f Pope's campaign, when
the reorganized Army of the Potomac, once more under McClellan,
was in march to meet Lee in Maryland, Banks had been forced, by
injuries received at Cedar Mountain, to give up the command of the
Twelfth Army Corps to the senior division commander, Brigadier-General
A. S. Williams. As soon as this was reported at headquarters,
McClellan created a new organization under the name of the "Defences
of Washington," and placed Banks in command.

For some time after this Banks was unable to leave his room; yet,
within forty-eight hours, a mob of thirty thousand wounded men and
convalescents, who knew not where to go, and of stragglers, who
meant not to go where they were wanted, was cleared out of the
streets of Washington, and pandemonium was at an end. Order was
rather created than restored, since none had existed in any direction.
The Fifth Corps was sent to join the army in the field; within a
fortnight, a full army corps of able-bodied stragglers followed;
the fortifications were completed; ample garrisons of instructed
artillerists were provided. These became "the Heavies" of Grant's
campaigns. Almost another full army corps was organized from the
new regiments. Finally the whole force of the defences, about
equal in numbers to Lee's army, was so disposed that Washington
was absolutely secure. The dispositions for the defence of the
capital and the daily operations of the command were clearly and
constantly made known to the President and Secretary of War as well
as to the General-in-chief. Thus it was that, less than two months
later, in the closing days of October, President Lincoln sent for
Banks and said: "You have let me sleep in peace for the first time
since I came here. I want you to go to Louisiana and do the same
thing there."

On the 9th of November Halleck communicated to Banks the orders of
the President to proceed immediately to New Orleans with the troops
from Baltimore and elsewhere, under Emory, already assembling in
transports at Fort Monroe. An additional force of ten thousand
men, he was told, would be sent to him from Boston and New York as
soon as possible. Though this order was never formally revoked or
modified, yet in fact it was from the first a dead letter, and
Banks, who received it in New York, remained there to complete the
organization and to look after the collection and transport of the
additional force mentioned in Halleck's instructions. Including