The Three Navies of the Frigate Hancock
In the U.S. Navy’s history, five ships have been named after John Hancock, whose signature is prominent on the Declaration of Independence. The first was the schooner Speedwell,, which was inducted into the Continental Navy in 1775 but returned to its owner after a few months.
The second Hancock was a 32-gun frigate commissioned into the Continental Navy in 1776. After being captured by the Royal Navy, the Continental Congress commissioned the third Hancock into service in 1778. She was renamed Alliance, and the 36-gun frigate served with distinction until she was sold in 1783 when the Continental Navy was disbanded.
In 1902, the Department of War purchased the S.S. Arizona and renamed the passenger liner as the U.S.S. Hancock. Designated AP-3, the ship served until 1925.
The last ship to be named Hancock was the Essex-class carrier. Designated CV-19, it was originally named Ticonderoga, but before it was launched in 1943, it was renamed Hancock. It served until the vessel was sold for scrap in 1976.
Back to the frigate Hancock that was commissioned in 1776. It was one of 13 frigates the Continental Congress authorized on December 13th, 1775. Built in Newburyport, MA, the 860-ton Hancock was armed with twenty-four 12-pounders and eight 6-pounders.
On May 28th, 1776, seven days after Hancock left Boston under Captain John Manley, in company with the 30-gun frigate Boston, they captured a brig loaded with naval stores. The next day, Hancock and Boston encountered a Royal Navy troop convoy escorted by the 64-gun third-rated ship of the line, H.M.S. Somerset, which gave chase.
The faster and more maneuverable Continental Navy frigates sailed northeast looking for prizes. They came across H.M.S. Fox, 28-guns. Manley caught Fox, and his ship’s gunfire toppled Fox’s mainmast. When Boston arrived on the scene, the British captain hauled down his colors.
It took several days to make the battered Fox sailable. En route back to Boston, Hancock and Boston captured a British sloop loaded with coal. However, seeing another Royal Navy squadron, Manley had the sloop set on fire.
Unfortunately, with a small prize crew on Fox, the Royal Navy brig Flora recaptured the ship. Now undermanned, Boston and Hancock came across H.M.S. Rainbow, 44-guns. The chase in which Boston escaped took 39 hours before Manley was forced to surrender Hancock on July 8th, 1777.
The Royal Navy renamed Hancock as H.M.S. Iris and, after she was repaired, boasted that they had the “finest and fastest frigate in the world.” As Iris, she captured the small Continental Navy frigate Trumbull, 24-guns, on August 8th, 1781.
Hancock’s career in the Royal Navy was short. Later in 1781, the French squadron in the Caribbean captured Iris. At this point, she became the Royal French Navy Frigate Iris.
In 1793, during the First French Revolutionary War, the British found Iris when they invaded Southern France and captured Toulon. Anchored in the harbor, the American-built frigate was without masts and being used to store gunpowder. When the British left Toulon in December, the Royal Navy blew Iris up.
As a footnote, Boston had an interesting career of her own which ended when she was captured by the British when Charleston surrendered on May 12th,1780. She too was inducted into the Royal Navy as H.M.S. Charlestown and served until she was sold to be broken up in 1783.
1970 E. Tufnell painting of the frigate Hancock