General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Baker Creed Russell (11 January 1837 – 25 November 1911) was an Australian-born

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served with distinction in the Indian Mutiny, Anglo-Ashanti War,

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

, Sekhukhune Wars, and Egyptian War

Early life

Baker Creed Russell was born in 1837 at Ravensworth,

Maitland, New South Wales Maitland () is a city in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River, New South Wales, Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New S ...

, Australia, the son of the Hon. William Russell, of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

, formerly a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 73rd Regiment.

Military career

Russell entered the

in 1855 as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

of the Carabiniers. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 August 1856, he was present at

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

during the Indian Mutiny and took part in the pursuit of the Tantya Tope. He was promoted to

on 18 February 1859. He was transferred to the 13th Hussars in 1862 and subsequently commanded that regiment. Promoted to brevet

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 24 January 1865, he accompanied Sir Garnet Wolseley to the Gold Coast during the first Ashanti Expedition in 1873. Promoted to the substantive rank of major on 15 July 1878, he again served under Wolseley, this time in the Zulu campaign in 1879. For his successful leadership of the operations against Sekukuni, he was appointed a KCMG and aide-de-camp to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. He was a member of the Wolseley ring and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 29 September 1880. He commanded the 1st Cavalry Brigade during the Egyptian War in 1882. He led the midnight charge at Kassassin, was present at the

battle of Tel el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

and took part in the march to and occupation of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He was, for a short time, Inspecting Officer of Auxiliary Cavalry in 1886. Promoted to major-general on 1 April 1889, he became

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

the

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

Cavalry Brigade in 1890, General Officer Commanding the North Western District, which had its headquarters in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, in 1895 and Commander-in-Chief Bengal Command in 1896. Promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

on 20 January 1897, he went on to be General Officer Commanding Southern District, based in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, in 1898. In this capacity he was very conspicuous at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Docks whenever troops were embarking for South Africa in the early stages of the Anglo-Boer War. He died on 25 November 1911 in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

References

Additional information

Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyJournals of Brigadier General Clarke's column and Colonel Baker-Russell's column, 26 July-17 Aug

External links

Woodcut engraving entitled ''With Russell's Column: Wounded Soldiers of the Native Contingent''
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Baker 1837 births 1911 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales 20th-century British Army personnel Colony of New South Wales people British Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War People from Maitland, New South Wales Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers Royal Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War 13th Hussars officers People of the Sekukuni Campaign People from the Bengal Presidency

Early life

Military career

References

Further reading

Additional information

External links