Early Life and Career
Swift was born in Windham, Connecticut, and entered the Navy with the rank of midshipman on 25 September 1863, graduating from the United States Naval Academy in June 1867. He was promoted to ensign on 18 December 1868, then to master on 21 March 1870, lieutenant on 21 March 1871, lieutenant commander on 24 October 1889, and commander on 6 April 1897.
Swift served as Executive Officer aboard the battleship Indiana (BB-1) in 1896 under Robley "Fighting Bob" Evans.
During the Spanish-American War, he was the Inspector of Ordnance in the New York Naval Yard, with a rank of commander. On May 28, 1900, he was given command of the auxiliary cruiser Prairie. On April 6, he was transferred to command of the gunboat Concord. In May 1901, he was transferred again, this time to the gunboat Princeton, then transferred to command of Yorktown in June. While commanding Yorktown in the Pacific, he was briefly appointed as Governor of Guam to allow then-Governor Seaton Schroeder to return to Washington, D.C. to testify in the Schley Inquiry. Swift served in this capacity from early August to early October 1901, before resuming command of Yorktown.
On June 25, 1902, Swift was promoted to captain and subsequently assigned to the General Board of the Navy. In that role, he was responsible for inspecting naval yards and shipbuilding efforts on the Atlantic coast. He was also chairman of the Board's Committee on the Fleet. He subsequently was appointed to the Joint Board of the Army and Navy.
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