"Voyage to the First of December" by
Henry Carlisle 
In the year 1849, the brig Somers was on a training cruise when the first
(supposed) and only mutiny in the history of the United States Navy took
place. The midshipman Phillip Spencer, son of the Secretary of War, and two
seamen were hung. Although a fiction account, much of the information in this
book is drawn from the letters, notes, and diary of the ship's surgeon, Dr.
Robert Leacock, who committed suicide shortly after the Naval inquiry. Parts of
the inquiry are drawn from naval records.
The man responsible was
Commander MacKenzie who was a brutal, paranoid, sanctimonious, and ambitious
man, related to Admiral Perry. Also to blame was his gutless first Lieutenant
Gansevoort. Mate Cromwell was probably totally innocent (as confessed by
Spencer) but because the Commander feared him and the other mates disliked him,
he was hung. Seaman Small was hung because he was too familiar with Spencer.
Spencer was a troublemaker and dreamer which gave the Commander an excuse to
make a name for himself. No trial (court martial) was held, the evidence was not
validated or closely examined, and the condemned were not given the chance to
give testimony on their own behalf. What a sham! MacKenzie should have been hung
for murder. But, he went on unscathed and had a fine career and served with
distinction in the Mexican war.
Reviewed by Ken Smith, 26 April, 1999
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
(Out of print and hard to find)
