Neville was born in
Portsmouth,
Virginia and later entered the
Naval Academy at
Annapolis,
Maryland, in 1886 chiefly because no one else in his district desired an appointment to Annapolis that year. After graduating in 1890 and following a two-year cruise aboard a warship, which was the practice of the era, was commissioned a Marine Corps
second lieutenant. At the outbreak of the
Spanish–American War, 2nd Lt. Neville was assigned to the 1st Battalion, hurriedly organized under
Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Huntington for service in
Cuba. The battalion staged a daring attack under heavy gunfire at
Guantanamo Bay, established a beachhead and routed enemy forces in that area. For outstanding valor and leadership in that action, Lt. Neville was
brevetted a
captain in the Marine Corps on June 13, 1898. He was later awarded the
Brevet Medal, following its creation in 1921. Promoted to the permanent rank of captain a few months after the war, Neville was assigned to a battalion of Marines ordered to
China to relieve the hard-pressed garrison at
Peking during the
Boxer Rebellion. He took part in four battles in that area and was again commended for his gallantry. ; Col.
John A. Lejeune; Col.
Littleton W. T. Waller, Commanding; and Maj.
Smedley Butler. In the
Philippine Islands not long afterwards, he was appointed military governor of
Basilan Province. Following that assignment he served in Cuba,
Nicaragua,
Panama and
Hawaii. During the
United States occupation of Veracruz, he was in command of the
2nd Advance Base Regiment. While in command of Marines landing at
Veracruz,
Mexico, on April 21, 1914, he displayed conspicuous gallantry. Lieutenant Colonel Neville was awarded the Medal of Honor for his distinguished conduct during the
Vera Cruz intervention. He, Major General
Smedley D. Butler and Major General
David Dixon Porter were the only individuals to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Brevet Medal. In 1915, Neville returned to China where he was chosen to command the combined Allied guard at Peking, serving in that position until 1917. He was promoted to
colonel in August 1916. On January 1, 1918, almost nine months after the
American entry into World War I, he was placed in command of the
5th Marine Regiment in France, succeeding
Hiram I. Bearss. The 5th Marines, together with the
6th Marine Regiment, formed part of the
4th Marine Brigade. In May he moved his regiment into action at
Belleau Wood where
Germany's big drive was decisively halted. In July, after handing over the 5th Marines to
Logan Feland, Neville's command was enlarged to include the 4th Marine Brigade, taking over from
James Harbord, which he directed during the remaining days of the war and during its occupation service in Germany. He was promoted to
brigadier general in 1918. After service with the
Army of Occupation in Germany, Brig. Gen. Neville and his brigade returned to the United States in July 1919. Promoted to
major general in August 1920, he served as assistant to the commandant of the Marine Corps and later became commanding general,
Fleet Marine Force with headquarters in
San Francisco. He also commanded the Marine Barracks,
Quantico,
Virginia. Maj. Gen. Neville succeeded Maj. Gen.
John A. Lejeune as Commandant of the Marine Corps on March 5, 1929. Maj. Gen. Neville's sudden death on July 8, 1930, at
Edgewater Beach, Maryland, while in office as commandant, closed one of the most brilliant military careers of his day. General Butler lamented the death of "my dear old friend," labeling Lejeune, Neville, and himself "the three musketeers of the Marines." He was buried at
Arlington National Cemetery, in
Arlington, Virginia. ==Awards and honors==