DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, I'm drawing straight from the official marker — so let's give James Clinton Neill his proper due. Now there's a name that doesn't always get top billing in the Texas story, but pull up a chair, because this man's life touched nearly every chapter of it. James Clinton Neill was born in 1790 in North Carolina.
He came to Texas in 1831, riding in with Stephen F. Austin's third colony, and put down roots in Milam County. Right away he was the kind of man his neighbors trusted — trusted enough to send him to the Convention of 1833 to represent them.
Then the revolution started crackling. On September 28, 1835, Neill entered the Texas Army as Captain of artillery. By December he'd been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
He was in charge of artillery at the Siege of Bexar — and when the dust settled on that fight, Sam Houston himself appointed Neill to the commandancy of San Antonio and the Bexar District. That commandancy included a certain set of fortifications you may have heard of. The Alamo.
Here's where the story turns on a single word: family. In February, Neill received word of illness in his family. He left the Alamo, placing it in the command of William B.
Travis. Because of that, James Clinton Neill was not among the defenders who lost their lives on March 6. He wasn't out of the fight, though.
Not by a long measure. Come April, Neill was in charge of an artillery unit with Sam Houston's army. On April 20 — one day before the Battle of San Jacinto — he was wounded in a skirmish.
One day. He came that close to that field. The years after the revolution kept him busy.
He was appointed Indian Commissioner in 1844. When Navarro County was created from Robertson County in 1846, Neill was already living right there in what would become that county — and he and two partners donated land for the county seat itself. He and his wife, Margaret Harriet, raised three children together.
James Clinton Neill died in March 1848 and is buried in Grimes County. Captain, Lieutenant Colonel, commandant of the Alamo's district, artillery man who was wounded the day before San Jacinto — this man was woven into Texas at nearly every seam. The marker stands in Navarro County, on ground he helped put on the map.
Literally.
What the marker says
Born in 1790 in North Carolina, James Clinton Neill came to Texas in 1831 with Stephen F. Austin's third colony. He settled in Milam County, and represented his neighbors at the Convention of 1833. On September 28, 1835, Neill entered the Texas Army as Captain of artillery, and was promoted to Lt. Colonel in December. He was in charge of artillery at the Siege of Bexar, and soon thereafter was appointed by Sam Houston to the commandancy of San Antonio and the Bexar District, including the fortifications at the Alamo. When he received word in February of illness in his family, Neill left the Alamo in the command of William B. Travis, and so was not among the defenders who lost their lives on March 6. In charge of an artillery unit with Sam Houston's army in April, Neill was wounded in a skirmish on April 20, one day before the Battle of San Jacinto. He was appointed Indian Commissioner in 1844. Neill was living in present Navarro County when it was created from Robertson County in 1846. He and two partners donated land for the county seat. James Clinton Neill and his wife, Margaret Harriet, were the parents of three children. Neill died in March 1848, and is buried in Grimes County. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986