The National Archives and Ancestry.com published newly digitized Civil War records online for the first time Wednesday, allowing users to trace family links to the war between North and South. Nearly 275,000 newly published pages are among the most heavily used documents for research in the National Archives’ Civil War holdings. The pages contain about 3 million names of those who enlisted for a draft from 1863 to 1865, though only about 40,000 were drafted to fight.

The digitization project is part of a five-year deal with Provo, Utah-based Ancestry.com worth millions of dollars. The public will have free access beginning Thursday for a week before a subscription is required to access the records. You can access the free trial at http://www.ancestry.com/civilwar150.

Source: National Archives and Ancestry.com Press Release, April 6, 2011.