The Capture of Nancy
28 NOVEMBER 1775
THE CAPTURE OF NANCY
As GEN George Washington watched Boston from the Dorchester Heights during the Fall of 1775, he noted how easily the British kept their forces supplied by sea. While Washington’s army scrounged for food, uniforms, gunpowder, lead, and other essentials, British cargo vessels came and went with impunity from the harbor below. The Continental Navy was months away from being able to field warships, so Washington took matters into his own hands, sending COL John Glover to charter New England fishing schooners laid up for the winter. These were armed and sent in pursuit of British supply ships, hoping both to harass the enemy and to capture needed supplies for his own army. One such chartered schooner was the 74-ton Two Brothers from Beverly, Massachusetts. Four 4-pounders were mounted and a dozen smaller guns. She set sail under her commissioned name LEE on 29 October, skippered by the patriot and seasoned local captain John Manley.
To this point the converted schooners of “Washington’s Navy” had been a disappointment to His Excellency, having failed to capture any prizes of significant value. But on this day a dedicated Manley sailed boldly into Boston’s main shipping channel to chase down the 80-ton sloop Polly, with her cargo of turnips and Spanish-milled dollars. Close enough to the harbor to make out the cross-trees of His Majesty’s warships, Manley was sure he had been spotted. He hurried Polly to Beverly, but when no warships were seen coming out, Manley slipped back to the entrance to Boston Harbor. Soon the 250-ton brig Nancy tacked into view.
Manley noted through his glass that thought the brig was three times his size, she appeared lightly armed. He recognized that a cannonade this close to the harbor would rouse the entire British fleet, but he ordered LEE to close nonetheless–keeping a weather eye for stirrings of a fight from the brig. For her part, Nancy had battled terrible gales on her crossing from England, and when her weatherworn master, Robert Hunter, observed the schooner he assumed she bore the harbor pilot. He luffed his sails and raised a welcoming signal. Manley played this serendipity perfectly, sending eight men in a longboat with their weapons hidden. They swarmed across with muskets cocked. Hunter was taken completely by surprise and surrendered without a shot. Manley whisked this prize north, again without any stirrings from Boston Harbor.
In one capture Manley proved the value of Washington’s naval efforts. Nancy yielded 2000 muskets, 100,000 flints, tons of lead, and 10,000 cannonballs, along with bayonets, tents, cartridge boxes, and camp kettles sufficient to field 2000 troops. The windfall proved invaluable to Washington’s army!
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 2 DEC 22
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 4 “L-M”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1969, p. 80.
Hearn, Chester G. George Washington’s Schooners: The First American Navy. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1995, pp. 92-95.
Nelson, James L. George Washington’s Secret Navy: How the American Revolution Went to Sea. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2008, pp. 208-15.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: Too boot, Nancy bore a new 13-inch brass mortar which was positioned in the American defenses awaiting the opportunity to give back a measure of colonial devotion to King George III! The mortar had been inscribed with the King’s initials, “G.R.,” which were quickly replaced with “G.W.”
Like most of the ships in “Washington’s Navy,” LEE was named for a colonial hero of the day, in this case MGEN Charles Lee, a subordinate commander in Washington’s army.
