CDV Image of Confederate Colonel Charles F. Henningsen, 59th VA

This is a rare CDV image being offered of Confederate Colonel Charles F. Henningsen of the 59th Virginia Infantry. It is a three-quarter standing image of him in mid-19^th century attire, no known images of him in uniform. It has the famous backmark of “E. & H.T. Anthony” of 501 Broadway, NY, which was from a Brady Negative.

Charles Frederick Henningsen (1815 – 14 June 1877) was a Belgian-American writer, mercenary, filibuster, and munitions expert. He was a participant in civil wars and independence movements in Spain, Circassia, Hungary, Nicaragua, and the United States.

He became a citizen of the United States and was married to a niece of John M. Berrien, U.S. Senator from Georgia. Henningsen continued to pursue filibuster schemes and fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy for a year, being made colonel (while still addressed as "General") of the 59th Virginia Infantry. He served in North Carolina and Virginia (principally in command of the Artillery in Wise's Legion). He was promoted Brigadier General and commanded defenses of Richmond. However, disputes with the Confederate War Department and criticisms of President Davis effectively ended his military contributions.

His wife, Wilhelmina "Willy" Henningsen (1820-1880) opened and operated a hospital (the Henningsen Hospital) in Richmond until 1863, when its operations were consolidated with the Louisiana Hospital. She was noted for the kindness and tenderness to the wounded and afflicted soldiers.

After the war he took up his residence in Washington, D.C., and was involved in the movement to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule. His 1877 obituary in The Evening Star described him as a "man of striking appearance, being tall, erect, and soldier-like in his bearing. He was a gentleman of scholarly attainments, and spoke the French, Spanish, Russian, German, and Italian languages with the fluency of a native." Another source states that "he died in 1877 without ever winning any of the causes for which he fought."

The CDV photograph is a three-quarter standing view of Henningsen wearing a dark, civilian frock coat. Image is clear with good contrast.  Plain mount remains in very good condition.  Pencil identification on back. He is buried in the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC.