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57-496: The case is particularly notable since Philip Spencer was the son of Secretary of War John C. Spencer . The brig USS Somers had been newly constructed for a naval "apprentice program" aimed at resolving a serious shortage of manpower for the Navy. It was intended to take children considered “the sweepings of the street,” including orphans and the poor of a nation ravaged by a long economic depression and train them as Navy personnel. This

114-413: A military portion and a religious portion. The religious part is specific to the religion of the deceased, and may be performed by a Navy chaplain , or by the commanding officer if no chaplain of the appropriate faith is available. A scripture is read and prayers are said. After the religious ceremony, the firing party is ordered "Firing party, present arms ". The casket bearers tilt the platform with

171-611: A captain in his own right and was promoted to the rank of Commodore during the Mexican American War . Thirty-five of the new apprentices later deserted the Somers while she was in port, and the apprentice system, which the brig was intended to establish, was abandoned. Instead, the United States Naval Academy was founded in 1845 to oversee the training of new personnel. Secretary of War The secretary of war

228-559: A cool, decided, and unanimous opinion" that Spencer, Cromwell, and Small were "guilty of a full and determined intention to commit a mutiny;" and recommended that the three be summarily executed. Spencer further stated that the accused conspirators "had been pretending piracy". Different accounts state that the captain “badgered” the officers to quickly convict the accused. The three men were hanged that day and buried at sea . In response to others stating that they were only thirteen days to home port and could have just waited to try them at shore,

285-494: A deceased body aboard a ship would cause an immediate life threat to those aboard the vessel, the commandment to protect innocent life ( pikuach nefesh ) overrides nearly all other commandments, including the command to bury the dead. Any appropriate actions to ensure the safety of surviving crew are required to be taken, which may include jettisoning a body at sea without burial. However, attempts would later be made to recover and bury when possible without life hazard. An example of

342-402: A firing party, casket bearers and a bugler , are assembled on the deck. The crew stands at parade rest at the beginning of the ceremony. The coffin is covered with a flag , and is carried feet first on deck by the casket bearers. The casket is placed on a stand, with the feet overboard. In case of cremated remains, the urn is brought on deck and placed on a stand. The ceremony is divided into

399-408: A metal casket for intact remains, but full-body burial in a suitably weighted shroud is also legal. The United States is similar to many countries which permit the spreading of cremation ashes within their Exclusive Economic zone. When spreading ashes from a ship which is registered in a different country, the regulations and reporting procedures for the ship's flag state need to be complied with once

456-455: A sailor to steal three bottles of wine. Sailmaker's Mate Charles A. Wilson was caught attempting to break into the ship's armory that afternoon, and two crewmen, McKinley and Green, missed muster when their watch was called at midnight. Four more men were restrained on the morning of 30 November: Wilson, McKinley, Green, and Cromwell's friend, Alexander McKie. Captain Mackenzie then consulted with

513-481: A sermon and/or hymns . Exact practices vary by denomoniation. However, some Protestants do not pray for the dead at all as they state that God has already received the deceased. At the burial of the dead at sea, the same office from the Book of Common Prayer as used for burial on land may be used; only instead of the words: We therefore commit [his] body to the ground, earth to earth, ... in sure and certain hope of

570-455: A ship on a combat mission may not have all the necessary resources available. Nowadays, it is usually possible to airlift the remains back to shore, and prepare a burial ceremony on land. However, as recently as the Falklands War , deceased were buried at sea without returning to land. Due to the limited facilities of military ships, this procedure usually does not include a casket, but the body

627-567: A ship's incinerator ash. The United States Navy has performed many burials at sea in its history, with wartime burials as recently as World War II , and peacetime burials still common. Enemy deaths received the same ceremony as Americans or allies. Most other armed forces also perform burials at sea, such as the British Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy . If the deceased died on land or has been returned to shore after death,

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684-454: A small pond where there can be certainty that the victim had not somehow survived, the family does not begin ritual mourning and remains in extended state of most intense mourning aninut until either the body is found or after an exhaustive search despairs of recovering and burying the body. This shows that the body is considered unburied when underwater; as shiva mourning normally only begins after burial. B'resheit (Genesis) 3:19 states "With

741-428: A smooth procedure. The firing party fires a three volley salute , the bugler plays " Taps ", and flowers may also be dropped into the ocean. After the flag is folded, the ceremony ends. The relatives are informed of the time and location of the burial, and given photos and video recordings if available. In wartime, attempts are made for burial at sea to follow the same procedure as for peacetime burial at sea, although

798-528: A subsequent court-martial , held at his request to avoid a trial in civil court. Nevertheless, the general populace remained skeptical. President John Tyler respected the verdict, but ordered that Mackenzie's record state that he was not "honorably acquitted", but that instead the allegations were "not proven." No charges were brought against the other alleged mutineers, who were quietly released. Mackenzie remained on active service until his death from heart disease several years later, while Lt. Gansevoort became

855-577: A suitable site. Departing from the New England area requires a voyage of about 45 miles (72 km) to reach the required 600 ft ocean depth. Sufficient depth is within 10 miles (16 km) or less at many harbors along the U.S. west coast, including San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Fort Bragg, Eureka, and Crescent City, all in California. The United States Navy inters intact remains from Norfolk and San Diego only. The United States Navy requires

912-513: A superior officer while serving on the USS North Carolina . Due to his father's influence, he was allowed to resign in disgrace rather than face a court-martial and was quietly reassigned to the Somers . Spencer proved to be a popular officer, indulging the young sailors in their misbehavior and giving them gifts of money, tobacco, and alcohol. It is unproven, but likely, that he also had sex with at least one of them. Captain Mackenzie and

969-765: Is covered by the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 administered by the federal Department of the Environment. A permit is required for burial of bodies at sea. Permits are usually only granted in cases of a strong connection to the sea, such as long-serving navy personnel. The body must not be embalmed or placed in a casket; it may only be sewn into a shroud. The burial must be in water deeper than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and not interfere with shipping, fishing or undersea communications. Australian Defence Force vessels engaged in armed conflicts or emergency situations are exempt from these requirements. No permit

1026-418: Is derived from Devarim (Deuteronomy) 21:23 "Bury, you will bury him the same day; for the (unburied body) is a curse to God" the double command to bury causing a positive commandment to entomb in the earth and a negative commandment forbidding leaving an unburied body. The legal text Shulchan Aruch brings a case example explaining that even if a person is known to have drowned in a closed body of water such as

1083-443: Is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different locations and with many different customs, either by ship or by aircraft. Usually, either the captain of the ship or aircraft or a religious representative (of the deceased's religion or the state religion) performs the ceremony. The ceremony may include burial in a casket, burial sewn in sailcloth, burial in an urn, or scattering of

1140-541: Is feasible, for preparation of the general resurrection of the dead at the Second Advent . The Anglican Communion allows for burial at sea. Historically, the body has to be sewn in canvas , and suitably weighted. Today, it is more common for the body to be placed in a body bag or if coming from ashore, a coffin. The ship is then stopped and a short religious ceremony is performed. Typically, Protestant funeral rites usually include some form of Bible reading, prayers,

1197-523: Is required to scatter ashes at sea. British burials at sea of the 18th and 19th century involved wrapping the deceased in sailcloth weighted with cannonballs. In England , cremated remains may be scattered freely at sea but a burial must be made in a coffin meeting regulatory requirements and in one of three locations: off The Needles , Isle of Wight ; between Hastings and Newhaven ; and off Tynemouth , North Tyneside . Permission may be sought for another burial site. Some funeral directors will arrange

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1254-473: Is sewn into a sailcloth with weights, usually rocks or cannonballs. Cremation is usually not possible on a ship. During the Pacific campaign there was at least one instance where a member of an aircrew was buried at sea in his damaged aircraft, which was ceremonially pushed overboard from an aircraft carrier . If no remains of the deceased are available a memorial service may be held, and flowers may be dropped in

1311-627: The Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces . In another case, when the skeletons of Holocaust victims were found in a river into which they had been dumped en masse, authorities claimed that many of these martyrs to the Jewish faith would hope to be brought ashore to rest in proper Jewish burials. Burial at sea within Australian territorial waters , exclusive economic zone and continental shelf

1368-490: The Roman Catholic Church prefers normal casket burials over cremations, but does allow for burials at sea of whole or cremated remains. The Church defines burial at sea as sinking remains in a worthy container to the sea bottom and final resting place. Burial at sea in a casket or in an urn is acceptable and not prohibited, but viewed as not preferable and should not be commonplace. Cremated remains are subject to

1425-461: The Army itself under Secretary Henry Knox only consisted of 700 men.     Federalist (4)     Democratic-Republican (8)     Democratic (14)     Whig (5)     Republican (25) Burial at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship, boat or aircraft. It is regularly performed by navies, and

1482-566: The Mississippi River Delta, such at-sea burials are only authorized in ocean waters at least 1,800 feet (549 m) deep. In California, a whole body must be buried at least three miles off the coast. Off the eastern coast of the United States, the closest sufficient depths are off Long Island (75 miles/121 km), Ocracoke (20 miles/32 km), and Miami (5 miles/8.0 km). This may require travel in excess of 30 miles (48 km) for

1539-505: The beasts of prey do not dig it out". However, if a person dies at sea and it is not possible to bring the body back to land before decay, or if burial at land becomes impossible, burial at sea is allowed. A weight is tied to the feet of the body, and the body is lowered into the water. This would preferably occur in an area where the remains are not immediately eaten by scavengers. In the Sunni Fiqh book Umdat al-Salik wa Uddat al-Nasik ,

1596-503: The body or coffin sinks quickly, and in many states a licensed funeral director is required. The Environmental Protection Agency regulations for full body burials at sea in the United States require that the site of interment be 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) from land and at a depth of at least 600 feet (180 m). In certain areas, specifically east central Florida, the Dry Tortugas, Florida and west of Pensacola, Florida to

1653-409: The captain noted the fatigue of his officers, the smallness of the vessel, and the inadequacies of the shipboard confinement to justify the executions. Somers docked at St. Thomas for resupply on 5 December and returned to New York on 14 December. She remained there during a naval court of inquiry which investigated the alleged mutiny and subsequent executions. The court exonerated Mackenzie, as did

1710-457: The captain. He ordered that Spencer be clapped in irons and held on the quarterdeck while his locker was searched. Papers written in English, but using Greek letters, were found; they were promptly translated by Midshipman Henry Rodgers. As evidence of a conspiracy, however, the document had several problems. For starters, nobody named “E. Andrews” was aboard the Somers . Cromwell, a leading suspect,

1767-436: The casket, so that the casket slides off the platform into the ocean. The flag which was draped over the casket is retained on board. For cremated remains, there is the option to bury the remains using the urn in a similar fashion to the procedure used for caskets. Alternatively, the urn can be opened, and the remains scattered in the wind. In this case, the wind direction has to be taken under consideration before burial to ensure

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1824-468: The committal prayer number 406§4 is used in the funeral liturgy. At Orthodox funerals, there is normally an open casket at the ceremony. At the grave site, there is a short prayer, after which attendants move to place flowers on the casket. A memorial service is typically held on the Sunday closest to the 40th day after death. Cremation is not approved, as bodies are sought to be preserved in burial as much as

1881-547: The condition for sea burial is: It is best to bury him (the deceased) in the cemetery ... If someone dies on a ship and it is impossible to bury him on land, the body is placed (O: tightly lashed) between two planks (O: to obviate bloating) and thrown into the sea (O: so that it reaches shore, even if the inhabitants are non-Muslims, since a Muslim might find the body and bury it facing the direction of prayer (qibla)). According to Jewish law , dead people must be quickly buried, and burial requires covering in earth. This law

1938-474: The condition that the ashes are entombed in an mausoleum urn niche, columbarium, or buried on land or sea. Catholics believe it is not proper to scatter or pour the cremated remains over the sea, water, or on the land. According to the Roman Catholic Church this action does not give due respect to the remains of the deceased, nor does it allow for the closure, healing of family and friends, and prayers for

1995-509: The cremated remains from a ship. Burial at sea by aircraft is only done with cremated remains. Other types of burial at sea include the mixing of the ashes with concrete and dropping the concrete block to form an artificial reef such as the Atlantis Reef . Below is a list of religions that allow burial at sea, with some details of the burial. In Christianity, the practice is accepted. It has specific liturgies for burial at sea. Officially,

2052-402: The crew for evidence of the suspected mutiny. The lieutenant later reported to Mackenzie that Spencer had been observed taking part in secret nightly conferences with Seaman Elisha Small and Boatswain's Mate Samuel Cromwell . Captain Mackenzie confronted Spencer with the mutiny allegation that evening. Spencer's reply was that he and Wales were merely joking, but this only further angered

2109-450: The deceased. Likewise they see that the custom of housing the remains with family or friends and not placing the deceased in the ground does not offer loved ones a specific and sacred place to visit the deceased's remains. Visiting the deceased in a holy place provides believers with a space to offer prayers, commune with those who have gone before them in faith, and reminds them to await the resurrection of their own bodies. For burials at sea,

2166-501: The desire to bury a body in the ground, even after it has been long dead at sea, is seen in the case of the Israeli submarine Dakar . The submarine was lost with no survivors in 1968, and its location was not discovered until 1999, when it was found to be lying broken at a depth of 3,000 meters. Search and recovery of any potentially existing remains at this very difficult-to-access depth has not shown results, despite requests from family and

2223-600: The direction of the Chaplaincy services in three designated port areas and carries no charge. Many Lutheran naval veterans and seamen prefer to be buried at sea. In those cases either the casket or urn is set to sea, or ashes scattered. The procedure is similar as that with the Anglican church. Some parishes have specific consecrated sea areas that are designated by a bishop as a sea area where ashes can be sprinkled. In traditional Hindu funerary practice bodies of water serve as

2280-534: The event, such as Britannia Shipping for Burial At Sea. Charity organisation the Maritime Volunteer Service also helps carry out burials at sea. In Scotland , there are two designated sites for burial at sea. These are 210 miles (340 km) due west of Oban and 15 miles (24 km) west of John O'Groats . A funeral director is not required for the burial of cremated remains at sea. However, full body burials require specific preparation to ensure

2337-486: The fire makes the skull crack, and the body is then remade in the ancestral realm. After the fire has burned down, the ashes are collected, and immersed in a sacred river, ideally the Ganges . Death causes a ritual pollution among the attendants of the funeral, who wash themselves in the sacred river after the dispersion of the ashes. The sacred texts of Islam prefer burial on land, "so deep that its smell does not come out and

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2394-600: The first President under the Constitution , he appointed Knox to continue serving as Secretary of War. The secretary of war was the head of the War Department . At first, he was responsible for all military affairs, including naval affairs . In 1798, the secretary of the Navy was created by statute, and the scope of responsibility for this office was reduced to the affairs of the United States Army . From 1886 onward,

2451-419: The four wardroom officers (First Lieutenant Gansevoort, Passed Assistant Surgeon L.W. Leecock, Purser Heiskill, and Acting Sailing Master M.C. Perry) and three oldest midshipmen (Henry Rodgers, Egbert Thompson, and Charles W. Hayes), asking their opinion as to the best course of action. The seven convened in the wardroom to interview members of the crew. On 1 December, the officers reported that they had "come to

2508-442: The other officers, by contrast, held him in contempt for modeling poor behavior to the crew, thus impeding the primary mission of the Somers' s voyage. On 26 November, Captain Mackenzie was informed by his first lieutenant, Guert Gansevoort , that the Somers' s purser , H.M. Heiskill, had learned from ship's steward J.W. Wales that a mutiny was being planned by Spencer. Captain Mackenzie instructed Gansevoort to watch Spencer and

2565-410: The primary place of deposition for human remains, and their shores may also be the location for other parts of the funerary rituals, including the cremation. The deceased are traditionally cremated on a pyre accompanied by a variety of items, including flowers, herbs, oils and holy river water. The cremation serves as a final sacrifice of the body. The soul escapes the confines of the body when the heat of

2622-486: The remains may be brought aboard either in a coffin or in an urn after cremation. The ceremony is performed while the ship is deployed, and consequently civilians are not allowed to be present. In the US, people eligible for a Navy burial at sea are: In preparation, the officer of the deck calls All hands bury the dead , and the ship is stopped (if possible). The ship's flags are lowered to half mast . The ship's crew, including

2679-506: The resurrection of the body the form of words used is: We therefore commit [his] body to the deep, ... in sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the body, when the Sea shall give up her dead ... Anglican , and other, chaplains of the Royal Navy also bury cremated remains of deceased naval personnel at sea. Scattering of cremated remains of those who have served in the Navy is allowed under

2736-492: The secretary of the Navy, have since 1949 been non-Cabinet subordinates under the secretary of defense . The secretary of the Army's office is generally considered the direct successor to the secretary of war's office although the secretary of defense took the secretary of war's position in the Cabinet, and the line of succession to the presidency. The office of Secretary at War was modeled upon Great Britain's secretary at war , who

2793-742: The secretary of war was in the line of succession to the presidency , after the vice president of the United States , the Speaker of the House of Representatives , the President pro tempore of the Senate and the secretary of state . In 1947, with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947 , the secretary of war was replaced by the secretary of the Army and the secretary of the Air Force , which, along with

2850-425: The sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, from (dust) you were taken and you are dust, and to dust you will return." From this it has been deduced by rabbis that the only proper treatment of a dead body is physically to cover it with earth once land is available for the crew to bury the body, rather than to leave the body at sea or some other fate such as cremation . If for some reason

2907-479: The vessel is in international waters, that is, outside 12 nautical miles (22 km). Ships follow the London Convention principles, as opposed to MARPOL regulations, as the ash is intentionally taken on board for discharge at sea, as opposed to ash generated on passage from the ship's incinerators. It should be further considered that on 1 January 2013, MARPOL Annex V came into force, which prevents discharge of

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2964-513: Was William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington , at the time of the American Revolution. The office of Secretary at War was meant to replace both the commander-in-chief and the Board of War , and like the president of the board, the secretary wore no special insignia. The inspector general, quartermaster general , commissary general, and adjutant general served on the secretary's staff. However,

3021-437: Was Small." Small was questioned and admitted that he and Spencer had met in secret. Both Cromwell and Small joined Spencer in being restrained on the quarterdeck. On 28 November, the wardroom steward, Henry Waltham, was flogged for having stolen brandy for Spencer; Captain Mackenzie then summoned the crew and revealed what he claimed was a plot by Spencer to have them murdered. Waltham was flogged again on 29 November for asking

3078-607: Was a member of the U.S. president 's Cabinet , beginning with George Washington 's administration . A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation between 1781 and 1789. Benjamin Lincoln and later Henry Knox held the position. When Washington was inaugurated as

3135-681: Was commissioned as one of the Somers' s midshipmen after he ran away to work on a whaler at Nantucket following an abortive stay at Union College (where he was a founding member of the Chi Psi fraternity in May 1841). His father located him and convinced him that if a life on the sea was what he wanted, he should live it as "a gentleman"; i.e., as a commissioned officer. Considered "wild and uncontrollable despite displaying signs of high intelligence" during his brief attendance at Geneva College (now Hobart College ), his naval career started poorly after he struck

3192-517: Was in keeping with centuries of naval tradition, which held that crew and officers should be trained in their duties while at sea. Of the 120 crew on board, ninety were in their teens, with half of those between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. Under Captain Mackenzie, they were constantly flogged for "infractions" such as not being fast enough, being "disorderly", not being clean or neat enough, disobeying orders, and engaging in masturbation . Philip Spencer, son of Secretary of War John C. Spencer ,

3249-413: Was not listed, while Wales — the man who had brought the story to his superiors’ attention — was listed as a “certain” conspirator. A mast failed and damaged some sail rigging on 27 November. The timing and circumstances were regarded as suspicious by Captain Mackenzie, and Cromwell, the largest man on the crew, was questioned about his alleged meetings with Spencer. Cromwell said: "It was not me, sir – it

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