The Princeton Fugitive Slave: The Trials of James Collins Johnson

James Collins Johnson was an escaped slave working at Princeton University in 1843 when he was arrested and tried as a fugitive. Though convicted and slated for return to slavery, he was redeemed by a local white woman. Johnson became one of the best-known vendors at Princeton over his six-decade career. This book challenges this uncomplicated account of Johnson’s life.

Reconstructs the life of James Collins Johnson, whose escape from slavery in Maryland and subsequent discovery in Princeton, NJ, led to a sensational trial for re-enslavement, a last-minute change of fortune, and a lasting mystique