11 - Lighter Than Air

(Part 1)

France's Balloon Pioneers

The idea of flying among the clouds and traveling to the stars probably would have seemed like lunacy to the crews of the early Enterprises of the 18th and 19th Centuries. But there were some, even at that time, who realized that these were not dreams of madmen, but dreams that could be achieved. Their efforts led first to lighter-than-air craft, then to powered flight, and ultimately to space travel. It should be no surprise to learn that here too, there were gallant ladies named Enterprise.

More than 100 years before the Wright Brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk, a flying machine carrying the name l'Entreprise was making history in the skies over France. In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne, applied the principle that heated air rises to the development of a manned flying vehicle, their "Montgolfier" balloon. The first flight of this contraption was made on November 21, 1783 in Paris.

The potential for using the balloon to conduct aerial observations of enemy movements soon attracted the attention of the French Army, and on April 2, 1794, the National Convention of the French Republic's government approved the establishment of a balloon company. French balloon pioneer Jean Marie Joseph Coutelle was placed in command of the unit. In establishing the balloon unit, the National Convention's Committee on Public Safety went to great pains to spell out its objectives for the use of balloons. The Committee said that the objective of the balloon company was:

... to put at the disposal of the general all the services that can be furnished by the art of aeronautics: (1) to clarify the enemy's marches, movements, and plans; (2) to transport quickly signals previously agreed-upon with the major generals and commanding officers in the field; (3) finally, as circumstances required, to distribute public notices in territory occupied by the despots' henchmen.70

On June 2, 1794, the hydrogen-filled balloon l'Entreprise ascended from the French town of Maubeuge, on a tether line, to become the first aircraft to be used in military operations. Austrian artillery fire was directed at l'Entreprise, but failed to find the mark. Captain Coutelle and Adjutant General Radet used a system of signaling with colored flags to relay messages to the ground.

In 1794, the French Army used the hydrogen-filled ballon l'Entreprise to observe the movements of Austrian troops.

L'Entreprise was again inflated on June 21, and transported by tow line from Maubeuge to the town of Charleroi, which was occupied by Austrian troops. Two days later, Captain Coutelle, with three other French Army officers, ascended in the balloon and relayed back their observations of all Austrian movements. The Austrian garrison was so demoralized by their inability to act without being observed, that they surrendered on June 26. The General of the French Army unit to which the balloon company was attached reported back to the Committee on Public Safety that:

[The Austrian deserters] assured that General Coubourg [the Austrian commander] had cursed the balloon copiously, that he kept saying that "there's nothing those scoundrels don't invent, there's a spy in that thing and I can't get at him to have him hanged."71

The flights of l'Entreprise were so successful, that the Committee on Public Safety immediately established a second balloon company and authorized the building of many more observation balloons.

Disaster struck Captain Coutelle's unit, however, on September 3, 1796. After the French Army had advanced to Brussels, they were later forced to retreat, and the entire balloon company was captured. The balloon l'Entreprise was later made a part of the military museum in Vienna, Austria, while the balloonists were kept imprisoned until peace was declared between France and Austria in 1797. Balloons gradually began to fall out of favor, especially with the French Army generals who were upstaged by the magnificent feats of the balloonists, and the two balloon companies were officially disbanded on February 18, 1799.

The Union Army's Balloon Corps

Almost 70 years after the French Army established its first balloon company, the United States was considering the possibility of similar action. An early American aeronaut was Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, who, early in life, had taken an interest in aeronautics and had conducted experiments with large kites. He later joined the then-popular exhibition ballooning circuit and, in 1861, began formulating plans for a trans-Atlantic balloon crossing. Before sunrise on April 19, 1861, Lowe set out from Cincinnati in his hydrogen-filled balloon Enterprise to complete a long-distance test flight before venturing across the Atlantic.

Carried by the prevailing currents, the Enterprise quickly rose to an altitude of 11,000 feet, where the air temperature was approaching zero. By mid-morning, he had crossed into Kentucky and then across the Cumberland Mountains. He later reported that:

Being desirous of ascertaining with more certainty my exact whereabouts, I let off gas, and gradually descended to within a short distance of the earth, with the hope of seeing someone to inquire of.... Seeing some persons at work in a field, I descended near to them, and asked, "What State is this?" The men, without answering, looked in all directions but upwards.... I again sang out at the top of my voice, then the reply came, "Virginia".... I then asked what county and threw out some sand to clear the tops of some tall trees. This struck the ground with a spatter and caused them to look up, and instead of answering the question a yell of horror arose from them, and if the fleetness of foot is any indication of fright they must have been terribly frightened.72

Lowe and the Enterprise continued towards the southeast and soon crossed into South Carolina, where, upon landing, he was promptly set upon by terrified residents who wanted him to be put in jail as a "yankee" spy. But he was recognized by several learned gentlemen in the town and was released to return to Cincinnati. Professor Lowe eventually gave up on his attempts to cross the Atlantic by balloon, but he then set out on a new goal, to form a balloon regiment in the United States Army.

America was in the midst of its Civil War, and four balloonists were competing for the attention and acceptance of the Union Army. Prominent among these was Professor Lowe. Among Lowe's acquaintances were Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase. These gentlemen arranged for a meeting between Professor Lowe and President Abraham Lincoln. The President was intrigued by Lowe's idea of using a balloon to observe Confederate Army movements and then telegraphing his observations back to the ground. At Lincoln's urging, the War Department promptly authorized funds for Lowe to conduct an experimental ascent.

On June 18, 1861, Professor Lowe and two telegraph company representatives climbed aboard Lowe's balloon, which he had christened Enterprise, and ascended from the mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument in Washington. The Enterprise rose to an altitude of about 500 feet, from which the balloonists could see 25 miles in any direction. Lowe telegraphed back to President Lincoln the message, "The city with its girdle of encampments presents a superb scene. I have the pleasure of sending you the first dispatch ever telegraphed from an aerial station."73

In late June, Professor Lowe made several tethered ascents from Union Army encampments around Washington. But, because one of his competitors under-bid him to receive the contract for the first Army balloon, Lowe refurbished his Enterprise and continued to fly it at his own expense. As luck would have it, Lowe's competitor had his balloon torn by tree branches while enroute to observe Confederate movements prior to the Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Lowe hurriedly inflated his Enterprise in an attempt to provide useful observations for the Union Army, but by the time he made it aloft, the Union Army was already in retreat.

Several days later, Lowe made a free-flight ascent over Confederate troops outside Washington. On his later return over Union territory, overzealous soldiers shot at him. Two days later, Lowe tried to arrange a meeting with General Winfield Scott, the head of the Army who would have to approve Lowe's official designation as an Army balloonist. After being put off several times by General Scott, Lowe appealed directly to President Lincoln, who accompanied Lowe to General Scott's headquarters. Lowe got his meeting and a week later was named as a regular Army balloonist, paid at the rate of $10 per day, and was given approval to build another balloon for the Army.

Like the French almost 100 years earlier, the Union Army used a balloon named Enterprise to observe Confederate troop movements. [Photo: National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

In September 1861, Lowe, in his new balloon, directed Union artillery fire. Lowe's prestige rose in November when General George McClellan replaced General Scott. McClellan actually rode in Lowe's balloon several times, and later gave Lowe authority to construct more balloons and recruit a company of balloonists. In mid-1862, General McClellan was replaced by another general who was not receptive to the idea of observation balloons. After many frustrations, Lowe resigned on May 7, 1862, and the balloon corps was officially disbanded less than a month later.

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003