4 February 1862
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Document signed
Title: [Respite of execution for slaver Nathaniel Gordon]
Countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward. Convicted of engaging in the slave trade, respite granted to allow Gordon to prepare for execution. He was the only slave trader in U.S. history to be executed for that crime and was executed on 21 February 1862 in New York. See story in Harpers Weekly, 8 March 1862, p.150 (ill. p.157).
GLC00182