By Sharon Lakey
For photo album, gathered and shared by Linda Bess, Gordon and Gerry’s daughter, click here: Gordon Bess
Gordon Bess is an organized man. He credits this to his twenty-year military career. He was born and raised in Meriden, Connecticut, known as the Silver City. His younger brother, Ronald, was also a military man, joining the Marine Corps and serving during the Korean War. Ronald is still living in Meriden. Gordon’s younger sister, Lois, died in January 2004 at the age of 81.
By Gary Farrow, Danville Historical Society
Desperation over the war effort continued to be one of main themes in the North Star’s reporting and opinion columns. The paper’s commentary also brings its political stripes into clearer focus.
The Newburyport Herald says our national expenses since this war commenced have been greater than from the origin of the Government down to 1861, a period of seventy-two years. Our whole nation expenses to the time of the rebellion, including the war with England, the Mexican war, and our many Indian wars, were $1,353,785,000: and were the war to cease now no one imagines that our debt would be less than $2,009,000,000 created in less than two years…
Every day since the war began our expenses have increased. Millions are voted by Congress for emancipation purposes, Pacific Railroads, and anything, and everything, and where the limit might be reached, or what will be the end, Heaven only knows.
By Gary Farrow, Danville Historical Society
Our New Orleans correspondent confirms the rumors which have been current as to difficulties between the white and black regiments at Ship Island and Baton Rouge in the Department of the Gulf. We see no reason why this state of things should be allowed to spring up. White and black troops should not be brigaded together or stationed together. The Proclamation specified the use to which black troops should be primarily put, when raised, as “garrisoning forts and positions,” and there are forts enough in our hands in the Gulf Department to furnish duty for ten times the number of black troops we have there…
When the sickly weather comes on in the Gulf and on the river, our white soldiers will be glad enough to have this work taken off their hands by the acclimated negroes; and there will be no quarrelling for precedence in the duty.…
We need not doubt that Col. Higginson’s black battalion exhibited all the “fiery energy” which can be claimed for them: but the greater part of the men of the South will require a great deal of discipline and training before their fiery energy can be relied on in the field of battle.
By Gary Farrow, Danville Historical Society
The North Star was not abolitionist. During the War, political positions arose along a continuum. On one end of the spectrum were Radical Abolitionists, who saw slavery as a moral imperative that must triumph at all costs; on the other were the Peace Democrats or Copperheads, who wanted peace with the Confederates at any price. In between were the War Democrats, who rejected the Copperheads faction that controlled the Democratic Party. These War Democrats joined with the Republicans to support the war effort against the South. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in all rebel states, had just taken effect in January. Now in February, the North Star became more explicit about where it stood.
Wendell Phillips defined Radicalism in a late speech at Plymouth Church, when he said: -“Now, I would accept anything on an antislavery basis. I would accept separation. I would accept compromise. I would accept peace, and pay the whole Confederate debt at par on an antislavery basis. On that basis, I have touched the hard path of National existence. I have reached the granite strata, and may begin to build agrarian peace. And until I reach that no chicanery of parties, no ingenuity of compromise, no manner of separation can make any difference. We are in for the war.”
By Gary Farrow, Danville Historical Society
The events of late fall — early winter had brought the North to a low point. Although the army experienced some success in the West, the war in the Virginia theatre had seen one Northern debacle after another.
The Congress’ Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which was established in 1861 and chaired by Ohio’s Ben Wade, was now looking into the loss at Fredericksburg. Over time the committee had become identified with the Radical Republicans, who were at odds with the administration over the lack of an aggressive war effort.
The evidence in the report of the committee for investigating the disaster of Fredericksburg fixes definitely the responsibility for the consequences of not crossing the Rappahannock at once. It besides makes revelations that are painful and cannot fail to sink deep into the public mind.