Manley Dixon
| Sir Manley Dixon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1760? |
| Died | 8 February 1837 Exmouth, Devon |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Commands held | Plymouth Command |
| Battles/wars |
American Revolutionary War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
American Revolutionary War
French Revolutionary Wars
Admiral Sir Manley Dixon, KCB (1760? – 8 February 1837) was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Born into a military family in the late 1750s or early 1760s, Dixon joined the Navy and served as a junior officer in the American Revolutionary War, gaining an independent command in the last year of the war. Promoted to captain seven years later, Dixon then served in the French Revolutionary Wars in the Channel Fleet and off Ireland until 1798, when he gained command of the 64-gun HMS Lion with the Mediterranean Fleet. Employed in the blockade of Cartagena, on 15 July 1798 Lion fought four Spanish frigates and successfully captured one, Santa Dorothea. Transferred to the Siege of Malta later the same year, Dixon remained off the island for two years, capturing the French ship of the line Guillaume Tell at the Action of 31 March 1800. After the Peace of Amiens, Dixon remained in various active commands but saw no action and later retired, advancing to a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and a full admiral.
According to various sources, Manley Dixon was born in either 1757 or 1760 into a military family: his brother George W. Dixon became a British Army Major-General serving with the Royal Artillery. Joining the Navy at a young age, Dixon served throughout the American Revolutionary War and by 1782 was a commander with the sloop HMS Jamaica in the Caribbean and the following year took over HMS Tobago. He saw little service during the peace of 1783–1793, although in 1790 he was promoted to post captain. His daughter Frances Elizabeth Dixon was born in 1784 and his son Manley Hall Dixon was born in 1786. In 1793 Dixon took command of the sixth rate HMS Porcupine off Ireland and later moved to the frigate HMS Espion in the Channel Fleet. In 1798, Dixon sailed in the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Lion for the Mediterranean Fleet under Vice-Admiral Earl St Vincent based in the Tagus. There he was assigned to the blockade of Cartagena and on 15 July 1798 fought an action against four Spanish frigates, successfully dividing the squadron and capturing the Santa Dorothea.
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