Other historians have claimed that the campaign was also motivated by concern regarding the 25,000 French troops in Mexico sent by Napoleon III and under the command of Emperor Maximilian. At the time, the Confederates offered to recognize the government of Maximillian in return for French recognition of the Confederacy; the Confederates also hoped to gain access to valuable war goods through this recognition. However, Banks's campaign on the Texas coast during November and December 1863 had satisfied President Abraham Lincoln, who wrote to Banks, "My thanks for your successful and valuable operations in Texas."