Union Army Balloon Corps

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Union Army Balloon Corps was a branch of the Federal Army during the American Civil War established by the presidentially appointed Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe. It was organized as a civilian operation which employed a group of aeronauts and seven specially built, gas-filled aerostats for the purposes of performing aerial reconnaissance of the Confederate Army.

Lowe was a veteran balloonist who among other balloonists in the country was working his way toward an attempt at a transatlantic crossing. The Civil War interrupted his efforts, but he offered his aviation expertise to the development of an air-war mechanism through the use of aerostats. Lowe met with President Abraham Lincoln on July 11, 1861, and proposed a demonstration with his own balloon, the Enterprise, on the White House front lawn. From a height of 500 feet he telegraphed a message to the ground describing his view of the Washington countryside. Eventually he was chosen, over others, to be Chief Aeronaut of the newly formed Union Army Balloon Corps.

The Balloon Corps with its hand-selected band of expert aeronauts served at Yorktown, Seven Pines, Antietam, Fredericksburg and other major battles of the Potomac River and Peninsula. The Balloon Corps served the Union Army from October 1861 to the summer of 1863 when it was finally disbanded following the resignation of Prof. Lowe.

Contents 1 Selecting a Chief Aeronaut 1.1 Thaddeus Lowe 1.2 John Wise 1.3 John LaMountain 1.3.1 Free flight vs. tethered 2 Building military balloons 3 Establishing the Corps 4 The first aircraft carrier 5 Peninsula Campaign 6 Confederate Army's counter to the Union Army Balloon Corps 7 The troubled Balloon Corps 8 References 9 Notes 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] Selecting a Chief Aeronaut

The use of balloons as an air-war mechanism was not unheard of, going back to some military balloon observation used in French history. President Lincoln himself became interested in an air-war mechanism. This created the notion of some sort of balloon aviation unit headed by a "Chief Aeronaut," and several top American balloonists headed for Washington in hopes of obtaining that position. There were no details to the establishing of such a unit, or whether it would even be a military or civilian operation. There was no set method to the process of selecting a Chief Aeronaut, rather it was "every man for himself" when it came to catching the attention of officials in either the government or the military. All this was being done amid the bustling in the Capitol with the Union Army preparing to go to war.^[1]

[edit] Thaddeus Lowe

Thaddeus Lowe was only one of a short list of American balloonists who sought the position of Chief Aeronaut for the Union Army.^[2] Also vying for the position were Prof. John Wise, Prof. John LaMountain, and Ezra and James Allen. Like Lowe, all these men were aeronauts of particular qualification in aviation of the day. Among them Lowe stood out as the most successful in balloon building and the closest to making a transatlantic flight. ^[3] His scientific record was held in high regard among colleagues of the day, to include one Prof. Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Institution, who became his greatest benefactor.^[4]

On Henry's and others' recommendations, Lowe was contacted by the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, inviting him to Washington for an audience with the Secretary of War Simon Cameron and the President.^[5] On June 11, 1861, Lowe was received by Lincoln and immediately offered to give the President a demonstration of his ballooning and how he envisioned its use as an air-war mechanism.^[6]

With his own balloon, the Enterprise, Lowe ascended some 500 feet above the White House with a telegraph key and operator, and a wire following a tether line to the ground. From there he transmitted the message:

Balloon Enterprise

Washington, D. C.

June 18, 1861

To the President of the United States:

Sir: This point of observation commands an area nearly fifty miles in diameter. The City with its girdle of encampments presents a superb scene. I have pleasure in sending you this first dispatch from an aerial station, and in acknowledging indebtedness for your encouragement for the opportunity of demonstrating the availability of the science of aeronautics in the service of the country.

T.S.C. Lowe.^[7]

After further demonstrations with Gen. Irvin McDowell at the First Battle of Bull Run, the President personally introduced Lowe to General Winfield Scott, Union Army Commander. "General, this is my friend Professor Lowe who is organizing an aeronautics corps and who is to be its chief. I wish you would facilitate his work in every way." This introduction fairly well cemented the selection of a Chief Aeronaut.^[8] The details of establishing the corps and its method of operation were left up to Lowe, understandably, and he had already conjured up ideas for the use of balloons in this time of emergency. The part that was never understood was that the Balloon Corps would remain a civilian contract, and none of its men would ever receive commissions.

[edit] John Wise

Professor John Wise^[9] was an older man, 27 years Lowe's senior. Although he made great contributions in the science of aeronautics, he was more suited as a showman. His attempts at free flight in preparation for a transatlantic crossing were less than successful and he did not receive the same type of financial support from the community, nor did he accrue the same credentials as Lowe.

He did, however, receive enough favor from the Topographical Engineers to be requested to build a balloon. This delayed Lowe's immediate assignment as chief, presidential assertion or not. Although Wise's arrival on the scene was late, he did inflate a balloon in Washington and proceeded toward the battlefield. It was caught in the brush on the way out and was completely disabled. This ended Wise's bid for the position, and Lowe was at last unencumbered from taking up the task.^[10]

[edit] John LaMountain

John LaMountain^[9] was only two years older than Lowe, but had accrued quite a reputation in the field of aeronautics. He had joined company with Wise at one time to help with the plans for a transatlantic flight. The attempt they made failed miserably, wrecked their balloon, the Atlantic, and ended their partnership. LaMountain took possession of the balloon.

LaMountain's contributions and successes were minimal at best, and all he had was his bravado with which to impress people, which he failed to do in Washington. However, he did attract the attention of General Benjamin Butler at Fort Monroe. LaMountain was there for a while with the battered Atlantic and was actually accredited with having made the first effective wartime observations from an aerial position. He also obtained use of a balloon, the Saratoga, which he soon lost in a windstorm. LaMountain advocated free flight balloon reconnaissance, whereas Lowe strictly enforced use of captive or tethered flight, remaining always attached to a ground crew that could draw him in.

Wise and LaMountain had been longtime detractors of Prof. Lowe, but LaMountain maintained a vitriolic campaign against Lowe with a strong intent to discredit him and usurp his position as Chief Aeronaut. He used the arena of public opinion to revile Lowe at every turn. But as Gen. Butler was replaced at Ft. Monroe, ironically LaMountain was assigned to the Balloon Corps, and he promised to behave on Lowe's behalf. The promise did not last long and LaMountain went about his public derogation of Lowe as well as tampering with the other men in the Corps. Lowe lodged a formal complaint to Gen. George B. McClellan and by February 1862 LaMountain was discharged from military service.^[11]

[edit] Free flight vs. tethered

LaMountain and Lowe had long argued over free flight and captive flight. In Lowe's first instance of demonstration at Bull Run, he made a free flight which caught him hovering over Union encampments who could not properly identify him. As a civilian he wore no uniforms or insignias. With each descent came the threats of being fired on, and to make each descent Lowe needed to release gas. Resultantly he was forced to land behind enemy lines and await being rescued overnight if not discovered by Rebel troops which would put his life in danger. Fortunately, he was rescued. After this he remained tethered to the ground by which he could be reeled in at a moment's notice. Besides, his use of the telegraph from the balloon car required a wire be run along the tether.^[12]

LaMountain, from his position at Fort Monroe, had the luxury of flying free. When he was enjoined with the Balloon Corps, he began insisting that his reconnaissance flights be made free. Lowe strictly instructed his men against free flight as a matter of dictated policy. Eventually the two men agreed to a showdown in which LaMountain made one of his free flights. The flight was a success as a reconnaissance flight with LaMountain being able to go where he would. But on his return he was threatened by Union troops who could not identify him. His balloon was shot down and LaMountain was roughed up until his identity be made.^[13]

Lowe considered the incident an argument against free flight. LaMountain insisted that the flight was highly successful despite the misfortunate incident. The showdown did nothing to settle the argument, but Lowe's position as Chief Aeronaut would allow him to prevail.^[14]

[edit] Building military balloons

Lowe believed that balloons for military purposes had to be better constructed than the ordinary balloons most civilian aeronauts were used to. They also required special handling and tactics for use in the field. The gas-filled balloons of the day were inflated at municipal (coke) gas services (see wood gas) and were towed by handlers inflated to the battlefield. Lowe recognized the need for the development of portable hydrogen gas generators, by which the balloons could be filled in the field. Dealing with administrative officers (ranks lower than major) caused great hold ups in procuring proper equipment and materials.

Lowe was called out on yet another demonstration mission that would change the effective use of field artillery. On September 24, 1861 he was directed to position himself at Fort Corcoran, south of Washington, to ascend and overlook the Confederate encampments at Falls Church, Virginia, further south yet. An unseen Union artillery battery was remotely located at Camp Advance. Lowe was to give flag signal directions to the artillery who would fire blindly on Falls Church. Each signal would indicate adjustments to the left, right, long or short. Subsequent reports were telegraphed down to headquarters at the fort. With only a few corrections, the battery was soon landing rounds right on target. This would be the precursor to the use of the artillery forward observer (FO).^[15]

The next day Lowe received orders to build four proper balloons and accompanying [[hydrogen gas generators.^[16] Lowe went to work at his Philadelphia facility. He was given funding to order the finest India silk and cotton cording he proposed for their construction. Along with that came Lowe's undisclosed recipe for a varnish that would render the balloon envelopes leakproof.^[17]

The generators were built at the Washington Navy Yard by master joiners who fashioned a contraption of copper plumbing and tanks, which when filled with sulfuric acid and iron filings, would yield pure hydrogen gas. The generators were Lowe's own design and were considered a marvel of engineering.^[18] They were designed to be loaded into box crates that could easily fit on a standard buckboard. The generators took more time to build than the balloons and were not as readily available as the first balloon.

By October 1, 1861 the first balloon, the Eagle, was ready for action, and although lacking any portable gas generator, was called into immediate service.^[19] It was gassed up in Washington and towed overnight to Lewinsville via Chain Bridge. ^[20]Washington Chain Bridge The fully covered and trellised bridge required that the towing handlers crawl over the bridge beams and stringers to cross the upper Potomac into Fairfax County. The balloon and crew arrived by daylight, exhausted from the nine-hour, overnight ordeal, when a gale-force wind whooshed the balloon away. It was later recovered, but not before Lowe, who was humiliated by the incident, went on a tirade about the delays in providing proper equipment.^[21]

Lowe was left alone to finish building his balloons and the gas generators. In all he built seven balloons, six of which were put into service. The smaller balloons were used in windier weather, or for quick, one-man, low altitude ascents. They inflated quickly as they required less gas. They were:

• Eagle
• Constitution
• Washington

The larger balloons were used for carrying more weight, such as a telegraph key set and an additional man as an operator. They could also ascend higher. They were:

• Union
• Intrepid (Lowe's favorite balloon)
• Excelsior
• United States

The latter two balloons were held in storage in a Washington warehouse. Eventually the Excelsior was sent to Camp Lowe^[22], a high altitude observation point, as a back up balloon to the Intrepid during harsh winter weather, but the United States never saw service. LaMountain made reference to these two balloons in his diatribes against Lowe as "being hoarded" by Lowe so he could buy them unused at the end of the war. This insidious statement was patently false.^[23]

[edit] Establishing the Corps

In the very beginning Lowe was offered $30 a day for each day his balloon was in use. Lowe offered to accept $10 gold a day (colonel's pay) if he were allowed to build more suited balloons.^[24] He was also allowed to hire as many men as he needed for $3 currency a day.^[25] Commissions were never forthcoming even though Lowe placed hope that one day they would be. Lowe was able to enlist his father, Clovis Lowe, an already accomplished balloonist; Captain Dickinson, a seafaring volunteer from his days of transatlantic attempts; the Allen Brothers, who had lost their own balloon when they were vying for the top job; two men the Allen Brothers recommended, Eben Seaver and J. B. Starkweather; William Paullin, an older Philadelphia colleague; German balloonist John Steiner; and Ebenezer Mason, Lowe's construction supervisor, who requested active duty.^[26]

Lowe set up several locations for the balloons—Fort Monroe, Washington D.C., Camp Lowe near Harpers Ferry—but always kept himself at the battle front. He served General McClellan at Yorktown until the Confederates retreated toward Richmond. The heavily forested Virginia Peninsula would force him to take to the waterways.^[27]

[edit] The first aircraft carrier

At the time the Balloon Corps was finally equipped with its gas generators, Lowe was introduced to the General Washington Parke Custis, a converted coal barge with its deck completely cleared of all items that could entangle the ropes and nets of the balloons.^[28] Lowe had two gas generators and a balloon loaded aboard and later was able to report:

I have the pleasure of reporting the complete success of the first balloon expedition by water ever attempted. I left the Navy yard early Sunday morning ... having on board [the GWP Custis] competent assistant aeronauts, together with my new gas generating apparatus, which, though used for the first time, worked admirably.^[29]

[edit] Peninsula Campaign

The battle front turned toward Richmond in a phase of the war known as the Peninsula Campaign. The heavy forestation would inhibit the use of balloons, so Lowe and his Balloon Corps, with the use of three of his balloons, the Constitution, the Washington, and the larger Intrepid^[30], used the waterways inland. In mid May 1862 Lowe arrived at the White House on the Pamunkey River.^[31] This is the first home of George and Martha Washington, after which the Washington presidential residence is named. At this time it was the home of the son of Robert E. Lee, whose family fled at the arrival of Lowe.^[32] Lowe was met by McClellan's Army a few days later and by May 18 he had set up a balloon camp at Gaines' Farm across the Chickahominy River almost directly north of Richmond, and another at Mechanicsville. From these vantage points Lowe, his assistant James Allen, and his father Clovis were able to overlook the Battle of Seven Pines (also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks).^[33]

A small complement from Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman's corps crossed the river toward Richmond and was slowly being surrounded by elements of the Confederate Army. McClellan felt that the Confederates were simply feigning an attack. Lowe could see, from his better vantage point, that they were converging on Heintzelman's position. Heintzelman was cut off from the main body because the swollen river had taken out all the bridges. Lowe sent urgent word of Heintzelman's predicament and recommended immediate repair of New Bridge and reinforcements for him.^[34]

At the same time he sent over an order for the inflation of the Intrepid, a larger balloon that could take him higher with telegraph equipment, in order to oversee the imminent battle. When Lowe arrived from Mechanicsville to the site of the Intrepid at Gaines' Mill, he saw that the aerostat's envelope was an hour away from being fully inflated. He then called for a camp kettle to have the bottom cut out of it and hooked the valve ends of the Intrepid and the Constitution together. He had the gas of the Constitution transferred to the Intrepid and was up in the air in 15 minutes^[35]. From this new vantage point Lowe was able to report on all the Confederate movements. Fortunately McClellan took Lowe's advice, repaired the bridge, and had reinforcements sent to Heintzelman's aid. An account of the battle was being witnessed by the visiting Count de Joinville who at day's end addressed Prof. Lowe with: "You, sir, have saved the day!"^[36][37]

[edit] Confederate Army's counter to the Union Army Balloon Corps

Due to the effectiveness of the Union Army Balloon Corps, the Confederates felt compelled to incorporate balloons as well.^[38] As coke gas was not always available in Richmond, the first balloons were made of the Montgolfier rigid style, cotton stretched over wood framing and filled with hot smoke from fires made of oil-soaked pine cones. They were piloted by Captain John R. Bryant for use at Yorktown. Though Bryant's performance was not all that bad, his handlers were poorly experienced and his balloon was left in the air spinning like a top. Another incident had one of the handlers becoming entangled in the ascending tether rope which had to be chopped loose, leaving the Captain free-flying over his own Confederate positions whose troops threatened to shoot him down.

Attempts at making gas-filled silk balloons were hampered by the South's inability to obtain any imports at all. They did fashion a balloon from dress silk (purportedly silk for making dresses, not from silk dresses themselves). ^[39] The inflated spheres appeared as multi-colored orbs over Richmond^[40] and were piloted by Captain Landon Cheeves. Before the first balloon could be used it was captured during transportation on the James River by the crew of the USS Monitor. A second balloon did see action until summer of 1863, when it was blown from its mooring and taken by Union forces only to be divided up as souvenirs for members of the Federal Congress.^[41] As the Union Army reduced its use of balloons, so did the Confederates, and much to their relief.

[edit] The troubled Balloon Corps

During the Seven Days Battle in late June, McClellan's Army was forced to retreat from the outskirts of Richmond. Lowe was told to pack up and head back to Washington. He contracted malaria in the swampy conditions and was out of service for a little more than a month.^[42] When he returned to duty, he found that all his wagons, mules, and service equipment were returned to the Army Quartermaster. He was essentially out of a job. Lowe was ordered to join the Army for the Battle of Antietam, but did not reach the battlefield until after the Confederates began their retreat to Virginia. Lowe had to reintroduce himself to the new commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, Ambrose Burnside, who would activate Lowe at the Battle of Fredericksburg.^[43] Burnside's command failed miserably and he was replaced by Gen. Joseph Hooker. Despite Lowe's diligent service as an aeronaut, the Union Army continued to be met by failure.

For all its success the Balloon Corps was never fully appreciated by the military community. They were still regarded as carnival showmen. Others had little respect for their break-neck operation. The only ones who found any value in them were the generals whose jobs and reputations were on the line. Lower ranking administrators looked with disdain on this band of civilians who, as they perceived them, had no place in the military. Furthermore, none of the corps ever received a military commission, leaving them facing the dangers of being captured and treated as spies, summarily punishable by death.

The Balloon Corps was eventually assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers and put under the administrative purview of one Captain C. B. Comstock, who did not appreciate a civilian (Lowe) being paid more than he. He reduced Lowe's pay from $10 gold to $6 currency (equal to $3 gold) a day. Lowe posted a letter of outrage and threatened to resign his position. No one came to his support, and Comstock remained unyielding. On April 8, 1863, Lowe left the military service and returned to the private sector.^[44][45][46]The Allen Brothers took up command of the Balloon Corps by default, but were not near as up to the task as Lowe was. By August 1, 1863 the Corps all but ceased to exist.

[edit] References

• Manning, Mike, Intrepid, An Account of Prof. T.S.C. Lowe, Civil War Aeronaut and Hero, self published 2005
• Lowe, Thaddeus, Official Report (to the Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton) (Parts I & II]) (#11 & #12) O.R. - Series III - Volume III [S#124] Correspondence, Orders, Reports, and Returns of the Union Authorities From Jan 1 to December 31, 1863.
• Block, Eugene B., Above the Civil War, Howell-North Book, Berkeley, Ca., 1966. Library of Congress CC# 66-15640
• Hoehling, Mary, Thaddeus Lowe, America's One-Man Air Corps, Julian Messner, Inc., New York, N. Y., 1958. Library of Congress CC# 58-7260; ISBN 0-87095-075-4
• Seims, Charles, Mount Lowe, The Railway in the Clouds, Golden West Books, San Marino, Ca., 1976. ISBN 0-87095-075-4
• Evans, Charles M., Air War over Virginia, an on-line publication.

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• History of Military Ballooning

[edit] External links

• Thaddeus Lowe website
• Man, Mountain and Monument