Revolutionary War Pension Files Tagging Mission

Transcription is just one part of the process.  Adding a tag can help identify a person, event or location. Tags can also be used to create a link to all records with that tag [Here’s an example of records tagged with Revolutionary War Substitute]. You’ll also find that pension files contain non standard spelling.  By adding a tag that uses a standardized version of the name or battle,  you will help increase searchability

You are welcome to add as many tags as you see fit.

Watch our video tutorial How To Add Tags to Revolutionary War Pensions.

How to add tags

Tags can be added to the page where the subject is found. First select a record from the list of transcribed pension files. Review the transcription on the page to look for people, subjects, or events to tag. First you should view the transcription - click Show Details above the thumbnail list.

Click on the transcription icon or from the Grid View [left] or on Available from the List View [right]

Read through the transcription. If you identify a tag to add, click on Tags (circled) to open the Tag panel and add each  individual tag in the contribution box (arrow).  We suggest using a tag in the Tags to Add list found below.

Tags can also be added to the entire pension file by adding them to the contribution box at the bottom of the description.  In general, a tag added here indicates that the tag is about the entire pension file.

Tags to Add

Since there are dozens of tags that can be added to each pension, we’ve created some lists of tags our partners and researchers find especially useful.  They’re listed here in order of priority.

National Park Service tags

The highest priority for tagging is to place a Revolutionary War veteran at a National Park Service site.  Please add both the battle or event name and the National Park Service Site name and code.

Battles and Sieges

Tag a siege or battle by using a standardized name listed below.  This is not a comprehensive list and you can use sources such as this list of Revolutionary War battles in chronological order from Wikipedia to find a battle that is not listed.

Notable Names

Veterans also include the names of officers they fought under or spotted in camp or on the battlefield. While it is impossible to list all the names of officers, please use these tags for the most famous.

Forts

Veterans often mention forts where they were stationed or fought to defend.  We've listed some of the of the most mentioned forts here.

Other tags

Veterans often include colorful recollections of their service.  You are welcome to use the following tags to draw attention to a topic that may be of interest to the public.  We include the prefix of Revolutionary War before the subject so that a search for the tag will only return records from the Revolutionary War pension.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I’ve added tags but this pension is still on the list.
Since there are so many possible tags, we’re leaving a pension file on the list for longer than normal.  Feel free to skip ahead and find another record to tag.

Do I have to tag every page?
No.  It is possible that some pages or even entire pensions do not have anything to tag.

I have a suggestion of a tag to add to your list.  What should I do?
You are welcome to add the tag to the pension file and send the suggestion to catalog@nara.gov for consideration.

Can I tag a pension that is not part of your list?
Of course!  Any pension in the series can be both tagged and transcribed.  Our missions just provide a smaller and more manageable subset of records for our volunteers.

I wan to transcribe, where is that page?
You can find the transcription mission page here and it is linked at the top of this page.