Balloons In The Civil War Essay

The Civil War resulted in the creation of many technological advancements for that time. Through these creations the Civil War became the first modern war. There were many new weapons created from new bullets to give a solder a wider range, to artillery such as cannons. These weapons allowed for more fatalities. The use of balloons during the Civil War was introduced by Thaddeus Lowe. President Lincoln saw the use of these balloons to be beneficial to the war, he funded the Aeronautics program. Balloons were used in a various number of campaigns, without them many men would not have been able to see their position relative to the Confederate Army.

The Civil War began when the confederate nation invaded Fort Sumter in South Carolina on
They were also used in 1862 during the Fredericksburg Campaign, the Chancellorsville Campaign in 1863, the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31st, and the Battle of Mechanicsville on June 26th. The Confederate and the Union had balloons present at the Battle of Seven Pines. Both sides used balloons during the Civil War but the Union was more successful in getting usable information.The Confederate Army had to make their balloons out of silk dress fabric. They also did not have a steady amount of gas to fill their balloons so the use was limited. Before the use of balloons soldiers could not see the war zone from above. The balloons helped the Union Army observe the location and artillery obtained by the Confederates. The Union also made maps through this bird's eye view. The use of these balloons was the second major example of balloons being used as military weapons. Without the use of these balloons, Lowe and the Aeronauts couldn’t have helped thousands of men involved in the various campaigns. In 1863 the Balloon Corps was abandoned. Many officers managing Lowe’s operations did not see how the balloons were beneficial to the war. Communication between men on the ground and the men in the balloons was very difficult and information was easily interpreted incorrectly. The use of these balloons had many positive impacts but there were also a few technical problems that stopped the program from reaching its full