Henry A. (Henry Alexander) Wise (1806-1876) was a United States Representative, 1832-1843; minister to Brazil, 1844-1847; Governor of Virginia, 1856-1860; and Confederate Army officer of Accomack County, Va., 1861-1865. The collection chiefly contains political correspondence and speeches of Henry A. Wise as a Whig and Democrat. Topics for the material on microfilm include the political feud, 1838, between William Jordan Graves and Jonathan Cilley that resulted in a duel and ended in Cilley's death; and American politics. Also included are notes on daily life in Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian slave trade while Wise was United States Minister there, 1844-1847, and correspondence concerning U.S.-Brazilian foreign relations; Wise's account of his role in John Tyler's nomination for the vice presidency; speeches, pamphlets, and a scrapbook on the Wise family. Included are letters from Wise to James Buchanan, John C. Calhoun, William J. Graves, and Tully R. Wise. The additions contain six letters, and correspondents include Balie Peyton; Washington Greenhow; and George P. Manouvrier, United States consul at Pernambuco, Brazil. Subjects include William Bowen Campbell, Hopkins Lacy Turney, and Henry Clay; operations of the United States Consulate at Brazil; and a speaking invitation at Randolph Macon College, Boydton, Va.
