Editing Nathaniel P. Banks (section)

==Civil War==
{{main|American Civil War}}
[[File:Currier & Ives - The champions of the Union 1861.jpg|thumb|left|''The champions of the Union'', lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1861.  Banks is among the frontmost standing figures, just left of the central seated figure, [[General Winfield Scott]].]]
As the Civil War became imminent in early 1861, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] considered Banks for a cabinet post,{{Sfn|Hollandsworth|1998|p=43}} despite a negative recommendation from Governor Andrew, who considered Banks to be unsuitable for any office.{{Sfn|Baum|1984|p=57}}  Lincoln rejected Banks in part because he had accepted the railroad job,{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|pp=52&ndash;53}} but chose him as one of the first [[Major general (United States)|major general]]s (Maj. Gen.) of [[United States Volunteers|volunteers]], appointing him on May 16, 1861.{{sfn|Work|2012|pp=10–11}} Many of the professional soldiers in the regular army were unhappy with this{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|p=55}} but Banks, given his national prominence as a leading Republican, brought political benefits to the administration, including the ability to attract recruits and money for the Union cause, despite his lack of field experience.{{Sfn|Hollandsworth|1998|pp=44&ndash;45}}

===First command===
Banks first commanded a military district in eastern Maryland, which notably included [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]], a hotbed of secessionist sentiment and a vital rail link.  Banks for the most part stayed out of civil affairs, allowing political expression of secessionism to continue, while maintaining important rail connections between the north and [[Washington, DC]].{{Sfn|Hollandsworth|1998|pp=46&ndash;48}} He did, however arrest the police chief and commissioners of the city of Baltimore, and replaced the police force with one that had more carefully vetted pro-Union sympathies.<ref name=Harris66-80/>  In August 1861, Banks was assigned to the western district of Maryland.  There he was responsible for the arrest of legislators sympathetic to the Confederate cause (as was [[John Adams Dix]], who succeeded Banks in the eastern district) in advance of legislative elections.  This, combined with the release of local soldiers in his army to vote, ensured that the Maryland legislature remained pro-Union.{{sfn|Work|2012|pp=160–161}} Banks's actions had a chilling effect on Confederate sentiment in Maryland.  Although it was a slave state, it remained loyal through the war.<ref name=Harris66-80>Harris, pp. 66–80</ref>{{full citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Shenandoah Valley Campaign===
{{main|Jackson's Valley Campaign|Peninsula Campaign}}
[[File:230 West Boscawen Street.jpg|thumb|Banks' headquarters in Winchester, Virginia, during the Civil War]]
Banks's division technically belonged to [[George McClellan]] despite serving as an independent command in the Shenandoah Valley. On March 14, 1862, President Lincoln issued an executive order forming all troops in McClellan's department into corps. Banks thus became a corps commander, in charge of his own former division, now commanded by Brig. Gen [[Alpheus Williams]], and the division of Brig. Gen [[James Shields (politician, born 1806)|James Shields]], which was added to Banks's command. After [[Stonewall Jackson]] was turned back at the [[First Battle of Kernstown]] on March 23, Banks was instead ordered to pursue Jackson up the valley, to prevent him from reinforcing the defenses of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].  When Banks's men reached the southern Valley at the end of a difficult supply line, the president recalled them to [[Strasburg, Virginia|Strasburg]], at the northern end.{{sfn|Work|2012|pp=58–59}} Jackson then marched rapidly down the adjacent Luray Valley, and encountered some of Banks' forces in the [[Battle of Front Royal]] on May 23. This prompted Banks to withdraw to [[Winchester, Virginia|Winchester]], where Jackson [[First Battle of Winchester|again attacked]] on May 25. The Union forces were poorly arrayed in defense, and retreated in disorder across the [[Potomac River]] and back into Maryland.{{sfn|Work|2012|pp=60–61}}  An attempt to capture Jackson's forces in a pincer movement (with forces led by [[John Frémont]] and [[Irvin McDowell]]) failed, and Jackson was able to reinforce Richmond. Banks was criticized for mishandling his troops and performing inadequate reconnaissance in the campaign,{{sfn|Work|2012|pp=61–63}} while his political allies sought to pin the blame for the debacle on the War Department.{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|p=79}}

===Northern Virginia Campaign===
{{main|Northern Virginia Campaign}}
[[File:GenNPBanks.jpg|thumb|right|Banks in his military uniform, c. 1861 (portrait by [[Mathew Brady]])]]
In July, Maj. Gen [[John Pope (general)|John Pope]] was placed in command of the newly-formed [[Army of Virginia]], which consisted of the commands of Banks, [[Irvin McDowell]], and [[Franz Sigel]]. By early August this force was in [[Culpeper County, Virginia|Culpeper County]]. Pope gave Banks an ambiguous series of orders, directing him south of [[Culpeper, Virginia|Culpeper]] to determine enemy strength, hold a fortified defensive position, and to engage the enemy. Banks showed none of the caution he had displayed against Stonewall Jackson in the Valley campaign, and moved to meet a larger force. Confederates he faced were numerically stronger and held, particularly around [[Cedar Mountain, Virginia|Cedar Mountain]], the high ground.  After an artillery duel began the August 9 [[Battle of Cedar Mountain]] he ordered a [[flanking maneuver]] on the Confederate right. Bank's bold attack seemed close to breaking in the Confederate line, and might have given him a victory if he had committed his reserves in a timely manner.  Only excellent commanding by the Confederates at the crucial moment of the battle and the fortuitous arrival of Hill allowed their numerical superiority to tell.{{sfn|McPherson|1988}}{{page needed|date=April 2025}} Banks thought the battle one of the "best fought"; one of his officers thought it an act of folly by an incompetent general."{{sfn|Work|2012|p=69}}

The arrival at the end of the day of Union reinforcements under Pope, as well as the rest of Jackson's men, resulted in a two-day stand-off there, with the Confederates finally withdrawing from Cedar Mountain on August 11. Stonewall Jackson observed that Banks's men fought well, and Lincoln also expressed confidence in his leadership.{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|p=84}} During the [[Second Battle of Bull Run]], Banks was stationed with his corps at Bristoe Station and did not participate in the battle.{{Sfn|Hollandsworth|1998|p=81}}{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|p=85}} Afterwards, the corps was integrated into the Army of the Potomac as the [[XII Corps (Union army)|XII Corps]] and marched north with the main army during the Confederate invasion of Maryland. On September 12, Banks was abruptly relieved of command.

===Army of the Gulf===
[[File:Colonel-Short's-Villa-818.JPG|thumb|left|Colonel Short's Villa in New Orleans Garden District was the residence of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, U.S. Commander, Department of the Gulf]]

{{main|Army of the Gulf}}
In November 1862, President Lincoln gave Banks command of the [[Army of the Gulf]], and asked him to organize a force of 30,000 new recruits, drawn from New York and [[New England]]. As a former governor of Massachusetts, he was politically connected to the governors of these states, and the recruitment effort was successful.{{Sfn|Hollandsworth|1998|pp=83&ndash;85}} In December he sailed from New York with a large force of raw recruits to replace Maj. Gen. [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin Butler]] at [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], as commander of the [[Department of the Gulf]].{{Sfn|Hollandsworth|1998|pp=84&ndash;86}}  Butler disliked Banks, but welcomed him to New Orleans and briefed him on civil and military affairs of importance. [[Gideon Welles]], [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]], doubted the wisdom of replacing Butler (also a political general, and later a Massachusetts governor) with Banks, who he thought was a less able leader and administrator.{{sfn|Winters|1963|p=146}} Banks had to contend not just with Southern opposition to the occupation of New Orleans, but also to politically hostile Radical Republicans both in the city and in Washington, who criticized his moderate approach to administration.{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|pp=94&ndash;103}}

===Siege of Port Hudson===
{{main|Siege of Port Hudson}}
Part of Banks's orders included instructions to advance up the [[Mississippi River]] to join forces with [[Ulysses S. Grant]], in order to gain control of the waterway, which was under Confederate control between [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]] and [[Port Hudson, Louisiana]].  Grant was moving against Vicksburg, and Banks was under orders to secure Port Hudson before joining Grant at Vicksburg.  He did not move immediately, because the garrison at Port Hudson was reported to be large,{{sfn|Work|2012|p=99}} his new recruits were ill-equipped and insufficiently trained for action, and he was overwhelmed by the bureaucratic demands of administering the occupied portions of Louisiana.{{sfn|Patterson|2014|pp=76–77}}   He did send forces to reoccupy [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], and sent a small expedition that briefly occupied [[Galveston, Texas]] but was evicted in the [[Battle of Galveston]] on January 1, 1863.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=25–30}}

In 1862, several Union gunboats had successfully passed onto the river between Vicksburg and Port Hudson, interfering with Confederate supply and troop movements.  In March 1863, after they had been captured or destroyed, naval commander [[David Farragut]] sought to run the river past Port Hudson in a bid to regain control over that area, and convinced Banks to make a diversionary land attack on the Confederate stronghold. Banks marched with 12,000 men from Baton Rouge on March 13, but was unable to reach the enemy position due to inaccurate maps. He then compounded the failure to engage the enemy with miscommunications with Farragut.{{sfn|Work|2012|p=100}}{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=32–33}}  The naval commander successfully navigated two gunboats past Port Hudson, taking fire en route, without support. Banks ended up retreating back to Baton Rouge, his troops plundering all along the way. The episode was a further blow to Banks's reputation as a military commander, leaving many with the false impression he had not wanted to support Farragut.{{sfn|Work|2012|p=100}}

[[File:Siege of Port Hudson.jpg|thumb|left|upright|1860s map showing the [[Siege of Port Hudson]]]]
Under political pressure to show progress, Banks [[Bayou Teche Campaign|embarked on operations]] to secure a route that bypassed Port Hudson via the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] in late March.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=41–44}}  He was eventually able to reach [[Alexandria, Louisiana]], but stiff resistance from the smaller forces of Confederate General [[Richard Taylor (Confederate general)|Richard Taylor]] meant he did not get there until early May. His army seized thousands of bales of cotton, and Banks claimed to have interrupted supplies to Confederate forces further east. During these operations Admiral Farragut turned command of the naval forces assisting Banks over to [[David Dixon Porter|David Porter]], with whom Banks had a difficult and prickly relationship.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=42–44}}

Following a request from Grant for assistance against Vicksburg, Banks finally [[Siege of Port Hudson|laid siege to Port Hudson]] in May 1863.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|p=45}} Two attempts to storm the works, as with Grant at Vicksburg, were dismal failures. The first, made against the entrenched enemy on May 27, failed because of inadequate reconnaissance and because Banks failed to ensure the attacks along the line were coordinated.{{sfn|Work|2012|p=104}}{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=44–47}}  After a bloody repulse, Banks continued the siege, and launched a second assault on June 14. It was also badly coordinated, and the repulse was equally bloody: each of the two attacks resulted in more than 1,800 Union casualties.{{sfn|Work|2012|p=104}}  The Confederate garrison under General [[Franklin Gardner]] surrendered on July 9, 1863, after receiving word that Vicksburg had fallen.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|p=48}}  This brought the entire Mississippi River under Union control. The siege of Port Hudson was the first time that African-American soldiers were used in a major Civil War battle. The United States Colored Troops were authorized in 1863 and recruiting and training had to be conducted.{{sfn|Patterson|2014|p=84}}{{sfn|Hewitt|1994|pp=174–178}}

In the autumn of 1863, Lincoln and Chief of Staff [[Henry Halleck]] informed Banks that plans should be made for operations against the coast of Texas, chiefly for the purpose of preventing [[Second French intervention in Mexico|the French]] in Mexico from aiding the Confederates or occupying Texas, and to interdict Confederate supplies from Texas heading east.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=49–51}}  The second objective he attempted to achieve at first by sending a force against Galveston; his troops were badly beaten in the [[Second Battle of Sabine Pass]] on September 8.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=55–61}}  An expedition sent to [[Brownsville, Texas|Brownsville]] [[Battle of Brownsville|secured possession]] of the region near the mouth of the [[Rio Grande]] and the Texas outer islands in November.{{sfn|Dupree|2008|pp=70–74}}

===Red River Campaign===
[[Image:Richard Taylor.jpg|thumb|right|Confederate General [[Richard Taylor (Confederate general)|Richard Taylor]] opposed Banks in Louisiana.]]
{{main|Red River Campaign}}
As part of operations against Texas, Halleck also encouraged Banks to undertake the [[Red River Campaign]], an overland operation into the resource-rich but well-defended parts of northern Texas.  Banks and General Grant both considered the Red River Campaign a strategic distraction, with an eastward thrust to capture [[Mobile, Alabama]] preferred.{{sfn|Johnson|1993|pp=1–36}}  Political forces prevailed, and Halleck drafted a plan for operations on the Red River.{{sfn|Work|2012|p=123}}

The campaign lasted from March to May 1864, and was a major failure. Banks's army was routed at the [[Battle of Mansfield]] (April 8) by General Taylor and retreated {{convert|20|mi|km}} to make a stand the next day at the [[Battle of Pleasant Hill]]. Despite winning a tactical victory at Pleasant Hill, Banks continued the retreat to Alexandria, his force rejoining part of Porter's Federal Inland Fleet. That naval force had joined the Red River Campaign to support the army{{sfn|Work|2012|pp=123–128}} and to take on cotton as a lucrative prize of war. Banks was accused of allowing "hordes" of private cotton speculators to accompany the expedition, but only a few did, and most of the cotton seized was taken by the army or navy.  Banks did little, however, to prevent unauthorized agents from working the area.{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|pp=160&ndash;162}}  A cooperating land force launched from [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] was turned back in the [[Camden Expedition]].{{sfn|Work|2012|pp=123–124}}

Part of Porter's large fleet became trapped above the falls at Alexandria by low water, engineered by Confederates blowing a dam that had been constructed to artificially raise the water level when first entered by Porter's fleet.{{sfn|Robertson|2016|pp=4}} Banks and others approved a plan proposed by [[Joseph Bailey (general)|Joseph Bailey]] to build wing dams as a means to raise what little water was left in the channel. In ten days, 10,000 troops built two dams, and managed to rescue Porter's fleet, allowing all to retreat to the Mississippi River.{{sfn|Work|2012|p=128}} After the campaign, General [[William T. Sherman]] famously said of the Red River campaign that it was "One damn blunder from beginning to end",{{sfn|Robertson|2016|p=168}} and Banks earned the dislike and loss of respect of his officers and rank and file for his mishandling of the campaign.{{sfn|Work|2012|p=127}}  On hearing of Banks's retreat in late April, Grant wired Chief of Staff Halleck asking for Banks to be removed from command.{{sfn|Joiner|2002|p=160}}  The Confederates held the Red River for the remainder of the war.{{sfn|Otto|2010|p=21}}

===Louisiana Reconstruction===
{{see also|History of Louisiana#Reconstruction, disenfranchisement, and segregation (1865–1929)}}
Banks undertook a number of steps intended to facilitate the [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]] plans of President Lincoln in [[Louisiana]]. When Banks arrived in New Orleans, the atmosphere was somewhat hostile to the Union owing to some of Butler's actions. Banks moderated some of Butler's policies, freeing civilians that Butler had detained and reopening churches whose ministers refused to support the Union. He recruited large numbers of African Americans for the military, and instituted formal works and education programs to organize the many slaves who had left their plantations, believing they had been freed. Because Banks believed the plantation owners would need to play a role in Reconstruction, the work program was not particularly friendly to African Americans, requiring them to sign year-long work contracts, and subjecting vagrants to involuntary public work.{{sfn|Dawson|1994|pp=11–14}}  The education program was effectively shut down after Southerners regained control of the city in 1865.{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|pp=108-110}}

[[Image:Edward Canby.png|thumb|left|General [[Edward Canby]] succeeded Banks in Louisiana.]]
In August 1863, President Lincoln ordered Banks to oversee the creation of a new state constitution, and in December granted him wide-ranging authority to create a new civilian government.{{sfn|Dawson|1994|p=16}}{{sfn|Tunnell|1984|p=30}}  However, because voter enrollment was low, Banks canceled planned Congressional elections, and worked with civilian authorities to increase enrollment rates. After a February 1864 election organized by Banks, a Unionist government was elected in Louisiana, and Banks optimistically reported to Lincoln that Louisiana would "become in two years, under a wise and strong government, one of the most loyal and prosperous States the world has ever seen."{{sfn|Dawson|1994|pp=16–18}}  A constitutional convention held from April to July 1864 drafted a new constitution that provided for the emancipation of slaves.{{sfn|Dawson|1994|p=18}}  Banks was a significant influence on the convention, insisting that provisions be included for African-American education and at least partial suffrage.{{sfn|Tunnell|1984|p=79}}

By the time the convention ended, Banks's Red River Campaign had come to its ignominious end and Banks was superseded in military (but not political) matters by Major General [[Edward Canby]]. President Lincoln ordered Banks to oversee elections held under the new constitution in September, and then ordered him to return to Washington to lobby Congress for acceptance of Louisiana's constitution and elected Congressmen.{{sfn|Dawson|1994|p=19}}  Radical Republicans in Congress railed against his political efforts in Louisiana,{{Sfn|Harrington|1948|pp=163&ndash;165}} and refused to seat Louisiana's two Congressmen in early 1865. After six months, Banks returned to Louisiana to resume his military command under Canby. However, he was politically trapped between the civilian government and Canby, and resigned from the army in May 1865 after one month in New Orleans. He returned to Massachusetts in September 1865.{{sfn|Dawson|1994|pp=19–23}}  In early 1865, Secretary of War Halleck ordered [[William Farrar Smith]] and James T. Brady to investigate breaches of Army regulations during the occupation of New Orleans.  The commissioners' report, which was not published, found that the military administration was riddled by "oppression, peculation, and graft".{{sfn|Capers|2015|pp=117–119}}

Military recognition of Banks's service in the war included election in 1867 and 1875 as commander of the [[Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts]].{{sfn|Smith|1903|p=xxvii}} In 1892, he was elected as a Veteran First Class Companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]], a military society for officers who had served the Union during the Civil War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://suvcw.org/mollus/orgmem/OrgmemB.htm|title=Original Companions of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States: Surnames Beginning with the Letter B|publisher=MOLLUS|access-date=January 10, 2017|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101241/http://suvcw.org/mollus/orgmem/OrgmemB.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>