Description:

EDWARD DELAFIELD SMITH'S ARGUMENT IN THE CASE OF THE BLOCKADE RUNNER ‘PETERHOFF'
A very interesting and scarce war-date printed pamphlet, ‘Argument of E. Delafield Smith, United States District Attorney, Addressed to the United States Court at New York, in the Case of the Prize Steamer Peterhoff, July 10, 1863', [New York: John W. Amerman], 1863, 25pp. 8vo. The PETERHOFF was a British mail steamer that was boarded at St. Thomas on Jan. 27, 1863 by USS VANDERBILT, flagship of U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Charles F. Wilkes, notorious for his role in the better-known ‘Trent Affair' at the outset of the Civil War. The Peterhoff's papers claimed that she was bound for Matamoros in Mexico, but a crewman let slip that her actual destination was Brownsville, Texas, implying that she would run the Union blockade lines. The British government protested, but a New York prize court condemned her and ordered her sold into U.S. Navy service. The address presented here is that of New York District Attorney EDWARD DELAFIELD SMITH (1826-1878), given before that prize court, arguing that her seizure was legal and that she was acting as a blockade runner. Smith signs in black ink at the top edge of the brown paper cover, adding a dedication to a William Wright. Shows even toning to the covers, with a small loss to the cover and first few pages at bottom right, otherwise in very good condition. Edward Delafield Smith was best known for his prosecution of slave trader Nathaniel Gordon, who had been arrested in 1860 under the administration of James Buchanan, but had been imprisoned in relative comfort with no trial scheduled. Upon taking office in 1861, Smith ordered Gordon brought to trial and successfully sought the death penalty to set an example for other slave traders. He also prosecuted James Andrews, leader of the 1863 New York Draft Riots. The USS PETERHOFF would be assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, but would be rammed and sunk by the gunboat MONTICELLO off North Carolina after being mistaken for a blockade runner. After the war, the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the New York court's decision and order compensation for her owners.

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March 27, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

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