Call to arms: Thousands of Revolutionary War stories are waiting to be told. A new project asks the public to help uncover them

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.

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 information spans 150 years, from wartime records to 20th century inquiries made by veterans' descendants.

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. And they need the public's help to do it.

"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.

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. As a result, thousands of court records have yet to be digitally transcribed in the National Archives Catalog.

These verbal attestations were an opportunity for veterans to tell their stories in vivid detail. 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.

However, relying on oral testimonies also allowed for embellished tales that were difficult to disprove.