The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-17
HANGING or PHILIP SPENCER.
DAUGHTER or MAN VINO STRUNG
HIM UP rs DEAD.
execution Of the Lad, whose Father was
Secretary Of War. and Two Companions
Made a big Stir Alleged Plot to start
Mutlny-was Only q Joke, Spencer Said.

M0nt n blk -ShllCBSu EIut W 1tBE
Mutlny-Was Only a Joke, Spencer Said.
The death at Morristown, N. j., on July
"a NJ Harriet Duer Slidell Mackenzie, re.
oaIls n stirring incident In the life Of her
tother Commander Alexander s Mackenzie,
who was in charge Of the United States
hrir of war Somers whom the ~so-called
m,,tiny OF 1912 occurred and when Philip
snencer, the son of President Tyler's Score
tary Of War, and two other lads were hanged
a, the yardarm for completely In the alleged
Mot to kill the officers and seize the ship
With a view to turning pirates. The affair
aroused the whole country when the details
became known, but Mackenzie was acquitted
when tried by court-martial. Mackenzie
Is said to have died insane. and his heu-
tenant, ~Gansevoort, who first brought him
the story Of the plot to seize the ship, was
reported to have died by his own hands.
Mackenzie was a young officer of some
note both through his family's prominence
and through the publication Of q book he
wrote about travels in Spain. The Somers
sailed from New York with a crew Of 100
men and carried in addition 90 apprentices
who had been sent out to be schooled for
service in the navy. Among them was
Young Spencer, a wild, harum-scarum lad,
whose father had put him in the navy with
the hope Of tanning him down. He was the
life OF the ship and a great favorite OF the
seamen, out the commander mistrusted
him because he had acquired the vices OF
Idle rich young men and he had been sent
back home in disgrace from the South
American squadron for intemperance.
n. No,or,Har oa 1910 Dttraor IynfolaI
was told by his steward, Mr.. Wales, Of the
details Of the alleged plot to seize the vessel.
He said Spencer had told him on the night
before, under an oath Of secrecy. chat he and
several others had bound themselves to-
eether in a cabal to murder the officers and
most of the crew and to sail the Spanish
Main. Spencer told bin, he said, that
he was to have ten others with him and
that they would sail to the Isle Of Pines,
where he had a number Of confederates,
and thence on a ~freebooters' cruise The
boys plan was to attack 40 vessel that he
was not certain to capture, and to souttle
every prize, sparing only the lives OF such
women as the crew wished to take with them.
Spencer asserted to his dying day that
the story was merely a hoax. which he told
to Wales, the landlubber and the butt Of
the ship, just to have fun with him. II that
was the case 1t turned out to DO q serious
joke for the boy. The purser repeated
what he had heard to Lieut.. Gansevoort,
who in turn carried the information to
Capt. Mackenzie. At first the commander
was inoredulous AID ridiculed the so-ealled
plot as a romance ooncocted by the boy
after reading pirate tales. At that time
tko~o ,,o-o No elena ~ n vnpf;pu and tho
discipline, as the log Of the vessel showed.
was excellent. But after a while the oom-
mander seemed to have got scared, and he
detailed Gansevoort to watch Spencer.
The Lieutenant made q report that caused
the Captain to believe that there was q
real conspiracy on foot. The report en-
bodied fourteen charges aimed at Spencer,
some Of them so trivial that no attention
would be paid to them In ordinary times
but they convinced Mackenzie that the
boy intended to start q mutiny and that
the lives OF all the officers were In danger.
Tho report charged among other things,
that Spencer had tried to consult the chart,
had asked about the Isle Of Pines, had tried
to learn the rate Of the chron ometer, had
conferences with some Of the crew.
had sworn pretty roundly when talking
OF Macken zie, had employed Wales to steal
brandy from the ward room mess, on which,
the Captain alleged, he got drunk, and
had practised palmistry aboard, Pre-
the untimely and tragic death OF
one man. Moreover. the report said,
Spencer has exercised an unheard Of power
Of throwing his jaws out Of joint and by
of the bones playing a variety
- ---A IL. g. xhA laloofton a~l a
auction Of the crew.
Mackenzie was always frank to admit
that he did not like the boy. There were
two Of the Captains relatives aboard who
also had no love for him. The Captain
afterward testified that he feared that
Spencer would oontaminate the morals
OF the crew and for that reason he had
foTs s ams'e esiie % o keep the ene er1 0t oe The beaI boat oe
was of the coast Of Africa on the return
trip when the so-called plot was discovered.
When Spencer was accused by the CAP
tain OF being at the head OF. the conspiracy
the boy laughed and said the whole thing
vas only a Joke.
Well, it is a joke that may cost you your
life,' replied the captain gnmly. There
upon the youth was arrested, double ironed,
b ndcuf.ed and forced TO crawl feet first
into a bag. He lay on the deck In this con
dition until the day ne was hanged. The
bag was closed around his neck in the day
and over his head at night. Besides there
was always a sentinel on duty, day and
night, with orders to shoot the prisoner
II he attempted to speak to any n o
When the effects OF Spencer were searched
a piece of paper was found on which was
In Greek characters the names
Of Spencer, Wales and Mckinley, the boy
who made up the officers cots, n the
name Of Andrews, which was borne by
no one aboard. Following these were ten
marked doubtful and eighteen
marked nolens polcns. Cromwell n Small,
two Of Spenoer's companions, we're next
arrested for completely in the plot bagged
and laid out on the deck near the first pris-
oner. Small admitted that he had had q
conversation with Spencer but de-
MED that he ever had any Intention to
In all twelve arrests were made, |
but nothing was ever done 10 the last nine l
prisoners. |
The court-martial that was convened to
try spencer, Small and Cromwell was SOM
posed Of Lieut.. Gansevoort, Surgeon Lees
cock, Purser Heiskell and four middies,
All were said to be- prejudiced against the
prisoners, especially against Spencer.
thirteen witnesses for the prosecution were
and none for the defence.
It was said that the boys did not even know
that they Were being tried and none OF them
was called upon to make a defen &c. The
INST they heard Of 1t was when Capt. Mao
kenzie told them on the morning OF De-
l that they had been convicted
and that they had but ten minutes to live.