Hancock’s business experience helped manage the enormous paperwork burden required for the war effort. He supervised the purchase of arms, ammunition, and supplies. As a shipping merchant, he was well qualified to begin developing the fledging Continental navy. Hancock’s wife Dolly became concerned that the crushing work load was affecting his health. In January, 1778 he requested a leave of absence. Increasingly jealous of Hancock’s popularity, Samuel Adams opposed a resolution thanking him for service. It would be “unprecedented, impolitick, dangerous.”
