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Loading... A Hanging Offense: The Strange Affair of the Warship Somers (edition 2003)by Buckner F. Melton Jr.1   usnmm2 | Aug 2, 2009 |   On the surface you would say O. K. discipline in those days were harsh and these things happened in those days.. But it ends up that these three young men were hanged without a court Marshall or the benefit of legal council of any kind. Add to the mix that the mastermind of the mutiny was a young acting Midshipman named Phillip Spencer whose father was John Canfield Spencer was Pres. John Tyler's secretary of war, and had arranged the boy's commission with the help of Capt. Oliver "Hazzard Perry.You now have the setting for high drama and what sounds like a Hollywood script. The book is written in a very low keyed tone. Every chapter is more of an essay on the main people involved and each part of the event as it unfolds. Overall it gives a good account of the facts as known and the condition both political and physical of the U.S. Navy and the Country ain 1842. The story is a who's who of America and American Maritime History. James Fenmore Cooper, Richard Henry Dana Jr., and almost every member of the Perry family. William H. Seward who would be Pres. Lincoln's Sec. of State in the Civil War. The Lt. aboard the Somers was Melville's cousin and may have been the source for Melville's book Billy Budd. There are some very striking similarities between Capt. Mackenzie and Captain Vere. The last exchange between Capt. Mackenzie and Seaman Smalls is touching ; Capt. Meckenzie - "Small" ..."what have I done to you that you won't bid me goodbye?" ..... "I did not know that you would bid a poor bugger like me goodbye Sir," .... Now Meckenzie it was who asked forgiveness of Small. He told the seaman that he had to go through with the execution; both the honor of the flag and the safety of the crew demanded it. "Yes, Sir and I honor you for it," replied Small. "God Bless that Flag!" Billy Budd years later says ""God bless Captain Vere!" (  )1 usnmm2 | Aug 2, 2009 |  ) JBD1 | Jan 18, 2006 | |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)343.73Social sciences Law Military, defense, public property, public finance, tax, commerce {trade}, industrial law North America United StatesLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.5)
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On the surface you would say O. K. discipline in those days were harsh and these things happened in those days.. But it ends up that these three young men were hanged without a court Marshall or the benefit of legal council of any kind.
Add to the mix that the mastermind of the mutiny was a young acting Midshipman named Phillip Spencer whose father was John Canfield Spencer was Pres. John Tyler's secretary of war, and had arranged the boy's commission with the help of Capt. Oliver "Hazzard Perry.You now have the setting for high drama and what sounds like a Hollywood script.
The book is written in a very low keyed tone. Every chapter is more of an essay on the main people involved and each part of the event as it unfolds. Overall it gives a good account of the facts as known and the condition both political and physical of the U.S. Navy and the Country ain 1842.
The story is a who's who of America and American Maritime History. James Fenmore Cooper, Richard Henry Dana Jr., and almost every member of the Perry family. William H. Seward who would be Pres. Lincoln's Sec. of State in the Civil War.
The Lt. aboard the Somers was Melville's cousin and may have been the source for Melville's book Billy Budd. There are some very striking similarities between Capt. Mackenzie and Captain Vere. The last exchange between Capt. Mackenzie and Seaman Smalls is touching ;
Capt. Meckenzie - "Small" ..."what have I done to you that you won't bid me goodbye?"
..... "I did not know that you would bid a poor bugger like me goodbye Sir,"
.... Now Meckenzie it was who asked forgiveness of Small. He told the seaman that he had to go through with the execution; both the honor of the flag and the safety of the crew demanded it. "Yes, Sir and I honor you for it," replied Small. "God Bless that Flag!"
Billy Budd years later says ""God bless Captain Vere!" (