Colonel William Russell III (March 6, 1758 – July 3, 1825) was a soldier, pioneer, and politician from Virginia and Kentucky. He was born in Culpepper County, Virginia to William Russell and Tabitha (Adams) Russell. William Russell, Sr., was a prominent citizen of southwestern Virginia and a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. In 1773, the elder Russell took his family, including William Jr., westward in the first attempt by British colonists to establish a permanent settlement in Kentucky. The expedition, guided by Daniel Boone, was abandoned after an attack by American Indians. Boone's son James and Henry Russell, brother of William Russell, Jr., were captured and tortured to death in the attack.