Middletown transcript., 1891-10-08
A VERY BIG MISTAKE.

A VERY BIG MISTAKE,
HANGING OF MIDsHIPMAN SPENCER
ON THE CHARGE OF MUTINY.
NNE bright morning in the spring
Il of 1872 q bright-eyed boy OF
~ seventeen bade farewell tc
mother and sisters and a beautiful
home in Washington city to search fol
fame and promotion as midshipman
in the United States navy. In that
day there was no Naval Academy to
educate the navy's future officers, and
the young aspirants for naval glory
were sent out in squads Of ten Oh
twelve ON the sea-going men of war to
learn their profession by hard knocks
and q smattering Of navigation and
mathematics from a "schoolmaster'
Whoswas enlisted as sort Of warrant
officer ON each ship. The cadet was
Midshipman Spencer, q son Of the
Secretary of the Treasury at that
time. Before entering on his naval
career he had taken part ofa college
course at old Columbian University,
and there be had excelled in athletics,
led in his classes and had been the
mainstay of a Greek letter fraternity,
Together with fourteen other midship-
men he was sent out on q European
cruise in the United States brig
Somers
Everything went we'll with those on
the brig until returning to the United
States BY the +" "south passage" (by
the way Of the West Indies) Midship-
man Spencer, through love of his old
college days, founded chapter OF his
fraternity among the middies on
board. In order to retain the fancied
secrets of the order be made list oi
the names in Greek and placed it in
q razor case for safe keeping. They
held meetings at night that seemed to
some Of the ignorant petty officers
very mysterious and bOded no good tc
their minds. During the discharge Of
his duties Spepcer came in contact
with an obstreperous carpenters mate
who refused to recognize the midship-
mans authority. This resulted finally
in giving the carpenters mate ten
days ia the brig" as the ships jaiI
is called. The carpenters mate wait
ed and watched for chance to re.
venge himself, and it came in very
unexpected manner.
During a long midnight watch
Spencer amused himself BY drawing 9
graphic picture of q pirates cruise tt
the enlisted men. The carpenter
mate stood near and heard it all, SC
did the purser's clerk, and the lattel
innocently asked why Spencer did moi
try it. Spencer jokingly said if thu
men would follow him he would. TAX
ing the razor case from his pocket be
took the fraternity list from it, and on
the back of it made q list of" certain
+" doubtful" and ".enemy" Of tht
ships crew in the first he placed bis
own name and that of nine of ths
crew and two commissioned officers
" to give it tone," he said. They
talked it over for an hour, and the
purser's clerk, Wales, added his name
to the list of certain" pirates.
Here the carpenters mate, Norris
saw his chance for revenge, and thu
next morning be reported to the ex
ecutive officer that a meeting wa
planned with Spencer and Wales a.
the head, and this was Immediately
reported to Capt Mackenzie, who wal
in command. This courageous Officer
was we'll nigh frightened to death
He called all hands to quarters" il
full dress and had the conspiratorI
put in irons. With Spencer wer,
four other midshipmen. Spencer die
not know until he was informed that
be was a mutineer what all the dis
turbance was about.
Norris told the captain ito taxi
the razor case and it would tell. all.
Sure enough there were the tell tale
names and the mysterious Greek or
the other side of q slip of paper. This
TO the captains mind was conclusive
The midshipmen were double ironed
and thrown into bags, neatly sewet
up and locked in the sailroom,
stuffy, ill-aired box in the hold. 4
strong guard was placed over them
with orders to shoot them if they mad
q move. :.
A summary court. martial was call
ed, Spencer was given counsel, bu
owing to the gravity Of the case
the counsel was not allowed to speal
to Spencer, so no defense excep
guilty, as charged" was made at all
Spencer and four Of his friends among
the certain we're sentenced to be hun,
at daybreak. Wales was offered hi
liberty if he would divulge the plo
and, base coward that he was, he liei
his part well and manufactured dia
bolical story Of the intended private
cruise. agf
This was the damaging evidence
a midshipman in q country infeste
(not by pirates) but nien-of. wal
where from the very nature Of thing
a private cruise would be impossible
was to seize q ship (whose crew wer
against him, and with (nine) other
was to roam the seas as Q pirat'
Spencer had a red flag "a red hand