Wager Swayne

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Wager Swayne (November 10, 1834 – December 18, 1902) was the appointed military Governor of Alabama during the early days of Reconstruction, serving from 1867 to 1868.

Swayne was born in Columbus, Ohio. He was the son of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Noah Haynes Swayne. He graduated from Yale University and became a lawyer in Ohio.

He served in the United States Army during the Civil War. In August 1861, Governor William Dennison appointed Swayne as Major of the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was being organized in Mount Vernon, Ohio. He fought at the battles of Iuka and Corinth, and was promoted to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the regiment's colonel. Swayne led the 43rd OVI with distinction during the Atlanta Campaign. He was awarded a Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry in restoring order at a critical moment and leading his regiment in a charge" at Corinth. ^[1]

Swayne had his leg amputated from a severe wound suffered in 1865 in South Carolina. After the war, he served in the Freedmen's Bureau and moved to Alabama, where he served as military governor. He retired from the Army in 1870 and moved to Toledo, Ohio, where he established a law practice. He moved in 1881 to New York City, where he set up another law practice, specializing in representing telegraph and railroad companies. He died in New York City.