Swift, J. G. (Joseph Gardner), 1783-1865

Joseph Gardner Swift (1783-1865) was a civil engineer and officer in the U.S. Army. He was one of two students of the first graduating class in 1802 of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. By the age of twenty-eight he was a colonel and Chief Engineer of the Army. His projects included the completion of Fort Clinton (New York City) and during the War of 1812 the fortifications of western Long Island harbors and New York City. He resigned his commission in 1818 and served as Surveyor of the Port of New York until 1826, then as chief engineer for several railroads, and in 1829 he directed harbor improvements on the Great Lakes. Swift also was involved in a variety of business activities and was a friend and mentor to younger engineers including George Washington Whistler and William Gibbs McNeill (both of them were his brothers-in-law).

Army General, Civil Engineer; New York City.

Born 31 Dec. 1783 in Nantucket, Mass.; died in Geneva, N.Y. on 23 July 1865. First graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, 1802; served as U.S. Army chief engineer, superintendent of the Military Academy, and surveyor of the Port of New York.

Joseph Gardner Swift (1783-1865) was a civil engineer and officer in the U.S. Army.

He was one of two students of the first graduating class in 1802 of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. By the age of twenty-eight he was a colonel and Chief Engineer of the Army. His projects included the completion of Fort Clinton (New York City) and during the War of 1812 the fortifications of western Long Island harbors and New York City. He resigned his commission in 1818 and served as Surveyor of the Port of New York until 1826, then as chief engineer for several railroads, and in 1829 he directed harbor improvements on the Great Lakes. Swift also was involved in a variety of business activities and was a friend and mentor to younger engineers including George Washington Whistler and William Gibbs McNeill (both of them were his brothers-in-law).