Brigadier General John McNeil (1784 - 1850)
Born Hillsborough (NH); died Washington, D.C.
Military and government service; son-in-law of Governor Benjamin Pierce.
Portrait by Henry Willard.
Presented to the State by descendants, 1874.

John McNeil (1784 - 1850) was born at Hillsborough (NH). During the War of 1812 McNeil was commissioned a captain in the 11th Infantry Regiment (March 12, 1812). He was promoted to major (August 15, 1813), and then with his regiment fought in the 1814 Niagara campaign. He was breveted lieutenant colonel and then colonel for his bravery at the Battle of Chippewa, and then at Lundy's Lane. He ended his military career as a brigadier general.

McNeil married Elizabeth A. Pierce, the eldest daughter of General Benjamin Pierce of Hillsborough, in 1814. Pierce, an old hero of the American Revolution, was an important man in New Hampshire, a future governor of the state (1827 - 1828, 1829 - 1830) and a strong backer of Andrew Jackson. When Jackson became President of the United States (served 1829 - 1837) he appointed Pierce's son-in-law McNeil Supervisor of the Port of Boston. It was an important and prestigious position, which McNeil held for twenty years, until his death in 1850.

Reference: Harry L. Coles, The War of 1812 (1965); James Brayman, ed., Daring Deeds of American Heroes (1852).
Location: First Floor, State House