John Nassivera (born 1950) is an American author, playwright and college professor. (wikipedia)
He knew something bad was happening. Bullets were flying. He was so depressed he decided to stand there and see if he died.
By the time he put down the memoir, he was quite old and going blind. He had moved from Poultney to Georgia, Vt. He recited the book to a white lawyer friend named Benjamin Prentiss who recorded it.
I spoke with a descendent named Jim Brace, who lives in St. Albans. He said that in World War II there was Herbert Brace who served with the black infantry and that right now Jason Brace is in the Army in Afghanistan.
There are very few slave narratives because it was illegal to teach slaves to read and write. This man remembered being captured in Africa when he was 16. He remembers vividly the voyage to the Caribbean Islands, being sold to a ship's captain.
