McNeill's Rangers

McNeill's Rangers
Active	1862 - May 8, 1865
Country	Confederate States of America
Allegiance	John Hanson McNeill
Branch	Partisan Rangers
Type	Partisans
Size	210 men
Engagements	American Civil War
Disbanded	1865
Commanders
Notable commanders	John Hanson McNeill Jesse McNeill

McNeill's Rangers was an independent Confederate military force commissioned under the Partisan Ranger Act (1862) by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War. The 210 man unit (equivalent to a small or under-strength battalion) was formed from Company E of the 18th Virginia Cavalry and the First Virginia Partisan Rangers (62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry). After the repeal of the Act on February 17, 1864, McNeill's Rangers was one of two partisan forces allowed to continue operation, the other being 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Mosby's Raiders). Both of these guerrilla forces operated in the western counties of Virginia and West Virginia. The Rangers were known to exercise military discipline when conducting raids. However, many Union generals considered Captain John Hanson McNeill (1815–1864) and his men to be "bushwhackers," not entitled to protection when captured, as was the case with other prisoners of war.

In 1861, McNeill — a native of western Virginia — had formed and commanded a company in the Missouri State Guard. Although captured and imprisoned in St. Louis, he escaped the following year and made his way back to Virginia. In Richmond he obtained permission to form an independent unit in the western counties of Virginia (now West Virginia) and on September 5, 1862, McNeill became captain of Company E of the 18th Virginia Cavalry ("McNeill's Rangers"). McNeill's frequent raids on Piedmont, a town in Hampshire (now Mineral) County, West Virginia — and on Cumberland, Maryland — were aimed at disrupting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad service. It is estimated that over 25,000 troops were diverted by Federal commanders to guard the B&O against McNeill's force. Piedmont, a small town at the foot of the Allegheny Mountains, was a frequent target due to its important machine shops and vast stores of railroad supplies. The main line of the B&O passed through a narrow valley at Piedmont. (At the time, Piedmont was also the temporary seat of Hampshire County — Romney having been given up as the county seat because of repeated Confederate raids.)

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