the Secretary of War in 1863 to inspect and produce a report on West Point. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Barnard also served on this committee. He not only gave his students to the Union army, but also his own services. Governor William Alfred Buckingham realized that Russell was one of the most knowledgeable men in military affairs. For this reason, Russell was hired to organize the Connecticut militia. He was later made a major-general by act of the legislature in April 1862. Political career From 1846 to 1847, Russell served as a Whig in the Connecticut state legislature, representing New Haven. Upon the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854, he became active as one of the leaders of the movement which resulted in the organization of the Republican Party. Russell served as Collector of Internal Revenue for New Haven and Middlesex Counties from December 1868 to 1873. He was a strong abolitionist and a friend of John Brown. Russell was named as a trustee in the will of John Brown. He was also the Connecticut representative on the National Kansas Committee. Later life In 1856, with several other Bonesmen, he incorporated Skull and Bones as the Russell Trust, later the Russell Trust Association. The Russell Trust Association is a tax-exempt association; it holds possession of the Skull and Bones Hall at Yale University and the society's holiday island, Deer Island. Personal life On 19 August 1836, Russell was married to Mary Elizabeth Hubbard (1816–1890). Mary was a daughter of Lucy Hubbard and Dr. Thomas Hubbard, a professor of Surgery at the Yale Medical School. Together, they were the parents of ten children, six of whom survived him, including: Frances Harriet Russell (1839–1889) Talcott Huntington Russell (1847–1917), a lawyer who married Geraldine Whittemore Low. Thomas Hubbard Russell (1851–1916), a doctor who married Mary Katie Munson. Philip Gray Russell (1854–1900), who married Lilean Kendall, a daughter of John Edward Kendall. Edward Hubbard Russell (1855–1928) Robert Gray Russell (1860–1881) In May 1885, Russell saw some boys throwing stones at birds in the park in New Haven, Connecticut. Russell sought to protect the birds from the boys. The activity was too much for him and he fell unconscious from a fatal rupture of a blood vessel and died several days later. References External links 1809 births 1885 deaths Norwich University alumni Yale College alumni Skull and Bones Society Politicians from Middletown, Connecticut