John Hanson McNeill
| John Hanson McNeill | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 12, 1815 |
| Died | November 10, 1864 (aged 49) Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Confederate States Army
|
| Years of service | 1861-1864 |
| Rank |
 Captain
|
| Unit | Company E of the 18th Virginia cavalry |
| Commands held | McNeill's Rangers |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
June 12, 1815
near Moorefield, Virginia
John Hanson McNeill (June 12, 1815 – November 10, 1864) was a Confederate soldier who served as a Captain in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He led McNeill's Rangers, an independent irregular Confederate military company commissioned under the Partisan Ranger Act.
McNeill was born near Moorefield, Virginia (now West Virginia). He was the son of Strother and Amy Pugh McNeill. In 1848, he moved himself, his wife, three sons and one daughter to Boone County, Missouri, where he operated a cattle business.
In 1861, he formed and was named commander of a company in the Missouri State Guard, seeing action in Boonville, Carthage, Wilson's Creek, and Lexington. Although captured and imprisoned in St. Louis, he escaped on June 15, 1862, and made his way back to Virginia.
In Richmond, he obtained permission to form an independent unit in the western counties of West Virginia and Virginia in order to disrupt Union activities in the area. This was granted, and on September 5, 1862, McNeill became captain of Company E of the 18th Virginia Cavalry, more commonly known as McNeill's Rangers. Along with raids on railroads and wagon trains, he first proposed the operation that became the Jones-Imboden Raid.
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