News

Community Transcription – Thirty-Six Months

It has been thirty-six months since we opened the War Department archives to community transcription – three years! We are still receiving regular requests for transcription accounts.

Here is a snapshot of transcription activity in the last month:

As of this morning, we have 1,793 users, with approximately 35 new transcribers signed up since the last update. Those volunteer transcribers have made 12,458 saves to War Department documents, which is about 178 additional edits since the last update. We also know that, on average, each document is edited about three times before it is finished. Moreover, we have had 150,842 total page views.

A wide variety of people have volunteer as transcribers, including undergraduate and graduate students, independent scholars, genealogists, veterans, preservationists, and living history practitioners. Transcribers include teachers at every level of education, elementary to university. In addition to the many transcribers in the United States who registered in the last month, we have transcribers from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico. Those who specified an interest or focus mentioned topics such as the Society of the Cincinnatti, loyalists in the aftermath of the American Revolution, specific regions such as Tennessee or the tidewater area of Virginia, and diplomatic affairs both international and with native tribes.

The documents vary widely in content. Recently completed transcriptions include issues with paying the troops in Connecticut, dealing with prize ships taken by the French, and finding a location for establishing headquarters.

As we continue to move forward with the project, users may still register for a transcription account.