​ ​ (m. 1847)​
Children	4, including Maude Banks
Profession	Military officer, workman
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States Union
Branch/service	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Major General
Commands	Army of the Shenandoah V Corps Army of the Gulf
Battles/wars	American Civil War Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign First Battle of Kernstown Battle of Front Royal First Battle of Winchester Northern Virginia Campaign Battle of Cedar Mountain Second Battle of Bull Run Vicksburg Campaign Siege of Port Hudson Red River Campaign Battle of Mansfield Battle of Pleasant Hill

Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss)^[1] Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks became prominent in local debating societies. He entered politics as a young adult. Initially a member of the Democratic Party, Banks's abolitionist views drew him to the nascent Republican Party, through which he won election to the United States House of Representatives and as Governor of Massachusetts in the 1850s. At the start of the 34th Congress, he was elected Speaker of the House in an election that spanned a record 133 ballots taken over the course of two months.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln appointed Banks as one of the first political major generals, over the heads of West Point regulars, who initially resented him, but came to acknowledge his influence on the administration of the war. After suffering a series of inglorious setbacks in the Shenandoah River Valley at the hands of Stonewall Jackson, Banks replaced Benjamin Butler at New Orleans as commander of the Department of the Gulf, charged with the administration of Louisiana and gaining control of the Mississippi River. He failed to reinforce Grant at Vicksburg, and badly handled the Siege of Port Hudson, taking its surrender only after Vicksburg had fallen. He then launched the Red River Campaign, a failed attempt to occupy northern Louisiana and eastern Texas that prompted his recall. Banks was regularly criticized for the failures of his campaigns, notably in tactically important tasks, including reconnaissance. Banks was also instrumental in early reconstruction efforts in Louisiana, intended by Lincoln as a model for later such activities.

After the war, Banks returned to the Massachusetts political scene, serving in Congress, where he supported Manifest Destiny, influenced the Alaska Purchase legislation, and supported women's suffrage. In his later years, he adopted more liberal progressive causes, and served as a United States marshal for Massachusetts before suffering a decline in his mental faculties.