John Cecil Russell

Early career

John Cecil Russell was born in Edinburgh on 6 December 1839, the only son of Alexander James Russell and Magdalene Stein. The family crest, derived from the Russells of Ashiesteel, was a fountain proper (a roundel with blue and white wavy bands) and the motto was agitatione purgatur (Latin for 'it is purified by motion'). Through his paternal grandmother Russell also had connections to the Murrays of Polmaise and the principal branch of Clan Robertson. Russell was educated privately before attending New College of the University of Oxford. He enlisted in the Oxford University Rifle Volunteer Corps and reached the rank of colour-serjeant before being commissioned as an ensign on 1 March 1860. Russell resigned his commission in the Rifle Volunteer Corps on 19 June 1860.

Russell purchased a commission as a cornet in the 11th Light Dragoons on 18 September 1860, and transferred to the 10th Light Dragoons on 16 October. His regiment was then garrisoned in Norwich, England. It was renamed the 10th (The Prince of Wales's Own) Royal Hussars in 1861 and transferred to Yorkshire.

In 1863, the 10th Royal Hussars were posted as part of the garrison in Ireland where, on 28 June 1864 Russell was appointed an instructor of musketry. He purchased a lieutenant's commission in the regiment on 16 August 1864, and was appointed adjutant on 18 October, serving in that role until 2 April 1869. The 10th Royal Hussars were deployed in response to the Fenian Rising of 1867, but saw no action; they returned to England in 1868, being posted to the Aldershot Garrison. Later that year, Russell passed the examination for entry to the Staff College, ranking 19th out of 28 candidates, but there was space to admit only the top 16 candidates.

In June 1869, Russell was appointed aide-de-camp to the brigadier-general commanding the cavalry troops at the Aldershot Garrison. He purchased his captaincy in the 10th Royal Hussars on 28 May 1870. Russell transferred to the 12th (The Prince of Wales's) Royal Regiment of Lancers on 3 August 1872.

Russell wrote Notes on Cavalry Service, a military manual that was published by Cassell, Petter & Galpin in London in 1873. The book was written in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War where infantry, armed with breechloading rifles, demonstrated their ability to rapidly shoot down charging cavalry. Russell concluded that cavalry remained valuable for reconnaissance work, for screening other units and for exploiting opportunities quickly; but also recognised the value of mounted infantry, which could rapidly redeploy on the battlefield by horse before dismounting to lay down fire with rifles or carbines. He recommended that new units be raised to carry out the mounted infantry role so as not to dilute the "cavalry spirit" of the existing units.

Zulu War

Appointment

Through his royal connections and friendship with Lieutenant-General Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, Russell gained a place with the British forces assembling for the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. Although Russell had no experience leading cavalry in action, Chelmsford placed him in command of the mounted elements of the Centre Column, the principal component of the British forces involved in the first invasion of Zululand. Chelmsford also arranged for Russell to be appointed to the local rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Part of Russell's command was a force of around 100 Imperial Mounted Infantry, consisting of troops with riding experience seconded from the infantry regiments of the invasion force. This unit was led by Lieutenant Edward Browne of the 24th Regiment of Foot, who was well-liked, and his subordination to Russell caused resentment among the mounted infantry. The majority of Russell's command was formed of volunteer units raised by the Colony of Natal; these soldiers had expected to be commanded by John Dartnell of the Natal Mounted Police, a former British Army major and Indian Mutiny veteran who had become a farmer in the colony. The colonial volunteers, who had no obligation to serve outside Natal, had agreed to join Chelmsford's forces on the condition that they approved of their commander. When Russell was appointed, all the officers resigned in protest. The events were reported by newspapers in Pietermaritzburg and caused embarrassment for Chelmsford. His solution was to declare Dartnell was invaluable to him as an adviser and to appoint him to a position on his staff, while Russell retained command of the units in the field. The Natal Mounted Police officers rescinded their resignations as a personal favour to Dartnell.

First invasion

Russell commanded the Imperial Mounted Infantry in the first action of the war, the 12 January 1879 action at Sihayo's Kraal, encircling and defeating a small Zulu force. Three days later, while engineers improved the road to ease the progress of the column inland, Russell commanded a scouting party seeking the next camp site. He reported the plain at Isandlwana provided good sources of water and firewood and Chelmsford approved the location. On 18 January, Russell and his entire command set off on a patrol northwards into the area between the Centre Column and Colonel Evelyn Wood's Left Column, as a show of strength. Russell led the vanguard in the column's 20 January advance to the camp at Isandlwana.

On 22 January, Chelmsford led a portion of the Centre Column on a reconnaissance in force from Isandlwana to Mangeni Falls. Despite his official position as a staff officer, Dartnell was placed in command of the Natal mounted volunteers, reducing Russell's command to the Imperial Mounted Infantry. While the reconnaissance force was away from the camp, the remainder of the Centre Column were attacked by the Zulu and wiped out in the Battle of Isandlwana.

Around the time of the battle, Russell's squadron discovered a numerically superior Zulu force on Isipezi Hill, which lay between Chelmsford's force and the camp, and withdrew without engaging. Russell then received word from Commandant George Hamilton-Browne of the Natal Native Contingent that he could see the camp was under attack and Russell reported this in person to Chelmsford. Chelmsford ordered Russell to ride to the camp; he found a force of around 7,000 Zulus in possession of the camp and reported back to the general that "all was as bad as it could be".

When Chelmsford's force retook the camp unopposed on the evening of 22 January, Russell and the Imperial Mounted Infantry formed part of the right flank of the advance. The group spent an uneasy night on the battlefield, sleeping fitfully among the bodies of the dead, which included eleven of Russell's mounted infantry he had left at the camp. Early the next morning, Chelmsford's force moved back into Natal to the British supply post at Rorke's Drift. Unsure if it had been lost to a Zulu attack, Russell led the Imperial Mounted Infantry forward to investigate. Finding the post in British hands, he was with the first group to enter the position. He afterwards rode on to confirm the supply base at Helpmekaar also remained in British hands.

Hlobane and Kambula

After Isandlwana, Chelmsford requested reinforcements before attempting a second invasion. During the pause in operations, on 15 February 1879, Russell was sent in command of the squadron of Imperial Mounted Infantry to Wood's Left Column. Russell took almost a month to reach Wood's camp at Kambula and was criticised for his slow progress by Chelmsford and Wood; the latter noted Russell was "in the dismals" and "his frame of mind cannot be good". When he joined the Left Column, in addition to his mounted infantry, Russell was given command of the Edendale detachment of the Natal Native Horse, which had survived the Battle of Isandlwana.

On 14 March, Wood sent Lieutenant-Colonel Redvers Buller, commanding a force of irregular horse, 50 miles (80 km) into Zululand to rescue around 1,000 dependents of Zulu chief uHamu, who had defected to the British. The following day, Russell rode out with his mounted infantry and some mules to help transport the women and children into the British camp. Although all three men were considered members of the Wolseley Ring and had served on the Ashanti campaign, Wood was wary of Russell, whose cautious approach to operations contrasted with Buller. On 27 March, Chelmsford's military secretary, Henry Hope Crealock, wrote to Russell to inform him his local rank was being rescinded and he was to revert to his brevet rank of major. This undermined Russell's position among the officers of Wood's column and he was outraged when he received this letter on 11 April.

In late March, Wood ordered Russell and Buller to attack Hlobane, a mountain stronghold of the AbaQulusi Zulu clan. At 4 am on 28 March, Russell left camp with a party of 640, which included his mounted infantry and Natal Native Horse, but also the irregular Kaffrarian Rifles and some African auxiliary infantry. Reaching the mountain around dawn, Wood's orders were for Russell to ascend the Ntendeka Mountain to the west, and to pass onto Hlobane by Devil's Pass. Buller's men were to ascend from east of Hlobane. On reaching Devil's Pass, Russell considered it impassable for horses and sent Lieutenant Edward Browne and a party of dismounted men to Buller to warn him of this, though Browne was unable to locate Buller. While Russell's men were seizing Zulu cattle on Ntendeka, they spotted the main Zulu army approaching from the southeast and Russell sent a message to alert Wood to this.

The Zulu secured the eastern flank of Hlobane, leaving Devil's Pass as Buller's only escape route. Russell meanwhile had withdrawn to the base of Ntendeka, where he considered he could support a withdrawal by Buller along the south side of Hlobane. Russell then received a message from Wood, who thought him still on the mountain, ordering him to move to "Zunguin Nek", from where he could cover Buller's retreat. "Nek" is a Southern African term for a ridge of land connecting two peaks. Wood intended his order to refer to the ridge connecting Ntendeka to Zungwini Mountain, but Russell, who was already very close to this location, interpreted the order as requiring him to take up position on the ridge connecting Zungwini to Kambula mountain, 4 miles (6.4 km) further to the west and of no use to Buller. Buller's unit descended Devil's Pass, covered only by Browne's small party which had remained on the Ntendeka. Buller's men were harried closely during their retreat and suffered heavy casualties before reaching Russell's force and returning to Kambula. Russell's quick withdrawal had also left behind his auxiliary infantry, 80 of whom were killed.

Later career

Russell returned to the 12th Lancers in his substantive rank of captain on 8 May 1880, when the regiment was still garrisoned in India. He was promoted to major on 5 June 1880 and to lieutenant-colonel on 1 July 1881, receiving command of the regiment. He was promoted to colonel on 7 February 1884 and ceased to command the regiment in 1885, being placed on half pay. In 1887, he was appointed to command the cavalry depot at Canterbury, Kent, a post he held for five years. He was promoted to major-general on 26 March 1895 and retired from the army in July 1898.

Upon the Prince of Wales's accession to the throne as Edward VII in early 1901, Russell was appointed as an extra equerry to the king. He was appointed to the honorary position of Colonel of the Regiment of the 12th Lancers on 2 April 1902. A contemporary article in the Evening Despatch considered that this removed the stain on Russell's reputation arising from Hlobane, and noted Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, had supported the appointment. Russell was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 9 November 1902; appointments to the order are the personal gift of the British monarch.

Personal life and death

Russell married Hester Frances, the daughter of the Reverend Charles Thornhill, at Castlebellingham in Ireland on 11 March 1869; the bride's father carried out the marriage service. The couple had seven daughters born between 1869 and 1888, including the artist Joan Russell. Russell's fourth daughter, Hester Frances, married the banker and future Baron Latymer Hugh Burdett Money-Coutts, on 11 June 1900.

During his period commanding the Canterbury depot, Russell lived at the Hoystings, a house in the city. After he left Canterbury, Russell lived for a while on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, and at Bramford Hall in Suffolk, where Arthur Conan Doyle visited him to take part in the shooting of game birds. In 1902, Russell returned to Canterbury, where he lived at Barton Court and served as a Justice of the Peace. He died at his home on 30 March 1909 while recovering from an operation he had undergone in London. Russell's funeral was held at St Martin's Church, Canterbury, and he is buried in the city.