Caleb Swan, was born in Methuen, Province of Massachusetts Bay on July 2, 1758, but grew up in Fryeburg, Province of Massachusetts Bay;Anonymous (1909) Vital Records of Methuen, Massachusetts to the end of the year 184. Topsfield Historical Society, p. 120. he died in Washington D.C. November 11, 1809. Swan was the fifth Paymaster-General of the United States Army, serving from May 8, 1792, to June 30, 1808. He began his military career as an officer in the Continental Army. Later he served in a civilian capacity as clerk in the War Department and Indian Agent. Swan was appointed paymaster to the Legion of the United States in 1792, and Paymaster of the Army later the same year.This lead is a summary of the article. Citations are found in the main text.
Continental Army Caleb Swan was a namesake of his father, a graduate of Harvard College, and one of the pioneer settlers of Fryeburg, Maine, who had been a lieutenant in the French and Indian War. His mother was Dorothy Frye, a niece of Joseph Frye.Coffin, Paul (1856). "Journal of a tour from Buxton to Pigwacket, 1768." Collections of the Maine Historical Society. Portland, vol. 4: 276-292, p. 280. He was commissioned ensign in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army November 26, 1779, transferred to the 8th Massachusetts Regiment January 1, 1781, and to the 3rd Massachusetts Regiment June 12, 1783. Swan was retained in Jacksons Continental Regiment from November 1783 to June 20, 1784.Heitman, Francis B. (1903). Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution, April 1775 to December 1783. Washington, D.C., p. 938.
Clerk and Indian agent After he left the army, Swan served as clerk in the War Department pay office and from 1789 as chief clerk of the War Department."Caleb Swan." Papers of the War Department 1784-1800. Retrieved Nov. 28, 2021. In 1790, Swan was appointed Deputy Agent to the Creek Nation and ordered by Henry Knox, the Secretary of War, to follow Alexander McGillivray and the other Creek chiefs and warriors back to their homeland after they had signed the treaty of New York.Caughey, John Walton (2007). McGillivray of the Creeks. The University of South Carolina Press, pp. 44-45. His mission was to observe the Creeks in their homeland and report to the U.S. government.Braund, Kathryn E. Holland (1991). "The Creek Indians. Blacks and Slavery." The Journal of Southern History 57(4): 601-636, p. 628.
Paymaster In 1792, Swan succeeded Joseph Howell Jr. as paymaster to the Legion of the United States in 1792. The pay organization of the Legion had Swan at the top as paymaster, supported by Daniel Britt, the assistant paymaster, and with a paymaster in each of the four sub-legions elected by its officers. As paymaster Swan was severely traduced due to long delays between paydays. In fact, he was a competent and diligent administrator who became a scapegoat for the inefficiency of the Army disbursing system and especially the tardiness of Congress to appropriate enough means to cover the expenses of the army in the field. Swan was loyal to General Wayne, the commander of the Legion, and he was backed by him when criticized.Knopf, Richard Clark (1960). Anthony Wayne and the founding of the United States Army. Dissertation. Ohio State University, pp. 73, 214, 218.
On May 9, 1792, President George Washington appointed Swan paymaster of the troops of the United States, to reside with the army.United States Senate (1828). Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America. Washington, p. 124. As paymaster of the Army he was referred to as Major Swan;United States Senate (1852). "Report (to accompany bill S.514)." Reports of Commites of the Senate of the United States. First Session of the Thirty-Second Congress. Rep. Com. No. 321, pp. 1-2. receiving $120.00 per month in pay and in addition $10.00 per month for forage and four rations per day, making a total annual compensation of $1,764.40.United States Congress (1834). American State Papers: Miscellaneous. Washington, vol. 1, p. 308. In 1795, Swan was a witness to the Treaty of Greenville.United States Department of War (1826). Indian Treaties, and Laws and Regulations Relating to Indian Affairs. Washington City, p. 57. In spite of being a Federalist, Swan was retained by President Jefferson after the enactment of the Military Peace Establishment Act in 1802.Crackel, Theodore J. (1998). "Jefferson, Politics, and the Army." Civil-Military Relations. P. Karsten (ed.). New York: Garland Publishing, p. 162.
Family, resignation and death Swan married Maria Henrietta Abert, John James Abert's eldest sister, in 1806.Kenamond, A.D. (1963). Prominent men of Shepherdstown during its first 200 years. Jefferson County Historical Society, p. 16. He resigned from the Army, June 30, 1808 and died on November 29, 1809.Jervey, Elizabeth Heyward (1933). "Marriage and Death Notices from the City Gazette and Daily Advertiser." The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, 34 (1), p. 40. Swan was originally buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery in Washington, D.C., but was reinterred at the Arlington National Cemetery in 1892."Caleb Swan." Arlington National Cemetery Website. Michael Robert Patterson. Retrieved Nov. 28, 2021."Caleb Swan (1758-1809)." Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved Nov. 28, 2021. The widow later married W.W.P. Bryan of Philadelphia.Hart, Charles Henry (1911). "Anthony Wayne. Presentation of his Portrait." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 25(3), p. 260.
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