In October 1861 Henry’s army career was back on track. On the 22nd of October 1861 he was promoted to Sergeant and on the 31st the service that he had lost because of his desertion had been restored.
Eight months into the American Civil War in December 1861 an international incident was sparked between the United Kingdom and America when the U.S. Navy ship USS San Jacinto captured two confederate envoys from a British Royal Mail steamer, RMS Trent in what became know as the Trent affair. In 1861 Canada was a British colony. As diplomatic relations worsened the British Government dispatched the Rifle Brigade to Canada fearing an invasion by America. The Rifle Brigade sailed from Dublin on the 11th of December onboard the Windsor and Trafalgar for Liverpool where they transferred to a steam ship Australasian. The Australasian reached St. John’s, New Brunswick, on the 3rd of January where the troops disembarked.
Over the following nine days the Rifle Brigade travelled to Rivière-du-Loup where they caught the train to Montreal. The Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent at Rivière-du-Loup has a map of the journey from St John’s to Rivière-du-Loup.
After a few weeks in Montreal they travelled by train to Hamilton, their final destination, arriving in February 1862.
In 1862 Ann Saxon gave birth to Henry’s first child Moses Edward Swendell. It’s not clear where Moses was born. In the 1871 census his place of birth is recorded simply as Canada and in later censuses it’s given as Wigan, Lancashire. However, it’s likely he was born in Hamilton, Kingston or Montreal as this is where the Rifle Brigade were stationed throughout 1862.
On the 22nd of March 1865 Henry and Ann married at Saint George’s Anglican Church in Montreal.
Henry Swendell marries Ann Saxon
Ann probably had arrived in Canada with Henry, but there’s no evidence of this. It’s likely that she was born in Heywood, Lancashire in about 1840. I’ve been unable to find her in the 1861 census. This could be because she was living with Henry in army accommodation or that she’d already travelled to Canada. If she was living with Henry then did she make the journey from St John’s to Rivière-du-Loup? The account given in the History of the Rifle Brigade sounds as if it was arduous with the threat of frostbite. There is no mention of families travelling with the troops, but this is common for the time. Similarly there’s no evidence that she arrived in Canada independently of Henry. On the marriage record Ann is recorded as “of the city of Montreal”, but she was likely living there because that’s where the Rifle Brigade was stationed.
On the 20th of January 1866 Ann gave birth to her second child Emily. Again based on where the Rifle Brigade was based this was probably in Quebec.
On the 27th of March 1866 Henry was promoted to Colour Sergeant only to resign this position three months later on the 1st of July 1866.
Henry Swendell colour sergeant for 96 days
There’s no reason recorded on Henry’s service record on why he did this. Coincidentally on the 9th of June 1866 Timothy O’Hea of the Rifle Brigade prevented an explosion on a train between Quebec and Montreal for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. It’s recorded that a sergeant was present who was unsure what to do. Could this sergeant have been Henry and was he asked to resign because of his inaction? I’ve not been able to find any evidence of this. The true explanation could be much more boring. For example, he or his superiors realised that he’d been promoted above his level of competency and because of this he resigned.
The final item of note I’ve been able to find for Henry’s time in Canada is that in 1869 Ann gave birth to her third child Henry George Swendell in Ottawa.
Henry and his family were back in the UK at the Winchester barracks on the 10th of February 1870 as Ann gave birth to Thomas Swendell, my great granddad.
The Rifle Brigade in Canada
- The History of the Rifle Brigade by Sir William H. Cope published 1877. Hosted at the Project Gutenburg.
- The McCord Museum in Montreal has a collection of photos of the Rifle Brigade taken during their time there.