Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Alexander Slidell Mackenzie ( 1803 – 1849 ) Born in New York City , Mackenzie was a U . S . Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century . He was an accomplished author and writer who wrote several contemporary essays and biographies of notable US naval figures of the early 19th century . He was the brother of U . S . Senator John Slidell of Louisiana , who was later involved in the American Civil War ' s " Trent Affair . " Mackenzie was captain of the USS " Somers " when it became the only U . S . Navy ship to undergo a mutiny which led to executions , including Philip Spencer , the nineteen - year - old son of the Secretary of War John C . Spencer . Mackenzie ' s handling of the Somers affair , including its lack of a lawful court martial , was controversial ; the incident was described at length in Vina Delmar ' s novel The Big Family . It also inspired the novella Billy Budd by American author Herman Melville . The Somers affair also led to the founding of the United States Naval Academy . Family . Mackenzie was the father of General Ranald Slidell Mackenzie , who , after a successful Civil War career , commanded the 4th Cavalry Regiment ( United States ) , securing the line of settlement in Texas and throughout the West . Ranald Mackenzie was arguably the best Indian fighter of the American West . Another son was Lt . Commander Alexander Slidell MacKenzie . A sister , Jan married Commodore Matthew C . Perry , the brother of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry . Military service . Mackenzie entered the U . S . Navy as a midshipman in 1815 . In honor of a maternal uncle , he assumed the surname Mackenzie in 1837 . A contemporary of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and a personal friend of Washington Irving , he published a number of books , including " A Year in Spain " , " Life of John Paul Jones " , " Life of Commodore Stephen Decatur " and " Life of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry " . Commodore Perry was the brother of Matthew Perry , both of MacKenzie ' s brothers - in - law . " USS Somers " was launched by the New York Navy Yard on April 16 , 1842 , and was commissioned on 12 May 1842 , with Mackenzie in command . After completing a shakedown cruise Puerto Rico and back , the new brig sailed out of New York harbor on September 13 , 1842 with orders to head for the Atlantic coast of Africa with dispatches for frigate " Vandalia " . Somers was also acting as an experimental schoolship for naval apprentices on this voyage ; the Somers crew was mostly inexperienced sailors and seamen . After looking for Vandalia at Madeira , Tenerife , and Porto Praia , Somers arrived at Monrovia , Liberia , on November 10 only to discover that the frigate had already sailed for home . The next day , Mackenzie set sail for the Virgin Islands hoping to meet up with Vandalia at St . Thomas before the return journey back to New York . USS " Somers " Mutiny . On the passage to the West Indies , some of the Somers officers noticed a steady worsening of morale among the crew . On November 26 , 1842 , Mackenzie arrested Midshipman Philip Spencer , the son of Secretary of War John Canfield Spencer , for inciting mutiny . The other two young sailors arrested with Spencer were Elisha Small and Samuel Cromwell . A council of officers - not a court martial - concluded the three sailors were guilty and recommended their immediate execution . This took place at sea on December 1 , 1842 . Only thirteen days later , the " Somers " arrived in New York , where a naval court of inquiry was immediately ordered to investigate the affair . Although Mackenzie was completely exonerated at the court of inquiry and at a subsequent court martial ( by a split vote ) , the controversial incident ( known as the " " Somers " Affair " ) colored the remainder of his life . It was customary at the time to commend officers cleared at a court martial , but Mackenzie ' s court martial made very clear it was not commending him . The entire affair resulted in a great sensation , and Mackenzie ' s conduct was as severely criticized by some as it was ardently defended by his supporters . Military historian and author . Mackenzie was also an accomplished author and military historian who was a contemporary of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , James Fenimore Cooper and a personal friend of Washington Irving . His first work was " A Year in Spain , by a Young American " , 1829 ; which immediately became popular in America as well as in England . " Other works by MacKenzie include " Popular Essays on Naval Subjects " , 1833 ; " The American in England " , 1835 ; " Spain Revisited " , 1836 ; " Life of John Paul Jones " , 1841 ; " Life of Commodore Oliver H . Perry " , 1841 ; and " Life of Commodore Stephen Decatur " 1846 . He also wrote a manuscript " A Journal of a Tour in Ireland , The Case of the ' Seiners " ' ; Defence of A . S . Mackenzie " , 1843 .