Following his brief tenure in the Derby Blues, Captain Russell enlisted in the 2nd Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. He became Adjutant on the staff of Alfred Howe Terry (1827-1890), New Haven resident and Colonel of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. The regiment fought, with distinction, in the first battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861 at Manassas, Virginia. The commander of the division, General Keys, presented Captain Russell with a special commendation for his coolness and bravery.
Russell came back to Derby after their ninety days of voluntary service and returned to tack-making. But he soon formed another volunteer company that he named “The Ellsworth Guard”. Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of the 11th New York Volunteers was the first Union officer to be killed in the Civil War. He was shot by an angry innkeeper on May 24, 1861 when President Lincoln ordered troops to occupy Alexandria, Virginia following the state’s succession from the Union. Colonel Russell’s newly formed company was joined to the 8th Regiment of New Haven. The governor then formally offered Captain Russell the rank of lieutenant colonel in the 10th Regiment, organized at Hartford. After rising to the rank of Colonel he served with General Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881) on a sailing expedition to North Carolina. They captured Roanoke Island. Leading his regiment, Colonel Russell was struck by a rifle ball, piercing his shoulder and heart, from a concealed Confederate sharpshooter and was killed instantly on February 8, 1862.
Colonel Russell’s body was returned to Derby where his funeral was attended by public officials and military and civic organizations. He was interred in Oak Cliff Cemetery. His impressive monument sits at the edge of the cemetery with a spectacular view of the Housatonic River and dam. Fort Defiance, North Carolina, was rechristened Fort Russell in his honor. In June of 1862 Colonel Russell was eulogized in numerous speeches in both the Senate and House of Representatives of Connecticut. They were compiled and later published by the legislature. Colonel Russell was only 34 years old when killed. He was the first regimental commander from Connecticut to fall in battle and the first casualty from Derby.