Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1842-12-29
From, the New York Express.
HORRIBLE NrUTxNY

On board tie y. S. Brig Mdaaipnsan
Spencer hung at The Yard-arm!l
The U. S. brig Somers. Comm nndsr Alexands
SldelI Mackenzie, our readers will remember. ar
rived of this port on Wednesday night. and was
reported in Tho Express Thursday morning.
Little did we think that to this report should
have TO add one Of the most horrible attempts at
mutiny ever known in the Navy.
The Soners sailed from Monrovia. (Liberia,)
| on the night Of the I lth November, and from st
Thomas on the night of The 9th Of Decenlbcr.--'
II seems that 4 horrible scheme was concocted be-
fore her sailing, to murder the nder and
chief officers and turn the vessel into a Pirate
ship. AT the head Of tfls detestbe plot was
MIdShIpman Spencer, one Of the sons Of the pre-
| sent Secretary of War. lie had enlisted some 10
or 20 Of the apprentices, and some Of the men,
but, as IS generally the i'm such inhuman
conspiTaces, the heaTs of some one or moro of
the conspirators failed, before the night of the in-
tended massacre arIvsd-or al all events il was
discovered.
The story we learn is. thar young Spencer Of
fered his paper roll Of the cons piraiors to tho
mas'er-a''arms to sign. who signed it quiet
'hrir suspicion, and then immediately revealed
the facts to the commander. The moment tho
conspirators found out they We're discovered they
met IN body and went 10 the commander, de-
H'Snjing The possession Of the shin. aud young
Spencer presented pistol 10 his heart. All this
was al night, and the chief part oil the crew were =
below when the officers deck, not knowing the
extent OF the conspiracy, immediately closed the
patches and kept all confined who were below.
he officers, after something of Struggle, rs No
overpowered the conspir.,toTs and re-
gaining complete possession Of the shin. Instant
~ caused the ringeaders be tri.d by court
martial. and young Spencer within ten minutes of
The hndng OF the court, was hung at the yard
arm, along with two OF the men. The others
were pu, in irons. and some fourteen or fifteen
we're sent on board Of the North Carolina the
moment the ship came up from sea. A messen-
q lear na dad IL
patches announcing these facts were sent 10
" Washington.
Young Spencer is represented to us as a very
arc-devil from his childhood almost, and there
re many stories told about his freaks, that &C.
urred while he at College at Geneva.
rolher of his readers will recollect, has f.
ured great deal of la;e in the papers here, as
iorger. and In many parts Of the South West,
n pretty nearly the same points of view.
ii is very remarkable that so extraordinary an
Tempt al muiiny, should have been hnshed up
Or two whole days; and it is difficult
get at The exact facts, the officers about the
.avy Yard being kept under sort of injunction
secrecy and the SCmcrs herself being yet am
hored below.
The Somers reached ST. Thomas twenty-three
avs after she left Liberia, and this city i'm eight
avs from ST. Thomas, making the whole passage
thirty one days. She has been absent about
'ree months, made the Azores touched at Ma
ezra fene.ife, Port Baya, Cape Meserado, and
t. Thomas.
The consprators could not have selected for
ienseIves so unfortunate commander as Mr..
lackenzie, whose energy and efficiency Of char
c;er are we'll known, and from whom it would
next to impossible 10 take ship.