William Howard Russell witnessed the final re-capture of Lucknow (1858). In 1861 Russell went to Washington, returning to England in 1863. In July 1865 he sailed on the "Great Eastern" to document the laying of the Atlantic Cable and wrote a book about the voyage with color illustrations by Robert Dudley. He published diaries of his time in India, the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, where he describes the warm welcome given him by English-speaking Prussian generals such as Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal. Russell later accused fellow war correspondent Nicholas Woods of the "Morning Herald" of lying in his articles about
William Howard Russell the war to try to improve his stories. In the 1868 General Election Russell ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate for the borough of Chelsea. He retired as a battlefield correspondent in 1882 and founded the "Army and Navy Gazette". Russell was knighted in May 1895. He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) by King Edward VII on 11 August 1902, this order was a dynastic order handed out by the King without government interference. During the investiture, the King reportedly told Russell "Don't kneel Billy, just stoop". Russell died in 1907 and is buried in