William Carmichael Russell Explained

William Carmichael Russell
Birth Date:11 August 1824
Death Date:10 February 1905
Death Place:Shirley, Southampton
Allegiance: United Kingdom
Serviceyears:1842 - 1878
Rank:Major-General
Unit:Bengal Artillery
Battles:First Anglo-Sikh War
Indian Mutiny

Major-General William Carmichael Russell (1824–1905) was a senior Bengal Artillery officer who served in India.

Biography

Born on 11 August 1824, William Carmichael Russell was educated at Bedford School. He received his first commission in the Bengal Artillery in June 1842. He served in India during the First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845–1846, and during the Indian Mutiny, 1857.[1]

During the First Anglo-Sikh War he fought at the Battle of Ferozeshah, 1845, and at the Battle of Sobraon, 1846, and was awarded the Sutlej Medal. During the Indian Mutiny he served under Brigadier James Neill at Allahabad, and was credited by Field Marshal Roberts with saving the Allahabad arsenal from falling into the hands of the mutineers. In 1858, he served in Oudh. He was appointed Commissary of Ordnance for the Army and Inspector of Ordnance and Magazines in Bengal.[2]

Major General William Carmichael Russell retired in March 1878 and died in Shirley, Southampton on 10 February 1905.

Notes and References

  1. Obituary, The Ousel, Vol.IX, No.264, 28 February 1905, p. 15
  2. Frederick Sleigh Roberts, Forty-one years in India From Subaltern To Commander-In-Chief, London, 1897,