Banks, NATHANIEL PRETISS

Banks, NATHANIEL PRETISS, American politician and soldier, was born in Massachusetts, 30th January 1816. At first a factory-worker, he studied law, and became successively a member of the state and the national legislatures. He was Speaker of congress in 1856, and in 1857, 1859, and 1861 was elected governor of his native state. In the Civil War, he took a command in the army, at first on the Potomac, then at New Orleans, and finally on the Red River. He re-entered congress as a republican in 1864, was long chairman for foreign relations, and died 1st September 1894.