The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-04-20
GHASTLY TALE OF THE SEAS
WHYA NEW TORPEDO BOAT HAS AN
 ILL CHOSEN NAME.

Hanging of Three Alleged Mutineers on the United States Brig somers Fifty-six Years sAso-witnessed by Two Now Ha- the Brig as Related by One of Them
 Tragic End of the Brig and Solne of ucr Officers.
 We published few days ago Q very interesting article from the Detroit Journal on the navy departments re- naming the new torpedo boat recently bought in Germany, christening it the Somers The article in question spoke of the name Somers as not being well chosen as the name of the new torpedo boat, and then told of a tragic affair which occurred on board a brig named Somers in the United States navy more than fifty years ago. This was the hanging of young 'Midshipman John Spencer, son of the then secretary of WcI, dIO tWO UI HIS COlIli lOl dil alleged mutiny, which, from all the ev- idence, appeared later to have been a trivial matter.
 The Detroit Journal article is in the main right as far as it goes, but there is much more in connection with the brig Somers besides the hanging-oth- CT events which added to her tragic history.
 We are enabled to give the whole his tory of the brig and the exact details of the hanging, owing to the fact that a New Havener, now in his seventy third year-Mr. K.--was a naval ap- prentice on board the Somers when the hanging occurred, and gives us the en- tire story of this and the subsequent tragic events. There was also another New Havener aboard the brig at the time, named Edward Lego. MT. K. says that the old brig Somers was named from celebrated fighting com- \ mander in the navy in those days, and that the hanging occurred on Novem- Der 27, 1S42. The ill-feeling between Commander Mckenzie of the Somers and young Spencer had originated be- fore Spencer came aboard the ship, and Mckenzie had previously endeavored to have him transferred to another ship The divulging of the alleged plot did not occur off St. Thomas Island, as was stated by the Detroit Journal but out on the ocean, and 1t was not until four days after the hanging that the Lrig arrived at St. Thomas.
 MT. K. states that the alleged plot was discovered by the purser's stew ard, man named Wales, at ''quar- ters" on November 27 The United States brig-of-war Somers sailed from the port of New York on the 18th of September, 1S42 On the 9th of Octo- Der the brig arrived at Madeira and from thence proceeded to Liberia, on the west coast of Africa, with dis patches for the commanding officer of the United States sloop-of-war Van- dalia, which, it was supposed, would be found there. The Vandalia was not found there. On the 11th of November the brig left Liberia for the United States via St. Thomas, where she ar- rived on the 4th of December.
 After the alleged plot had been re- ported to Commander Mckenzie, he called Spencer to the main mast and said: Spencer, you aspire to take command of this vessel" Under or ders from Mckenzie the sailors then searched the handkerchief about Spencer's neck, for some papers said to contain the plot or plan of seizing the vessel, but did not find them. Spencer then gave his sword up to the captain. He was then put in double irons, taken back on the quarter deck ,;f O no IT. riage, his face pointing to the stern of the vessel with a watch placed over him, and he was not allowed to look either way. If he did he was to have his brains blown out. The next morn- ing Small was arrested and served in the same way as Spencer, and at night Cromwell was arrested. All were plac- ed in double irons There was much commotion going on on deck in getting LID rigging and really nobody but the officers knew what 1t was for. It be- gun to be noised about deck. however, that the prisoners were to be hung. Finally all hands, sick included, were piped lon deck.' The matches were put on. Then the boys hauled up the mainsail and furled it. Two blocks were lashed to the mainyard on the starboard side about six feet apart, and the rope led to the block fastened on the deck Then two whips were rove through the blocks,one through each and hauled inboard, and the same was done on the portside for one whip. All hands were then called. The com mander some time before had gone to Spencer and said: You were about to take my life, the lives of others aboard this vessel, and if you have any word to send to your father or mother, you will have ten minutes in which to do it. This was the first knowledge Spencer had of his awful impending fate. Midshipman Thompson stood, watch in hand, to keep the time, but it was finally nearer an hour before the execution took place. In the mean time the commander had been to the other condemned men and told them the same that he had told Spencer. The condemned men were then taken to the gangway and Mackenzie had quite a talk with Spencer. Spencer said all he had done was done as a mere joke, and that Cromwell was wholly innocent and had nothing to do with the alleged plot, and he begged pzio tn ho1iouo i'm, bo