How to Tag in the National Archives Catalog
For the example here, we’re looking at a page in the pension file of Peter Mercell. At the time of his application, on October 5, 1824, Mercell was 74 years old and living in Morris County, New Jersey. He testified that he enlisted in the Delaware Regiment ,
However, upon reviewing his claim, the War Department discovered that Mercell was listed on a company pay roll from March 1780 as having “returned from desertion.” In order to explain this, Mercell appeared before the Morris County Court of Common Pleas on the first of April, 1825. Part of his testimony from this day is shown below.
In this selection, Mercell declared that:
"…some time in the winter of 1780, universally known among Revolutionary soldiers as the hard winter, he received from his commanding officer a furlough, or permit to visit his parents, residing a few miles from Morristown, where the army then was encamped: - that the Army was very destitute & suffering for provisions & clothing , & that the soldiers were often indulged by their officers in going from camp for short periods, to chop wood & do such work for neighbouring farmers as they could find to do, to procure some bread or flour or meat to subsist upon. – Being then very young & knowing that active service would not be required of the soldiers during the severity of that inclement winter, he remained with his father until about March, & perhaps he might have overstayed his time mentioned in his furlough for a few days – but that he never for a moment entertained a thought of deserting, but returned to his company & comrades in arms, & faithfully served his Country until the war was terminated & the Army was disbanded & discharged."
Here, Mercell is describing the 1780 winter encampment at what is now Morristown National Historical Park. To help future researchers searching the pensions find this reference to the Morristown winter encampment, let’s add some tags to this page indicating that Peter Mercell’s pension, and this page in particular, contains some great details about the Morristown camp. Above the manuscript page in the image below is a row of text and icons – at the center is a small tag icon the word “Tags,” and the number “0.” This means that no tags have been assigned to this page. To add some tags, click on the word “Tags.”
This opens up the Tags panel. At this point, no one has added any tags to Peter Mercell's file. Using the text box at the bottom of the Tags panel, we'll start to add some tags to connect this file with Morristown National Historical Park.
First, we'll add a tag for the town of Morristown. Type "Morristown" into the text box, and click on the +Tag button to the right of the box.
We now have one tag! Let's add a few more tags...
We can add the full park name - "Morristown National Historical Park."
Clicking the +Tag button next to the text box adds the tag to the list of those we've created. We now have two tags!
Let's continue by adding an abbreviated version of the park name - MorristownNHP.
Let's continue by adding an abbreviated version of the park name - MorristownNHP.
Finally, let's add the "alpha code" - the four-letter shorthand park code for that is used in places like park website addresses. The alpha code for Morristown National Historical Park is MORR.
Once you've added the last tag, click the "Close" button in the upper-right corner of the Tags panel.
Once you've added the last tag, click the "Close" button in the upper-right corner of the Tags panel.
Now you can see the number 4 next to the word Tags by the little tag icon above the manuscript page, indiciating that there are now four tags associated with this page of the pension file of Peter Mercell!
That’s it! Anyone searching the National Archives Catalog for references to Morristown and Morristown National Historical Park will be able to find this pension.
While you’re at it, you can also tag pages with other topics, making it easier for researchers to find. For some other suggested tags, and other tips on tagging check out the “What Makes A Good Tag” page on the National Archives' Citizen Archivist Dashboard.
While you’re at it, you can also tag pages with other topics, making it easier for researchers to find. For some other suggested tags, and other tips on tagging check out the “What Makes A Good Tag” page on the National Archives' Citizen Archivist Dashboard.
Last updated: June 28, 2023