William Russell (1735 – January 14, 1793) was an army officer and a prominent settler of the southwestern region of the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

. He led an early attempt to settle the "Kentuckee Territory" (then part of Virginia). He was a

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Fincastle County, Virginia Fincastle County, Virginia, was created by act of the Virginia General Assembly April 8, 1772 from Botetourt County.Pendleton, William C. (1920)''History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia: 1748-1920'' pp. 255-57. W. C. Hill Printing Com ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

he fought in the

Battle of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. While a representative in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

, Russell was noted for his stance opposing the 1785

State of Franklin The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland)Landrum, refers to the proposed state as "the proposed republic of Franklin; while Wheeler has it as ''Frankland''." In ''That's Not in My American History Boo ...

petition for admittance into the United States.

Personal life

William Russell was educated at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

. Russell's first wife was Tabitha Adams, who died in 1776. His second wife, Elizabeth Henry —a sister of

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...

—survived him by more than thirty years. Elizabeth was important in the early history of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

in America. Many descendants of Russell lived in Russell and Scott Counties in Virginia.

Frontiersman

Russell led an early attempt to settle the area that would become Kentucky —then part of Fincastle County, Virginia —in September 1773. The party of

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

smen was ambushed by Native Americans and Russell's eldest son, along with the eldest son of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

, was killed. After the battle, the party became discouraged and turned back.

Civic and military life

Russell was elected a justice of Fincastle County, Virginia. As a Virginia representative to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

, he aided in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence . Russell was serving in the Virginia House of Delegates at the time of his death. In

Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. H ...

he participated in the 1774

Battle of Point Pleasant The Battle of Point Pleasant, also known as the Battle of Kanawha, was the only major action of Dunmore's War. It was fought on October 10, 1774, between the Virginia militia and Shawnee and Mingo warriors. Along the Ohio River near modern-day P ...

. He was promoted to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1776. After the fall of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War in 1780, Russell was captured by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and held prisoner. He was subsequently exchanged, and rejoined the

Continental Line The Continental Line ( sv, Kontinentalbanan) is a long railway between Malmö and Trelleborg in Sweden. At Trelleborg the railway terminates at a railway ferry quay allowing rail cars to be ferried to Sassnitz in Germany. A part of the railway i ...

. Russell was present at the surrender of

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

at Yorktown in 1781. During this time, he was brevetted to the rank of Brigadier General, commanding the

5th Virginia Regiment The 5th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775, at Richmond, Virginia, for service with the U.S. Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, B ...

, until it was disbanded on 15 November 1783. At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War in 1783 Col. Russell became an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. ( Source; American Revolutionary Institute )

Legacy

* Russell County, Virginia, and

Russellville, Kentucky Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,960 at the time of the 2010 census. History Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was firs ...

, are named for him. *

Russell County, Kentucky Russell County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Its county seat is Jamestown. The county was formed on December 14, 1825, from portions of Adair, Cumberland and Wayne Counties and is named for William Russell. In ...

, is named for his son William Russell (III).

References

* William Russell and his Descendants by Anna Russell des Cognets, Lexington, KY, 1884. * William Russell: a Revolutionary patriot of the Clinch Valley by Mary Katherine Thorp, Master's Thesis, University of Virginia, 1936.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, William 1735 births 1793 deaths Continental Army officers from Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People of Virginia in the French and Indian War Continental Army generals 18th-century American politicians