Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
| Alexander Slidell Mackenzie | |
|---|---|
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| Birth name | Alexander Slidell |
| Born |
April 6, 1803 New York City, New York |
| Died | September 13, 1848 (aged 45) Scarborough, New York |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1815–1848 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Commands held | USS Somers |
| Relations |
John Slidell (brother) Matthew C. Perry (brother-in-law) Ranald Slidell Mackenzie (son) Alexander Slidell MacKenzie (son) |
| Other work | Author, naval historian |
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie (April 6, 1803 – September 13, 1848), born Alexander Slidell, was a U.S. naval officer most famous for his 1842 decision to execute three suspected mutineers aboard a ship under his command, the USS Somers. Mackenzie was also an accomplished man of letters, producing several volumes of travel writing and biographies of early important U.S. naval figures, some of whom he knew personally. Mackenzie was the brother of U.S. Senator John Slidell of Louisiana, who was later involved in the American Civil War's "Trent Affair."
Mackenzie was captain of the USS Somers when it became the only U.S. Navy ship to undergo a mutiny which led to executions, including Philip Spencer, the nineteen-year-old son of the Secretary of War John C. Spencer. Mackenzie's handling of the Somers Affair, including its lack of a lawful court martial, was controversial; the incident was described at length in Vina Delmar's novel The Big Family. It also inspired the novella Billy Budd by American author Herman Melville. The Somers Affair also led to the founding of the United States Naval Academy.
Mackenzie (then Slidell) was born April 6, 1803, in New York City, to Margery [also spelled Marjorie] (Mackenzie) and John Slidell. Alexander was one of a large family of children. His older siblings included Thomas Slidell (later chief justice of Louisiana's state supreme court),John Slidell (later US Senator from Louisiana), and Jane Slidell (later the wife of Commodore Matthew C. Perry). Jane's marriage to M.C. Perry was to have a particularly profound influence on her younger brother's life, bringing him into close contact with one of the nation's leading naval families, which included Matthew's heroic older brother, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, and members of Commodore John Rodgers' family, with whom the Perrys intermarried.
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