Philip Spencer (January 28, 1823 – December 1, 1842), a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

aboard , was executed for

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

without a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. He was the son of

John C. Spencer John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President John Tyler. Early life John Canfield Spencer was born on January 8, 1788, in H ...

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

's administration, and the grandson of

Ambrose Spencer Ambrose Spencer (December 13, 1765March 13, 1848) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life Ambrose Spencer was born on December 13, 1765 in Salisbury in the Connecticut Colony. He was the son of Philip Spencer and Mary (née Moore) Spe ...

, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

politician and lawyer.

Background

Spencer was born in

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

. He was described as handsome, despite a "wandering eye" (possibly

strabismus Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

) which surgery was unable to correct. As a youth at Geneva College (now Hobart College), he was considered wild and uncontrollable despite displaying signs of high intelligence. His favorite reading matter was pirate stories. After an abortive stay at

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

– where he was a founder of the

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

– Spencer ran away and signed on a whaler at

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

. His father located him and convinced him that if a life on the sea was what he wanted, to live it as "a gentleman"; i.e., as a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

. As Secretary of War, it was easy for Spencer's father to procure his son a midshipman's commission. Spencer proved to be just as intractable as ever, assaulting a superior officer aboard twice while under the influence of alcohol. Reassigned to , he was involved in a drunken brawl with a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer while on shore leave in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. He was allowed to resign rather than face

, but due to his father's position in the Cabinet, his resignation was not accepted. Instead, he was posted to . Aboard ''Somers'', Spencer gained favor with the ratings – many of whom were boys – through his privileged access to tobacco and rum. He also exhibited an irreverent attitude toward the navy and his captain,

Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Alexander Slidell Mackenzie (April 6, 1803 – September 13, 1848), born Alexander Slidell, was a United States Navy officer, famous for his 1842 decision to execute three suspected mutineers aboard a ship under his command in the Somers Mutin ...

. In November 1842, during the return home from a voyage to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, suspicion arose that Spencer had formed a plan to seize ''Somers'' and sail her as a

pirate ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. His friendship with crew members

Samuel Cromwell Samuel Cromwell (died December 1, 1842) was a sailor and petty officer (boatswain's mate) aboard the brig USS ''Somers''. Cromwell was feared by the young apprentices who made up the majority of the ship's crew, and was rumored to have served on ...

and

Elisha Small Elisha Small (died December 1, 1842) was an American sailor who was sailing with the rank of Seaman. He had served on several kinds of ships, including a Slave ship, slaver, before joining the United States Navy. In November 1842, while serving a ...

was cited as evidence, as both these men were rumored to have sailed aboard slavers in the past. On November 26, Spencer was shackled and detained on ''Somers foredeck after a list of names was found in his razor case. The names had been written using

Greek letters The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as w ...

. The following day, Cromwell and Small were also detained on the foredeck. After a meeting of the ship's officers, all three men were hanged on the yardarm on December 1 (at ). Spencer was nearly 20 years old.

Court of Inquiry

When the brig returned to New York, the Secretary of the Navy convened a court of

flag officers A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

to investigate the matter. Following a month of testimony, on January 23, 1843, the court of inquiry exonerated the captain and his officers, ruling the hangings fully justified. Although the commander was exonerated, public opinion was against him. Mackenzie requested a court-martial for himself. The court martial acquitted him on a split vote.

Court of public opinion

The government accepted the court's decision, but the acquittal did not satisfy public concerns with the case. Many commentators, including

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

, denounced the hangings as murder and criticized the Navy's handling of the matter as an example of what today could be called a "whitewash." The circumstance of Spencer, Cromwell and Small's deaths is one reason the U.S. Navy stopped training boys at sea and founded the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. The event on USS ''Somers'' may be the only mutiny on a warship in US Navy history. Philip Spencer and the USS ''Somers'' affair were almost certainly a model for much of the story ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...

'', by

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

, who was the first cousin of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Guert Gansevoort Commodore Guert Gansevoort (7 June 1812 – 15 July 1868) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Biography He was born into an aristocratic Dutch American family in Gansevoort, New Yo ...

, an officer aboard the ship."Philip Spencer: Last Man Hanged."
''Hobart and William Smith Colleges Notable Alumni''.

Geneva, NY Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Philip 1823 births 1842 deaths 19th-century executions by the United States 19th-century executions of American people Burials at sea Chi Psi founders Extrajudicial killings People executed by the United States military by hanging People executed for mutiny People from Canandaigua, New York Executed people from New York (state) People who died at sea Union College (New York) alumni United States Navy officers 1842 crimes in the United States Spencer family of New York

Background

Court of Inquiry

Court of public opinion

References

Further reading

External links