[CHAPTER VIII]
Ships that Sail the Skies
Shortly after the Civil War broke out, Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, an enthusiastic American aëronaut, conceived the idea of sending up scout balloons to reconnoiter the position of the enemy. These balloons were to be connected by telegraph wires with the ground, so that they could direct the artillery fire. The idea was so novel to the military authorities of that day that it was not received with favor. Balloons were looked upon as freak inventions, entirely impracticable for the stern realities of war; and as for telegraphing from a balloon, no one had ever done that before.
(C) Underwood & Underwood
A big German Zeppelin that was forced to come down on French soil
But this enthusiast was not to be daunted, and he made a direct appeal to President Lincoln, offering to prove the practicability of this means of scouting. So he took his balloon to Washington and made an ascent from the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, while the President came out on the lawn south of the White House to watch the demonstration. In order to test him, Mr. Lincoln took off his hat, waved his handkerchief, and made other signals. Lowe observed each act through his field-glasses and reported it to the President by telegraph. Mr. Lincoln was so impressed by the demonstration that he ordered the army to use the observation balloon, and so with some reluctance the gas-bag was introduced into military service, Professor Lowe being made chief aëronautic engineer. Under Lowe's direction the observation balloons played an important part in the operations of the Union Army.
Courtesy of "Scientific American"
Observation Car lowered from a Zeppelin sailing above the clouds
On one occasion a young German military attaché begged the privilege of making an ascent in the balloon. Permission was given and when the German officer returned to earth he was wildly enthusiastic in praise of this aërial observation post. He had had a splendid view of the enemy and could watch operations through his field-glasses which were of utmost importance. Realizing the military value of the aircraft, he returned to Germany and urged military authorities to provide themselves with captive balloons. This young officer was Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who was destined later to become the most famous aëronautic authority in the world and who lived to see Germany equipped with a fleet of balloons which were self-propelling and could travel over land and sea to spread German frightfulness into England. He also lived to see the virtual failure of this type of war-machine in the recent great conflict, and it was possibly because of his deep disappointment at having his huge expensive airships bested by cheap little airplanes that Count von Zeppelin died in March, 1917. However, he was spared the humiliation of seeing a fleet of Zeppelins lose their way in a fog and fall into France, one of them being captured before it could be destroyed, so that all its secrets of construction were learned by the French.