Dr. Robert T. Coles Plantation

Dr. Robert T. Coles Plantation

Jackson County, slavery, slave narratives, Thomas Cole, Robert Coles

In a W.P.A. narrative, Thomas Cole recounted his time as a slave on the plantation of Dr. Robert Coles in western Jackson County. Thomas Cole was born in 1845 and ran away to join the Union army in 1861. After seeing combat at Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, and Orchard Knob he returned to Chattanooga where he worked as a switchman until his health failed. He then moved to Corsicana, Texas to live with his daughter.

Blake Wilhelm

Cole, Thomas. “Ex-Slave Stories (Texas),” Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-38. Texas Narratives Vol. 16, part 1, 225-235.

Coles, R.T. and Jeffrey D. Stocker (ed.) From Huntsville to Appomattox: R.T. Coles's History of 4th Regiment, Alabama Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A., Army of Northern Virginia. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1996.

Northeast Alabama Community College Archives and Special Collections

1845-1861