{{short description|United States Army general}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = | name = Charles D. Gaither | honorific_suffix = | image = Charles D. Gaither (1860–1947) (1).png | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Gaither in 1920 publication | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | other_name = | nickname = | birth_date = {{birth date|1860|11|28}} | birth_place = [[Howard County, Maryland]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1947|03|29|1860|11|28}} | death_place = [[Baltimore]], Maryland, U.S. | burial_label = | burial_place = [[Green Mount Cemetery]]<br />Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | burial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} --> | allegiance = {{flagicon|United States}} [[United States]] | branch = [[File:United States Department of the Army Seal.svg|20px|United States Army seal]] [[United States Army]] | service_years = 18??–1890<br>1896–1918 | service_years_label = | rank = [[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|25px]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier general]] | rank_label = | service_number = | unit = | commands = | battles_label = | battles = [[Spanish–American War]]<br>[[Border War (1910–19)]] | awards = | memorials = | spouse = {{marriage|Alice Stockton Williams|reason=divorce}}<br />''Second wife'' (died)<br />{{marriage|Marie L. Towson|1919}}{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=137}} | children = 2 | relations = | other_work = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | module = {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes | office = [[Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department]] | predecessor = ''Position established'' | successor = [[William P. Lawson]] | appointer = [[Albert Ritchie]] | term_start = 1920 | term_end = May 17, 1937 | state_delegate2 = Maryland | district2 = Baltimore's 2nd | term_start2 = 1888 | term_end2 = 1888 | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | alongside2 = [[Henry Bargar]], [[George Colton (Maryland politician)|George Colton]], [[James W. Denny]], [[Patrick Reilly (American politician)|Patrick Reilly]], [[Alexander H. Robertson]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] }} }} '''Charles D. Gaither''' (November 27, 1860 – March 29, 1947) was a [[United States Army]] officer and [[police commissioner]]. He was active in the [[Maryland Army National Guard]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and in the [[Baltimore Police Department]] in the 1920s and 1930s. He served in the [[Spanish–American War]] and [[World War I]].
==Early life== Charles D. Gaither was born on November 27 (or 20<ref name="obit2">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122158112/gen-gaither-is-dead-at-86-30-mar/ |title=Gen. Gaither Is Dead at 86 |date=1947-03-30 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=18 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2023-04-02}}{{Open access}}</ref>), 1860, in [[Howard County, Maryland]], to Rebecca Hanson (née Dorsey) and George Riggs Gaither. He was born on the family's Oakland Manor {{convert|1800|acre}} farm two miles south of [[Ellicott City, Maryland|Ellicott City]]. His father was an officer who served the [[Confederate States of America]] during the [[American Civil War]] and the U.S. afterward.{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=136}}<ref name="obit2"/><ref name="obit">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122155996/general-gaither-ex-police-chief/ |title=General Gaither, Ex-Police Chief, Soldier, Dies |date=1947-03-29 |newspaper=The Evening Sun |page=10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2023-04-02}}{{Open access}}</ref> When he was a young man, Maryland saw some riots serious enough that the Fifth and Sixth Infantry regiments were called in to help. Gaither observed their actions, and it influenced his decision-making when he later served on the Baltimore police department.{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=136–137}}
==Career== Gaither entered his father's regiment, the 5th Regiment of the [[Maryland Army National Guard]], as a private. He was present at [[Camden Station]] during the [[Great Railroad Strike of 1877]]. He became colonel of the regiment in 1887 and retained that command until 1896.<ref name="obit"/> In 1888, Gaither served as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] member of the [[Maryland House of Delegates]], representing Baltimore's 2nd district.<ref name="obit"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/house/html/bchse1.html |title=Historical List, House of Delegates, Baltimore City (1865-1902) |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=[[Maryland State Archives]] |date=2005-11-08 |access-date=2023-04-02}}</ref> He initially retired in 1890, but was called back into service in 1896 as a captain. He participated in the [[Spanish–American War]], initially stationed in [[Tampa, Florida]].{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=137}}<ref name="obit"/> He then went to Cuba and held a command in the Ninth (colored) U.S. Volunteer Infantry. Catching [[typhoid fever]], they were mustered out and returned home. Gaither assumed command of the Fifth Maryland Veterans Corps after he became a colonel, and upon his promotion to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in 1912, he assumed command of the First Maryland Brigade. That same year, Gaither was in charge of an American rifle team that won an international tournament in [[Buenos Aires]]. He served on the Mexican border in 1917, and commanded [[Fort McClellan]] for a short time. After commanding the 58th Infantry Brigade, Gaither retired after he discovered he had a [[heart murmur]].{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=137}}
Maryland Governor [[Albert Ritchie]] appointed Gaither as the [[commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department]], and he served in the position from 1920 to May 17, 1937.<ref>{{cite web | title=General Charles D Gaither | url=http://baltimorecitypolicedept.org/citypolice/general-charles-d-gaither.html | publisher=Baltimore City Police History | access-date=July 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704005511/http://baltimorecitypolicedept.org/citypolice/general-charles-d-gaither.html|archive-date=2018-07-04|url-status=usurped}}</ref> the longest tenure of anyone holding the position.<ref>{{cite web | title=75th Anniversary of CHAS. D. GAITHER's Commissioning | url=http://bayheritage.org/75th-anniversary-of-chas-d-gaithers-commissioning/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929221814/http://bayheritage.org/75th-anniversary-of-chas-d-gaithers-commissioning/ | url-status=usurped | archive-date=September 29, 2015 | date=September 14, 2015 | publisher=Bayheritage.org | access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref> He was replaced as commissioner by [[William P. Lawson]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 25, 1938 |title=Credit Report Shows Lawson Liquor Link |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-evening-sun-credit-report-shows-laws/143946861/ |access-date=March 23, 2024 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun|The Evening Sun]] |pages=1,9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=July 31, 1938 |title=Lawson Quits Police Post 'Temporarily,' Until SEC Fraud Charges Are Heard |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-lawson-charges/114037619/ |access-date=January 12, 2024 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |pages=1,9}}</ref> Observers commented positively on his leadership in this position.{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=137}} Following his retirement, Gaither managed his real estate interests in Baltimore and his {{convert|123|acre}} farm in Howard County.<ref name="obit"/>
Gaither died following a heart ailment on March 29, 1947, at [[Grace Medical Center (Baltimore)|Bon Secours Hospital]] in Baltimore.{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=137}}<ref name="obit"/> He was buried at [[Green Mount Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122157900/gaither-rites-set-tomorrow-31-mar/ |title=Gaither Rites Set Tomorrow |date=1947-03-31 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |page=15 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2023-04-02}}{{Open access}}</ref>
==Personal life== Gaither was married three times. He married Alice Stockton Williams, but the marriage ended in divorce. He then married the divorced wife of his brother John Gaither. His second wife died. He married Marie L. Towson in 1919. He had two daughters.{{sfn|Davis|1998|p=137}}<ref name="obit2"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Henry Blaine Jr.|date=1998 |title=Generals in Khaki |location=[[Raleigh, North Carolina]] |publisher=Pentland Press |isbn=1571970886|oclc=40298151}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}}
{{s-start}} {{s-civ|pol}} {{succession box|before=''Position established''|title=[[Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department]]|years=1920–1937|after=[[William P. Lawson]]}} {{s-end}}
{{Baltimore Police Department}} {{Commissioners of the Baltimore Police Department|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaither, Charles D.}} [[Category:1860 births]] [[Category:1947 deaths]] [[Category:People from Howard County, Maryland]] [[Category:Military personnel from Baltimore]] [[Category:Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates]] [[Category:Commissioners of the Baltimore Police Department]] [[Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War]] [[Category:United States Army generals]] [[Category:National Guard (United States) generals]] [[Category:Burials at Green Mount Cemetery]] [[Category:United States Army generals of World War I]] [[Category:Gaither family|Charles D.]] [[Category:19th-century Maryland politicians]]