biography
| name: |
Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss
|
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1816–94)
|
| biography:
| US representative and soldier, born in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer (1839) but turned to publishing. He then served in the Massachusetts legislature (1849–53) before entering the House of Representatives (Democrat, 1853–5; Know-Nothing, 1855–7), and was Speaker of the House (1856–7). Turning Republican, he became governor of Massachusetts (1858–60). Shortly after succeeding George McClellan as head of the Illinois Central Railroad (1860–1), he was commissioned a major general with the Union army. He led Federal forces in several unsuccessful actions against Stonewall Jackson, but succeeded in capturing Port Hudson, LA (1863). After the disastrous Red River Campaign of 1864, he resigned from the army, and returned to the US House of Representatives (Republican, 1865–73; Democrat, 1875–7; Republican, 1877–9; Republican, 1889–91). |
|
|
