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Endorsed by the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and sponsored by the Blue and Gray Education Society, the Lincoln Archives Digital Project (www.lincolnarchives.us) is providing unlimited access to the historic but fragile paper records of the administration of President Abraham Lincoln. This digital archive is not available on any other website.
Since 2002, we have been meticulously searching through the records of the National Archives to identify and scan documents from of the Lincoln administration. We are identifying documents from the State Department, Treasury Department, War Department, Justice Department, and other federal offices from the period of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. We are especially proud that the Lincoln Archives Digital Project has discovered several documents, signed by Abraham Lincoln, that have never before been cataloged.
The assortment of documents in the Lincoln Archives Digital Project is wide-ranging. They include Pardon Case files, applications for Federal jobs, and the papers of General Ambrose Burnside and Union General in Chief Henry Halleck. By digitizing all records, the documents provide a broader picture of this period in American history. An example is the papers of Jefferson Davis. Maps, photographs, newspaper articles, essays, and video podcasts also supplement the Lincoln Archives Digital Project. (We scan microfilmed copies of newspapers only if the original newspapers are no longer available.)
The records at the National Archives are organized by record group and entry. Inventories of documents do not exist. Searching records at the National Archives is like going into Grandma's attic. When you find a box, you may—or may not—find an item that you are looking for. A researcher could spend hours, if not days and weeks, looking for that one document. Instead, the Lincoln Archives Digital Project is searching the National Archives for you.
The Lincoln Archives Digital Project is providing other benefits to the American people. The project is helping to preserve original documents by minimizing the frequency of their handling. Also, the project is creating, for the first time, an inventory of every document in the National Archives related to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
The period of time covered by the project is March 4, 1861, through April 15, 1865. But, there are a few exceptions:
● After Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860, he was inundated with letters from office seekers. We are scanning these letters. (Keywords: “jobseekers,” “application”)
● We are scanning records from the period immediately after Lincoln’s assassination, which provide information on the hunt for the assassination conspirators, their trials, and their executions. (Keywords: “capture of the conspirators,” “assassination,” or the names of the conspirators)
● Records on the capture of Jefferson Davis are included in the Lincoln Archives Digital Project.
● Records on the trial of John Surratt are included in the Lincoln Archives Digital Project.
The Lincoln Archives Digital Project is comprised of three activities:
● We are systematically searching all record groups and entries (and scanning documents) in all the facilities of the National Archives and Records Administration throughout the United States. We estimate that it will take several more years to complete this activity.
● We are transcribing documents and inserting metadata for search capabilities. Links to related documents, maps, newspaper articles, and biographies will provide an endless source of supplemental material for the user.
● We are including annotations and footnotes by Civil War and Lincoln scholars to further enhance the Lincoln Archives.
The Lincoln Archives Digital Project is a private enterprise. We are not part of the Federal Government, and we are not affiliated with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The project receives no federal funds, and we accept no advertising.
If you would like to volunteer to transcribe documents for the Lincoln Archives Digital Project, please contact the Director, Karen Needles at 
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