Lord Alexander Russell

General Lord Alexander George Russell GCB (16 September 1821 – 10 January 1907) was a British Army general. He served during the Siege of Sevastapol in the Crimean War.

Lord Alexander Russell GCB
Birth name	Alexander George Russell
Born	(1821-09-16)16 September 1821 Woburn, England
Died	10 January 1907(1907-01-10) (aged 85) Woodeaton, England
Service / branch	British Army
Rank	General
Unit	Rifle Brigade
Battles / wars	Crimean War
Spouse(s)	Anne Emily Worsley Holmes ​ ​ (m. 1844; died 1906)​

Background

Russell was born at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, the seventh son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and his second wife, Lady Georgina (or Georgiana) Gordon, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, although it has been claimed that Russell's father was actually the Victorian painter Sir Edwin Landseer, who conducted a lengthy affair with the Duchess of Bedford. He was the half-brother of Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford, Lord George Russell and Prime Minister John Russell, 1st Earl Russell and the full brother of Lord Edward Russell and Lord Charles Russell. He had three sisters, including Louisa Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn.

Military career

Russell joined the Army on 11 July 1839 when he purchased a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade. Russell was a Colonel in the Rifle Brigade and served during the Siege of Sevastapol in the Crimean War. He became General Officer Commanding South-Eastern District in April 1877 and Commander of the British Troops in Canada in May 1883 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), having previously been a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He was not however styled Sir Alexander Russell since he already held the higher title of Lord due to his father being first a Marquess and later a Duke.

Life

Russell married Anne Emily Worsley Holmes, daughter of Sir Leonard Worsley Holmes, 9th Baronet, on 3 July 1844. They had two children:

• Alexander Gordon Russell (11 July 1854 – 4 June 1917); became a captain in the British Army.
• Leonard George Russell (6 June 1858 – 7 April 1946); became a major in the British Army.

Lady Alexander Russell died in October 1906. Russell survived her by only three months and died at Woodeaton, Oxfordshire, in January 1907, aged 85. She is buried with her husband in the churchyard of St Michael's, Chenies.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Lord Alexander Russell

16. Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford 8. John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford 17. Elizabeth Howland 4. Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock 18. John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower 9. The Hon. Gertrude Leveson-Gower 19. Lady Evelyn Pierrepont 2. John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford 20. Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle 10. Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle 21. Geertruid Johanna Quirina van der Duyn 5. Lady Elizabeth Keppel 22. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond 11. Lady Anne Lennox 23. Anne Brudenell 1. Lord Alexander Russell 24. Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon 12. Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon 25. Lady Henrietta Mordaunt 6. Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon 26. William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen 13. Lady Catherine Gordon 27. Lady Susan Murray 3. Lady Georgina Gordon 28. Sir Alexander Maxwell, 2nd Baronet of Monreith, Wigtownshire 14. Sir William Maxwell, 3rd Baronet of Monreith, Wigtownshire 29. Lady Jean Montgomerie 7. Jane Maxwell 30. William Blair 15. Magdalen Blair 31. Catharine Tait