Clipped Autograph of Union General Nathaniel Prentice Banks

Clipped autograph of Union General Nathaniel Prentice Banks, signed "N.P. Banks - M.G. (Major General) Volunteers U.S.A". Framed below an etching circa 1861. Please inquire for more information. Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker, Banks became prominent in local debating societies and entered politics as a young adult. Initially a member of the Democratic Party, Banks's abolitionist views drew him to the nascent Republican Party, through which he won election to the United States House of Representatives and as Governor of Massachusetts in the 1850s. At the start of the 34th Congress, he was elected Speaker of the House in an election that spanned a record 133 ballots taken over the course of two months. As the Civil War became imminent in early 1861, President Abraham Lincoln considered Banks for a cabinet post, despite a negative recommendation from Governor Andrew, who considered Banks to be unsuitable for any office. Lincoln rejected Banks in part because he had accepted the railroad job, but chose him as one of the first major generals (Maj. Gen.) of volunteers, appointing him on May 16, 1861. Many of the professional soldiers in the regular army were unhappy with this 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.…