USS Hancock (1776)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Hancock |
| Namesake | John Hancock |
| Launched | 3 June 1776 |
| Fate | Captured by HMS Rainbow, 8 July 1777 |
.svg){kind=small} Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Iris |
| Acquired | 8 July 1777 |
| Fate | Captured by Heron, 9 September 1781 |
.svg){kind=small}  France | |
| Name | Iris |
| Acquired | 9 September 1781[1] |
| Fate | Sold at Rochefort in 1783 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Frigate |
| Tons burthen | 763 bm |
| Length | 136 ft 7 in (41.63 m) keel 115 ft 10 in (35.31 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m) |
| Depth | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Complement | 290 officers and men |
| Armament |
|
The second Hancock was one of the first thirteen frigates of the Continental Navy. A resolution of the Continental Congress dated 13 December 1775 authorized her construction; she was named for the patriot and Continental congressman John Hancock. In her career, she served under the American, British and French flags.
As Hancock
Hancock was built at
On 29 May, the frigates captured a small brig loaded with cordage and duck. The next day they encountered a convoy of transports escorted by the British 64-gun warship Somerset which attempted to disable the weaker Hancock. Manley was saved by a clever and well-timed action by the captain of Boston, which forced Somerset to give up the chase in order to assist the damaged transports.
After escaping from Somerset, the two frigates sailed to the northeast until 7 June when they engaged the Royal Navy's 28-gun frigate Fox, which tried to outsail her American enemies. Hancock gave chase and soon overhauled Fox, which lost her mainmast and suffered other severe damage in the ensuing duel. About an hour later, Boston joined the battle and compelled Fox to strike her colors.[2]
Hancock spent the next few days repairing the prize and then resumed cruising along the coast of New England. East of Cape Sable she took a British sloop with a large cargo of coal, which she towed until the next morning when the approach of a British squadron forced Manley to set the sloop ablaze rather than risk its recapture. The British frigate Flora managed to recapture Fox after a hot action.[2]
Boston became separated from Hancock; left alone, all Manley could do was order every sail flown in a desperate attempt to escape. Early in the morning of 8 July, the British were within striking distance. The warship Rainbow began to score with her bowchasers and followed this with a series of broadsides. The wounded Hancock was thus finally forced to strike her colors after a chase of some 39 hours. She had 239 men of her crew aboard, with 50 having already been captured while steering Fox. She also had Captain Fotheringham of Fox and 40 surviving crewmen in her brig. The others had been transferred to Boston and two requisitioned fishing vessels.[2]
As HMS Iris
Hancock, renamed Iris, served the British Navy so effectively that her new owners boasted of her as "the finest and fastest frigate in the world."
On 21 and 23 April 1780, Iris, Delaware, and
Perhaps the greatest prize taken by Iris was the capture on 28 August 1781 of the American 28-gun ship Trumbull, another of the Continental Navy's best frigates. Trumbull had a crew of nearly 200 men. Iris captured her after an engagement of about an hour in which Iris suffered one man killed and six wounded, while Trumbull had two men killed and ten wounded.[5]
In the aftermath of the Battle of the Chesapeake, British admirals Graves and Hood left the waters of the Chesapeake; the French established patrols of their fastest ships to guard the area. Prior to retreating, Hood dispatched Iris and Richmond to General Cornwallis at Yorktown in an effort to evacuate his army. On 9 September 1781, four French ships intercepted them; Richmond fell back and surrendered first, then the Aigrette,[6] under Captain Traversay, captured Iris. Traversay boarded Iris, assumed command, and held it till the end of war.
As Royal French Iris
On 4 November 1781, Iris, now assigned to the French navy under her old name, sailed from
Fate
The French Navy sold Iris in 1784.[7] Her fate afterwards is unknown.
See also
- List of ships captured in the 18th century
- Bibliography of early American naval history
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
- ^ Roche (2005), p. 260.
- ^ a b c "No. 11798". The London Gazette. 19 August 1777. pp. 2–3.
- ^ "No. 12264". The London Gazette. 22 January 1782. p. 3.
- ^ Nelson 1914, p. 343.
- ^ "No. 12227". The London Gazette. 22 September 1781. p. 1.
- ^ Roche (2005), p. 26.
- ^ Winfield & Roberts (2015), p. 127.
References
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Nelson, William, ed. (1914). "Documents relating to the revolutionary history of the state of New Jersey : extracts from American newspapers relating to New Jersey Nov.1, 1779—Sept.30, 1780". 2nd. Trenton, N.J.: State Gazette Publishing.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5.
- Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
