Henry Clinton Forbes (1833-1903) was a poet, teacher, farmer, and colonel in the 7th Illinois Cavalry, U.S. Volunteers (1862-1865).

The collection includes four volumes of holographic poems by Henry C. Forbes. The material is written in ink and noted as being in final revised form. In the prologue to Volume 1, and in the dedication to Volume 4, he explains his motivations for writing poetry. Appended typescript copies by his son, Robert Forbes, include letters, biographical material, and his father's account of Grierson's Cavalry Raid in Vicksburg, 1863. A 1954 letter from Robert's cousin, Verne Ripley, concerns the poems. She also contributed a story in the appendix about visiting the family's old log home in Illinois. A black-and-white photograph, dated 1863, depicts Henry Forbes in uniform.