At 33 years old, Smith was appointed federal attorney for New York City by Abraham Lincoln.

His most famous case was in 1862, when he oversaw the prosecution of slave trader Nathaniel Gordon.

[1] When Smith assumed his post in April 1861, he found that Gordon had been in custody for some time in the relative comfort of the Eldridge Street jail, with no plans to bring a trial.

Later on, he also prosecuted John Andrews, leader of the New York City draft riots.

Edward was a direct descendant of the early American colonist Daniel Smith of Watertown, Massachusetts.