BANKS.BANKS.
war, and grandson of James Bankhead, a soldier of the revolutionary war. At the age of seventeen he entered the navy as a midshipman, and after fourteen years of faithful service won promotion to the rank of lieutenant. His first station in the civil war was on board the Susquehanna; later he commanded the Pembina at the capture of Port Royal, and was commanding the Florida when Fernandina was taken March 4, 1862. He received his commandership in the same year and was appointed to the Monitor. He displayed both bravery and presence of mind when that ship foundered off Cape Hatteras, Dec. 31, 1862, and to his efforts was mainly due the preservation of the crew. He was the last to leave the already half-sunken vessel. After the close of hostilities, he was attached to the East India squadron as commander of the Wyoming. He received his captaincy in 1866. The declension of his health caused his resignation early in 1867, and he died on shipboard on his way home when near Aden, April 27, 1867.
BANKS, David, law publisher, was born in Newark, N. J., in 1796. He fitted himself for the legal profession, and practised in partnership with Charles Brainard until 1819, when he entered into co-partnership with Stephen Gould in establishing a law-book store and publishing concern. Their business, ably managed, rapidly increased, and developed finally into one of the largest law-publishing houses in the United States. He was alderman of New York city for ten years and for a time president of the board. He died in New York city Oct. 13, 1871.
BANKS, Linn, statesman, was born in Madison county, Va. For twenty successive years he was speaker of the Virginia house of delegates. Resigning in 1838 he was elected a representative to the 26th, and was re-elected to the 27th Congress. He resigned in September, 1841, and was thrown from his horse and drowned while fording Conway river, Jan. 14, 1842.
BANKS, Nathaniel Prentiss, statesman, was born in Waltham, Mass., Jan. 30, 1816. He received a common-school education and at an early age was employed in a cotton mill. Subsequently he became editor of a local paper, then studied law, and in 1849 was chosen to represent his native town in the legislature of Massachusetts. By a coalition of the Democratic and Free Soil parties he was elected speaker of the state assembly in 1811, and re-elected in 1852. In 1853 he became chairman of the Massachusetts constitutional convention, and in 1852 was elected to the 33d U. S. Congress as representative from Massachusetts, and was re-elected to the 34th Congress as a candidate of the American or "Know-Nothing" party. When Congress assembled in December, 1855, Representative Banks was named as speaker of the house, and after a prolonged contest was elected and took the chair Feb. 2, 1856. As presiding officer of the representative body of Congress he made the remarkable 
record of having been sustained in all his rulings. He was again elected to the 35th Congress as a Republican, and served until Dec. 4, 1857, when he resigned to take his seat as governor of Massachusetts, having been elected to that office in November as a Republican He was re-elected to that office in 1858 and again in 1859, and in 1860 he succeeded George B. McClellan as president of the Illinois Central railroad. When the civil war began he resigned, was commissioned major-general of volunteers, and commanded the 5th corps of the army of the Potomac. His first battle was Winchester, March 23, 1862. In April and May of that year he was left with two divisions to guard the Shenandoah valley. General Shields's division being withdrawn. Banks, with eight thousand men, was attacked by "Stonewall" Jackson's entire corps, and on May 26 he made a masterly retreat, escaping with some difficulty by crossing the Potomac at Williamsport, and thus saved his entire force from capture. He joined the army of Virginia under General Pope at Cedar Mountain, Aug. 9, 1862, and his corps there held the advance against a vastly superior force of the Confederates for two days, when being reinforced he drove the Confederates to the Rapidan. General Banks was employed in the defence of Washington and afterwards commanded an expedition which sailed from New York in November and December, 1862, to New Orleans, where he assumed command of the department, succeeding Gen. B. F. Butler. He took possession of Baton Rouge, made an expedition up the Teche country, and invested Port Hudson in connection with the fleet of Farragut. In July, 1863, the news of the surrender of Vicksburg was received, and on the 9th of that month the garrison of Port Hudson surrendered to the investing forces of General Banks. Early in 1864 his army, reinforced by ten thousand men and accompanied by a strong naval force, under Gen. A. J. Smith, undertook the Red river campaign. The combined force led by General Banks advanced rapidly up the Red river as far as Sabine cross-roads, where they encountered the Confederate forces under
