John McNeil
Union Army general (1813–1891)
John McNeil (February 14, 1813 – June 8, 1891) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for his role in the Palmyra massacre and other acts of alleged brutality, as well as his participation in the Battle of Westport, the largest battle west of the Mississippi River. For his role in the Palmyra massacre, he was given the nickname "Butcher of Palmyra".
Early life and career
McNeil was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to parents descended from Tories who had fled the American Revolution. He received a common school education and then learned the hatter's trade in Boston, Massachusetts. He engaged unsuccessfully in the business first in New York City and subsequently for twenty years in St. Louis, Missouri. He prospered there, though he lost his fortune to Southern repudiation as the war began. He was a member of the Missouri legislature, 1844–45, and president of the Pacific Insurance Company, 1855–61.
Civil War
When the war began, General Sterling Price of the Missouri Volunteer Militia and pro-secession Governor of Missouri Claiborne Jackson counted on McNeil's support, as he was known as a strong Democrat and closely allied with Southern men.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14623645. VIAF identifies the subject as 29167188. The Library of Congress control number is no99053573. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1813, 1891, 1844 and 1855.
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This entry incorporates text from “John McNeil” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.