1From James Madison to Joseph G. Swift, 31 May 1824 (Madison Papers)
). Joseph Gardner Swift (1783–1865), the first graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was appointed second lieutenant in 1802. A veteran of the War of 1812, he rose to colonel and commander of the Corps of Engineers of the army, holding that position until his resignation from the service in 1818. He was surveyor of the port of New York, 1818–29, and...Encyclopedia of the War of 1812