The included research and original documents indicate Henry Dwight Grant served in multiple New York infantry units during the Civil War and first enlisted in the 117th N. Y. Reg. in August 1862 as a sergeant in Company I. He was captured at the Battle of Bermuda Hundred in action on May 16, 1864, at Drewry's Bluff. The exterior of this writing desk has various markings including "H. D. Grant/Boonville/Onieda Co. N.Y." There are also pieces of an old express label that still have "ADA" and "EXPRESS" visible. Included are several historical documents. Perhaps the most interesting document is a letter (transcription also included) from "Sunday Morning May 29th 1864' addressed "My Dear Wife" and signed "H. D. Dwight" complete with original envelope with an Old Point Comfort, VA. Stamp (the exchange point for letters) in which he details life in the Libby prison camp in Richmond, the comfort of having a photo of his wife, and mentions Butler not allowing prisoner exchanges until the Confederates agreed to "exchange Negro Soldiers on equal footing with the white and I see no prospect of their doing that very soon." Benjamin F. Butler was highly influential as an abolitionist, politician, and a Civil War major general. He is responsible for the idea of seizing fugitive slaves as contraband to weaken the Southern war effort which in turn led to the push for full emancipation, organizing units from freed slaves and former POWs, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. For other wartime actions, he was personally listed by Jefferson Davis for execution if captured. Also included is H. Dwight Grant's appointment as a second lieutenant in the 117th Regiment of New York Infantry dated the 14th of December 1863. Another is a discharge document from September 1865 listing Grant as five feet ten inches tall, of light complexion, grey eyes, dark hair, and as lumberman at the time of enlistment it is signed by Brevet Captain Benjamin Seaward. Also included are the following post-Civil War items: a copy of "Proceedings of Annual Encampment G.A.R. New York, 1906," a pocket sized copy of the New Testament printed in London and signed "Sidney T Grant" on the inside (possibly a son or grandson), a white feather used as a quill pen with black ink stains at the tip, a leather bound inkwell with a German double eagle emblem and "KKA PRIV," and a N. Flayderman & Co. letter from 1964 discussing the desk and the letter from Grant to his wife.

The desk is very good with moderate field wear, some insect damage, and various marks and stains overall. The documents range from fine to very good. Some of the documents are mildly worn and have creases, but all are legible and in surprisingly good condition given their age. The letter to his wife and envelope are particularly astounding pieces. The ink well and other items are also very good and has some mild storage wear.