 These records belonged to or written about living people. You would hope that these people did great things. In Charles Sprouse case, he did. He served his country faithfully. And to be able to go to his grave site and to pay homage to him, it was amazing. I work at the reference section of the National Archives. I deal a lot with Civil War pensions and service records. And I also volunteer here at the Fredgesburg and Sposovan in the National Military Park. I came across Charles Sprouse's grave in the National Cemetery here. I was inspired to look up his CMSR in pension. And I decided to scan it. A CMSR, or Compiled Military Service Record, is a record of somebody's war service. And according to his Compiled Military Service Record, he was part of the First United States Colored Calvary. This correspondence came from Charles Sprouse's pension file. It describes his death and where he was buried. He is buried at the National Cemetery in Fredgesburg, Virginia. We're in the far corner of the Fredgesburg National Cemetery amidst the over 15,000 United States soldiers and sailors who are interred here. I think it's very important for us to have someone like Charles Sprout here, because he almost epitomizes what the Civil War was all about. He began his life as an enslaved person. He had no rights to citizenship. He was the property of someone else. He was owned by a gentleman by the name of J. Horst Lacey, a prominent slave holder in the Fredgesburg area. He may have lived either at Chatham or Elwood. And he would move back near Elwood after the Civil War at a place called Wilderness Tavern. The tavern itself did employ several people, including Charles Sprout as well. He would live there, and then he would eventually pass away in Wilderness Tavern. During the Civil War, he escaped and gained his freedom. He notes that specifically in his pension file. He says, April 1861, free. After gaining freedom, Sprout then joins the United States Army. He literally fights for his freedom and those of other enslaved African-Americans. After the war is over, he receives compensation from the federal government in the form of a pension for maladies and other physical ailments that he suffered during the course of his service in the Army. This image is a medical certificate. This will describe Charles Sprout's injuries and his ailments of old age. This is part of the justification for a Civil War pension. Charles Sprout's pension and service record are transcribable. I've transcribed a good portion of his combined military service record and pension. And it has also been done by other private citizens as well. These records are really not dead records. They are living, breathing records. They are records of people who actually lived and did great things. And in Charles Sprout's case, he did. He served his country faithfully and now is buried in a national cemetery. To have a file of documents and information like that which exists for Charles Sprout is really integral for us to be able to go ahead and share those stories with the public. That's why the archives and the information they're in are really key for us to be able to do our jobs as park rangers.