Charles Frederick Henningsen Charles Frederick Henningsen ( 1815 — 14 June 1877 ) was an English writer , mercenary , filibuster , and munitions expert . He participated in civil wars and independence movements in Spain , Nicaragua , Hungary , and the United States . His parents were Swedish , but he was born in England . Spain . He fought in the First Carlist War , after entering as a volunteer in the service of Don Carlos in 1834 . Henningsen rose to be captain of bodyguard to the Carlist general Tomás de Zumalacárregui . After the signing of the Lord Eliot Convention in April 1835 , at which he was present , Henningsen returned to England . However , Henningsen soon returned to Spain with the rank of lieutenant - colonel and joined the Carlist expedition that threatened Madrid from Aragon . He fought at the Battle of Villar de los Navarros ( 24 August 1837 ) , a Carlist victory , earning the rank of colonel . He headed the Carlist lancers and was attacked outside of Madrid by Liberal ( Isabeline ) forces . He led a column against these forces , capturing the outer fortifications of Madrid . He held them for several hours , until notified that Don Carlos could send him no reinforcements . However , he was subsequently taken prisoner , and released on parole . He did not to serve again in this war . He later recorded his experiences in Spain in the book " The Most Striking Events of a Twelvemonth ' s Campaign with Zumalacarregui " , which he dedicated to Lord Eliot . The work created controversy in Britain because it glorified Zumalacárregui and supported the Carlist position . Russia and Hungary . Henningsen subsequently fought against the Russian army in Circassia during the Russian - Circassian War , and wrote up a military report on Russia , also later writing the book " Revelations of Russia " . This was translated into French by Cyprien Robert and published in Paris ( 3 vols . 1845 ) . He then became involved in the revolution in Hungary led by Lajos Kossuth , and was also involved in the planning of the military campaign against enemy Austrian forces . He proposed a military plan of campaign that was well received by Richard Debaufre Guyon and other leaders ; as a result , Henningsen was to be appointed military and civil commander of the fortress of Komárom ( Komorn ) . However , the Hungarian Revolution was suppressed , and Henningsen later visited Kossuth at Kütahya in 1850 , where the Hungarian leader had been detained . Henningsen then traveled from Constantinople to Albania , and then crossed the Adriatic Sea to Italy . Nicaragua . In 1851 , Henningsen traveled to the United States shortly after Kossuth arrived in that country . He remained in the United States as a representative of Hungarian interests . Henningsen served under filibuster in Nicaragua from October 1856 , and was appointed major - general , commanding Walker ' s artillery . He directed the defense of Rivas on 23 March 1856 and during the Second Battle of Rivas ( 11 April 1856 ) . He was second in command at the Battle of the Transit ( 11 November 1856 ) and at the Battle of Masaya . He commanded the Battle of Obraje and was second in command at the 3rd and 4th battles of San Jorge . Henningsen was responsible for burning Granada , Nicaragua , at the time the capital of Nicaragua , on 14 December 1856 . During this incident , he had taken refuge at Granada with 416 persons , 140 of whom were women , children , and wounded . Henningsen was surrounded by some 4 , 000 Salvadoran and Guatemalan troops , so he decided to burn the city , fighting his way to Lake Nicaragua with a loss of 230 killed , wounded , and those killed by cholera . Nothing of the city was left but a smoking ruin ; when Henningsen withdrew , he left an inscription on a lance reading , in Spanish , " Aquí fue Granada " ( " Here was Granada " ) . At the lake , he was joined by a reinforcement of 130 men , and routed the Salvadoran and Guatemalan forces . On 1 May 1857 Henningsen , along with Walker , surrendered to Commander Charles Henry Davis of the United States Navy and was repatriated . 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 American Civil War for the Confederacy for a year , being made brigadier - general , and frequently had command of the defenses of Richmond . He was involved in the Battle of Elizabeth City . After the war he took up his residence in Washington , D . C . , and was involved in the movement to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule . During his declining years , he lived in straitened circumstances , but was supported by friends such as Colonel Albert Pike . Death . 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 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 . " He is mentioned in Ernesto Cardenal ' s poem " Con Walker en Nicaragua " ( " With Walker in Nicaragua " ) : Writings and munitions expertise . Henningsen ' s specialty was artillery , but also wrote about the improvement of small arms , and superintended the development of the first Minié rifle s in the United States . His works include :