Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/185

Rh day a severe fight took place, known as the battle of Cedar mountain, which lasted well into the night. Banks's corps held the position against a largely superior force, was strengthened during the night, and before the morning of Aug. 11th the confederates retreated to the Rapidan. After participating in Gen. Sigel's campaigns in September, Gen. Banks was placed in command of the defences of Washington while preparations were secretly made to despatch a strong expedition by sea to New Orleans. He was assigned to the command of this expedition, which sailed from New York in November and December, and on reaching New Orleans he succeeded Gen. B. F. Butler in command of the department. Baton Rouge was occupied with a strong force, and during the winter reconnoissances were made toward Port Hudson and other points in the vicinity. Early in April of 1863 he led the army up the Têche country, encountering no very formidable opposition, as far as the Red river. Thence he crossed the Mississippi and invested Port Hudson in connection with the fleet under Farragut. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to storm the works, involving heavy losses to the assaulting columns. In July the news of the surrender of Vicksburg was received, and on the 9th of that month the garrison of Port Hudson, 6,000 strong, capitulated, and the Mississippi river was once more open to the sea. No military movements of great importance were undertaken in the department until the succeeding spring, when Gen. Banks's army, supported by a powerful fleet, was sent up the Red river with the intention of regaining control of western Louisiana. At the same time Gen. A. J. Smith with 10,000 men descended the Mississippi, reaching the rendezvous first, and was joined by Gen. Banks, who assumed command of the whole force at Alexandria. The army advanced along the south bank of Red river as far as Sabine Cross-roads, when it suffered a defeat by the confederates under Gen. Richard Taylor, and was obliged to fall back to Pleasant Hill, having sustained heavy losses in men and material. Here on the following day the confederates renewed the attack, but were repelled with great loss, and the national army retreated without further serious molestation to Alexandria, where a new complication arose in consequence of the subsidence of the Red river after the spring freshets. The gun-boats were unable to descend the river owing to shoal water, and were only saved by the engineering skill of Lieut.-Col. Joseph Bailey (q. v.). The whole force then retreated to the Mississippi. Gen. Banks has been censured for the failure of this expedition, but it was undertaken contrary to his advice and in spite of his protest. During his command of the department of the Gulf he endeavored to reorganize the civil government of Louisiana, but did not accomplish it in a manner satisfactory to the inhabitants. He was relieved of his command in May, 1864, resigned his commission, and, returning to Massachusetts, was elected to congress from his old district. He was reëlected to the successive congresses until 1877, failing only in 1872, when he was active in behalf of Horace Greeley, the liberal-democratic candidate for president. He served for a long time as chairman of the committee on foreign relations. He was again elected to congress in 1888, and in 1891 he received a pension.—His daughter, Maud, after a course of study and training at the New York school of acting, went upon the stage in 1886, making her first appearance at Portsmouth, N. H., in the character of Parthenia in &ldquo;Ingomar.&rdquo;—His brother, Gardner, soldier, b.

in Waltham, Mass.; d. there, 9 July, 1871. At the beginning of the civil war he raised a company for the 16th Massachusetts regiment, in which he rose to the rank of colonel in 1862. He was with his regiment at Fair Oaks, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Kettle Run, Chantilly, and Fredericksburg. Lieut. Hiram B. Banks, his brother, was killed by his side in the second Bull Run battle. Gen. Hooker said, in a letter to Gov. Andrew: &ldquo;There is no doubt but at Glendale the 16th Massachusetts saved the army.&rdquo; From constant exposure Col. Banks contracted an inflammatory rheumatism, which completely disabled him for active service. The battle of Fredericksburg was the last he shared with his comrades of the 16th. In 1864, after an illness of several months at Waltham, he went as a planter to Louisiana, where he remained until his return home four days before his death.

BANNEKER, Benjamin, mathematician, b. at Ellicott's Mills, Md., 9 Nov., 1731; d. in Baltimore, in October, 1806. He was of African descent, and learned to read from his grandmother, a white woman who had freed and married one of her slaves. He studied mathematics and astronomy while working in the field, when past middle life, and prepared and published almanacs for Maryland and the adjoining states in 1792 and subsequent years until his death. He assisted Ellicott in surveying the site of Washington and the boundaries of the District of Columbia. His biography, by J. H. B. Latrobe, was published in 1845, and another by J. S. Norris in 1854.

BANNISTER, E. M., artist, b. in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, in 1833. He studied art at the Lowell institute, Boston, and spent the greater part of his professional life there. In 1871 he removed to Providence, R. I. He has contributed regularly to the Boston art club exhibitions. His picture "Under the Oaks" was awarded a first-class medal at the centennial exhibition of 1876.

BANVARD, John, artist, b. in New York city, 15 Nov., 1815; d. in Watertown, S. D., 26 May, 1891. He was educated at the New York high school, and at an early age showed talent for drawing. When fifteen years old his father lost a large sum of money. John then went to Louisville, Ky., and, after some experience as clerk in a drug-store, led a life of adventure, supporting himself by painting pictures and exhibiting them at New Orleans, Natchez, Cincinnati, and other towns, travelling from place to place in a boat. At one time he executed a panorama of Venice, and exhibited it with success. Finally the idea occurred to him to paint a panorama of the entire Mississippi river. He began this task in 1840, travelling thousands of miles alone in an open skiff, living on what game he could shoot, and earning money to buy drawing materials by painting and exhibiting pictures. When he had made the preliminary drawings they were transferred to canvas in a building erected for the purpose in Louisville, Ky. When finished, the panorama covered about half a mile of canvas, though it was advertised and became known as the "three-mile picture." He afterward exhibited it in this country and abroad. The artistic merits of the painting were not great, but it was a faithful picture of the Mississippi, and as such attracted a great deal of attention. He afterward travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and painted many pictures, which he exhibited. During the war Mr. Banvard pointed out to Gen. Fremont how Island No. 10 could be passed by a canal and certain bayous, and made charts showing the route. These suggestions were successfully followed out by Fremont's successor. Mr. Banvard