The Curse of the Somers

James Delgado, a well-published maritime historian and archaeologist, has given the infamous ‘Somers Affair’ a 21st century twist with a fascinating view of sailors’ daily life in the pre-civil war sailing navy. This is a diverting and essential book covering a rare mutiny and its punishment in the ante-bellum U.S. Navy. * William S. Dudley, author of Inside the US Navy of 1812-1815 *Was young Philip Spencer actually plotting a mutiny, or was he simply an over-imaginative teenager? Was Alexander Slidell Mackenzie a responsible skipper protecting his ship, or was he over his head in command and guilty of a paranoid overreaction? In this reconstruction of the so-called Somers mutiny, James P. Delgado offers a vivid and gripping account of the personalities and circumstances that culminated in one of the most controversial episodes of American naval history. * Craig L. Symonds, author of Nimitz at War *Delgado leads readers into that vortex of nineteenth-century recrimination that continues to this day. He has skillfully put the facts on the table in The Curse of the Somers. * John E. Grady, Fairfax, Virginia, The Northern Mariner *This lively and informative book is the result of Delgado’s scholarly engagement with the history of that ‘most infamous ship’ in American naval history. Delgado draws on a host of primary and secondary sources, offering a fresh view on a well-known case. * Steven Pfaff, International Journal of Maritime History *

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.