Lyr Add: Jefferson Borden Mutiny

Subject: Lyr Add: Jefferson Borden Mutiny
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 02:29 PM

"The Jefferson Borden Mutiny.
"Origin of the Outbreak- The leader, Miller, confesses killing the First Mate.
"London, May 6.- Further particulars of the mutiny on the schooner Jefferson Borden show that it began on the 20th of April, when the vessel was a thousand miles from England.
The leader was a seaman named Miller, a native of Finland. He called the Captain at midnight, saying a man had had broken his leg; this was a ruse to get the Captain on deck unprepared. But when he got there he was well-armed and began firing upon the mutineers. The latter, finding it impossible to get the upper hand, retired to the deck-house, in which they were nailed up by the Captain and steward. Forty shots were fired at the mutineers before they surrendered. It was thirty hours from the beginning of the outbreak before the last man surrendered. The Captain had his wife on board.
"Miller, the ringleader of the mutiny, had been placed in irons for misconduct just after the schooner sailed from New Orleans. He afterward apologized for his misconduct. He confesses that he killed the first mate."

The New York Times, Published May 7, 1875. Copyright The New York Times.

The song, written at the time, will follow in the next post.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Jefferson Borden Mutiny
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:09 PM

Lyr. Add> The Mutiny and Murder at Sea
(The Jefferson Borden Mutiny

Tune- The "Gallant Hussar"

1
Kind friends, if you'll pay attention,
And listen awhile unto me.
A sad tale to you I will mention,
That happened far out on the sea.
On board of the Jefferson Borden
There was mutiny, murder, and strife,
Captain Patterson they would have murder'd,
He was saved through the words of his wife.

CHORUS:-
From Orleans she was bound to London,
The Jefferson Borden we see,
The Captain's wife she acted bravely,
At this mutiny and murder at sea.

2
The good ship she was short of seamen,
The Captain took strangers in hand,
We read in the papers that Miller
Would not obey the Captain's command.
Forty-eight hours a prisoner,
When relieved, he with Smith and Clew,
They murdered the brave Captain's brother
And the second mate his dear cousin too.
3
The poor boy they gagged and blindfolded,
A sad death he thought he would die,
Captain Patterson would have been murdered,
Come back his dear wife she did cry.
This mutiny and murder was dreadful,
To take the ship it was their aim,
The cause of this mutiny and murder,
No doubt it was for wealth to gain.
4
The Captain he fired his revolver
His wife and his own life to save,
The mutineers bravely he wounded,
While the good ship she sailed o'er the waves.
The scene on board it was dreadful,
Heartrending no doubt for to see,
The Captain and his wife they are saved
Frim this mutiny and murder at sea.
5
While we at home in bed are sleeping
We dream of friends o'er the main,
And for those dear ones we are weeping,
We cannot tell if we shall see them again.
When we think of this mutiny and murder,
Each feeling heart it fills with pain,
On board of the Jefferson Borden
In cold blood those dear soles* were slain.
*sic
Bodleian Collection, Ballads Catalogue: Firth c.12(124)
C. 1876.
With introductory account.
"Among all the tales of atrocities at sea which have in the past sullied the history of the Mercantile Navy, there will scarcely be found in late years a parallel one in tragical and melancholy interest to that which has taken place on board the Jefferson Borden, which arrived at the Nore, on Thursday."
She was carrying a cargo of oilcake from New Orleans.
"The Captain's wife, his brother Croydon T. Patterson (as First Mate), and his cousin, Charles H. Patterson (as second mate) were on board. A few minutes before 4 o'clock, on Friday, the 7th May,
the three wounded men were removed from the vessel, under charge of the Thames Police, and they are now lying at the London Hospital. Sit Thomas Henry said a warrant would be granted, and the three men would be brought up when well enough."

All of this makes an incoherent story. A summary will follow in the next post.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Jefferson Borden Mutiny
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 05:51 PM

At Google Books.
"The "Jefferson Borden Mutiny"
Circuit Court of the U. S., Dist. of Massachusetts.
Trial of George Miller, John Glew and William Smith (Am.) aka Ephraim Clark.
Justices Clifford and Lowell, 1876.

The ship's company consited of the master, William M. Patterson, Corydon T. Patterson, mate, and Charles Patterson, 2nd mate, with the three mutineers and one other able seaman, Jacob Limber, the steward Henry Aitken and a boy Henry (aged 18-20). The Captain's wife was aboard. The ship, aided by a tug, was towed down the river and over the bar.
Trouble started early, Miller refusing to help in passing through the narrow and difficult channel through the bar, when leaving their anchorage in New Orleans. Complaints were made about the food and water.
The mutineers made plans to take the vessel and kill the officers. An night, Smith induced the 2nd mate out of his cabin and to the jib boom. Miller struck the 2nd mate with a capstan bar. The two (and Glew?) threw Croydon Patterson overboard.
The Captain was called by Miller, but refused to leave his cabin. Miller said Glew had broken a leg.
Glew said he knew of the plan to murder the officers.
The Captain, armed, and steward apparently captured the mutineers.

George Miller and William Smith were found guilty by the jury and sentenced to hang.
Glew was found not guilty of the murder charge but was found guilty of mutiny on the high seas and sentenced to 10 years hard labor in the Massachusetts prison.