![]() ![]() The veterans and their families might never have imagined that their accounts of the war and its effects on their lives could be so readily available to the nation. “This project is a way to help make accessible the records of our first veterans, the veterans of the Revolutionary War,” Isaacs said. Volunteers can r egister for a free account with the National Archives Catalog. ![]() With the help of volunteer archivists, these rare, firsthand stories from the Revolutionary War will be more accessible to the public and archived in the National Archives. John Lines’ 1781 note is the only known preserved letter penned by a Black Continental soldier. Judith Lines applied for widow’s pension in 1837 using one of the rarest kinds of documents – a correspondence from her husband written during his service under Gen. That means the National Archives files also include documents such as marriage licenses, wartime letters and soldiers’ diaries. To receive funds, widows had to give oral testimonies about their husbands’ service and provide proof of their marriage. When requirements for pension pay loosened in the 1830s, widows who were married before the conclusion of the war became eligible to apply. Historian Todd Braisted discovered, more than two centuries later, that Shoemaker joined a loyalist unit and was captive for only two months. ![]() However, relying on oral testimonies also allowed for embellished tales that were difficult to disprove.įor example, William Shoemaker testified that he spent 18 months as a prisoner of war to receive pension pay. When pension acts were put in place in the early 19th century, many veterans were elderly and illiterate, so they gave detailed accounts in hopes of recording their life stories. These verbal attestations were an opportunity for veterans to tell their stories in vivid detail. National Archives and Records Administration The first page of narrative testimony for the pension application of Rebecca Applegate under the Act of 1853 is at center, and the written testimony of Zebulon Applegate in his own hand is at right. The first page of narrative testimony for the pension application of Zebulon Applegate under the Act of 1832 is at left. As a result, thousands of court records have yet to be digitally transcribed in the National Archives Catalog. While the Continental Army issued signed discharge papers, veterans who served in the militia had to give oral testimonies and provide witnesses to corroborate their stories. “We’re asking the public in the next three years, as we lead up to the 250th anniversary of the United States, to help us transcribe the pension files to be able to unlock these stories of our first veterans,” Suzanne Isaacs, community manager for the National Archives Catalog, said. And they need the public’s help to do it. The goal of the project is to unearth personal stories from the battlefield and home front, using information included in federal pension applications from Revolutionary War veterans and their widows, according to the National Park Service. The information spans 150 years, from wartime records to 20th century inquiries made by veterans’ descendants. The Revolutionary War Pension Files Transcription Project aims to transcribe approximately 2.3 million original documents that correspond with more than 83,000 individual soldiers. The National Park Service and US National Archives and Records Administration are calling on Americans to help reveal the untold stories of the United States’ first veterans to commemorate the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence. ![]()
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