Hector McNeill (October 10, 1728 – December 25, 1785) was an Scotch-Irish immigrant to the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

who became a

merchant mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the North American theater of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

(1756–1763). He later became the third ranking officer in the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Fredriksen, 2006 Allen, 1922, pp. 4–5

Early life

McNeill was born in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on October 10, 1728, to Malcolm and Mary (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Stuart) McNeill, who were Scottish migrants to Ulster. At the age of nine, he emigrated with his parents to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in the

, arriving there on September 7, 1737. He received his education in the

Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts. Leadership The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the ...

. On November 12, 1750, he married Mary Wilson in the First Presbyterian Church. Their first son was named Robert, born April 12, 1752, who died in September the following year. In November their next son, Hector Jr. was born. Two other daughter were born soon after.

Seven Years War

McNeil entered the King's service as a merchant marine in April 1755 and was given command of a ship that took General Monckton to Nova Scotia where he remained during the siege of Beausejour. He returned to Boston in October that same year. At year's end, just before the beginning of the

he was commanding a vessel that was captured by Indians allied with the French in

Passamaquoddy Bay Passamaquoddy Bay (french: Baie de Passamaquoddy) is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its w ...

and taken north to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

as a prisoner. After a prisoner exchange he was able to acquire another ship and worked in the New England coastal trade.

Post war

After the war, he continued sailing a number of merchant ships between Quebec and Boston, including the sloop ''Phenix'' with a large number of passengers in April 1765 and the sloop ''Fanny and Jeany'' in November 1766. He also commanded the sloop ''Brittania'' and ''Swallow'' in 1767 and 1768 respectively. McNeill's first wife, Mary Wilson, died on February 7, 1769, and is buried in the

Granary Burying Ground The Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery, founded in 1660 and located on Tremont Street. It is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including Paul Revere, the ...

. He remarried on December 26, 1770, to Mary Watt with whom he shared a daughter, Sarah.

Beginning of American Revolution

Before the beginning of the American Revolution, McNeill was living in British-held Quebec. When war began Governor-General Guy Carleton demanded he either join the militia for the British or leave the colony. McNeill left and was soon transporting supplies to the American army's invasion of Canada under General

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

. McNeill continued in this role for several months until British reinforcements caused the Americans to retreat from Canada.

Naval Service

In June 1776, McNeill went before the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

to lobby for a commission as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

. He was granted the position on June 15 and installed as its third-ranking captain. He was given command of the new frigate which was outfitted at Newburyport, Massachusetts. After a year preparing the ship to be battle-worthy and finding a crew, the ''Boston'' joined another new frigate the to form a squadron under the command of the Navy's second ranking officer Captain

John Manley John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2 ...

. Personality conflicts often arose between McNeill and Manley, in part due to the scarcity of supplies and available crew.

Combat

On May 21, 1777, the squadron fought in the Grand Banks. On June 8, 1777, they captured . During the 90 minute battle, Manley's ship had done most of the fighting but McNeill was able to position his ship in order to take possession of the British frigate. Manley ordered McNeill to relinquish possession of ''Fox'' to his crew, causing further animosity between them. On July 7, 1777, Manley sailed ahead of the rest of the squadron and encountered Captain

George Collier Vice Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-rate shi ...

's and HMS ''Flora''. Due to disciplined training, the British easily bested the American squadron. Manly would have been able to escape the slower ships, but due to heavy cargo in the forward holds of the ''Hancock'' the bow dipped, slowing the craft. After a 39-hour chase, the British captured ''Hancock'' and ''Fox'' on July 9. McNeill did not support Manley during his flight, instead withdrawing to the safety of the

Sheepscot River The Sheepscot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Its lower portion is a complex island estuary with connections to ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Court-Martial and privateering

McNeill remained in Maine for a month, while criticism of his leadership continued to grow. After a prisoner exchange released Manley, both men were court-martialed with the result for McNeill being dismissal from the Navy without ceremony. For the rest of the war he acted as a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

for Massachusetts, commanding the ''Pallas'' and ''Adventure''.

Final years

After the war, McNeill returned to the merchant marine and was lost at sea on December 25, 1785.

Note

Captain Hector McNeill should not be confused with British Loyalist Colonel Hector McNeill who with Col. David Fanning co-led a surprise attack on American forces under Governor Thomas Burke at Hillsboro, North Carolina on September 12, 1781. An American counter-attack under General John Butler inflicted losses on the Loyalists including the death of McNeill and causing them to abandon Burke and their other prisoners.

References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, Hector 1728 births 1785 deaths Military personnel from County Antrim Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) American people of Scotch-Irish descent People of the French and Indian War Continental Navy officers People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution