[Melville, Herman (possible sourcework)]:[Mackenzie, Alexander S.]:

$375 · Offered by William Reese Company

CASE OF THE SOMERS' MUTINY. DEFENCE OF ALEXANDER SLIDELL MACKENZIE, COMMANDER OF THE U.S. BRIG SOMERS, BEFORE THE COURT MARTIAL HELD AT THE NAVY YARD, ... First edition of this element in the prosecution of the court martial which is often considered one of the sources for Melville's novella, Billy Budd. Mackenzie was in command of the brig, Somers, when it sailed for the African squadron with dispatches in September 1842. Herman Melville's cousin, Guert Gansevoort, was one of the officers on the ship. During the return voyage, some crew members conspired to mutiny, and Mackenzie had three men executed, among them Philip Spencer, nephew of the secretary of war. There was much public outcry and controversy regarding the case, but Mackenzie was exonerated. While by no means a rare book, copies in this condition in the wild are uncommon indeed.

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