General James George Smith Neill was a Scottish officer who served the East India Company during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. He gained a reputation for ruthlessness against the native Indian population, both suspected rebel sympathizers and innocent civilians. He was killed when he was shot in the head during the advance on the city of Lucknow.
Canon appearances
"The Adventure of the Crooked Man"
Corporal Henry Wood was enlisted in the 117th Regiment, along with Sergeant James Barclay, at the time of the outbreak of the rebellion in 1857. Both men had been wooing Miss Nancy Devine, the daughter of the color-sergeant in the battallion. When the rebellion broke out the regiment was trapped in a place Wood called Bhurtee, surrounded by nearly ten thousand rebels. General Neill's army was approaching their position at that time, so Wood volunteered to break out of the enemy lines to inform General Neill of their predicament. He was supplied with a supposedly safe route by Sergeant Barclay; however, Barclay betrayed his romantic rival, and ensured Wood was captured by a group of rebels. General Neill arrived the day following his capture to relieve the city, but the rebels took Wood with them in retreat and thus he was not rescued.