The Somers Affair was an incident involving the American

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 ...

during a training mission in 1842 under Captain

Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Alexander Slidell Mackenzie (April 6, 1803 – September 13, 1848), born Alexander Slidell, was a United States Navy officer, famous for his 1842 decision to execute three suspected mutineers aboard a ship under his command in the Somers Mutin ...

(1803-1848). Midshipman Philip Spencer (1823-1842) was accused of plotting to overthrow Mackenzie and use the ''Somers'' for

piracy 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 ...

. Spencer was arrested and executed, along with two other alleged co-conspirators, Samuel Cromwell and Elisha Small, when the ship was just thirteen days away from shore. The three were hanged without a court-martial after the ship's officers agreed with Mackenzie's judgment. The ''Somers'' then returned to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. An official inquiry and a court martial both cleared Mackenzie. There was enormous public attention, most of it unfavorable to Mackenzie, but he remained in the Navy until his death. The case is particularly notable since Philip Spencer was the son of

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

John C. Spencer John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788 – May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President of the United States, President John Tyler. After graduating from Union Co ...

Background

The brig USS ''Somers'' had been newly constructed for a naval "apprentice program" aimed at resolving a serious shortage of manpower for the Navy. It was intended to take children considered “the sweepings of the street,” including orphans and the poor of a nation ravaged by a long economic depression and train them as Navy personnel. This was in keeping with centuries of naval tradition, which held that crew and officers should be trained in their duties while at sea. Of the 120 crew on board, ninety were in their teens, with half of those between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. Under Captain Mackenzie, they were constantly flogged for "infractions" such as not being fast enough, being "disorderly", not being clean or neat enough, disobeying orders, and engaging in

masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

. Philip Spencer, son of Secretary of War

, was commissioned as one of the ''Somerss

midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afric ...

after he ran away to work on a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

following an abortive stay at

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

(where he was a founding member of the

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity consisting of active chapters at 34 American colleges and universities. Chi Psi was founded in 1841 at Union College in Schenectady, New York. It was the first Greek-letter organization to b ...

fraternity in May 1841). His father located him and convinced him that if a life on the sea was what he wanted, he should live it as "a gentleman"; i.e., as a commissioned officer. Considered "wild and uncontrollable despite displaying signs of high intelligence" during his brief attendance at Geneva College (now Hobart College), his naval career started poorly after he struck a superior officer while serving on the USS ''North Carolina''. Due to his father's influence, he was allowed to resign in disgrace rather than face a court-martial and was quietly reassigned to the ''Somers''. Spencer proved to be a popular officer, indulging the young sailors in their misbehavior and giving them gifts of money, tobacco, and alcohol. Captain Mackenzie and the other officers, by contrast, held him in contempt for modeling poor behavior to the crew, thus impeding the primary mission of the ''Somerss voyage.

Incident

On 26 November, Captain Mackenzie was informed by his first lieutenant,

Guert Gansevoort Commodore Guert Gansevoort (7 June 1812 – 15 July 1868) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Biography He was born into an aristocratic Dutch Americans, Dutch American family in ...

, that the ''Somerss

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

, H.M. Heiskill, had learned from ship's steward J.W. Wales that a

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, ...

was being planned by Spencer. Captain Mackenzie instructed Gansevoort to watch Spencer and the crew for evidence of the suspected mutiny. The lieutenant later reported to Mackenzie that Spencer had been observed taking part in secret nightly conferences with

Seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

Elisha Small and Boatswain's Mate Samuel Cromwell. Captain Mackenzie confronted Spencer with the mutiny allegation that evening. Spencer's reply was that he and Wales were merely joking, but this only further angered the captain. He ordered that Spencer be clapped in irons and held on the quarterdeck while his locker was searched. Papers written in English, but using Greek letters, were found; they were promptly translated by Midshipman Henry Rodgers.

Spencer's secret note

:"CERTAIN: P. Spencer, E. Andrews, D. McKinley, Wales :"DOUBTFUL: Wilson (X), McKee (X), Warner, Green, Gedney, Van Veltzor, Sullivan, Godfrey, Gallia (X), Howard (X) :"Those doubtful marked (X) will probably be induced to join before the project is carried into execution. The remainder of the doubtful will probably join when the thing is done, if not, they must be forced. If any not marked down wish to join after the thing is done we will pick out the best and dispose of the rest. :" NOLENS VOLENS: Sibley, Van Brunt, Blackwell, Clarke, Corney, Garratrantz, Strummond, Witmore, Waltham, Nevilles, Dickinson, Riley, Scott, Crawley, Rodman, Selsor, The Doctor :"Wheel: McKee :"Cabin: Spencer, Small, Wilson :"Wardroom: Spencer :"Steerage: Spencer, Small, Wilson :"Arm Chest: McKinley" As evidence of a conspiracy, however, the document had several problems. For starters, nobody named “E. Andrews” was aboard the ''Somers''. Cromwell, a leading suspect, was not listed, while Wales — the man who had brought the story to his superiors’ attention — was listed as a “certain” conspirator. A mast failed and damaged some sail rigging on 27 November. The timing and circumstances were regarded as suspicious by Captain Mackenzie, and Cromwell, the largest man on the crew, was questioned about his alleged meetings with Spencer. Cromwell said: "It was not me, sir – it was Small." Small was questioned and admitted that he and Spencer had met in secret. Both Cromwell and Small joined Spencer in being restrained on the quarterdeck. On 28 November, the wardroom steward, Henry Waltham, was

flogged Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on a ...

for having stolen

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

for Spencer; Captain Mackenzie then summoned the crew and revealed what he claimed was a plot by Spencer to have them murdered. Waltham was flogged again on 29 November for asking a sailor to steal three bottles of wine. Sailmaker's Mate Charles A. Wilson was caught attempting to break into the ship's armory that afternoon, and two crewmen, McKinley and Green, missed muster when their watch was called at midnight.

Execution

Four more men were restrained on the morning of 30 November: Wilson, McKinley, Green, and Cromwell's friend, Alexander McKie. Captain Mackenzie then consulted with the four wardroom officers (First Lieutenant Gansevoort, Passed Assistant Surgeon L.W. Leecock, Purser Heiskill, and Acting Sailing Master M.C. Perry) and three oldest midshipmen (Henry Rodgers, Egbert Thompson, and Charles W. Hayes), asking their opinion as to the best course of action. The seven convened in the wardroom to interview members of the crew. On 1 December, the officers reported that they had "come to a cool, decided, and unanimous opinion" that Spencer, Cromwell, and Small were "guilty of a full and determined intention to commit a mutiny;" and recommended that the three be summarily executed. Spencer further stated that the accused conspirators "had been pretending piracy". Different accounts state that the captain “badgered” the officers to quickly convict the accused. The three men were hanged that day and

buried at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship, boat or aircraft. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different ...

. In response to others stating that they were only thirteen days to home port and could have just waited to try them at shore, the captain noted the fatigue of his officers, the smallness of the vessel, and the inadequacies of the shipboard confinement to justify the executions.

Aftermath

''Somers'' docked at St. Thomas for resupply on 5 December and returned to New York on 14 December. She remained there during a naval court of inquiry which investigated the alleged mutiny and subsequent executions. The court exonerated Mackenzie, as did a subsequent

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 ...

, held at his request to avoid a trial in civil court. Nevertheless, the general populace remained skeptical.Morison, 1967. President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

respected the verdict, but ordered that Mackenzie's record state that he was not "honorably acquitted", but that instead the allegations were "not proven." No charges were brought against the other alleged mutineers, who were quietly released. Mackenzie remained on active service until his death from heart disease several years later, while Lt. Gansevoort became a captain in his own right and was promoted to the rank of Commodore during the

Mexican American War Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

. Thirty-five of the new apprentices later deserted the ''Somers'' while she was in port, and the apprentice system, which the brig was intended to establish, was abandoned. Instead, the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

was founded in 1845 to oversee the training of new personnel.

Notes

External links

1995 documentary "The Curse of the Somers" by The Somers Documentary Film Project

"Mutiny Of 1842 (USS Somers)" Documentary by George Belcher

DEFENCE of ALEXANDER SLIDELL MACKENZIE, COMMANDER OF THE U.S. RIG Somers, BEFORE THE COURT MARTIAL HELD AT THE NAVY YARD, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: TRIBUNE OFFICE, 160 NASSAU STREET, 1843. {{DEFAULTSORT:Somers (1842) Mutinies in the United States Navy United States military scandals Extrajudicial killings by the United States military Events that led to courts-martial