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Bill Thayer

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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1829

Vol. I
p436
563

(Born N. Y.)

Thomas Swords

(Ap'd N. Y.)

23

Born Nov. 1, 1806.​a

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1825, to July 1, 1829, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., 4th Infantry, July 1, 1829.

Second Lieut., 4th Infantry, July 1, 1829.

Served: in garrison at Ft. Mitchell, Ala., 1829‑30; in Operations in Cherokee Nation, 1830; in garrison at Ft. Mitchell, Ala., 1830‑32, — Ft. Brooke, Fla., 1832, — and Cantonment Clinch, Fla., 1832; on Engineer duty, Nov. 2, 1832, to Mar. 4, 1833; in garrison at Jefferson Barracks,

(First Lieut., 1st Dragoons, Mar. 4, 1833)

Mo., 1833; on frontier duty at Ft. Gibson, I. T., and on Expedition to Tow‑e‑ash Villages, 1834, — and at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., 1834; on

(Asst. Quartermaster, Dec. 4, 1834, to July 7, 1838)

Recruiting service, 1835; and on Quartermaster duty at Ft. Leavenworth,

(Captain, 1st Dragoons, Mar. 3, 1837, to Apr. 21, 1846)

(Capt., Staff — Asst. Quartermaster, July 7, 1838)

Kan., 1835‑37, 1838‑39, 1839‑42, — Ft. Scott, Kan., 1842‑46, superintending the erection of Barracks, — in the War with Mexico, as Chief

(Major, Staff — Quartermaster, Apr. 21, 1846)

 p437  Quartermaster of the Army of the West, June 19, 1846, to May 26, 1847,​b being engaged in the Combat of San Pasqual, Cal., Dec. 6, 1846,​c — in the Quartermaster-General's Office at Washington, D. C., 1847‑48, — in the

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., May 30, 1848,
for Meritorious Conduct while Serving in the Enemy's Country)

War with Mexico, at Vera Cruz, 1848, — in the Quartermaster-General's Office at Washington, D. C., 1848‑50, — at St. Louis, Mo., 1850‑51, — on Inspection of the Department of New Mexico, 1851, — at New York city,

(Lieut.‑Col., Staff — Dep. Quartermaster‑Gen., Aug. 1, 1856)

1852‑57, — and as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the Pacific,

(Col., Staff — Asst. Quartermaster‑Gen., Aug. 3, 1861)

headquarters at San Francisco, Cal., Mar. 4, 1857, to Sep. 10, 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the Cumberland, Oct. 13 to Nov. 15, 1861, — and of the Department of the Ohio, Nov. 15, 1861, to May 30, 1863; as Supervising Quartermaster of the Department of the Cumberland, May 30 to Nov. 10, 1863, and of the Department of the Ohio, May 30, 1863, to Jan. 17, 1865, being engaged in the Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., Sep. 19‑20, 1863; as Depot Quartermaster at Cincinnati, O., Jan. 17, 1865, to Nov. 6, 1866; and as Chief Quartermaster of the Department

(Bvt. Brig.‑General, and Bvt. Maj.‑General, U. S. Army, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Faithful and Efficient Services
in the Quartermaster's Department during the Rebellion)

of the Tennessee, headquarters at Louisville, Ky., Nov. 6, 1866, to Mar. 16, 1867.

Served: as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the Cumberland, Mar. 16, 1867, to Apr. 30, 1869.

Retired from Active Service, Feb. 22, 1869,
under the Law of July 17, 1862, he being over the Age of 62 Years.

Died, Mar. 20, 1886, at New York City: Aged 79.

See Annual Association of Graduates, U. S. M. A., 1886, for an obituary notice.º

Buried, St. James Episcopal Church Cemetery, Edison, NJ.


Thayer's Notes:

a Col. Swords' birthdate is from his tombstone, q.v.

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b During this period his quartermaster duties took him to Hawaii: see for example the mention in William Hyde's journal, Feb. 20, 1847.

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c For Maj. Swords' actions at San Pasqual, see pages 2 thru 5 of the battle narrative at the San Pasqual Battlefield website.


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