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{{Infobox military person
|name = Sir John Carstairs McNeill
|image = File:Celebrities of the Army - Sir John Carstairs McNeill (detail).png
|image_size = 220
|caption = Sir John Carstairs McNeill
|birth_date = {{birth date|1831|03|28|df=yes}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|1904|05|25|1831|03|28|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Colonsay]], Argyllshire
|death_place = [[St James's Palace]], London
|placeofburial = [[Oronsay Priory]]
|nickname =
|allegiance = United Kingdom
|branch = [[Bengal Army]] [[British Army]]
|serviceyears = 1850–1890
|rank = [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]]
|unit =
|commands =
|battles = [[Indian Mutiny]] [[New Zealand Wars]]
* [[Invasion of Waikato]]
[[Ashanti War]] [[1882 Anglo-Egyptian War]] [[Suakin Expedition#Second expedition|Suakin Expedition]]
* [[Battle of Tofrek]]
|awards = [[Victoria Cross]] [[Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27285 |date=15 February 1901 |page=1145 }}</ref> [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] [[Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
|relations = [[Alexander McNeill (New Zealand politician)|Alexander McNeill]] (brother) [[Duncan McNeill, 1st Baron Colonsay|Duncan McNeill, Lord Colonsay]] (uncle) [[John McNeill (diplomat)|Sir John McNeill]] (uncle)
|laterwork = Equerry to [[Queen Victoria]]
}}
[[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] '''Sir John Carstairs McNeill'''<ref>Note: in 19th century records, McNeill's name is sometimes spelled M'Neill.</ref> {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|VC|GCVO|KCB|KCMG}} (28 March 1831 – 25 May 1904) was a senior [[British Army]] officer and Scottish recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]] (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.

==Life==
McNeill was the son of Anne Elizabeth McNeill née Carstairs, and Alexander McNeill (1791–1850), brother of [[Duncan McNeill, 1st Baron Colonsay|Duncan McNeill, Lord Colonsay]] and [[John McNeill (diplomat)|Sir John McNeill]]. His brother was [[Alexander McNeill (New Zealand politician)|Alexander McNeill]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Passing of a Veteran |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=WC19150518.2.19 |accessdate=24 January 2016 |work=[[Wanganui Chronicle]] |issue=20358 |date=18 May 1915 |page=4}}</ref> He was educated at the [[University of St Andrews]] and [[Addiscombe Military Seminary]].<ref>Philip A. Wilkins, ''The History of the Victoria Cross: Being an account of the 520 acts of bravery for which the decoration has been awarded and portraits of 392 recipients'', Andrews UK Limited, 2012, {{ISBN|1781516731}}</ref>

On 18 June 1850, he and Alexander survived the wreck of the ''[[Orion (paddle steamer)|Orion]]'', in which their parents and two sisters lost their lives.<ref>MacAlister, Florence, ''Memoir of the Right Hon. Sir John McNeill, G.C.B. and of his second wife Elizabeth Wilson'' (John Murray, 1910), p. 291-2</ref>

McNeill entered the [[Bengal Army]] in December 1850 as an [[Ensign_(rank)#United_Kingdom|Ensign]] in the 12th [[Bengal Native Infantry]]. During the [[Indian Mutiny]], he served at the [[Siege of Lucknow|siege]] and [[capture of Lucknow]], after which he gained the [[Brevet_(military)#United_Kingdom|brevet]] of major. In 1861 he transferred to the [[107th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Light Infantry)]] – later The [[Royal Sussex Regiment]]. Shortly afterwards he travelled to New Zealand as a staff officer,<ref name=ODNB>{{cite ODNB |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/34814 |title=McNeill, Sir John Carstairs|last=Beckett |first=Ian F. W.|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/34814 |access-date=14 January 2022}}</ref> and was promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel in March 1864.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22826|page=1257|date=1 March 1864}}</ref>

===VC action===
McNeill was 33 years old, and a [[lieutenant colonel]] in the [[107th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Light Infantry)]], while serving as an [[ Aide-de-Camp]] to Lieutenant General [[Duncan Cameron (British Army officer)|Sir Duncan Cameron]] during the [[Invasion of Waikato]] (a campaign of the [[New Zealand Wars]]), when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
{{quote|For the valour and presence of mind which he displayed in New Zealand, on the 30th of March, 1864, which is thus described by Private Vosper, of the Colonial Defence Force.
Private Vosper states that he was sent on that day with Private Gibson, of the same Force, as an escort to Major (now Lieutenant-
Colonel) McNeill, Aide-de-Camp to Lieutenant-General Sir Duncan Cameron. Lieutenant-Colonel McNeill was proceeding to Te Awamutu on duty at the time. On returning from that place, and about a mile on this side of Ohanpu, this Officer, having seen a body of the enemy in front, sent Private Gibson back to bring up Infantry from Ohanpu, and he and Private Vosper proceeded leisurely to the top
of a rise to watch the enemy. Suddenly they were attacked by about 50 natives, who were concealed in the fern close at hand.
Their only chance of escape was by riding for their lives, and as they turned to gallop, Private Vosper's horse fell and threw him. The natives thereupon rushed forward to seize him, but Lieutenant-Colonel McNeill, on perceiving that Private Vosper was not following him, returned, caught his horse, and helped him to mount. The natives were firing sharply at them, and were so near that, according to Private Vosper's statement, it was only by galloping as hard as they could that they escaped. He says that he owes his life entirely to Lieutenant-Colonel McNeill's assistance, for he could not have caught his horse alone, and in a few minutes must have been killed.<ref name=LG22885>{{London Gazette|issue=22885|page=4027|date=16 August 1864}}</ref>}}

===Later career===
From 1869 to 1872 McNeill was military secretary to [[John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar|Lord Lisgar]], [[Governor General of Canada]], and was on the staff of the 1870 [[Wolseley expedition|Red River expedition]] under [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Sir Garnet Wolseley]]. He became a colonel in 1872 and served as Wolseley's chief of staff in the [[Anglo-Ashanti wars|Second Ashanti War]] (1873–4), where he was wounded and invalided home. He was made a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] (CB) in March 1874, by which time he had also been appointed aide-de-camp to the commander-in-chief, the [[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge|Duke of Cambridge]]. Establishing a close connection with the Royal Family, he was appointed [[equerry]] to [[Queen Victoria]] in November 1874, and accompanied the Queen's son, [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany|Prince Leopold]], to Canada – becoming a [[Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (KCMG) in 1880.<ref name=ODNB/>

He served in the [[1882 Anglo-Egyptian War|1882 Egyptian campaign]], after which he was promoted to major-general,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25168|page=5109|date=17 November 1882}}</ref> and made a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] (KCB) in November 1882. Leading a brigade during the 1885 [[Suakin Expedition#Second expedition|Suakin Expedition]], he was in command at the [[Battle of Tofrek]] on 22 March, against [[Mahdist War|Mahdist]] forces led by [[Osman Digna]]. The [[Mahdist War|Mahdists]] attacked in force and, although they were finally driven off with heavy losses, McNeill was initially accused of being taken by surprise by the attack, while his superior, Lieutenant-General Sir [[Gerald Graham]], was criticised for not giving him sufficient mounted troops. While Wolseley's report largely exonerated McNeill, this was his last command in the field. He retired from the army in 1890.<ref name=ODNB/>

His association with the royal household continued, and he accompanied the Queen's son [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Prince Arthur]] on his world tour in 1890. In 1898 McNeill was appointed king of arms to the Order of the Bath and was made a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]] (GCVO) in 1901, on the accession of Edward VII. He died, unmarried, on 25 May 1904 at [[St James's Palace]], London, and was buried at [[Oronsay Priory]], Argyll.<ref name=ODNB/>

==Honours==
;British honours
*'''VC''': [[Victoria Cross]] – ''1864''<ref name=LG22885 />
*'''GCVO''': Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]]
*'''KCB''': Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]]
*'''KCMG''': Knight Commander of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]]
;Foreign honours
*{{flag|Ottoman Empire}}: 2nd class of the [[Order of the Medjidie]] (Ottoman Empire) – ''1882''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25169|page=5168|date=17 November 1882}}</ref>
*{{flag|Kingdom of Prussia}}: Knight 1st class of the [[Order of the Crown (Prussia)|Order of the Crown]] – ''1899'' – in connection with the visit of Emperor [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] to the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court Circular|date=17 February 1900 |page=11 |issue=36068}}</ref>

McNeill's medals, including his VC, are part of the [[Michael Ashcroft|Lord Ashcroft]] Gallery held at the [[Imperial War Museum]], London.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lord Ashcroft VC Collection in the Imperial War Museum|url=https://www.lordashcroftmedals.com/collection/john-carstairs-mcneill-vc/|access-date=14 January 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040905033220/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/strathcl.htm Location of grave and VC medal in Strathclyde]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070728023634/http://www.eastbournemuseums.co.uk/documents/RoyalSussex/RoyalSussexVCWinners.pdf Profile from Eastbourne Museums]

{{s-start}}
{{s-herald}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lynedoch Gardiner|Sir Lynedoch Gardiner]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of Arms of the Order of the Bath]]|years=1898–1904}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Spencer Ponsonby-Fane|Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane]]}}
{{end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, John Carstairs}}
[[Category:People from Argyll and Bute]]
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1904 deaths]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars]]
[[Category:New Zealand Wars recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:People of the Fenian raids]]
[[Category:People of the Red River Rebellion]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Equerries]]
[[Category:Royal Sussex Regiment officers]]
[[Category:British East India Company Army officers]]
[[Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Alumni of Addiscombe Military Seminary]]

John McNeill (British Army officer) - Revision history

Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.