The Flying Scud was a Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of maritime salvage. The case involved a ship called the Flying Scud, which had been abandoned by its crew in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The crew of a nearby vessel, the William Tapscott, had rescued the Flying Scud and brought it to port. The owners of the Flying Scud then sued the crew of the William Tapscott for salvage, claiming that they were entitled to a portion of the value of the Flying Scud as compensation for their efforts. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the crew of the William Tapscott, finding that they were entitled to a salvage award. The Court held that the crew of the William Tapscott had acted in good faith and had taken reasonable steps to save the Flying Scud. The Court also noted that the crew of the William Tapscott had acted without any expectation of reward, and that their actions had been motivated solely by a desire to save the vessel. As such, the Court found that the crew of the William Tapscott were entitled to a salvage award.

In The Flying Scud, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a vessel that had been seized by the United States Navy during the Civil War could be sold as prize money. The majority opinion held that it could not because Congress had passed a law prohibiting such sales. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision and argued that Congress did not have authority to pass such a law in this case since it violated both international law and constitutional principles of due process. He further argued that if Congress wanted to prohibit these types of seizures, they should do so through legislation rather than judicial decree. In his view, allowing for such seizures would lead to arbitrary decisions being made without any legal basis or protection for those affected by them. Ultimately, Justice Field's dissenting opinion was unsuccessful as the majority ruling stood and no changes were made regarding how vessels seized during wartime are treated under U.S. laws