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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Archives and Ancestry.com are making newly digitized Civil War records available online for the first time, allowing users to trace family links to the war between North and South.
Nearly 275,000 pages being published Wednesday are among the most heavily used documents for research in the National Archives Civil War holdings. They include lists of Civil War draft-registration records from 1863 to 1865.
Filmmaker Ken Burns is expected to reveal a family discovery he made from the records.
The digitization is part of a five-year deal with Provo, Utah-based Ancestry.com. The public will have free access for a week before a paid subscription is required to access the records.
Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper says they don't have the money or staff needed to digitize all records themselves.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
