The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #126347 Message #2830588
Posted By: Charley Noble
05-Feb-10 - 09:15 AM
Thread Name: From SF to Sydney - 1853 Shanties Sung?
Subject: RE: From SF to Sydney - 1853 Shanties Sung?
Here's another footnote on slave trading.
The dubious honor of being the last American slave trader to be hanged in the United States goes to Captain Nathaniel Gordon in New York City on February 21, 1862: Click here for article!
For more information about this case read the recent book titled Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader by Ron Soodalter.
I also agree that "John Cherokee" is not a good candidate for a slave trading shanty. It's a fine shanty, and a more curious mixture of Native-American/Black American/Canadian/Alabama sailor is not featured in any other shanty I'm familiar with.