Charles Heidsieck
Encyclopedia
Charles Camille Heidsieck (1820–1871) was a 19th-century French Champagne merchant who founded the Champagne firm Charles Heidsieck in 1851. He is credited with popularizing Champagne in the United States and was known as "Champagne Charlie" during his stay. During the American Civil War
Heidsieck was imprisoned under suspicion of being a spy for the French government and the Confederacy
. His imprisonment sparked an international incident between France and US over what became known as The Heidsieck Incident.
on a white stallion in 1811 just ahead of Napoleon's
advancing army. Heidsieck arrived with cases of his Champagne and his order book, ready to celebrate with whichever side would win the upcoming battle.
Charles-Henri was the nephew of Florens-Louis Heidsieck
, co-founder of the Champagne house that eventually became Piper-Heidsieck
, and cousin of Henri-Louis Walbaum and Pierre Auguste Heidsieck who founded the house that eventually became known as Heidsieck & Co Monopole
. Charles Camille was married to Amélie Henriot.
area and New York State. He quickly saw the potential for the American market and retained an agent to facilitate his import sales. The mass import of Champagne was met with roaring success and record sales. When Heidsieck returned five years later, he was greeted in New York City with pomp and celebration with massive newspaper coverage and banquet receptions held in his honor. With this and subsequent trips, he developed the persona of Champagne Charlie that was a fixture of the New York high society scene.
and set sail for the US. Upon his arrival, he was informed by his sales agent that a new law passed by Congress aimed at absolving Northerners from having to give payment for cotton
purchased from the South, also absolved the agent from having to pay his debt to Heidsieck.
With no other recourse, Charles Heidsieck set out for New Orleans seeking repayment directly from the merchants that received the Champagne. With the conflict of war, Heidsieck had to travel in secrecy into the South. This meant going as far out of the way as Kansas
to avoid detection by the Union Army
. Upon his arrival in April 1862, he found the city to be nearly bankrupt and incapable of paying their debts financially. One merchant did have a warehouse full of cotton that was in high demand in Europe due to the shortages caused by the Union blockade
. Heidsieck accepted the cotton as payment and attempted to smuggle the cotton out of the port in Mobile, Alabama
with the use of two blockade runner
s. Despite ordering the ships to take different routes in hopes that at least one would make it past the blockade, both ships were intercepted and sunk with all cargo destroyed.
By this time, all routes to the North were completely sealed so Heidsieck went to New Orleans and attempted to charter a boat to Mexico
or Cuba
in hopes of making it back to Europe. To facilitate his passage, the French consul in Mobile gave him a diplomatic pouch with a request to deliver some documents to the consulate in New Orleans. Arriving in New Orleans on 5 May 1862, he found that the city had fallen to Union forces and was immediately seized upon his arrival by General Benjamin F. Butler
. Within the diplomatic pouch that was given to Heidsieck by the Mobile consulate were documents from French textile
manufacturers about supplying the Confederate armies with their uniforms. Despite Heidsieck's pleas of innocence and ignorance about the documents, he was charged with spying and imprisoned in Fort Jackson, Louisiana
.
Charles Heidsieck's imprisonment caused a diplomatic incident between the French and US government in what became known as the Heidsieck Incident. Several times, French diplomats and even Napoleon III
contacted President Abraham Lincoln
campaigning for Heidsieck's release. His release was finally granted on 16 November 1862. By this time, he was in frail health with his business bankrupt and his wife selling off family property to pay for his debts. Heidsieck returned to France, demoralized and broke.
In early 1863, Charles Heidsieck was approached by an American missionary with a packet of papers and a letter from the United States. The letter was from the brother of Heidsieck's former agent in New York. The man was ashamed of how his brother cheated Heidsieck out of his obligations and offered him a stack of deeds to land in Colorado
as a means of repayment. It turned out that the deeds were of land that accounted for a third of a small village known as Denver, which was to soon to blossom into one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the American West. In a few years time, Heidsieck was able to sell the land and repay all his debts. With the excess fortune, he was able to relaunch his Champagne house and quickly re-establish it as one of Champagne's premier houses.
A 1989 French-Canadian television production Champagne Charlie
portrayed Heidsieck's life. He was played by Hugh Grant
.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Heidsieck was imprisoned under suspicion of being a spy for the French government and the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. His imprisonment sparked an international incident between France and US over what became known as The Heidsieck Incident.
Family history
Charles Heidsieck was the son of Charles-Henri Heidsieck, a Champagne merchant who was famous for riding into MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on a white stallion in 1811 just ahead of Napoleon's
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
advancing army. Heidsieck arrived with cases of his Champagne and his order book, ready to celebrate with whichever side would win the upcoming battle.
Charles-Henri was the nephew of Florens-Louis Heidsieck
Florens-Louis Heidsieck
Florens-Louis Heidsieck was the founder of the Champagne house Heidsieck & Co from which later Piper-Heidsieck was spun off, and which was the start of the Heidsieck Champagne clan. Heidsieck was the son of a Lutheran minister from Westphalia, and had moved to Reims to work as a cloth merchant...
, co-founder of the Champagne house that eventually became Piper-Heidsieck
Piper-Heidsieck
Piper-Heidsieck is a Champagne house from the Champagne region of France. Founded by Florens-Louis Heidsieck on July 16, 1785 in Reims, the Heidsieck name was combined with the Piper name in October 1839...
, and cousin of Henri-Louis Walbaum and Pierre Auguste Heidsieck who founded the house that eventually became known as Heidsieck & Co Monopole
Heidsieck & Co Monopole
Heidsieck & Co "Monopole" is a champagne house located in the Champagne region of France. It was founded in 1785 by Florens-Louis Heidsieck. Today, Heidsieck is owned by the Vranken company , who also have Pommery and Demoiselle in their portfolio...
. Charles Camille was married to Amélie Henriot.
Champagne Charlie
In 1852, Charles Heidsieck first visited the United States and toured the New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
area and New York State. He quickly saw the potential for the American market and retained an agent to facilitate his import sales. The mass import of Champagne was met with roaring success and record sales. When Heidsieck returned five years later, he was greeted in New York City with pomp and celebration with massive newspaper coverage and banquet receptions held in his honor. With this and subsequent trips, he developed the persona of Champagne Charlie that was a fixture of the New York high society scene.
Setbacks during the American Civil War
In 1861, Charles Heidsieck received news of the conflict breaking out in the United States Civil War. With more than half of his company's assets tied into unpaid accounts in the US, Heidsieck quickly left ReimsReims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
and set sail for the US. Upon his arrival, he was informed by his sales agent that a new law passed by Congress aimed at absolving Northerners from having to give payment for cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
purchased from the South, also absolved the agent from having to pay his debt to Heidsieck.
With no other recourse, Charles Heidsieck set out for New Orleans seeking repayment directly from the merchants that received the Champagne. With the conflict of war, Heidsieck had to travel in secrecy into the South. This meant going as far out of the way as Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to avoid detection by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. Upon his arrival in April 1862, he found the city to be nearly bankrupt and incapable of paying their debts financially. One merchant did have a warehouse full of cotton that was in high demand in Europe due to the shortages caused by the Union blockade
Union blockade
The Union Blockade, or the Blockade of the South, took place between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, when the Union Navy maintained a strenuous effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms...
. Heidsieck accepted the cotton as payment and attempted to smuggle the cotton out of the port in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
with the use of two blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
s. Despite ordering the ships to take different routes in hopes that at least one would make it past the blockade, both ships were intercepted and sunk with all cargo destroyed.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
or Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in hopes of making it back to Europe. To facilitate his passage, the French consul in Mobile gave him a diplomatic pouch with a request to deliver some documents to the consulate in New Orleans. Arriving in New Orleans on 5 May 1862, he found that the city had fallen to Union forces and was immediately seized upon his arrival by General Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
. Within the diplomatic pouch that was given to Heidsieck by the Mobile consulate were documents from French textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
manufacturers about supplying the Confederate armies with their uniforms. Despite Heidsieck's pleas of innocence and ignorance about the documents, he was charged with spying and imprisoned in Fort Jackson, Louisiana
Fort Jackson, Louisiana
Fort Jackson is a decommissioned masonry fort located some up river from the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. It was constructed as a coastal defense of New Orleans between 1822 and 1832, and was a battle site in the American Civil War. It is a National Historic...
.
Charles Heidsieck's imprisonment caused a diplomatic incident between the French and US government in what became known as the Heidsieck Incident. Several times, French diplomats and even Napoleon III
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
contacted President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
campaigning for Heidsieck's release. His release was finally granted on 16 November 1862. By this time, he was in frail health with his business bankrupt and his wife selling off family property to pay for his debts. Heidsieck returned to France, demoralized and broke.
Rebound and success
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
as a means of repayment. It turned out that the deeds were of land that accounted for a third of a small village known as Denver, which was to soon to blossom into one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the American West. In a few years time, Heidsieck was able to sell the land and repay all his debts. With the excess fortune, he was able to relaunch his Champagne house and quickly re-establish it as one of Champagne's premier houses.
A 1989 French-Canadian television production Champagne Charlie
Champagne Charlie (TV series)
Champagne Charlie is a 1989 French-Canadian drama television series directed by Allan Eastman and starring Hugh Grant, Megan Gallagher and Megan Follows. It is based on the novel by Jacqueline Lefèvre and depicts the life of the nineteenth century wine merchant Charles Heidsieck....
portrayed Heidsieck's life. He was played by Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
.
External links
- Official Site
- Champagne Charlie (1989) - TV film starring Hugh GrantHugh GrantHugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
as Charles Heidsieck