Andrew Hamilton Russell I (abt. 1780 - 1811)

Born about 1780 in Suffolk, England. [uncertain]

Husband of Sarah Blunden — married 3 Nov 1802 in Wymering, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Died Aug 1811 at about age 31 in Vila Viçosa, Portugal. [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Tony Pope [send private message]

Biography

Andrew Russell was neither rich nor famous. He has not attracted the detailed attention of historians or biographers, but he served his country in the 28th Regiment of Foot during the Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815) and died in 1811, in the Peninsular War. In his brief life, he fathered three sons who followed in his footsteps as soldiers, and posthumously he became the grandfather of an Admiral of the Royal Navy and the great-grandfather of a Major-General and an Air Vice-Marshall.

Andrew was born in Suffolk about 1780 and married a Suffolk girl, Sarah Blunden, at Wymering, Hampshire, in 1802.^[1] They had five children: Mary Ann (born 9 December 1801, before the marriage), Martha Ann (b. 18 August 1804), William (b. 16 April 1806), Frederick (b. 29 January 1809) and Andrew (b. 27 September 1811, after his father’s death).

The early part of Andrew’s military career is unknown. We are indebted to the late Captain Lionel Challis (1881–1957) and the Royal United Services Institute for details of Andrew’s service in the Peninsular War,^[2] and to David Scott Daniell’s Cap of Honour^[3] for much of the regimental history of the 28th of Foot.

The 28th of Foot was formed by Colonel John Gibson in 1694. It gained undying fame in Egypt in 1801 at the Battle of Alexandria, when the regiment faced two simultaneous assaults by French infantry and cavalry from front and rear, and repelled them both. In commemoration, the 28th was awarded the unique honour of wearing an identifying badge at the back of their headgear as well as the front. This persisted throughout the life of the regiment, despite changes in the army organisation in which the identity of the 28th might otherwise have been lost. In 1881 the 28th was joined with the 61st of Foot, to become the Gloucestershire Regiment (Glosters), which was amalgamated with two other regiments in 1994, to become the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (RGBW), and this new regiment was absorbed into ‘The Rifles’ a few years later—who still wear the ‘back badge’ earned by the 28th of Foot in 1801.

Andrew Russell was a lieutenant in the 28th of Foot from 19 October 1804 and promoted captain on 4 April 1811. Between notes of these appointments, Challis records: ‘Adj 15 Oct ’02’, which would seem to indicate that Andrew was appointed adjutant of the 28th of Foot on 15 October 1802. This is difficult to comprehend because the 28th did not return from Egypt until the end of 1802,^[4] and Andrew was married in England on 3 November 1802. There was only one battalion of the 28th at this time; the second battalion was formed in 1803.

Both battalions remained at home until 1807, when it appeared likely that France would make use of the Danish fleet, either to attack Britain^[5] or to prevent British access to the Baltic Sea.^[6] The British response to this threat was to attack Copenhagen in August/September 1807 and to seize the Danish fleet. The 1/28th was part of the attacking force and helped sail the Danish ships back to Britain. It is unconfirmed but very likely that, as a serving officer of the 1/28th, Andrew Russell took part in this operation.

In August 1808 Andrew went to Portugal with the 1/28th under Major John Frederick Browne, and in November they were part of Sir John Moore’s army which marched into Spain with the intention of cutting Napoleon’s lines of communication and joining with the Spanish army to drive Napoleon back into France. Things did not go as planned and Moore decided to retreat, heading for Corunna on the Spanish north coast and naming the 28th and four other regiments to form the rearguard. The battle of Corunna is considered a victory, despite the fact that Moore was killed. His much-depleted army sailed back to England in January 1809.

Six months later, as part of a larger army, Andrew and the 1/28th under ‘Mad John Browne’ sailed for the Netherlands in late July. Austria had declared war on France and the British planned to provide a naval and military diversion in support of Austria, by blocking the estuary of the River Scheldt, capturing the ports of Antwerp (Belgium) and Flushing (Vlissingen, Holland), and destroying the French fleet thought to be anchored at Flushing. The initial landing was on the marshy island of Walcheren, followed by the bombardment and capture of Flushing, at the southern end of the island. However, the French fleet had already been moved to Antwerp, which was strongly defended, and the British troops were laid low by a fever generally called Walcheren Fever, which was probably a combination of malaria and typhus. At the end of August, with substantial losses due to illness rather than battle casualties, the British force withdrew and returned home.

The 1/28th spent Christmas at home, and in March 1810, under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Philip Belson, they sailed for Gibraltar, their base for further incursions into Spain.

Tarifa is the southernmost town in Spain, with Gibraltar a few miles to the north-east, and Cadiz some fifty miles to the north-west. The city and port of Cadiz was already under siege by the French before the 1/28th arrived in Gibraltar, and remained so until August 1812, but the French only commanded the landward approaches; the British and Spanish navies controlled the sea and continued to provide supplies. Cadiz was well fortified and defended, and provided a home for the Spanish government, which had fled from Madrid prior to its occupation by French forces.

During this time, the lesser port of Tarifa was also besieged—twice—in December 1810 and again in December 1811. British troops from Gibraltar combined with Spanish forces to defeat the French on both occasions. A Light Company of the 1/28th was detached to participate in the defence on the earlier occasion, and from Challis’s index it would appear that John Browne (recently promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel) and Andrew Russell (still a lieutenant at this stage) were with them.

The prelude to the Battle of Barossa was more complex than might appear from "Cap of Honour". It seems that the 1/28 had been posted to Cadiz, to strengthen the defending forces there, but in February 1811 they were included as part of a combined force to attack the French besiegers from the rear. Some 8,000 Spanish troops and 4,000 British departed from Cadiz by sea, with the intention of landing at Tarifa and marching back overland towards Cadiz. The Anglo-Portuguese division commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham was unable to land at Tarifa and was diverted to Algeciras, where they were joined by John Browne with a composite battalion of flank companies from other regiments. They all marched to Tarifa, where they gathered further reinforcements from the garrison there. They were joined by the two Spanish divisions from Cadiz. The commander of the whole expedition was the Spanish General Manuel la Peña, who ordered them north to the French-held city of Medina-Sidonia, but then changed his mind when he learned that the garrison there had received reinforcements. Instead, la Peña took them cross-country to the Tarifa–Cadiz road and then north-west towards Cadiz, marching only by night.

By the morning of 5 March they had reached a hill south-east of Barrosa, known as Barrosa Ridge, some 12 miles from Cadiz, where the French had set a trap for them. The Spanish divisions had passed the ridge, and Graham’s rearguard division occupied the ridge and the road. The leading Spanish division encountered a French division astride the road to Cadiz and the Spanish engaged with them. The French division retreated across a river, and la Peña called off the pursuit and ordered his army, including Graham’s division, to continue towards Cadiz, ignoring the possibility of attacks from the flank and rear. The possibility became reality when two French divisions moved up behind them and occupied the road and the ridge. Graham ignored la Peña’s orders and turned his division around to meet the threat. It fell to Browne’s composite battalion of flank companies and Belson’s 1/28th to retake Barrosa Ridge, which they had just vacated. The British and their allies won the battle in a matter of two or three hours, and then resumed their march to Cadiz. The French regrouped and reinforced the siege. Nothing had really been gained except a battle honour, a French eagle, and a mention in despatches for John Browne.

In April 1811, Andrew was promoted captain, in place of Captain Leckey, deceased. Challis says on 4 April; the "Royal Military Chronicle" cites ‘War Office, April 9’. Either way, his promotion was brief. Challis records that Captain Russell died at Villa Viciosa in August 1811. The cause of death is not stated, nor is the location of Villa Viciosa. There is a small town, Villaviciosa, on the north coast of Spain, more that 500 miles from Cadiz, and there is a small town in Portugal, Vila Viçosa, about 100 miles east of Lisbon and about 200 miles from Cadiz. There was no fighting on or near the north coast of Spain at that time, but there was a major battle in southern Spain some three months before Andrew’s death, near the border with Portugal, about 50 miles from Vila Viçosa. This was the Battle of Albuhera, in May 1811, fought around the village of Albuera, a few miles south of Badajoz, but the British troops included the 2/28th, not the 1/28th. Could Captain Russell’s promotion have involved a transfer? Unlikely, because the 2/28th came from Portugal, not the south of Spain. On the other hand, the 2/28th would have passed through Vila Viçosa on their way back from Albuera.

There is an alternative explanation. According to Steve Brown^[7] the 1/28th were transferred from Cadiz to Gibraltar and then to Lisbon by ship, arriving at Lisbon on 21 July 1811. But this does not fully explain the death of Captain Andrew Hamilton Russell in ‘Villa Viciosa’ in August. The mystery remains unsolved.

Three months after Andrew’s death, his widow Sarah took all five children to St Mary’s Church, Portsea, Hampshire, and had them baptised, on 22 November 1811: Mary Ann (nearly 10 years old), Martha Ann (aged 7), William Russell (5), Frederick Browne Russell (nearly 3, evidently named after John Frederick Browne) and Andrew Hamilton Russell (eight weeks old, and named after his late father).^[8]

Andrew’s marriage and the birth of his youngest son raise further questions. Surely it was unusual for a young subaltern to be granted permission to marry? It may be that the birth of Mary Ann before marriage influenced his commanding officer’s decision. And it would seem that Sarah ‘followed the drum’ and accompanied Andrew to war—if not to Lisbon in August 1808, then certainly to Gibraltar in September 1810, and perhaps to Tarifa before the siege commencing 20 December 1810, bearing in mind that their youngest son was born on 27 September 1811.

Their three sons followed Andrew’s example by marrying as subalterns, and two of them took their wives with them to India. No more is known about Sarah Russell or her daughters Mary and Martha, except that it may be deduced that in 1882 their brother Frederick believed Martha was alive and married, and by inference that Mary was deceased.^[9]

Research Notes

Andrew's birth date and location remain unsourced. The date is a rough guess, based on the date of birth of his first child, date of marriage, his appointment as adjutant in 1802 and promotion to lieutenant in 1804. Various family trees available to public viewing on the Internet opt for a birth date of either 1770 or 1780, but none reveal a source for this information. I am inclined to follow the tree constructed by Will Holmes à Court at [4]. He gives the following details: 'born circa 1780 at Woodbridge, Suffolk, England; died 28 August 1811 in Portugal'. I have been able to confirm other facts about members of this family, stated by him and differing from those of other public trees.

Sources

1. ↑ England Marriages, 1538–1973 for Andrew Hamilton Russell Groom's Name: Andrew Hamilton Russell Bride's Name: Sarah Blunden Marriage Date: 03 Nov 1802 Marriage Place: Wymering,Hampshire,England (St Peter and St Paul) Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M06217-1 System Origin: England-ODM Source Film Number: 918879 Reference Number:
2. ↑ Captain Challis’s research notes are available for viewing at [1], accessed 27 October 2018.
3. ↑ David Scott Daniell, "Cap of Honour", London, UK: George G Harrap & Co, 1951.
4. ↑ "Cap of Honour", p.84.
5. ↑ "Cap of Honour", p.92.
6. ↑ [2], accessed 27 October 2018.
7. ↑ Steve Brown, ‘Bound For Mondego Bay: British Infantry Regiment Movements To and From the Peninsula, 1808 to 1814’ at [3] accessed 27 October 2018.
8. ↑ name: Mary Ann Russell gender: Female baptism/christening date: 22 Nov 1811 baptism/christening place: Portsea, Hampshire, England birth date: 09 Dec 1801 father's name: And'W. Hamilton Russell mother's name: Sarah Russell indexing project (batch) number: C02260-7 system origin: England-EASy source film number: 1596292 Name: Martha Ann Russell Gender: Female Baptism/Christening Date: 22 Nov 1811 Baptism/Christening Place: Portsea, Hampshire, England Birth Date: 18 Aug 1804 Father's Name: And'W. Hamilton Russell Mother's Name: Sarah Russell Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C02260-7 System Origin: England-EASy Source Film Number: 1596292 Reference Number: yr 1809-1811 p 30 Name: Wm. Russell Gender: Male Baptism/Christening Date: 22 Nov 1811 Baptism/Christening Place: Portsea, Hampshire, England Birth Date: 16 Apr 1806 Father's Name: And'W. Hamilton Russell Mother's Name: Sarah Russell Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C02260-7 System Origin: England-EASy Source Film Number: 1596292 Reference Number: yr 1809-1811 p 30 Name: Frederick Brown Russell Gender: Male Baptism/Christening Date: 22 Nov 1811 Baptism/Christening Place: Portsea, Hampshire, England Birth Date: 29 Jan 1809 Father's Name: And'W. Hamilton Russell Mother's Name: Sarah Russell Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C02260-7 System Origin: England-EASy Source Film Number: 1596292 Reference Number: yr 1809-1811 p 30 Name: Andrew Russell Gender: Male Baptism/Christening Date: 22 Nov 1811 Baptism/Christening Place: SAINT MARYS,PORTSEA,HAMPSHIRE,ENGLAND Birth Date: 27 Sep 1811 Father's Name: Andrew Hamilton Russell Mother's Name: Sarah Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C06261-3 System Origin: England-ODM Source Film Number: 919739 Reference Number:
9. ↑ In a codicil dated 2 Dec 1882 to a will dated 16 Nov 1882, Frederick Browne Russell lists all his living offspring and ‘my sister Martha Ann and her husband and my brother Andrew Hamilton’. He does not refer to his deceased offspring, nor to his other brother, William, whom he knew to have died in 1866. Nor does he refer to his sister Mary Ann, or their parents. Probate was granted on this will on 6 Jun 1883; copy held in NSW State Archives & Records, Series 3-8436, photocopy held in Public Library, Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia.