Free Access to Lincoln Archives Digital Project through Memorial Day

I have posted before about the Lincoln Archives Digital Project.  The project is trying to digitize all federal records housed within the National Archives which were created during Abraham Lincoln's administration -- from November 1860, after Lincoln's election, to April 15, 1865, the date of his death.  Additional records to be digitized include those involved with the assassination; the capture, trial, and executions of the conspirators; the capture and imprisonment of Jefferson Davis; and the capture and trial of John Surratt.

The Lincoln Archives Digital Project is giving free access to the collection through May 28, 2012.  The site includes records and indices related to prisoners of war, the slave trade, court martials, and Lincoln's assassination, plus photographs, political cartoons, maps, and newspapers.  The site is very much still a work in progress, and a few records are scattered through different sections.

LincolnArchives Digital Project: Call for Volunteers

The LincolnArchives Digital Project seeks volunteers in the Washington, D.C. metro area to help digitize the Civil War military service records located at the National Archives facility in Washington.  The records, along with the pension files, have been selected to be moved to the St. Louis facility within the next five years.  Volunteers will receive free subscriptions to the LincolnArchives Digital Project site.

Two scanners are available at the Archives I facility.  Approximately four service records can be scanned per hour.  Records are being scanned at 600 dpi, 24-bit color.  Each military service record will be burned to a DVD.  One copy will be given to NARA to use as they see fit.  Those who have laptops with DVD burners and scanners that can do 600 dpi color scans are welcome to bring their own equipment.  The goal is to digitize at least 300 service records per week, starting with the state of Illinois.

Contact Karen Needles, LincolnArchives Digital Project Director, at (240) 462-9802.

The Archives building is open 9-5 Monday and Tuesday, 9-9 Wednesday-Friday, and 9-5 on Saturday.

LincolnArchives Digital Project: Free Access September 1-14, 2011

Another Web site with digitized Civil War-era information has come online.  The LincolnArchives Digital Project is granting a free two-week trial to view the Civil War, Lincoln administration, and Confederate records at http://www.lincolnarchives.us/.  Use code 8AFC42CCC2 to take advantage of the free offer.  After the free access period the site will revert to subscription-only access.

The site gives three ways to find information:  a regular search feature, searching by NARA Record Group descriptions, and a site map with subject headers.  There are records related to prisoners of war, the slave trade, court martials, Lincoln's assassination, and more.  Photographs, political cartoons, and newspapers are also available.