Were the alarming events on board U.S.S. Somers in 1842 actually the only “mutiny” in the U.S. Navy? Was the harsh punishment levied upon three suspected plotters--one the troublesome son of a Cabinet member--warranted? The incident inspired Melville works, the creation of the Naval Academy, and public responses by such as James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Sumner, and. . . William Sturgis.
