Joseph Henry's Letter to Felix Flugel (August 12, 1865), August 12, 1865, Smithsonian Archives - History Div, Letter from Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to Felix Flugel, a German exchange agent for the Smithsonian Institution, August 12, 1865. In the letter, Henry requests that Flugel send some publications to the Smithsonian. Henry also describes the debate in Congress about appropriating funds to repair the Smithsonian Institution Building, or "Castle," following the fire of January 24, 1865..