Joseph Gale (b. circa
1833 - d. 1884)
MSA SC 3520-4597
USCT Soldier, Talbot County, Maryland
Biography:
Joseph Gale was born a slave around 1833 (30 years old at the time of his enlistment) in the Miles River Neck section of Talbot County, Maryland.1 As a slave, he was owned by Colonel Edward Lloyd,2 one of the largest property3 and slave owners in the state. The Lloyd family owned nearly 500 slaves4 and roughly half of the 15,000 total acres in the Miles River Neck area of Talbot County.5 While a slave, Gale worked primarily as a farmer for the Lloyd family.6 Before the war, Gale decided to marry Sarah Johnson in 1847 in Easton, Maryland.7 They were married by Reverend Mason at Easton, Maryland.8 Sarah Johnson was previously married to James Johnson who was also a slave of Colonel Lloyd's. James Johnson died around 1843 or 1844 on Colonel Lloyd’s farm known as Wye House.9 According to church records, Joseph and Sarah were married on January 27, 1856 by Reverend Henry Mason of St. Peters Parish in Easton, Maryland.10 The Justices of the Peace made it an officially approved certificate in 1884.11 With conflicting marriage years, it is difficult to provide clarity, but there was documentation of their marriage and where they were married. There were also no children of Joseph Gale's being listed under the age of 16 years old at the time the widow’s pension was taken.12
The Civil War had been under way for two years before slaves would get the chance to fight for their freedom. Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 calling for volunteers to join the Union cause.13 According to the Act of 1864, Chapter 15, Section 4, "to the owner of every negro slave who shall agree to the enlistment of his slave as above, the sum of one hundred dollars shall be paid when such owner shall file with the proper authority a good and valid deed of manumission."14 No record of Gale's manumission has been found, but it's highly likely that he was manumitted.
Lloyd, like many slaveowners, may have viewed this as their final opportunity to receive compensation for the loss of their slaves as the institution of slavery was rapidly deteriorating. Not only were slaveowners entitled to compensation, but free blacks and slaves also counted towards the state quota,15 which meant many slaveowners could have protected their family members from having to join the war. Joseph Gale was credited to the Talbot County quota as being owned by Colonel Edward Lloyd.16 Lloyd received a payment of $100.00 on May 25, 1865 as compensation for the loss of his slave.17 Despite being compensated for the loss of his slaves, Colonel Lloyd was opposed to the idea of slaves fighting in the war.
Joseph Gale enlisted as a private in Company B of the 7th U.S. Colored Troops regiment in Baltimore, Maryland on November 13, 1863.18 Several affidavits from fellow soldiers outline how Gale fared during the war. Affidavits from Ennolds Money and Joseph Johnson, who grew up with Gale on Lloyd’s plantation and enlisted together, stated that he was an able-bodied man before his enlistment.19 Ennolds Money stated that he knew Gale "all my life time we belong to same owner - we enlisted the same time and was discharged the same."20 Joseph Johnson reiterated the same points made by Money and added that he was "with him when he died and waited on him and lived near him all the time since his discharge."21 These two affidavits are meant to provide evidence for his widow, Sarah, and establishing their relationship as husband and wife as she applies for a widow's pension. According Money and Johnson, Gale was a man that "sustained a good reputation for truth - and voracity - was a man of good moral character."22
Gale performed laborious activities while working on the plantation, but the war soon altered that when he was disabled in the line of duty. The first injury, "sprained his ankle," was received while retreating from Jacksonville to Baldwin, Florida in 1864.23 He missed "two or three weeks" because of this injury.24 Later that year, on September 30, 1864 in Deep Bottom, Virginia, a tree limb fell on the same ankle during a battle, causing further complications.25 This was likely the battle of Chapin’s Farm as it occurred at the same date. Despite the nagging ankle pain, Gale would remain with the company until he was honorably discharged at Indianola, Texas in December of 1866.26
After serving honorably for the duration of the war, Joseph Gale made his residence in Talbot County, instead of moving to Baltimore (or elsewhere) in search of opportunity once the war had ended.27 His persistent ankle problem could have played a role in him staying in Talbot County. While living in the Miles River Neck area of Talbot County, Joseph Gale died of brain issues and paralysis on March 11, 1884.28
After the death of Joseph Gale, Sarah was attempting to apply for a widow's pension. Two men testified that she had "no means of support then own daily labor and no income, the value of property possessed by her will not amount to more than two hundred dollars, this property being a small house the land on which it stands belongs to James Cogall., Miles River Neck, Talbot County."29 After confirming her identity as Joseph Gale's widow, the Bureau of Pensions saw to it that she was eligible to continue receiving her husband's pension for "injury to right ankle" that he sustained during the war.30 Joseph Gale began receiving a pension of $4.00 per month after his discharge, then it increased to $8.00 per month from January 1881 to his date of death.31 Sarah was last paid $8.00 per month on December 4, 1899 when she was dropped from the pension due to her death on December 16, 1899.32
Endnotes:
1. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) [MSA SC 4126] Joseph Gale, Box 25, Folder 530, Page 18.Return
to Joseph Gale's Introductory Page
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