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John Swift (June 17, 1761 – July 12, 1814) was an American military officer during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He founded the town of Palmyra, New York.

Early life

Swift was born on June 17, 1761, in Kent, in what was then the Connecticut Colony. His parents were Elisha Swift and the former Mary Ransom; one of his brothers, born two years later, was Philetus Swift, who eventually became a prominent legislator in New York State.

Revolution

Swift enlisted in the Continental Army and served as a private in Elmore's Regiment (an unnumbered regiment in the Connecticut Line) under Captain Lathrop Allen.

Pennamite Wars

Swift was among the Connecticuters who attempted to settle in the Wyoming Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania, sparking the Second Pennamite War. When the Pennsylvania legislature decided the land claims in favor of the Pennsylvania Mennonites, Swift decamped for Western New York (even though the Connecticut settlers were eventually granted Pennsylvania residency).

Palmyra

In the winter of 1788–89, with the Wyoming Valley situation not going in the Connecticuters' favor, John Swift and John Jenkins purchased a large tract within the Phelps and Gorham Purchase in what is now Wayne County, New York, with the intent of helping their fellow Connecticuters settle there instead. When Swift set up residence near Ganargua Creek in 1790 (after buying out Jenkins), the area was named "Swift's Landing". It later was named "Tolland" before being renamed "Palmyra" at the first town meeting in 1796.

Life in Palmyra

Swift had married Rhoda Sawyer on March 6, 1784; her brother was the one who proposed the name "Palmyra" in 1796. After Rhoda's death, Swift later married Hepsibah Treat Davidson. He had four children by his first wife and three more by his second.

War of 1812

Skirmish near Fort Niagara

On January 8, 1814, Lt. Colonel Caleb Hopkins and General John Swift who are both militia commanders led a hit-and-run surprise attack on a British contingent that was out collecting wood. Caleb Hopkins and John Swift led 70 American militiamen in this engagement. The American militia surprised the British party. The British suffered 4 killed and 8 captured. The American militia only suffered 1 killed. The Americans withdrew to Canandaigua with their prisoners after their successful surprise attack.

Battle of Pultneyville

On May 14, 1814, a British raiding fleet under Commodore James Lucas Yeo arrived to take away 400 barrels of flour. John Swift who was at this location had 130 militia with him. John knowing that his militia would be easily routed in the open against superior British troops placed his militiamen in the tree line. As the British raiders were gathering the flour. John Swift and his militia opened fire from the tree line. The American militia then divided into two groups. One group of militia positioned themselves below the bank while General Swift's other men were in a nearby ravine. When some British soldiers went beyond the warehouse fence, the Americans opened fire. The British were driven off and withdrew back to sea by their ships with much of the flour. The British suffered 1 killed and 4 wounded. John Swift's men suffered a few slightly wounded.

Failed invasion of Fort George, Ontario

On July 12, 1814, Swift led a charge to take Fort George, near modern-day Niagara-on-the-Lake. After surprising and capturing a picket post, Swift was wounded by one of the defenders, whose weapons he had not confiscated. Swift quickly leveled his pistol and killed the British soldier who had shot him. These loud shots brought the attention of a British patrol of 60 men. Swift launched an attack against the advice of his men telling him to get medical attention. Swift routed the British patrol, but his wound was severe and he collapsed. His second in command took charge and sent the British patrol fully retreating into Fort George. The American force withdrew back to their camp with John Swift's body as he died. He was buried initially around the region where he died, but a group of Palmyrans repatriated his remains to the cemetery that today bears his name, the General John Swift Memorial Cemetery.

References

1. "Brigadier General John Swift Cemetery". Wayne County NYGenWeb. 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
2. ^ Duniho, Terence (2001). "All Things Swift". lizzieandrewborden.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2003. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
3. Hays, Bonnie (May 19, 2012). "Historically Speaking - Celebrating local heritage". Wayne Post. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
4. Smith, Leonard H., ed. (1992). Cape Cod Library of Local History and Genealogy. Vol. 1. Genealogical Publishing Co. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-8063-1325-2.
5. "The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers" by Bud Hannings pg. 186.
6. "The Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier " by Lundy's Lane Historical Society pg. 111.
7. "The Battles of Sodus Point and Pultneyville". The Crooked Lake Review. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
8. "A sharp fight sent British soldiers fleeing back to their boats when a routine raid on an American coastal town went awry during the War of 1812". M.A. Kleen. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
9. ^ Thomson, John Lewis (1848). History of the Second War Between the United States and Great Britain. pgs. 360-361.

• Continental Army officers from Connecticut
• American military personnel killed in the War of 1812
• United States Army generals
• People from New York (state) in the War of 1812
• 1761 births
• 1814 deaths
• People from Kent, Connecticut
• People from Palmyra, New York
• Military personnel from Connecticut