The Future of Warfare

by

July 24, 1862

Around early October of last year President Lincoln had a hot air balloon tethered on the White House lawn.  This balloon ascended into the air.  While the balloon was up in the air, the operator of this balloon sent a telegraph to the President telling him that he could see for a good fifty miles in all directions around Washington, D. C.

 This balloon was owned by Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe.  Professor Lowe was able to convince the President of the use of the hot air balloon in reconnaissance.  This lead to the Balloon Corps being founded.

 In total, the Balloon Corps had the use of six hydrogen balloons that could be transported and inflated anywhere by Lowe’s ingenious portable hydrogen generators.

High points of the use of the balloon corps for reconnaissance to this date are at the Battle of Yorktown and the Seven Days Battle on May 23.

This is a photo of a hot air balloon ascending in the air to make reconnaissance observations during the Seven Days Battle.  Telegraphic communication from the balloon to General McClellan was successfully maintained.  Every movement of the enemy was obvious, and instantly reported.  This proved to be vital to winning the battle. 

By use of his balloon, Lowe was able to tell the Union forces during the siege of Yorktown that the Confederate forces were leaving; however he was not able to tell them of the landmines that the South planted there. Landmines were planted underground so that when someone stepped on one it would explode underneath that person killing them and send shrapnel flying around in all directions also killing others.

Besides reporting numbers and the movements of the Confederates from his hot air balloon, Lowe was able to direct artillery fire at Confederate forces that the artillery forces were unable to see as was the case in Fair Oaks, Va. This frightened  the Confederates.