| Capture of USSHancock | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War | |||||||
.jpg) Painting ofFox being recaptured during the battle byFrancis Holman, 1779 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Great Britain | United States | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| George Collier | John Manley Hector McNeill | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2 frigates 1 brig | 3 frigates | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 2 frigates captured | ||||||
The American frigateUSS Hancock was captured by the BritishRoyal Navy in a 1777 naval battle during theAmerican Revolutionary War. The two highest ranking naval officers of the war battled each other off the coast ofNova Scotia.HMS Rainbow (44 guns), under the command of British AdmiralGeorge Collier, captured USSHancock (34 guns), under the command of CaptainJohn Manley.
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, Americans regularly attackedNova Scotia by land and sea. Americanprivateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding many of the coastal communities,[1] such as the numerous raids onLiverpool and onAnnapolis Royal.[2]
On 7 JuneUSS Hancock andUSS Boston engaged theRoyal Navy's 28-gun frigateFox, which tried to outsail her American enemies.Hancock gave chase and soon overhauledFox, which lost hermainmast and suffered other severe damage in the ensuing duel. About an hour later,Boston joined the battle and compelledFox tostrike her colors.[3]
Hancock spent the next few days repairing the prize and then resumed cruising along the coast ofNew England. East ofCape Sable, Nova Scotia she took a British coalsloop, which she towed until the next morning when the approach of a Britishsquadron prompted Manley to set the coal sloop ablaze and leave her adrift.[3]
On 8 July, Manley was inHancock accompanied byBoston andFox when they arrived at the mouth ofHalifax Harbour. Collins was inHMS Rainbow (44 guns) accompanied by thefrigateHMS Flora (32 guns) and thebrigHMS Victor (18 guns) and they chased the American vessels. The American vessels scattered.
Boston, under command of Captain McNeil, easily escaped. When McNeil returned to Boston he wascourt-martialled for abandoning Manley and dismissed from the Navy.Flora recapturedFox after a hot action and brought the vessel into Halifax.
Rainbow andVictor gave chase toHancock. Early in the morning 9 July 1777 the British were within striking distance ofHancock.Rainbow began to score with herbow chasers and followed with a series of broadsides.Hancock was thus finally forced to strike her colors after a chase of some 39 hours. She had 239 men of her crew aboard, 50 some being onFox. She also had Captain Fotheringham ofFox and 40 of his people on board. The rest were onBoston and a couple of fishing vessels.[4] Collins took the American vessels back to Halifax. The British renamed the American vesselIris. Manley and his crew were imprisoned for months and then released back to Boston.[5][6][7]
American privateers remained a threat to Nova Scotian ports for the rest of the war. For example, after a failed attempt to raidChester, Nova Scotia, American privateers struck again in theRaid on Lunenburg in 1782.