Du Pont, Henry, 1812-1889

Henry du Pont was born in 1812 at Eleutherian Mills near Wilmington, Delaware. He attended the Mount Airy Military School in Germantown, Pennsylvania, from 1823-1829 and then went to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in 1833. As a Second Lieutenant, he joined the 4th Artillery at Fort Monroe in Virginia. On July 15, 1837, he married Louisa Gerhard and together they had 9 children, including Henry Algernon, Victorine Foster, and Evelina. In 1846, he was appointed Adjutant General for the State of Delaware. From 1850-1889, Henry du Pont served as the head of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. In 1861, he was appointed Major-General, commanding Delawares volunteers; thereafter, he was known as The General. It is said that he, as much as anybody, kept Delaware on the Union side during the Civil War. Du Pont was active in Delaware politics, first as a Whig and then as a Republican. He also farmed and became the third owner of Winterthur, one of his familys estates. He died in 1889.

From the description of Papers 1859-1889. (Winterthur Library). WorldCat record id: 122649259

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