Hector McNeill (October 10, 1728 – December 25, 1785) was an Irish-born American sea captain and naval officer. Born in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, he emigrated to the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

. He later became the third ranking officer in the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United Colonies and United States from 1775 to 1785. It was founded on October 13, 1775 by the Continental Congress to fight against British forces and their allies as part of the American Revolutionary ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

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

Early life

McNeill was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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

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

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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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 t ...

. 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 joined the

British merchant navy The British Merchant Navy is the collective name given to British civilian ships and their associated crews, including officers and ratings. In the UK, it is simply referred to as the Merchant Navy or MN. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensi ...

in April 1755 and was given command of a ship that took

Robert Monckton Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in com ...

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

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

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

Passamaquoddy Bay Passamaquoddy Bay () 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 western shore bounded by Was ...

and taken north to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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 burial location of Revolutionary War-era patriots, including Paul Revere, the five victims of 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, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

. 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 legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 was Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2004. ...

. Personality conflicts often arose between McNeill and Manley, in part due to the scarcity of supplies and available crew. 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 a Royal Navy officer and politician who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-r ...

'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 t ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. 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 vessel which engages in commerce raiding 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 o ...

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 American people of Scotch-Irish descent People of the French and Indian War Continental Navy officers People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution Merchants from colonial Massachusetts 18th-century American merchants