Civil War and the U.S. Supreme Court: Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks and Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd

Collectibles : Autographs

 

Autographs of two great Americans on the same sheet, front and verso, tipped to a small piece of paper. A great find. Some staining bleed through from adhesive.

Nathaniel P. Banks (January 30, 1816-September 1, 1894) enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 16, 1861 as a Major General, and mustered out on August 25, 1865. He received a common school education and learned the trade of a machinist in a cotton factory, where his father was superintendent. He was editor of the local Waltham, MA newspaper, was admitted to the bar and elected to the state legislature in 1849 and speaker of the legislature in 1851. In 1853, he was elected chairman of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention. Later that year, he was elected to Congress. He soon became speaker of the House of Representatives but resigned from Congress in 1857 to become governor of Massachusetts. He was re-elected in 1858 and 1859. In 1860, he became president of the Illinois Central Railroad.

When the Civil War broke out, he resigned his position and was commissioned major-general of the volunteers and assigned to the command of the 5th army corps in the Army of the Potomac. On March 23, 1862, part of his troops under Gen. Shields defeated Jackson at Winchester. The next month, as the head of two divisions, Gen. Banks was assigned to guard the Shenandoah. When one division had been withdrawn, leaving only 8,000 men with Banks, the force was attacked by Gen. Jackson and defeated, but escaped capture. Gen. Banks then joined Gen. Pope, who had command of the Army of Virginia.

On Aug. 9, he was defeated at the Battle of Cedar Mountain. He was then in command of the defenses of Washington and in December 1862, he commanded the expedition to New Orleans, where he succeeded Gen. B.F. Butler as commander of the Department of the Gulf. In the spring of 1863, he commanded the expedition against Port Hudson, which surrendered on July 9, 1863. In early 1864, Banks led the expedition up the Red River. His men were defeated at the hands of Gen. Richard Taylor. The next day, the Confederates made an attack at Pleasant Hill, but were defeated, and the army withdrew to Alexandria. There, the skill of Gen. Joseph Bailey saved the fleet, and the entire expedition withdrew to the Mississippi.

In May 1864, Banks was relieved of his command, resigned his commission, returned to Massachusetts where he was elected to Congress and served, with the exception of one term, until 1877. He was again elected in 1888, but after 1890, he suffered a mental disorder and was forced to withdraw from public life. In 1891, Congress voted him an annual pension of $1,200. Banks died in 1894.

Thomas Todd (January 23, 1765-February 7, 1826) was born in King and Queen county, Virginia. He discontinued his studies to join the American Revolution and fought during the invasion of Virginia. Todd served as clerk of five constitutional conventions between 1784 and 1792. He took an active role in Kentucky becoming a state and was appointed clerk of the United States Court for the District of Kentucky. When Kentucky became a state, he was appointed clerk of the court of appeals. He became chief justice in 1806 and was appointed associate of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1826.

Todd married Elizabeth Harris in 1788 and the couple had five children. In 1812, he married Lucy Payne Washington, the youngest sister of Dolly Madison and the widow of Major George Steptoe Washington, nephew of President George Washington. It was believed to be the first wedding in the White House. The two had three children.

President Thomas Jefferson appointed Todd to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1807 after Congress raised the number of seats on the court to seven. Todd served on the court until his death in Frankfort, Kentucky, on February 7, 1826 at the age of 61.

Item ID: 00464