Fourth Commandant
3 March 1819 - 16 October 1820

Fewer records survive concerning Anthony Gale than of any other Commandant of the Corps. For six months following the death of Commandant Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Wharton, the Corps was officially without a leader. However, Archibald Henderson was temporarily at the helm. By March of 1819, the Secretary of the Navy had made his decision and the post of Commandant went to Gale.

The few records which remain indicate that Gale was neither effective nor efficient as the head of the Corps. He was finally removed from office and the Corps on October 8, 1820.

Gale's unfortunate relations with the Secretary of the Navy may have heavily influenced his apparent failure as a leader of the Corps. It is known, however, that many of his orders were counter manded by the Secretary, either because of a clash in personalities or due to an outright dislike for Gale.

Unable to bear the Secretary's meddling in the affairs of the Corps under his Commandancy, Gale courageously wrote a letter to the Secretary, outlining in direct terms a definition of authority, as Gale interpreted it in application to the Corps. Having unburdened his mind, Gale became a heavy drinker, and it was on one of his bouts that the Secretary ordered Gale's arrest which led to his court-martial and sentencing on September 18, 1820.

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.