Captain Nathaniel Gordon (born about 1834 in Portland, Maine, died February 21, 1862 in New York City) was the first and only American slave-trader to be tried, convicted, and hanged in accordance with the U. S. Piracy Law of 1820. Captain Gordon loaded 897 slaves aboard his slave trading ship Erie at Sharks Point, Congo River, West Africa on August 7, 1860 and was captured by the USS Mohican fifty miles from port on August 8, 1860. After one hung jury and a new trial, Gordon was convicted November 9, 1861 in the US Circuit Court at New York and sentenced to death by hanging on February 7, 1862. Gordon was not hanged before President Abraham Lincoln issued a temporary stay of Gordon's execution setting the new date for February 21, 1862. Lincoln made clear that the respite was only temporary to allow Gordon time for his final preparations. The evening before the execution, Gordon unsuccessfully attempted suicide with strychnine poison prompting the local authorities to move forward the execution to noon from 2:30pm due to Gordon’s health. Gordon was survived by his wife, son and mother. Location in Maine Founded  -Incorporated 1786   County Cumberland County Mayor Jill C. Duson Area  - Total  - Water 136. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, communications, music, fashion, and culture. ... Erie is the name of several places in the United States of America: Erie, Colorado Erie, Kansas Erie Township, Michigan Erie, Pennsylvania Erie County, New York There are also Lake Erie and the Erie Canal. ... Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA; the Congo River is visible in the center of the photograph Length 4,380 km Elevation of the source m Average discharge 41,800 m³/s Area watershed 3,680,000 km² Origin Mouth Atlantic Ocean Basin countries Dem. ... West Africa is the region of western Africa generally considered to include these countries: Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Côte dIvoire (Ivory Coast) Equatorial Guinea Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Chad, Mauritania, and... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki (R) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Abraham Lincoln - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Strychnine (pronounced (British) or (U.S.)) is a very toxic (LD50 = 1 mg/kg), colourless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as rodents. ...

External links

• www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=184
• www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/content_inside.asp?ID=3&subjectID=1
• www.letterscivilwar.com/12-7-61-slave_captain.html