Anthony Gale

AnthonyGalepp46-49 2/9/07 12:21 PM Page 1 The Mystery of Lieutenant Colonel Commandant Anthony Gale Story by Robert T. Jordan Photos and illustrations courtesy of the author Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Gale, Limited records of fourth Commandant of the Marine Corps Gale’s brief service and the only one ever fired, was born in as Commandant are Dublin, Ireland, on 17 Sept. 1782. Fewer available, and there records survive concerning him than is no known image those concerning any other Commandant. or portrait. Even his final resting place is unknown. mong the portraits of Comman- dants of the Marine Corps, one is A notable by its absence—that of Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Gale, fourth Commandant of the Marine Corps from 3 March 1819 until 16 Oct. 1820. The scrappy Irishman’s antics were such an embarrassment to the Marine Corps that for years his name was seldom mentioned. The 23rd Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Wallace M. Greene Jr., hoped to change that. In 1966, he appointed a pair of Marines to conduct an investigation into what happened to Gale after the Corps dismissed him in 1820. He suspect- ed the “knobs” (small hills) of south-central Kentucky where Gale lived out his final years might have Adams authorized the formation of the rows suggested Gale’s action would cause answers. Greene hoped the team might Marine Corps on 11 July 1798, Gale was Navy officers to treat Marines and their locate Gale’s burial site and a male among the first to apply for a commission officers “with some respect.” descendant whose likeness might pro- as a second lieutenant, which he received In 1801, Gale received a promotion to vide an artist an idea of how Gale might on 2 Sept. 1798. He was first assigned first lieutenant and an assignment to Ma- have looked. recruiting duty in Philadelphia where he rine Barracks, Philadelphia. He became a Marine Corps photographer Gunnery also was responsible for guarding pris- U.S. citizen, met and married Catherine Sergeant Bob Mosier teamed with cura- oners of the quasi-war with France. Swope, the daughter of the Rev. Bene- tor Richard Long from the Marine Corps Gale’s first sea-duty assignment was dict Swope, and was numbered ninth of Museum to locate Gale’s final resting on the 24-gun frigate Ganges. He thrived 18 first lieutenants. place, but without success. Suggesting as a seagoing officer. In quick succes- In addition to the 18 first lieutenants, that I continue the search, Long offered sion, he directed his Marine Detachment the Corps included a lieutenant colonel me a photo of Gale’s daughter and much in forays against the Barbary pirates and Commandant, four captains and 18 sec- of the material from Mosier and his the British. But when Navy Lieutenant ond lieutenants. Throughout his career, investigation. Allan MacKensie relieved one of Gale’s Gale would alternate service ashore with Looking for clues about Anthony Gale’s Marine sentries and placed him in irons, sea duty aboard other ships, including final resting place required numerous Gale’s Irish temper exploded. Gale re- USS President and Constitution. His de- visits to historical archives and the town portedly called MacKensie a “rascal” and tachment or guard (depending on the of Stanford, Ky. struck him across the face. The hapless size of the ship) might be comprised of Navy officer accepted a duel, thus seal- three sergeants, three corporals, one ar- Swashbuckler and Duelist ing his fate. morer, one drummer, one fifer and 50 Gale migrated to the United States in Gale killed MacKensie in the duel and privates. Typically, a first and second lieu- 1793. To save money, the government forwarded a report to Commandant Wil- tenant, or a captain and a first lieutenant temporarily abolished the Marine Corps liam Ward Burrows. In a letter to another of Marines would command such a large after the Revolution. When President John Marine officer, Lieutenant Colonel Bur- guard. 46 LEATHERNECK MARCH 2007 www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck AnthonyGalepp46-49 2/9/07 12:21 PM Page 2 Gale’s early service must have been quently countermanded LtCol Gale’s cuser, the adjutant and inspector, Maj without fault since he was promoted to orders in a humiliating manner. Subordi- Samuel Miller, also prosecuted the case. captain in 1804, then quickly awarded nates wrote to the Navy Secretary or the The court found Gale guilty on 8 Oct. “brevet major,” usually a meritorious pro- President to have their orders changed or 1820, and he was removed from office motion for exemplary or heroic service. to ask for special requests. and the Marine Corps on 16 Oct. He received $40 a month as the senior LtCol Gale courageously submitted a captain in the Marine Corps, a raise of letter analyzing how he felt the proper From Disgrace to Poverty and Death $10. He began to spend more time at division of function should be between Gale joined his family in Philadelphia home and less at sea since senior offi- himself and the Secretary, and respect- where he spent several months in hospi- cers were responsible for recruiting and fully pointed out the impossibility of his tals. With help from his wife’s sister, the training troops and maintaining the bar- position. No response to his entreaties family moved to a log cabin on 158 acres racks. Gale’s career prospered under exist. Gale drowned his disappointment of land along the Dix River in Lincoln Commandant Burrows, who may have overlooked Gale’s flaws. Commandant LtCol Franklin Wharton, who replaced Commandant Burrows, was much less forgiving. Complaints began to arrive at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., of Gale’s bouts with the bottle, lack of attention to detail in managing the barracks and suspicions that he was misappropriating funds to re- furbish his Philadelphia home. Commandant Franklin Wharton Wharton ordered a court of inquiry, which cleared Gale, but Wharton then banished Gale to New Orleans where he nursed a feeling of persecution with reg- ular doses of John Barleycorn. When Wharton died in 1818, Gale was the next senior officer in the Marine Corps. The Corps divided into two factions— one aligned with Wharton and the other Emily Gale Campbell (left),the daughter of Anthony with Major Archibald Henderson. Those and Catherine Gale, married William S. Campbell who backed Henderson charged the Wharton group with being overly con- in 1830.The Campbells had a family cemetery that cerned with their private lives and busi- the author visited, finding no indications of An- ness ventures to the detriment of their thony Gale’s burial plot. professional duties. Gale did not support either faction, County, Ky. Unfortunately, Gale proved preferring to focus on commanding his not to be a farmer, and his family strug- barracks with the hope that Headquar- gled to make a living. Gale returned to ters Marine Corps and the Navy might the bottle to ease his disappointment and leave him alone. However, his clashes pain. with Wharton left him vulnerable. Clearly The disgraced former Commandant of the senior Marine at the time, he never- Marines spent the next 15 years citing theless faced a tough fight as both sides his medical records as proof that he was rushed to have him disqualified. temporarily mentally impaired, which led to his bizarre behavior. By 1820 stan- Battle for Commandant dards, it was not uncommon for the na- Maj Archibald Henderson, second in tion’s warrior caste to be hard fighting, line, bluntly questioned the Secretary of hard drinking and a bit rough around the the Navy about Gale’s qualifications. edges. In historical perspective, Gale pos- After a court of inquiry exonerated him, sibly was set up to fail by his enemies Maj Gale, with 21 years of service, be- both within and outside the Corps. came Lieutenant Colonel Commandant The government partially cleared Gale on 3 March 1819. The Corps had been in 1835, awarding him a stipend of $15 a without a leader for six months. Gale by drinking, womanizing and directing month, which later was increased to $25 commanded 47 officers and 875 enlisted abusive verbal assaults at his staff. and continued until his death by “lung Marines, most serving in detachments Three weeks later Gale was placed disease” in 1843. aboard 58 warships of various sizes. under house arrest, charged with drunk- Gale’s victory proved shallow indeed. enness, conduct unbecoming an officer, Searching for the Commandant’s Grave He inherited a position that was grossly signing false documents and leaving his The search for Gale began at the Ar- ill defined. quarters without permission. Gale cited chive Section of the Stanford Courthouse. Navy Secretary Smith Thompson fre- mental instability as his defense. His ac- At the entrance of the courthouse, a his- www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck MARCH 2007 LEATHERNECK 47 AnthonyGalepp46-49 2/9/07 12:22 PM Page 3 microfilmed records in the Lexington Library’s research center and databases of local cemeteries revealed very little. There were locations where Gale lived, where he mailed his letters and the Old Burnt Tavern where he sought lodging. He was living with his son when tuber- culosis ended the swashbuckler’s life. Searching phone directories for prospec- tive descendants and writing articles in Kentucky genealogy journals seeking in- formation on Gale or any family mem- bers revealed nothing. Gale’s sons reportedly thought he had been a quartermaster in the Marines. Sev- eral of them served in the Civil War, but it appears that they moved from Kentucky, and Gale’s heirs have been lost through time.

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