Introduction

Greetings, my name is Jacob Finegan and I've studied history and archaeology at the University of Central Florida.

My interest in history stems from a deep appreciation of our modern and digital world. The present will always be the best moment to study the past; new innovations in memory-making and in methodology are always being refined with increasingly accurate scientific instruments. Even for historians, whose sources are typically written documents, the conservation of place, landscape, and memory is taking a greater stake in the narrative than ever before. In the past, my research included Near Eastern empires, landscapes/border definitions, and frontier dynamics. Now, it revolves around the American memory of the Civil War, the Lost Cause, and modern questions regarding the role of the US Colored Troops (USCT), the Battle of Olustee, and their right to recognition. 

My internship with the UCF Community Veterans History Project (UCF-VHP) will focus on the Battle of Olustee, Florida during the Civil War. This was the largest battle of the Civil War in Florida and will involve documenting the battle and Union retreat, the Confederate massacre of black and white troops, and the lack of memorialization of US (Union) soldiers compared to those of the Confederate States of America (CSA).

In previous internships, I was able to work with census records and other letters at UGA's Hargrett Special Collections Library. With UCF-VHP I hope to visit the site of Olustee, learn new skills about oral histories and archival work, as well as study the pattern of memorialization after the Civil War. Additionally, I hope to assist in erecting a monument to Union troops at Olustee - even if we have to lay the bricks ourselves.