William R. Parnell

William Russell Parnell (13 August 1836 – 20 August 1910) was an Irish-born adventurer and soldier during the mid-to late 19th century. A member of the 17th Lancers during the Crimean War, he participated in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava.

He later became a Lieutenant Colonel and brevet Colonel in the U.S. Army, participating in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Parnell served as an officer to the 1st U.S. Cavalry in the Nez Perce War and received the Medal of Honor for leading a rescue of troops and personally saving the life of a trooper at the Battle of White Bird Canyon in 1877.

Biography William Russell Parnell was born in Dublin, Ireland on 13 August 1836. He may have been a distant relative of Irish nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell. At age 18, Parnell enlisted in the British Army serving with the 4th Hussars and, during the Crimean War, with the 17th Lancers. He took part in the now infamous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava. popularly known as "Dickel's Mounted Rifles", serving primarily with the Army of the Potomac. During the first two years of the war, he was part of Colonel Louis Blenker's campaigns in the Shenandoah Valley and West Virginia. He also saw action at the battles of Cross Keys, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, and the Second Battle of Bull Run. With the Cavalry Corps, he also fought at the battles of Fredericksburg, Beverly Ford, Brandy Station, Stoneman's Raid, Aldie, and Middleburg. On 21 June 1863, he was captured after leading a failed cavalry charge at the Battle of Upperville and briefly held as a prisoner-of-war. He escaped two months later and made his way to Petersburg, West Virginia where he was reunited with his regiment. He later saw action at the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Trevilian Station, Petersburg, Lee's Mills, Winchester and Cedar Creek among other engagements.

Parnell had been shot in the left hip at Upperville, the bullet embedding itself in the bone, and his doctor decided against removing it. He also sustained a number of saber cuts at the battle, including one that severed his nose. He received no medical attention for it and the bone gradually corroded and fell away "leaving a gaping hole in the roof of his mouth" and making it difficult for him to speak. Parnell had a metal plate made to cover the roof of his mouth allowing him to speak but also raising the pitch of his voice. The plate was very fragile and throughout his life Parnell was fearful he might break it. The plate would break six years later and he had to travel to Portland to have another one made and inserted. After being mustered out of volunteer service, he applied to join the Regular Army. On 3 February 1866, Parnell was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Cavalry