This collection contains letters to Henry L. Gray's family in Bradley, Maine chronicling his time with the USS Cambridge and their activities throughout the American Civil War. Included in the correspondence are notes on the locations of the ship, proximity to rebel forces, capture of Charleston by the Union Army, and the rebel blockade in Savannah, Georgia. He also references such historical events as the death of Lincoln and the surrenders of General Lee and General Wheeler as well as a first-hand account of the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Vice President. Gray documents where Davis and the Vice President were sent after their capture and how he was a member of their escort to Washington, D.C in 1865. Along with these historical events, Gray documents eating habits of soldiers, process of requesting furlough, and general life of a soldier during the Civil War from 1863-1865. Included in the collection are Henry Gray's proof of enlistment and request of a pension from the Department of the Interior and Surgeon General as well as a letter from his brother to the pension office explaining Henry's suspension from duty due to an injury.