Anthony Gale - Rise To Commandant

Rise To Commandant

Brevet Major Gale, although next senior at the time of Wharton's death on September 1, 1818, had to battle for the job. At the time, the Corps was authorized only one lieutenant colonel and two majors. One could only rise in rank by virtue of the death of a superior officer or the removal of a higher officer. When Wharton died, a scramble for the Commandant's job ensued.

Major Samuel Miller, the adjutant and inspector at the Marine Corps Headquarters, two days after notifying Navy Secretary Benjamin Williams Crowninshield of Wharton’s death, considering himself well suited for the job, suggested that he conduct the affairs of the commandancy until a successor was appointed. Brevet Major Archibald Henderson asserted that as the senior line officer present, he should be Acting Commandant. Henderson was also characteristically blunt in assessing Gale's qualifications to the new Secretary of the Navy, Smith Thompson. In an attempt to discredit Gale, in February, 1819, Henderson and Miller participated in a court of inquiry resurrecting the old charges concerning Gale’s tenure in Philadelphia. However, during his testimony, Henderson was forced to admit that his knowledge of Gale’s misconduct was based on hearsay. Miller could similarly not provide firsthand evidence of wrongdoing by Gale. After the court of inquiry exonerated him of these charges for the second time, Gale, with 21 years of service and therefore senior, became Lieutenant Colonel Commandant on March 3, 1819, ending a six month period during which the Corps had been leaderless.