Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, congressman, governor of Massachusetts and Union general, was born on January 30, 1816 in Waltham, Massachusetts. Working in a cotton mill where his father was the superintendent later earned him the nickname, "Bobbin Boy".

After the Civil War began, Banks was commissioned major general of volunteers in 1861. Though his military record was not an enviable one, he did receive the "Thanks of Congress" for his successful efforts in capturing Port Hudson on July 9, 1863, which helped the Union to open the Mississippi River.