William Russell Smith (March 27, 1815 – February 26, 1896) was a prominent Alabama politician who served in both the United States Congress and the Confederate Congress.

The next year he served as a captain of state troops in the government's campaign against the Creek Indians, intended to remove most of them to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

He served as Mayor of Tuscaloosa in 1839 and as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1841 to 1843.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Smith raised the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment and was elected its colonel.

[2] He was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[3] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress