After the Civil War, Black veterans and their families fought a completely different battle; however, this one was a true logomachy, a war of words. From pleading with Army officials that they were who they said they were to widows who wouldn’t quit, these pension records tell the stories of resilience in the face of institutionalized discrimination and racism.

“Resilience in the USCT Pension Records” and the posters you see here are the work of the students in ENC 4415/5935 Rhetoric and the Digital Humanities, but their work is a collaboration among several groups. The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center identified St. Augustine soldiers of the USCT regiments for us to study. The UNF Carpenter Library Special Collections provided the pension records for the students to research. The research librarians at the St. Augustine Historical Society made themselves available for student questions. The archivists at Flagler College created space in the Resilience Omeka site for these students to make their work public. And then finally, the social media team for the Resilience project promoted the students’ work you see today.