Heidsieck arrived with cases of his Champagne and his order book, ready to celebrate with whichever side would win the upcoming battle.

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 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.

[7] 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.

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.

Several times, French diplomats and even Napoleon III contacted President Abraham Lincoln campaigning for Heidsieck's release.

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 Denver, then a small village, which was soon to blossom into one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the American West.