Civil War Ballooning

• Balloon Over Vienna, Virginia

  

  Thaddeus Lowe making a balloon ascension on a reconnoitering expedition to Vienna, Va. in 1861.

  Library of Congress

• Balloon View of Washington DC

  

  Balloons offered the military a platform to greatly expand their views of the surrounding landscape. Washington DC in May 1861

  Library of Congress

• Telegram: Lowe to Lincoln

  

  Portion of the telegram that Thaddeus Lowe sent to Abraham Lincoln to promote the capabilities of his balloons.

  Library of Congress

• Note: Lincoln to Winfield Scott

  

  Handwritten note from Abraham Lincoln urging Gen. Winfield Scott to fully consider the use of balloons in the war effort.

  National Air & Space Museum

• War Balloon at McClellan's HQ

  

  1861 illustration showing a Federal balloon near Maj. Gen. George McClellan's headquarters.

  Library of Congress

• Aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe

  

  Thaddeus Lowe was one of the early and most prominent of the Union aeronauts. His wartime career would bring much controversy.

  Library of Congress

• The Colorful Design of the Intrepid

  

  Union balloons were often used bright colors and patriotic designs.

  Dr. James L. Green

• Fair Oaks: Lowe in his balloon "Intrepid"

  

  Thaddeus Lowe rises in this balloon, Intrepid, near Fair Oaks, Virginia on May 31, 1862

  Library of Congress

• Constitution Replenishing Intrepid

  

  In a great hurry to get the Intrepid fully inflated, Thaddeus Lowe came up with a system that allowed him to transfer gas from the Constitution to his larger Intrepid.

  Library of Congress

• Balloons Over Fair Oaks

  

  This fanciful Currier & Ives illustration shows a Federal balloon floating above the carnage at the Battle of Fair Oaks on May 31, 1862.

  Library of Congress

• The Balloon Intrepid at Gaines' Mill

  

  Using portable field gas generators, Union balloonists look to inflate the Intrepid at Gaines' Mill.

  Library of Congress

• Balloon at Gaines' Mill

  

  An inflated balloon rises above the ground at the Gaines' Farm. Soldiers on horseback stand in the foreground.

  Library of Congress

• The Historians at Lowe's Ballooning Site

  

  Left to Right: Dr. Jim Green (NASA), Dr. Tom Crouch (Air & Space Museum), and Mike Boehme (Virginia Aviation Museum) standing near Powhite Creek - site of Lowe's famous balloon camp.

  Rob Shenk

• Dr. Gaines' House

  

  Lowe's balloon operations at Gaines' Mill were centered around Dr. Gaines' prominent house located above the Chickahominy River

  National Park Service

• Gaines' Mill - Balloon Valve

  

  This Union balloon valve was recovered from the Gaines' Mill battlefield in the 20s or 30s. This artifacts is now on display at the Tredegar Visitor Center in Richmond.

  Richmond National Battlefields Park

• E.P. Alexander - Confederate Aeronaut

  

  Confederate E.P. Alexander made several balloon ascents during the Seven Days Battles and valued highly the potential of balloons in a reconnaissance role.

  Library of Congress

• The "Silk Dress" Balloon

  

  Segment of the Confederate balloon, Gazelle. Give the colorful, patchwork design of this balloon many believed that the silk used was from ladies dresses....not true.

  National Air & Space Museum

• Thaddeus Lowe's Binoculars

  

  Wartime binoculars used by Thaddeus Lowe during his reconnaissance flights during the Civil War.

  National Air & Space Museum

• Sending a Telegraph

  

  Balloons and the telegraph, both relatively new technologies, helped increase and speed along aerial intelligence.

  Library of Congress

• Lowe's Annotated Map of the Richmond Area

  

  Lowe annotated this map of the Richmond area so as to show Confederate positions and movements.

  Central Intelligence Agency

• Fredericksburg: A Balloon at Rest

  

  A Civil War balloon (hiding in the bushes) and its gas generators (in the foreground) are captured in this early 1863 illustration.

  Library of Congress

• Lowe's Barometer

  

  View of Thaddeus Lowe's Civil War barometer - used to determine altitude in his balloons.

  National Air & Space Museum

• Balloons: Front Page News

  

  Civil War ballooning efforts were often mentioned on the front pages of prominent newspapers.

• Ballooning in the Sesquicentennial

  

  Joanne Hunter's photo of a Civil War balloon at the Manassas 150th event was one of our 2011 Photo Contest winners.

  Joanne Hunter

• Balloon "Aircraft Carriers"

  

  Both sides employed naval vessels to transport and service Civil War balloons.

  Library of Congress

• Signal Plan

  

  Hand-drawn chart of a balloon-based communication system developed by Lowe.

  National Air & Space Museum

• Stereoview Card - Lowe's Balloon Ascent

  

  A stereoview of Lowe's balloon ascent. These cards, placed into a stereoviewer, would allow a person to see this image in 3D.

  Library of Congress

• Union Balloon Camp at Falmouth, Virginia

  

  View of a Union balloon camp near Falmouth, Virginia in March of 1863.

  James Gibson/Library of Congress

• Wooden Valve - City of New York

  

  A large wooden valve from Lowe’s 1859 balloon, City of New York.

  National Air & Space Museum

• Zeppelins: The Civil War Connection

  

  Ferdinand von Zeppelin went to America to see how balloons were being used during the Civil War.

  Library of Congress

• Balloons in the 21st Century

  

  A modern observation balloon floats above a Coalition site in Afghanistan. Balloons still play an important reconnaissance role today.

  Wikimedia