Daniel Male

Daniel Male served in the 7th West Virginia Regiment from October 28, 1861 until his discharge from service at the end of the war on June 1, 1865. He served in the same regiment and company as his brother, Andrew, until the latter's death in July 1863.

Daniel's service in the military was anything but easy. By all accounts, he was a healthy man before joining; however, he was often in the hospital for severe illness. After fighting in the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862 and injuring his wrist while climbing over a wall in an advance toward the enemy, Daniel found himself in the hospital From September 1862 to January 1863; whether it was for that injury or for another illness is not known. Daniel appears to have remained somewhat healthy during 1863, and fought in the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. At the latter, Daniel would have been near or alongside his brother, Andrew, when he was mortally wounded. Thus Daniel fought in (among others) two of the bloodiest, most well-known, and arguably most import battles of the Civil War.

Daniel re-enlisted for another volutneer term on January 4, 1864. However, his health soon deteriorated again. After briefly serving in an amublance corps in the first part of the year, he found himself back in the hospital from March 1864 all the way until the 7th was mustered out of service in June 1865. This second stay was far more serious, for Daniel had contracted either the measles or smallpox (hospital records list both intermittently). The measles turned into a chronic lung disease. Not only did this condition place him in the hospital for the remainder of the War, it affected his health for the remainder of his life.

Despite regimental records clearly showing his time spent in the hospital and numerous affidavits filed on his behalf, Daniel had difficulty drawing a pension relating to his service and disability. He originally applied in 1888; records after this show a muddled trail of approvals and denials, but he appears to have ultimately drawn on a pension until his death in 1905.