was captured by the USS Mohican 50 miles from a Cuban port on August 8, 1860. The slaves were taken to Liberia, the American colony established in West Africa by the American Colonization Society for the settlement of free blacks from the United States. Gordon was extradited to New York to face a federal trial. Trials The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James I. Roosevelt, offered Gordon a $2,000 fine and two-year sentence in exchange for information about his financial backers. However, Gordon, confident that he wouldn't face any severe consequences, rejected the deal, believing it was not lenient enough. The case was repeatedly delayed due to the onset of the Civil War. By the time of Gordon's trial, a new district attorney, Edward Delafield Smith, had been appointed. Smith saw the Gordon case as a chance to become prominent and an opportunity to set an example for all future slave traders. He wanted Gordon executed. Gordon's first trial in New York City in June 1861 ended in a mistrial, with the jury voting 7-5 in favor of a conviction, allegedly due to bribes. Smith immediately pushed for a retrial. To counter potential tampering and bribes, the government had the jury sequestered. Among the arguments used by Gordon's lawyers during his second trial were technicalities which had successfully been exploited in other trials: The federal government did not have the authority to try Gordon, on the grounds that Erie was not an American ship since it had been sold to foreigners. Gordon himself may not be an American, since his mother sometimes accompanied his father on his voyages, which meant he might've been born at sea. Gordon had sailed so far into the Congo that he was in Portuguese waters, and thus not under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Gordon was just a passenger, and ceased to be the captain of the Erie after two Spaniards came aboard. The first three arguments were dismissed by the judge, while the fourth argument was contradicted by witnesses testimony. On November 9, 1861, Gordon was found guilty of piracy by engaging in the slave trade. The prosecution was led by Assistant United States District Attorney George Pierce Andrews. Gordon received the death sentence mandated under the law, with the execution date set for February 7, 1862. In passing sentence, Judge W.D. Shipman, in the course of his