The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-04-15
TRAGIC FATE.

IIbA1lC fAlE
 The new torpedo boat bought in Ger
 many has been renamed by the navy
 department the Somers. What prompt
 ed the selection of this name is not
 known, but it is not name we'll chos-
 en. There was once a sailing vessel of
 this name, rigged as a brig, and of
 some repute in the navy. It was a long
 time ago. The name of the brig was
 stained by foul deed of her command
 CT, the hanging of Midshipman John
 Spencer, son of the then secretary of war, and two seamen, Samuel Crom- well. ho'sen's mate, and Elisha Small, ordinary seaman The execution took
 place from the yardarm of the brig, in the last days of November, 1S42, off
 the island of St. Thomas, in the West Indies. The Somers was on a cruise
 in those waters. John Spencer, the
 midshipman, was 19 years old. He was
 of a wild disposition. In previous
 cruises on other ships he had drank
 more than was good for him, pitiful
 thing for one so young. This tendency
 toward drink caused Spencer to be somewhat insubordinate when drunk.
 The captain of the Somers, Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, could hardly keep
 him within bounds by the ordinary
 methods of naval discipline. In conse-
 quence the captain formed feeling of ill-feeling for the midshipman. While
 off St. Thomas a seaman reported to Captain Mackenzie that Spencer had
 divulged to him a plan to kill the off, ha cl,s ,s,N ed, ,A
 reer of piracy. The captain said noth- ing at the time, but watched Spencer for the next few days. In that time he
 was discovered studying chart of the West Indies and paying attention to
 details of the handling of the ship. which did not come within the scope of his duty The captain then called Spen, cer into his cabin, accused him of an l intention to seize the ship, and the plot as he had been told of it. Spencer, self | possessed and sober, said it was all | joke He was put in irons and his lock- CT searched. In the locker was found a sheet of paper with strange characters upon it. Another midshipman said | these characters were Greek; he was able to read that the paper comprised list of the crew, divided into two. columns, one headed "sure," the other | doubtful" Cromwell and Small, who l had been seen in conversation with | Spencer, were also put in irons. Cap- | tain Mackenzie called a council of his officers, discussed the affair, and asked | their opinion. They found the three
 men "to have been guilty of full and | determined intention to commit mu- | tiny on this vessel of most atrocious | character" Though no overt act had | been committed, they recommended | that the mutineers be put to death. The | captain said he would hang them at | once and so notified the prisoners. | Cromwell protested his innocence, and
 Small requested that the particulars of his death be concealed from his old | mother Spencer said he was not ready | to die, and begged to be shot instead of being hanged. He was not allowed to write, but the captain, at Spencer's dictation, wrote a message to the mid shipman's father, the secretary of war. An hour was given for such prepara- tion for eternity as the men themselves l felt called upon to make. They were then unbound and taken under guard to the gangway. They stepped out on | the plank, which was held up by a | flashing, the nooses were placed about
 their necks, and at their request the
 usual black caps were placed over their | heads. The flag of the nation. was then l hoisted to the peak, the signal gun fir l ed, at which cutlass cut the rope | which held the plank and the three | men swung off. At the same instant l the captain called for three cheers for the old flag from the crew and then | three cheers for God Almighty. Spen-
 cer's body was put in box and the 1 others in weighted hammocks and all
 were dropped into the sea. When the | Somers came into the port of New York
 a court of inquiry was held. Commo- | dore Stewart, grandfather of Charles | Stewart Parnell, was presiding officer of the court. By vote of to the &C., | tion of Captain Mackenzls was approv- l ed. The affair created much discussion. | Captain Mackenzie's summary disposi- | tion of the case on slight evidence was | condemned. He died a few years there- | after, as is said, leading an unhappy l existence, the sentence weighing upon l his conscience. The secretary of the | navy, Usher, who approved the findings of the court of inquiry, was killed soon 1 after by the bursting of gun on the | Princeton, which President Tyler and | others of the cabinet were inspecting. | Detroit Journal.