| Charles Heidsieck | |
 Image of Charles Heidsieck used in Champagne ads in the US during the 1850's.
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| Born | 1820 France |
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| Died | 1871 France |
| Occupation | Champagne merchant |
| Spouse | Amélie Henriot |
| Parents | Charles-Henri Heidsieck |
Charles Camille Heidsieck (1820-1871) was a 19th century French Champagne merchant who founded the Champagne firm Charles Heidsieck in 1851. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Champagne is a Sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle Secondary fermentation of Wine to effect Carbonation. He is credited with popularizing Champagne in the United States and was known as "Champagne Charlie" during his stay. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the During the American Civil War Heidsieck was imprisoned under suspicion of being a spy for the French government and the Confederacy. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 His imprisonment sparked an international incident between France and US over what became known as The Heidsieck Incident. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. [1]
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Family history
Charles Camille Heidsieck the son of Charles-Henri Heidsieck, a Champagne merchant who was famous for riding into Moscow on a white stallion in 1811 just ahead of Napoleon's advancing army. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Heidsieck arrived with cases of his Champagne and his order book, ready to celebrate with whichever side would win the upcoming battle. [2]
Charles-Henri was the nephew of Florens-Louis Heidsieck, co-founder of the 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. Piper-Heidsieck is a Champagne house from the Champagne region of France. The Heidsieck Monopole is a champagne house located in the Champagne region of France. Charles Camille was married to Amélie Henriot. [3]
Champagne Charlie
In 1852, Charles Heidsieck first visited the United States and toured the New England area and New York State. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous 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. [4]
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 Reims and set sail for the US. Reims (alternative English spelling Rheims; riːmz in English and /ʁɛ̃s/ in French) is a city of the Champagne-Ardenne région of northern 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. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp [5]
With no other recourse, Charles Heidsieck set out for New Orleans seeking repayment directly from the merchants that received the Champagne. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana 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. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. 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. The Union Blockade refers to the naval actions between 1861 and 1865 during the American Civil War, in which the Union Navy maintained a massive effort on the 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 runners. A blockade runner is a term applied to ships used to evade a naval Blockade of a harbor or strait as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade 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. [6]
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. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la 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 May 5, 1862, he found that the city had fallen to Union forces and was immediately seized upon his arrival by General Benjamin F. Butler. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1862 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Monday Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5 1818 January 11 1893 was an American Lawyer and Politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States 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. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. Despite Heidsieck's pleas of innocence and ignorance about the documents, he was charged with spying and imprisoned in Fort Jackson, Louisiana. Fort Jackson is a decommissioned masonry Fort located some 40 miles up river from the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish Louisiana. [7]
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. Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal His release was finally granted on November 16, 1862. Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 1862 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Monday 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. [1]
Rebound and success
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. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. 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. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States The Western United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American West or simply the West &mdashtraditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost 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. The Champagne wine region ( archaic Champany is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. [8]
See also
References
- ^ a b D. The following is a partial list of people involved in winemaking and related efforts: Ted Allen: television personality and food and wine expert & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 91 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
- ^ D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 81 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
- ^ James Beard Foundation Events Charles-Camille Heidsieck: His Life in Antebellum Louisiana
- ^ D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 85-86 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
- ^ D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 88 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
- ^ D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 89 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
- ^ D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 90 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
- ^ D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 92 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
External links
- Official Site
- Champagne Charlie (1989) - TV film staring Hugh Grant as Charles Heidsieck
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