Dropping poison gas from a balloon.

[major bill]

On June 4th, 1861 Isham Walker of the Jeff Davis Rifles wrote a letter to the Secretary of War about using a balloon to drop poison gas from a balloon on to Fort Pickens and the Federal fleet. But was this practical?

The first question would be, what kind of poison gas would be effective? There were gases that were poisonous, but how persistent were they? Many poisonous gases would disperse in the wind quickly and be diluted to the point they would no longer be lethal. Also some gases are lighter than air and would raise quickly. Gas dispersion canisters would need to properly release the gas.

Could a balloon at two miles height hit a fort or a ship with a gas bomb? Targeting would be a real issue. Perhaps a fort is large enough to hit, a ship is another issue.

 

[cake1979]

Well that would be interesting. Not a lot of protection from gas in 1861, so if the delivery could be perfected, it would be pretty lethal.

Better question would be: what kind of gas was available? Chlorine gas has been around since the late 18th century, and is heavier than air, but was not thought of as a weapon until the early 20th century.

 

[Mk VII]

Experiments with airplanes after WW1 showed that it was extremely difficult to try to gas warships, as the wind and target course could alter so frequently, and the effort involved would be better spent using explosives.
Lord Dundonald had thought of using gas as early as the Crimean War, but it remained only an idea.

 

[jackt62]

This is a new revelation to me. But it seems that the idea would not have been taken seriously for a number of reasons including the difficult logistics of producing, containing and delivering gas from a balloon that would have to hover directly over enemy lines. Here's an interesting thought. In the mid 19th century, there were still certain boundaries when it came to the use of military weaponry, for example, the limited use of primitive land mines by the Confederacy was widely condemned because it did not seem proper in a "civilized" war. So how much more abhorrent would the north and south have felt if poison gas was to be used?

 

[DaveBrt]

Early German WW1 use of gas used low wind speeds to push the gas cloud from the German lines to the British/French lines. Such could have been used in the CW against a fort, anchored ship or siege line -- IF the right gas was chosen and a method to produce it in quantity and disperse it could be found.

 

[major bill]

Early German WW1 use of gas used low wind speeds to push the gas cloud from the German lines to the British/French lines. Such could have been used in the CW against a fort, anchored ship or siege line -- IF the right gas was chosen and a method to produce it in quantity and disperse it could be found.

Perhaps too many iffs to be practical.

 

[leftyhunter]

Perhaps too many iffs to be practical.

Also the Union could retaliate in kind.
Leftyhunter

 

[TSCLowe]

As the resident Balloon Guy I'll try to answer your Balloon specific questions.

Question 1: "On June 4th, 1861 Isham Walker of the Jeff Davis Rifles wrote a letter to the Secretary of War about using a balloon to drop poison gas from a balloon on to Fort Pickens and the Federal fleet. But was this practical?"

1. The Confederate's did not have professional Aeronauts to operate their balloons.

2. The Confederate's did not have a balloon - or put the one they had in the air until April 1862 . . . . 10 months after Isham Walker's proposal. It was the ONLY heated air balloon used during the Civil War. An Adjutant to General Magruder, CPT John Randolph Bryan, volunteered to be a Scout, thinking it would be from horseback, put him in the fight, and get him away from his desk job. He convinced General Johnston he was familiar with the area through a map recon and was surprised when Johnston said: "Report to the Balloon!". To make a long story short, after Bryan made his first ascent he was the Confederate's only experienced Aeronaut and made a total of 3 ascents before the line tethering the balloon was cut and the balloon was damaged beyond their ability to repair it when it landed. CPT Bryan gladly went back to his desk job.

Those interested can read about his adventures here: 'Terrible Experiences of a Confederate Officer who saw
the Enemy from Dizzy Heights.'

3. The Confederate's second balloon, built in Savannah, Georgia by a businessman, was half the size of the Union's smallest balloon at 7,500 cubic feet of volume, could only carry one person aloft, and leaked like a sieve. It made it's debut on June 24, 1862 with E.P. Alexander as the observer in the basket. Again, the Confederates did not have professional Aeronauts to operate their balloons. Officially named the Gazelle, this balloon was captured 10 days later on July 4th, 1862

Question 2: "Could a balloon at two miles height hit a fort or a ship with a gas bomb?"

Simple answer: NO!

1. John LaMountain – who contracted privately with General Butler at Fort Monroe – preferred free flights, but the majority of Balloon ascents by both the Union and Confederates were tethered to the ground.

2. In freeflight winds vary in direction and speed with altitude. In 1861, 2, & 3, there was no way to forecast either.

3. In order to fly over the target the pilot must start upwind, catch the right winds during flight, drop the bomb, and land in friendly territory or make his way safely back through enemy territory after he lands.

The logistics with the technology of the time make this task insurmountable.

John Wise, America's most prominent Balloonist of the time suggested a plan to bomb the castle at Vera Cruz from a tethered balloon during the Mexican War. That plan was scoffed at by Military Leaders and never made it off the ground.

Like you said . . . . too many iffs to be practical.

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe Aeronaut

 

[Cavalier]

Just an opinion of course, but I believe that most Americans of the Victorian era would consider the use of gas in warfare as an atrocity. I agree with jackt62's comments above and think such action would be pretty universally condemned in that time.

As an aside, my godfather witnessed the results of gassing in WWl and told me he thought it would be "a g-- d---- horrible way to die".

 

[TSCLowe]

The bombardment of Venice in 1849 is discussed here. So Walker's proposal of dropping bombs from balloons had merit based on previous history. Again, wind direction, altitude, terrain, and payload (weight) would make the concept depicted in this picture highly improbable especially when adding the dynamics of coastal winds around Fort Pickens.

Most of the balloon pilots of the period were Northerners and aerostats were considered a novelty. They did not teach Ballooning 101 at West Point even and with professional pilots to operate them it took President Lincoln's intervention to force Union Leaders to use them.

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut

 

[Pollaco]

Could some one help me out please. The balloons used in the Civil War, were they hot air or gas filled? I had been under the impression they were gas. And I read somewhere that the Confederate Balloon,probably the Gazelle?, was filled at the Richmond Gas Works and then taken to its location tethered to a locomotive. Any truth to this "story"?

 

[TSCLowe]

@Polloco: ALL of the Balloons flown during the Civil War except the first balloon used by the Confederates used hydrogen or city gas (distilled coal creates a combination of hydrogen, methane, and ammonia gas) for lift. Including personal balloons brought by Union Aeronauts at the beginning of the War, the Federals operated 12 balloons and the Confederates operated 3.

The Confederates first balloon was the ONLY balloon that used heated air for lift.

Yes, it is true, the Confederates second balloon, the Gazelle, made it's inaugural flight on June 24, 1862, was inflated at the Richmond Gas Works, and then taken to the battlefield on the back of a flatbed rail car.

Using a photograph of a diorama this is my interpretation of the Confederates second balloon, the Gazelle, being carried to the battlefield on a flatbed rail car.

You can find a detailed civilwartalk discussion of Civil War Ballooning here

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe

 

[Wallyfish]

Some more info including germ warfare.

Drop Poision Gas from a Balloon - August 1997 Civil War Times Feature

Bombing enemy positions from aircraft during the Civil War? That's exactly what one Confederate soldier proposed as a way to overcome a Yankee fort in

www.historynet.com

 

[Pollaco]

I like that picture of the Gazelle. From what I've read It was indeed patchwork but not the silk gowns like in the story. That myth of the silk gowns is a hard one to shake. Now a question , was it just the Gazelle or the CS Gazelle?

 

[TSCLowe]

@Polloco You are correct. No Southern Belle donated the dress off her back back nor were they harmed in any way in building the Gazelle (just Gazelle, not the CS Gazelle). It was made from bolts of material that could have been used to make silk dresses. Pieces of the balloon can be found displayed at the National Air and Space Museum as well as several others. Here I am holding a framed piece of the Gazelle that is part of the Lowe Family Collection maintained by the Mount Lowe Preservation Society.

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Enjoyed reading all this, thank you! Sounds like there were ton of " HEY we could so THIS " ideas for using balloons as weapons. ( which would forever ruin blowing the little ones up for your kid's parties ). Favorite has to be the inventor who tried to sell one of the governments his drop-rocks-on-the-enemy invention? I forget who it was, apparently someone already considered a kind of Professor Crackpot.

Did not know the Gazelle has a myth attached about being made from dresses. Good to know although you could see why the myth would be believed. First thing I thought of was how women sewed quilts and made an entire gunboat appear ( but not made out of quilts, please no one start another myth ).

 

[Lost Cause]

An artillery shell loaded with poison gas would probably have been more feasible.

 

[TSCLowe]

Did not know the Gazelle has a myth attached about being made from dresses. Good to know although you could see why the myth would be believed.

Making it's first tethered ascent outside of Richmond on June 24th 1862 the Gazelle was captured after ascending from the deck of CSS Teaser 10 days later by members of the Federal gunboat Maratanza on July 4th. Because it was a patchwork of color unlike any other balloon of it's time varnished to make it airtight (see picture below), the Gazelle was called "The Silk Dress Balloon" from nearly the beginning of it's 10 day flight history.

The nickname "Silk Dress Balloon" has followed it to this day after James Longstreet wrote after the war "A genius arose to the occasion and suggested we send out and gather all of the silk dresses in of the Confederacy and make a balloon." This fiction was often repeated in post war writings and has become "fact" to those who don't do their research.

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut

This piece of the Gazelle is on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center at Dulles Airport