First balloon assignments History of military ballooning

intrepid being cross-inflated constitution in mad-dash attempt larger balloon in air overlook imminent battle of fair oaks.

the first assignment military balloons given union army s corps of topographical engineers mapmaking. until point, maps made ground level perspectives , innate inaccuracy led many battlefield failure. aerial perspective ostensibly improved mapmaking, when combined use of photography.

general irvin mcdowell, commander of army of potomac, called on balloon perform aerial observations of enemy encampments , movements in first battle of bull run. lowe’s techniques proven top commanders, tasked build 7 balloons , series of hydrogen gas generators inflate them in battlefield. though thaddeus lowe chief aeronaut, bitter rival john la mountain credited having made first aerial observations of intelligence value while stationed independently @ fortress monroe.

the balloon, under flight direction of prof. lowe, used direct artillery fire unseen location onto confederate encampment. balloon, eagle, ascended tether , telegraph fort corcoran north of falls church, virginia. (the use of telegraph balloon tested lowe on june 18, 1861.) artillery battery located @ easterly camp advance. series of predetermined flag signals, lowe directed fire onto rebel encampment until shots landing on target. first-used concept predecessor forward artillery observer (fao) , revolutionized use of artillery modern day.

prof. lowe once approached young graf ferdinand von zeppelin in 1863, @ time acting then-civilian observer union army, possibly serving aerial observer lowe, forbidden union military authorities during civil war years, due von zeppelin s then-civilian status. future rigid airship pioneer instead directed camp of john steiner, german aeronaut in united states, first flight experience in balloon, von zeppelin able @ later time while still in us.