Samuel Cromwell (died December 1, 1842) was a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

and

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

(boatswain's mate) aboard the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

USS ''Somers''. Cromwell was feared by the young apprentices who made up the majority of the ship's crew, and was rumored to have served on a slaver at one time. These rumors lent credence to the idea that he would have been amenable to Philip Spencer's alleged plot to

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

, kill the ship's officers and such of the crew as were not wanted and sail the ''Somers'' either as a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

ship or a slaver. On the homeward leg of a voyage to

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

, Cromwell was put in irons a few days after Spencer and Elisha Small, another sailor rumored to have been part of a

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

's crew. After a meeting of the officers concluded that a mutinous plot existed, all three men were hanged without a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

."Somers" Deck Log 26 Nov 01 Dec 1842
www.history.navy.mil, 27 April 2001, (accessed February 3, 2007.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Samuel 1842 deaths 19th-century American military personnel 19th-century executions of American people Burials at sea Extrajudicial killings by the United States military People executed by the United States military by hanging 19th-century executions by the United States military 1842_crimes_in_the_United_States People executed for mutiny People who died at sea United States Navy sailors Year of birth missing Executed military personnel