WEBVTT - Mutiny on the Somers 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:04.800 You are listening to History on Trial, a production of 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:15.320 iHeart podcasts. Listener Discretion advised the prisoners had to die. 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:21.919 It wasn't an easy conclusion to reach. Seven officers of 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:26.520 the USS Summers had spent all of November thirtieth, eighteen 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:32.400 forty two locked in the wardroom of the ship, questioning witnesses, 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:39.000 gathering the full story. The next day, December first, they 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:45.800 presented their findings to their captain, Commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie. 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:50.800 After as dispassionate and deliberate a consideration of the case 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:55.560 as the exigencies of the time would admit, the officers wrote, 0:00:56.520 --> 0:01:02.560 we have come to a cool, decided, and unanimous opinion 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:08.120 that the prisoners have been guilty of a full and 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:12.800 determined intention to commit a mutiny on board of this 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:19.080 vessel of a most atrocious nature. What was more, the 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:23.080 letter continued, there was no way to keep the prisoners 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:26.959 safely away from the rest of the crew and transport 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:30.759 them back to the United States for court martial. The 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:36.000 safety of the public property, the lives of ourselves and 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:41.800 of those committed to our charge, the officers concluded, require 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:47.520 that the prisoners should be put to death. Who were 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:52.360 these prisoners? There were three of them. One of them 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:59.520 was an officer himself, Midshipman Philip Spencer, age eighteen. He 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:03.320 was alleged to be the ringleader of the mutiny plot. 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:08.480 His two accomplices were a mismatched pair, the tallest man 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:12.880 on the ship, Chief Bosun's mate, Samuel Cromwell, and the 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:18.880 shortest seamen, Elisious Mall. After learning about the mutiny plot, 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:24.400 Commander Mackenzie had arrested the men, Spencer first on November 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.720 twenty sixth, and then Cromwell and Small on the twenty seventh. 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:33.640 Even after these arrests, it seemed that the ship was 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:38.000 not safe. The prisoners were being kept on the quarter deck, 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:42.680 a raised deck behind the main mast, from which they 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:45.840 could see the crew at work, and the crew could 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:51.640 see them. Two Mackenzie and his officers had seen meaningful 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:56.880 looks and maybe even hand gestures exchanged between the prisoners 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.040 and the crew. How many conspirators did the plot have? 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:06.680 At any minute, Mackenzie feared some signal would trigger the 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:12.240 crew to rise up and rebel. That could mean dozens 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:17.560 of deaths. There were one hundred and twenty Navy sailors 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:23.960 on board the USS Summers, Commander Mackenzie stealed his resolve. 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:30.680 Executing prisoners was a grave matter, and it was technically 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.560 outside of his legal rights as a captain, but he 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:39.600 was convinced that it was the only path forward. Mackenzie 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:45.680 ordered that Spencer, Cromwell and Small be put to death. 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.640 He called the crew to the deck. If there were 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:55.520 indeed more conspirators amongst their ranks, Mackenzie wanted them to 0:03:55.520 --> 0:04:00.360 see the consequences of crime. The crew of the US 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:04.720 Summers watched silently as the three prisoners were informed of 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:09.520 their fates, and then hung from the yard arm, slowly 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:15.360 suffocating to death. When the USS Summers arrived back in 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.880 New York two weeks later, bringing news of the attempted 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:25.520 mutiny and the subsequent executions, the public was horrified about 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:30.360 the mutiny, that is, not about the hangings. These were 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:33.880 seen as a difficult but necessary choice made by a 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:38.840 courageous captain in a terrible situation. But as the Navy 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:43.920 probed into the events aboard the USS Summers, troubling questions 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:50.240 began to emerge. Had Mackenzie's actions been justified even worse, 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:57.240 had this threatened mutiny even been real On December twentieth, 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:01.400 an anonymous letter published in a washing In, DC newspaper 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.480 alleged that the inquiry conducted by the officers into the 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:10.080 mutiny had been biased and had denied the prisoner's basic 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.920 civil rights. The letter claimed that the three men had 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:20.880 been hanged on the basis of extremely thin evidence. The 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:25.880 letter was only signed s, but many people knew right 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:30.400 away who had written it. It was Philip Spencer's father, 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:38.320 John Canfield Spencer, and that meant trouble for Commander Mackenzie. 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:43.640 Because John Spencer was not just any grieving father. He 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:49.919 was the United States Secretary of War, and he was 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:55.200 determined to get justice for his dead son. But could 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:59.080 the Navy administer justice to one of its own. That 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:02.520 question would be tested at the court martial of Commander 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:07.760 Mackenzie in early eighteen forty three, a trial that sparked 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:14.880 debates over just how far military discipline could go. Welcome 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:19.880 to history on trial, I'm your host, Mira Hayward. This 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:28.359 week the court martial of Commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie. Philip 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:33.520 Spencer had always dreamed of going to sea, but not 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:40.760 with the Navy. No, Philip Spencer wanted to be a pirate. 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:46.800 Born in eighteen twenty four in Canadagua, New York, Philip 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:50.159 missed the peak of piracy, a period in the seventeen 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:55.000 tens and twenties during which some two thousand pirates roamed 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:59.719 the Atlantic and Caribbean, by a century, but the legend 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:03.680 of pirates lived on long after their numbers were decimated 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:08.360 by European naval forces. In eighteen thirty seven, when Philip 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:13.960 was thirteen, Charles Elms published The Pirate's Own Book, a 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:18.760 four hundred and thirty two page epic filled with swashbuckling 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:23.160 tales from the High Seas. The book was so popular 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:27.360 that it ran for eight editions. It was one of 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:33.080 Philip Spencer's favorite books. Philip's pirate fantasies were met with 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:39.480 disapproval by his father, John Canfield Spencer. A brilliant, combative, 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:46.400 ambitious man. John Spencer wanted great things for his children. Philip, 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:51.640 the sixth of John Elizabeth Spencer's seven children, always struggled 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:57.640 to meet his father's expectations. Philip was undeniably bright. He 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:01.240 had a facility for languages. He quickly picked up Latin 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:05.280 and Greek, and would later become fluent in Spanish, he 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:07.760 could give a speech better than almost any of his 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:11.080 classmates at Geneva College, where he studied in the late 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:17.040 eighteen thirties, and he was brave in an era before anesthesia. 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:22.080 Classmates remembered with awe how Philip had refused the traditional 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:26.320 restraints during surgery to try to correct his wandering eye, 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:31.640 holding himself still through the agonizing procedure through sheer force 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:36.240 of will. But the discipline he showed in enduring pain 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.320 did not translate to other areas of his life. He 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:44.760 neglected his schoolwork, He snuck off campus and into town. 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:50.640 He drank. In November eighteen forty, when he was sixteen, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.680 the school cited Philip for participating in what they called, 0:08:55.040 --> 0:09:00.400 hilariously a cider disturbance. We'd probably call it a door party. 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.600 In the spring of eighteen forty one, hoping that a 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.400 change of scenery might do Philip some good, John Spencer 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:13.240 made his son transfer to Union College. Before he left Geneva, 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:18.040 Philip gave the school a copy of the Pirate's own book. 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:22.840 At Union, Philip did not take advantage of his fresh start. 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:27.000 Instead of focusing on his studies, he devoted himself to 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:31.360 founding a fraternity, the perfect place to host more cider 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:36.960 disturbances and to create secret handshakes and codes and rituals, 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:41.680 the kind of thing that Philip loved. The fraternity Philip 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:46.240 helped found Kai Sai today has chapters at thirty four 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:52.079 colleges and universities. John Spencer, however, was not impressed by 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:57.360 Philip's activities. During the eighteen thirties, the elder Spencer's political 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:02.760 star had risen. In October eighteen forty one, President John 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:07.120 Tyler chose John Spencer to be his Secretary of War. 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:12.360 Managing the military might have seemed easy in comparison to 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:16.400 managing Philip Spencer. At his wits end with his son, 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:21.599 Secretary Spencer decided that maybe the Navy could instill some discipline. 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:27.200 In November eighteen forty one, Philip was appointed as a midshipman, 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:31.600 the lowest rank of officer in the United States Navy. 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:37.880 But even the Navy could not tame Philip's energies. He drank, 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:42.600 fought with senior officers, and, on an official trip to Brazil, 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:46.760 brawled in the streets every time he got in trouble. 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:50.439 Though his father put in a good word with Abel Upscher, 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:54.680 the Secretary of the Navy, and Philip got another chance, 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:59.880 But by the summer of eighteen forty two, Secretary Upsher's 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:04.680 patients was wearing thin. He told Philip that he would 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:09.240 be watching carefully and gave him one last assignment on 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:14.240 which to prove himself. On August thirteenth, eighteen forty two, 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:19.240 Philip Spencer received orders to report to the USS Summers 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:23.840 in New York. Upon boarding, he met the man who 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:31.600 would one day order his death, Commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie. 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:36.360 The Commander was born Alexander Slidell on April sixth, eighteen 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:40.760 o three, to John and Marjorie Slidell. In his thirties, 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:44.760 he would adopt his mother's maiden name Mackenzie, as a 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:49.040 condition of receiving an inheritance from a maternal uncle. The 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:54.360 Slydells were a wealthy, well connected family. One of Mackenzie's 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:57.959 brothers would become a US Senator and another would become 0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:02.040 Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, but it was 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:07.920 his sister, Jane who would most influence Mackenzie's life. In 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:13.280 eighteen fourteen, Jane married Matthew Perry, a member of a 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:19.600 naval dynasty. Matthew's older brother, Oliver hazard Perry, was an 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:23.080 American hero for his victory at the Battle of Lake 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:27.640 Erie during the War of eighteen twelve. Matthew Perry too 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:31.320 would become a naval hero, eventually leading the mission that 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:35.520 opened trade with Japan. In the eighteen fifties. The Perry 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:39.480 family encouraged young Mackenzie to join the Navy, and he 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:43.800 became a midshipman at age eleven, sailing around the world 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:48.360 throughout his teenage years. The Navy was a good fit 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:53.920 for the boy. Unlike Philip Spencer, Mackenzie liked discipline. He 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:59.720 liked rules and laws, making them and following them. In 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:03.120 his early days in the Navy, he saw what happened 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:07.520 when the laws were broken. Assigned to anti pirate duty 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:12.280 in the West Indies, he witnessed the devastation pirate's pillaging 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:16.480 left in its wake, not nearly so glamorous in real 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:21.080 life as it was in the pirate's own book. In 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:25.320 eighteen twenty four, Mackenzie contracted yellow fever and took a 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:29.199 leave of absence from the Navy to recover. While on leave, 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:32.120 he traveled to Spain and began to work on a 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:36.960 book about his experiences abroad. He befriended the writer Washington 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.880 Irving while in Madrid, and Irving would help Mackenzie publish 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:45.640 his first book, called A Year in Spain. The publication 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:49.880 made Mackenzie a minor celebrity, and he would continue writing 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.920 even after returning from leave, though his later books received 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:59.640 cooler receptions. Journalist and historian Richard Snow argues in his 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:04.760 book Sailing the Graveyard Sea that Mackenzie's writings reveal quote 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:11.480 an opacity about common human feelings. They also depict a 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:17.920 man full of contradictions, both moralistic and prudish. Mackenzie also 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:22.880 displays a taste for violence. He describes both crimes and 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:28.880 public executions, which, despite professing to dislike, he somehow couldn't 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:35.520 seem to stop attending while abroad in gruesome detail. In 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:40.280 eighteen thirty six, Mackenzie married Kate Robinson. Soon after, he 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.360 adopted Mackenzie as his surname in order to receive the 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:47.240 family bequest. Using this money, he bought a farm in 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:51.480 New York's Hudson River Valley, near his friend Washington Irving. 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.560 He also began thinking seriously along with his brother in law, 0:14:56.640 --> 0:15:01.840 Matthew Perry, about how to reform America's navy. The Navy 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:06.320 at this point was struggling to attract, train, and retain 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:11.640 good men. The pay was low, the training programs were haphazard, 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:16.360 and promotions were difficult to obtain. In eighteen thirty seven, 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.760 Mackenzie and Perry wrote about the need for naval education 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:23.680 in the Naval Magazine, calling for the establishment of an 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:29.840 apprenticeship program. Congress agreed with their recommendations and provided funding 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:34.800 to recruit and train boys aged thirteen to eighteen. Congress 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:39.440 also agreed to create a schoolship, a floating naval school 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:43.600 with on the job training for the young apprentices. The 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:47.960 USS Summers, a beautiful new ship designed in part by 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:53.480 Matthew Perry, was chosen for the job. In eighteen forty one, 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:58.400 Alexander Mackenzie was promoted to the rank of commander. The 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:01.480 next year, he was assigned to the schoolship that he 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:05.760 and Perry had dreamed of. The stakes for this voyage 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.160 were high. If it went well, the Navy might be 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:13.600 willing to produce more schoolships, Congress might agree to fund 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:21.080 more apprentices, and Mackenzie's beloved navy would flourish. To ensure success, 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:26.880 Mackenzie and Perry carefully selected the ship's officers. The first Lieutenant, 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:31.200 Mackenzie's second in command, was thirty year old Garrett Gansvoort, 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.800 a member of a prominent New York family and a 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.760 skilled sailor who had risen quickly through the ranks of 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:42.840 the Navy. For the midshipmen, the lowest ranking officers, Perry 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:46.080 and Mackenzie filled the ranks with their relatives and their 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:51.160 friend's sons. Two of Perry's own sons were serving on board. 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:56.840 Into this tightly knit crowd appeared the disruptive Philip Spencer. 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:01.480 Mackenzie took an immediate dislike to dists Spencer. He had 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.119 heard about Spencer's record and wanted him off the ship. 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:11.040 Mackenzie recommended that Spencer ask for a transfer. Spencer did so, 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:17.600 but Matthew Perry refused the request. Philip Spencer needed discipline, 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:22.359 and Perry may have hoped the strict Mackenzie might be 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:27.200 just the one to provide a firm hand. Little did 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:34.879 anyone know just how firm that hand would be. The 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:40.160 voyage of the USS Summers began smoothly enough, departing New 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:45.680 York on September thirteenth, eighteen forty two, the ship sailed east. 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.480 Its mission, an easy assignment fitting for a school ship, 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.800 was to deliver dispatches from America to another Navy ship, 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.120 the Vandalia, which was assisting the British Navy in intercepting 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:02.679 slave ships off the west coast of Africa. Quarters on 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:06.320 the ship were tight, at one hundred feet long and 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:09.840 twenty feet wide at the thickest point. The Summers was 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:13.680 only meant to carry ninety men, but in an attempt 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:17.400 to squeeze as many apprentices in as possible, the Summers 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.240 had a crew of one hundred and twenty for this trip. 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:24.159 Of these one hundred and twenty, only thirty were older 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:28.720 than nineteen. A third of the crew was between thirteen 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:33.280 and sixteen years old. Life at sea must have been 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:37.720 bewildering for these boys, many of whom had no sailing experience. 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:43.680 Time was measured in watches and bells. Sunday mornings were 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:47.920 spent mustard on deck. The sailors stood on deck while 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:52.440 their uniforms were inspected. Attendance was taken, and the Articles 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:56.760 of War, a list of prohibited actions and resulting punishments 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:02.359 were read. Aloud. The one form of punishment was flogging, 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:06.800 lashing either with the Cat nine tails, a whip with 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:11.920 nine eighteen inch braided cords, or the Colt, a three 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:17.399 foot long single strand whip. Both instruments could rip a 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:22.199 sailor's back. Open. Floggings were usually done in front of 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:26.959 the whole crew. Congress would ban flogging in eighteen fifty, 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:31.600 and some captains had already abandoned the practice, believing it 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:36.800 to be too cruel, but not Commander Mackenzie. He had 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:41.199 a reputation as being quick to order floggings, and the 0:19:41.240 --> 0:19:45.360 reputation was well earned. The boys of the Summers soon learned. 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:49.880 The first flogging happened only three days into the voyage, 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:54.280 six lashes each of the Colt for three crewmen accused 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:58.440 of avoiding work on the Summers, Sailors of all ages, 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:03.119 even those as young as thirteen, were whipped frequently for 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:07.960 offenses as minor as borrowing someone else's shirts, smoking after 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:13.199 ten PM, or being impertinent. One fourteen year old apprentice, 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:17.600 Dennis Manning, received a total of one hundred and one 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:23.680 lashes during the ship's two month journey. Despite the frequent punishments, 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.600 morale aboard the summers was high, at least for the 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:31.800 first few weeks. Part of the crew's good attitude might 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:36.240 have been due to Philip Spencer. Spencer had quickly found 0:20:36.320 --> 0:20:40.000 himself the odd man out amongst the other officers, who 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:44.679 had all taken their commander's queue and shunned Spencer. He 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:49.840 decided to search for friends amongst the crew instead. Spencer 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:53.240 amused the younger boys with a strange talent he had, 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:59.080 rhythmically dislocating his jaw to create eerie music. He won 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:03.200 the older sailors over with small gifts of smuggled brandy 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:08.359 or tobacco for money. Spencer especially concentrated his attention on 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:14.679 two other misfits, Samuel Cromwell and Elisha Small. Cromwell was 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:19.680 widely disliked, and perhaps for good reason. As the chief 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:23.920 bosun's mate, Cromwell was in charge of administering the floggings. 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:28.320 An enormous man in his thirties, heavily muscled and scarred, 0:21:28.760 --> 0:21:33.360 Cromwell had a fierce temper and a filthy mouth. Crewman 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:38.040 whispered that he had once sailed with slavers or pirates. 0:21:39.280 --> 0:21:43.600 Elishah Small, thirty years old, was a good sailor with 0:21:43.680 --> 0:21:48.760 a bad drinking problem. He begun the voyage as the Summers' quartermaster, 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:56.040 responsible for navigation, but had been quickly demoted for drunkenness. Small, Cromwell, 0:21:56.119 --> 0:22:00.359 and Spencer soon formed trio. Spencer provided the men with 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:05.360 alcohol and tobacco. In return, Cromwell and Small told Spencer 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:10.240 wild stories from their lives at sea. The other officers 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:15.120 judged Spencer for his friendship with lowly crewmen and got 0:22:15.160 --> 0:22:20.399 annoyed by his laziness and tasteless jokes. Commander Mackenzie's dislike 0:22:20.480 --> 0:22:24.879 for Spencer had also increased, but he largely ignored the 0:22:24.960 --> 0:22:30.000 eighteen year old. By mid November, the Summers had reached Liberia, 0:22:30.760 --> 0:22:33.360 but they hadn't managed to catch up with the Vandalia, 0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:36.080 which always seemed to be one port ahead of them. 0:22:36.440 --> 0:22:40.120 Mackenzie decided that it was time to head home. Despite 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:47.040 this incomplete mission, everything was well aboard the Summers until Saturday, 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:52.240 November twenty sixth, that is, shortly after eight am, First 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:56.720 Lieutenant Ganzifort burst into the Captain's cabin with shocking news 0:22:57.440 --> 0:23:03.880 a mutiny was afoot. Kenzie was stunned. Gansafort laid out 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:08.760 the details for him that morning, Purser Stewart James Wales 0:23:08.920 --> 0:23:12.800 had approached his superior purser, Horace High School, with a 0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:18.080 troubling story. The night before, Wales said he had been 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:23.880 approached by Philip Spencer. After swearing Wales to secrecy, Spencer 0:23:23.960 --> 0:23:27.240 told him that he was planning to seize the ship. 0:23:28.400 --> 0:23:31.240 Spencer said he had a number of the crew signed 0:23:31.320 --> 0:23:35.760 up for his plan, which involved murdering the ship's officers 0:23:35.840 --> 0:23:40.600 and any uncooperative crewmen, sailing the Summers to the Caribbean, 0:23:41.200 --> 0:23:45.560 and turning it into a pirate ship. While Spencer laid 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:50.600 out the details for Wales's Elisha Small approach, Spencer told 0:23:50.680 --> 0:23:55.240 Small that he had enlisted Wales, and Small said he 0:23:55.480 --> 0:23:59.840 was glad to hear it. When Spencer finished, he asked 0:24:00.440 --> 0:24:04.639 for his thoughts. Whales said he liked the idea, but 0:24:04.920 --> 0:24:10.960 inside he was horrified. Wales resolved to report Spencer to 0:24:10.960 --> 0:24:14.960 Commander Mackenzie as soon as possible. The next morning, and 0:24:15.160 --> 0:24:18.520 able to easily get to Mackenzie, Wales had reported to 0:24:18.600 --> 0:24:22.480 high school high school to ganzi Ort, and now ganzi 0:24:22.600 --> 0:24:27.000 Ort was telling Mackenzie. At first, the captain could not 0:24:27.240 --> 0:24:32.639 believe it. It seemed to me so monstrous, so improbable, that 0:24:32.720 --> 0:24:36.680 I could not forbear treating it with ridicule. Mackenzie later wrote, 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:39.800 I was under the impression that mister Spencer had been 0:24:39.880 --> 0:24:44.160 reading some piratical stories and had amused himself with mister Wales. 0:24:45.400 --> 0:24:48.480 But improbable or not, Mackenzie felt he had a duty 0:24:48.520 --> 0:24:53.040 to investigate. He told ganzi Ort to watch Spencer closely. 0:24:54.480 --> 0:24:58.440 Ganza Ort followed Spencer all day, and what he saw 0:24:58.680 --> 0:25:03.880 concerned him. I had observed, Gansibort reported to Mackenzie that 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:08.240 he was exceedingly intimate with the crew. I had noticed 0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:13.760 as individuals passed him by a strange flashing of the eye. 0:25:13.920 --> 0:25:18.040 When Spencer had caught Ganzibart watching him, he had looked 0:25:18.080 --> 0:25:22.960 at the lieutenant, in Ganshwort's words, with the most infernal 0:25:23.160 --> 0:25:28.280 expression I have ever seen upon a human face. Moreover, 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:32.040 gans of Ort had seen Spencer pouring over a map 0:25:32.080 --> 0:25:36.280 of the Caribbean and asking the ship's surgeon, Richard Leacock, 0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:42.560 about the Isle of Pine's, a notorious pirates haunt. It 0:25:42.680 --> 0:25:45.840 wasn't much to go on, but Ganzibort and Mackenzie were 0:25:45.920 --> 0:25:50.639 now convinced that Spencer was up to something. They couldn't 0:25:50.720 --> 0:25:55.120 risk a mutiny. Mackenzie decided that Spencer should be detained. 0:25:55.800 --> 0:25:58.840 When he approached Spencer and asked him about the plan, 0:25:59.359 --> 0:26:03.399 Spencer replied that it was just a joke. This joke, 0:26:03.720 --> 0:26:09.160 Mackenzie told Spencer, may cost you your life. He ordered 0:26:09.200 --> 0:26:12.640 that Spencer be shackled, and, because the Summers had little 0:26:12.680 --> 0:26:15.920 free space below deck, be taken to the quarter deck 0:26:16.080 --> 0:26:21.200 and kept under observation. The next day, the investigation into 0:26:21.240 --> 0:26:26.760 the mutiny continued. Lieutenant Ganziwort and Midship in Henry Rogers 0:26:26.920 --> 0:26:31.680 searched Spencer's belongings. Inside his razor case. They found several 0:26:31.760 --> 0:26:37.640 pieces of paper. Two of these were written in Greek letters. Rogers, 0:26:37.680 --> 0:26:41.200 who could read Greek, translated the words. It turned out, 0:26:41.240 --> 0:26:45.400 were just English words spelled out with Greek characters. On 0:26:45.400 --> 0:26:50.879 one page, a paragraph read those marked X will probably 0:26:51.000 --> 0:26:54.480 be induced to join before the project is carried into execution. 0:26:55.600 --> 0:26:58.320 The remainder of the doubtful will probably join when the 0:26:58.359 --> 0:27:03.440 thing is done. If not, they must be forced. If 0:27:03.480 --> 0:27:06.480 any not marked down wish to join after it is done, 0:27:06.880 --> 0:27:12.560 we will pick out the best and dispose of the rest. Below, 0:27:12.800 --> 0:27:18.600 a list of names was sorted into three categories, certain, doubtful, 0:27:19.280 --> 0:27:27.280 and to be kept Nolan's Volan's willingly or not. It 0:27:27.400 --> 0:27:31.359 was a damning document, to be sure, but also a 0:27:31.440 --> 0:27:35.560 confusing one. The list of crew members who were certain 0:27:36.000 --> 0:27:40.520 was small and included the name E Andrews, which did 0:27:40.560 --> 0:27:44.680 not match anyone on board. Elisha Small's name was not 0:27:44.760 --> 0:27:48.199 on the certain list, but per Wales's story, he was 0:27:48.240 --> 0:27:54.320 indeed involved. Despite these discrepancies, Mackenzie was now sure that 0:27:54.400 --> 0:27:58.320 Spencer had been plotting a mutiny, and the captain had 0:27:58.359 --> 0:28:02.720 concerns about Samuel Cromwell too. Spencer had not mentioned to 0:28:02.800 --> 0:28:06.359 Cromwell to Wales, and Cromwell's name was not anywhere on 0:28:06.400 --> 0:28:11.200 Spencer's list, but Cromwell was known to be close to Spencer. 0:28:12.440 --> 0:28:17.280 That afternoon, Mackenzie's suspicions seemed to be confirmed. One of 0:28:17.320 --> 0:28:21.439 the ship's top masts suddenly collapsed, causing a number of 0:28:21.520 --> 0:28:25.800 sails to fall. In the chaos that followed, Mackenzie noticed 0:28:25.840 --> 0:28:29.680 that Cromwell and Small were first on the scene. Had 0:28:29.720 --> 0:28:33.600 they caused the mast collapse? He wondered, It was just 0:28:33.720 --> 0:28:38.120 the type of distraction that mutineers could use to their advantage. 0:28:38.480 --> 0:28:41.800 It was true that no uprising had begun. The masts 0:28:41.840 --> 0:28:45.600 and sales were repaired, but Mackenzie believed that the crisis 0:28:45.600 --> 0:28:50.320 had only narrowly been averted. He ordered Cromwell and then 0:28:50.440 --> 0:28:55.040 Small arrested and stowed on the quarter deck. Cromwell denied 0:28:55.120 --> 0:28:58.360 any involvement in the plot, and Spencer also said that 0:28:58.400 --> 0:29:01.960 the man was innocent. Small, on the other hand, said 0:29:02.000 --> 0:29:06.120 that he had heard of plans. Mackenzie informed the three 0:29:06.120 --> 0:29:08.280 men that they would be kept under lock and key 0:29:08.440 --> 0:29:11.320 until the ship arrived back in America, where they would 0:29:11.320 --> 0:29:15.840 be tried for the crimes. Over the next three days, 0:29:15.880 --> 0:29:20.440 tensions on the ship reached a fever pitch. Mackenzie ordered 0:29:20.440 --> 0:29:24.240 his officers to arm themselves and patrol the ship. He 0:29:24.360 --> 0:29:27.640 informed the crew about the mutiny plot and warned them 0:29:27.720 --> 0:29:32.320 to abandon any schemes to free the prisoners. He arrested 0:29:32.360 --> 0:29:35.600 three more men believed to be connected with Spencer and 0:29:35.680 --> 0:29:40.320 put them on the quarter deck. These further arrests brought 0:29:40.400 --> 0:29:45.440 new concerns. The Summers was a small ship, Surely it 0:29:45.560 --> 0:29:49.480 could not hold many prisoners, and Mackenzie was convinced that 0:29:49.520 --> 0:29:53.000 the existing prisoners were plotting an escape with their uncaptured 0:29:53.040 --> 0:29:57.360 co conspirators. Maybe the leaders of the mutiny needed to 0:29:57.400 --> 0:30:03.800 be removed permanently. Mackenzie had always seen his ships as 0:30:04.080 --> 0:30:10.000 quote little worlds, self contained environments in which discipline meant harmony. 0:30:10.920 --> 0:30:15.120 One bad apple could spoil the whole bunch, But he 0:30:15.160 --> 0:30:19.240 didn't want to make such a serious decision alone. On Wednesday, 0:30:19.320 --> 0:30:23.800 November thirtieth, Mackenzie wrote a letter to his officers asking 0:30:23.840 --> 0:30:26.960 them to investigate the situation on board and come to 0:30:27.000 --> 0:30:31.320 a conclusion about the best path forward. The seven officers 0:30:31.400 --> 0:30:35.760 moved swiftly. They took over the wardroom, the officer's mess hall, 0:30:36.080 --> 0:30:39.160 and brought in crew members for questioning. Many of the 0:30:39.160 --> 0:30:42.120 crewmen claimed that Spencer had spoken to them about dreaming 0:30:42.200 --> 0:30:44.480 of being a pirate and of hoping to have a 0:30:44.520 --> 0:30:48.560 ship of his own. They all agreed that Spencer, Small 0:30:48.600 --> 0:30:52.200 and Cromwell were the ringleaders. Many of the sailors spoke 0:30:52.320 --> 0:30:57.120 especially harshly about Samuel Cromwell. The questioning continued throughout the 0:30:57.200 --> 0:31:03.000 day and into the next morning. The officers reached a decision. 0:31:03.920 --> 0:31:06.560 They wrote to Mackenzie and told him that they believed 0:31:06.640 --> 0:31:12.040 the prisoners should be executed. Mackenzie wasted no time in 0:31:12.120 --> 0:31:15.360 carrying out the sentence. Summoning the crew to the deck, 0:31:15.560 --> 0:31:19.160 McKenzie donned his full dress uniform and told his officers 0:31:19.160 --> 0:31:23.760 to arm themselves. Then he told the prisoners their fate. 0:31:24.880 --> 0:31:30.680 Elishah Small took the news calmly. Philip Spencer began to weep. 0:31:32.040 --> 0:31:35.760 Samuel Cromwell fell to his knees and yelled, God of 0:31:35.800 --> 0:31:39.960 the Universe, looked down upon my poor wife. I am innocent. 0:31:41.440 --> 0:31:45.840 Spencer regained his composure and told Mackenzie quote, as these 0:31:45.880 --> 0:31:48.680 are the last words I have to say, I trust 0:31:48.720 --> 0:31:55.480 they will be believed. Cromwell is innocent. Mackenzie was unsettled. 0:31:56.440 --> 0:31:59.840