Background
John Manley was born in 1734 probably in Boston. He was living there in 1757, his occupation being that of mariner.
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John Manley
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In 1768-69 he commanded the Little Fortescue, trading between Boston and St. Eustatius. When, in the fall of 1775, Washington was fitting out a small fleet to operate against British transports, he chose Manley to command the schooner Lee and commissioned him a captain in the army. Sailing on one of the last days of October, he captured, a month later, the first valuable prize taken in the war, the brigantine Nancy, laden with a cargo of ordnance and military stores. It was a timely capture, for the army at Cambridge was sorely in need of these supplies. Fortune continued to favor him and in December he seized several other ships. In January 1776 Washington made him commander of the fleet, with the schooner Hancock as his flagship. He made several successful cruises in this vessel, but on one occasion was forced to beach her to prevent her capture. On April 17, Congress recognized Manley's services by appointing him a captain in the Continental navy, and later fixed his rank, making him the third officer in the service. Taking command of the new frigate Hancock, he sailed from Boston on May 21, 1777, accompanied by the frigate Boston, Capt. Hector McNeill, and a small fleet of privateers. On June 7, he captured the frigate Fox, 28 guns, but a month later the Hancock and her prize were taken by the enemy. Manley was confined on board a prison-ship in New York harbor until exchanged in March 1778. He was tried by a court martial for the loss of his ship and acquitted. Since Congress had no naval vessel suitable to Manley's rank he entered the privateer service, and in the fall of 1778 made a successful cruise in the Marlborough. Early in 1779 he went to sea in the Cumberland and near Barbados was forced to surrender to the frigate Pomona. Escaping from prison and returning to Boston, he next made two cruises in the Jason, the second of which ended with her capture, after a sharp engagement. Manley was committed to Old Mill Prison, England, and confined there two years before he was exchanged. Returning to the navy, he commanded the frigate Hague and made a cruise in the West Indies that was marked by a brilliant escape from a superior force and by the capture of the Baille in January 1783, the last valuable prize taken by a Continental ship. After the Revolution he continued to reside in Boston.
Achievements
Personality
In the last year of his life, in consideration of the severe injuries he had received in the war, Congress granted him a pension of thirty dollars a month. He was buried with military honors.
Connections
On February 26, 1763, he married Hannah Cheevers. His wife Hannah died in 1786, and on December 14, 1791, his marriage intentions to Friswith Arnold, his second wife, were recorded.
