Lieutenant
Colonel Anthony Gale, fourth Commandant of the Marine
Corps and the only one ever fired, was born in Dublin,
Ireland, on 17 September 1782. Fewer records survive
concerning him than any other Commandant but it is
known that he was commissioned a second lieutenant
on 2 September 1798. Thereafter he fought, in fairly
quick succession, the French, the Barbary pirates,
the British, and one of his Navy mess-mates. The last
encounter, involving an affront to the Corps, brought
about the naval officer’s sudden demise and
Commandant William Burrow’s approval for Gale’s
defense of his Corps’ honor.
Unfortunately for him, increasing
rank brought other difficulties not resolved so directly.
In 1815, while commanding at Philadelphia, he fell
out with Commandant Franklin Wharton over construction
of barracks. A court of inquiry cleared him, but he
was banished to a less desirable post, where he nursed
a feeling of persecution and resumed dueling –
this time with John Barleycorn.
As
a consequence of these and other alleged shortcomings,
Capt Gale, although next senior at the time of Wharton’s
death, had to battle for the job. Capt Archibald Henderson,
second in line, was characteristically blunt in assessing
Capt Gale’s qualifications, or lack of them,
to the Secretary of the Navy. After a court of inquiry,
which exonerated him, Capt Gale, with 21 years of
service, became Lieutenant Colonel Commandant 3 March
1819. By then, the Corps had been without a leader
for six months.
Soon
came troubles with Navy Secretary Smith Thompson,
who frequently countermanded LtCol Gale’s orders
in a humiliating manner. Finally, LtCol Gale courageously
submitted a letter analyzing the proper division of
function between himself and the Secretary, and respectfully
pointed out the impossibility of his position. This
official reaction to infringements of his authority,
he paralleled by unofficial retreats to alcohol. Three
weeks later (18 September 1820) he was under arrest,
charged with offenses of alcoholic and related nature.
By 8 October 1820, the court had found him guilty,
the President had approved, and LtCol Gale was removed
from office and the Marine Corps.
From Washington, Gale went first to Philadelphia where
he spent several months in hospitals, then took up
residence in Kentucky. Armed with proof that he had
been under the strain of temporary mental derangement
while Commandant, he spent 15 years attempting to
have his court-martial decision reversed. Eventually,
in 1835, the government partially cleared him and
awarded him a stipend of $15 a month which was later
increased to $25 and continued until his death in
1843 in Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky.
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UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS