The Curse of the Somers, James P. Delgado
The Curse of the Somers, James P. Delgado
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The Curse of the Somers
The Secret History behind the U.S. Navy's Most Infamous Mutiny

Author: James P. Delgado

Narrator: J. Rodney Turner

Unabridged: 7 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/01/2022

Synopsis

The greatest controversy in the history of the US Navy of the early American Republic was the revelation that the son of the Secretary of War had seemingly plotted a bloody mutiny that would have turned the US brig Somers into a pirate ship. The plot discovered, he and his coconspirators were hastily condemned and hanged at sea.

The repercussions of those acts brought headlines, scandal, a fistfight at a cabinet meeting, a court martial, ruined lives, lost reputations, and tales of a haunted ship "bound for the devil" and lost tragically at sea with many of its crew. The "Somers affair" led to the founding of the US Naval Academy and it remains the Navy's only acknowledged mutiny in its history. The story also inspired Herman Melville's White-Jacket and Billy Budd. Others connected to the Somers included Commodore Perry, a relation and defender of the Somers's captain Mackenzie; James Fenimore Cooper, whose feud with the captain, dating back to the War of 1812, resurfaced in his reportage of the affair; and Raphael Semmes, the Somers's last captain, who later served in the Confederate Navy.

The Curse of the Somers is a thorough recreation of this classic tale, told with the help of recently uncovered evidence.

About James P. Delgado

James P. Delgado is senior vice president of SEARCH, Inc., the leading cultural resources firm in the United States. Before that, he was director of Maritime Heritage for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and president and CEO of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA). He was also host of the National Geographic international television series The Sea Hunters, featuring bestselling author Clive Cussler. Author of more than twenty books, including War at Sea, more than a hundred scholarly and popular magazine articles, and a regular guest in documentary films, he is senior consultant and regularly appears in National Geographic's international television series Drain the Oceans. For decades he has led diving and excavation teams, most recently at the site of the wreck of the Clotilda, the last ship known to have brought slaves to the United States.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ryan

This is definitely a piece of American naval history worth knowing and reading. Delgado’s telling of the controversy is clearly well-researched, but delivered in a clunky and repetitious way. Sentences drag on and require rereading due to their awkwardness. The author also repeats points frequently......more

Goodreads review by Mary

Sometimes in life we are met with a difficult decision that regardless of the choice we make there are going to be some ramifications. We outweigh the plight and go with what feels right at that time. But what if we were wrong? What if we were right? How many others might be affected by this decisio......more

Goodreads review by Scott

(Audiobook) Actually had not heard of this mutiny, but it was worth checking out. The book covers an attempted mutiny in the 1840s on the Navy ship USS Somers. It involves a cast of characters that were ill-suited to be on the ship that they all ended up on, from a 1st officer with high political co......more

Goodreads review by Kurt

Inspired me to watch the movie "Billy Budd"......more

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