Gettysburg ~ Observation Balloon

[TSCLowe]

While scrolling through threads this morning I saw a post regarding the Gettysburg Observation Tower and while scrolling through facebook memories this morning I saw a post from 6 years ago regarding the Gettysburg Observation Balloon. While the Observation Tower and Balloon no longer exist, as the resident Balloon Guy I thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences with the Observation Balloon.

On June 29th, 2014 the Gettysburg Museum of History shared the following post on facebook:

"Gettysburg news. A giant balloon is now in the parking lot of the former Wax Museum, now called "The Gettysburg Heritage Center". They will be charging tourists to go up in the tethered balloon for a view of the battlefield. This has sparked out rage from some "preservationists" and applaud from some others for it's "out of the box" approach to the new Gettysburg attraction. What do you think? Is this a good idea and clever "loop hole" to see the battlefield at a different perspective? There is a "no fly zone" over the field, but this is technically not over the field, just the edge. Where does preservation come in and how far can it go in town that has citizens that have to live here too? Is this just another "eyesore" like the tower? This balloon has really got the internet pages fired up on both sides. PLEASE comment below and PLEASE keep it civil! Please "LIKE" and "SHARE". disclaimer: We at The Gettysburg Museum of History have nothing to do with the balloon or the Heritage Center or the Park! We are simply reporting the news. We are voicing no personal opinions here. We would like to hear what YOU THINK!"

My first thought was "COOL! I know balloons were not at Gettysburg, but if one is going to be there I've got to be a part of this to share Civil War Balloon Corps History!!!"

My second thought after viewing the pictures shared was "It is obvious a balloon pilot familiar with tethered ride systems was not consulted about the placement - it was too close to trees and buildings - and it is a shame the company installing the balloon gave into the customer's desire to place it there."

I immediately contacted the Gettysburg Heritage Center (formerly the Wax Museum), introduced myself and asked for a meeting to discuss possibilities. It was scheduled for a public opening during the following weekend so I made arrangements to be there. Yes, I'm aware that many were adamantly against this endeavor, but I was excited as this was also the Battle of Gettysburg Anniversary weekend and there would be thousands of spectators to share Balloon Corps History with!

I couldn't wait for the weekend and showed up midweek. Words cannot describe my excitement as I drove up and saw the balloon and learned that if this season was successful the Heritage Center would replace the white envelope with a replica of the Intrepid similar to the tethered balloon display at the Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford, New York. While the concept had it's merits. my initial concerns about it's placement close to trees and buildings combined with the limited availability and extremely high cost of helium would prove to be it's doom just a couple of months later.

After the installation was finally completed I went aloft with every tethered ride the first couple of weekends it was in operation. For those who weren't able to be there, here are some pictures share what you missed.

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

 

[infomanpa]

Yeah, Lee and Meade for sure would have modified their strategies if they had the view from a balloon.

 

[Peace Society]

Someone asked recently why they had been discontinued by that time. Any clue why?

 

[Lubliner]

That was an excellent 'General Grant' taking a look. And what a wonderful view, as long as you don't look down.
Lubliner.

 

[CowCavalry]

That was an excellent 'General Grant' taking a look. And what a wonderful view, as long as you don't look down.
Lubliner.

That was my thought exactly.

 

[TSCLowe]

Someone asked recently why they had been discontinued by that time. Any clue why?

I summed the answers up in the last sentence of my post: "While the concept had it's merits. my initial concerns about it's placement close to trees and buildings combined with the limited availability and extremely high cost of helium would prove to be it's doom just a couple of months later."

For safe operation systems like this require a space free of obstacles of 300-500feet diameter. The Heritage Center was concerned with spectator management - buy a ticket inside and walk right outside for your ride; as well as how many parking spaces the ride occupied - as many of you know parking is a premium throughout Gettysburg.

Strong winds picked up and pushed the balloons envelope against the building and damaged it.

The other reason their balloon ride ended is because of the limited availability and extremely high costs of helium. We've experienced a severe helium shortage for the last 15 years. Priority of distribution goes to Medical, Military, and Science and half of what is drawn is shipped overseas. What used to cost us $1,200.00 to $2,000.00 to fill a 1000 cubic meter balloon would now cost us $40,000.00 to $60,000.00 IF we could get it, which we can't. This is the primary reason we've gone back to flying gas balloons filled with hydrogen. While we can fly balloons filled with hydrogen we can't use them for public demonstrations or amusement rides . . . . funny how the Union made over 3,000 accident and incident free ascents using 12 different balloons and everyone today only remembers one balloon filled with hydrogen . . . . the Hindenburg - "Oh, The Humanity!"

The Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford, New York made a replica of the Intrepid for their living history display in 2012. Before Macy's stepped in their grand opening was threatened because of the helium shortage. They operated for one season, closed the next, opened again and then closed completely because of the high costs of helium.

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

 

[TSCLowe]

@Lubliner and @CowCavalry

Our Grant, Steve Hatchette, loves Gettysburg and comes down from Nova Scotia with his wife Sue - aka Mrs Grant - a couple of times a year.

Here he is with General Grant's Great, Great, Great Grandson - John Griffiths at Cedar Creek 2019!!

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

 

[Peace Society]

I can understand the Confederates not having balloons at Gettysburg, since they didn't have the portable gas production the Union had. I suppose balloons might have been used if they could have been brought up fast enough. The fighting was kind of sudden and surprising. It took long enough for the troops to get there, much less balloons. But hadn't balloon use been discontinued by the Union prior to this time? I am wondering why.

 

[TSCLowe]

I can understand the Confederates not having balloons at Gettysburg, since they didn't have the portable gas production the Union had. I suppose balloons might have been used if they could have been brought up fast enough. The fighting was kind of sudden and surprising. It took long enough for the troops to get there, much less balloons. But hadn't balloon use been discontinued by the Union prior to this time? I am wondering why.

By the time of Gettysburg neither side, North nor South, had a balloon available to them.

The Union stopped using balloons for many reasons shortly after Chancellorsville. Multiple contributors included:

Chain of Command: Commanding Generals more focused on fighting the fight and keeping their jobs than on using still relatively new technology - they didn't teach Ballooning 101 at West Point. Burnside relieved after Fredericksburg; and Hooker after Chancellorsville . . . Instead of reporting directly to the Commanding Generals the Aeronauts were placed subordinate to a Quartermaster Captain (Comstock) who knew his superiors were more focused on fighting the fight and keeping their jobs.

Funding: Major Congressional investigation into the continuing high costs of the war and mandate reductions in spending. Aeronauts (Balloonists) are Civilian Contractors . . . . 1/2 are fired to include Lowe's Father for reasons of perceived nepotism although Clovis was responsible for maintenance and logistics. [Note: Lowe continued to pay the remaining Aeronauts out of pocket to keep their pay at the rate he hired them]. The balloons were almost three years into use in a field environment and were in desperate need of repair or replacement. Captain Comstock cut back funding for basic supplies and equipment and refused to support major repair or building one or more new balloons.

In frustration Thaddeus Lowe - the driving force behind the Balloon Corps - resigns after Chancellorsville.

James and Ezra Allen resign in the next month after experiencing a mid tether catastrophic failure when a seam ripped from the top of the balloon to the bottom refusing to continue to put their lives on the line if they weren't being supported. Hence no balloons at Gettysburg.

The remaining equipment was crated and warehoused in Washington D.C. next to Indiana Jones Ark of the Covenant (humor)

Napoleon was the first to use Balloons for Aerial Observation during the Battle of Fleures in 1794 and they were marginal at best. Thaddeus Lowe and the Aeronauts he hired perfected the use of Balloons for Observation during the Civil War and we are STILL using tethered Aerostats for Aerial Observation for Border Patrol, Drug Interdiction, and in Iraq and Afghanistan today (2020).

EP Alexander wrote after the War: "I never understood why the enemy abandoned the use of military balloons … Even if the observers never saw anything, they would have been worth all they cost for the annoyance and delays they caused us in trying to keep our movement out of sight."

James Longstreet wrote after the War: "The Federals had been using balloons in examining our positions and we watched with envious eyes their beautiful observations as they floated high up in the air, and well out of the range of our guns. We longed for the balloons that our poverty denied us."

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

 

[Peace Society]

I replied with thanks at the time for the interesting information, but that post has disappeared entirely.
Thank you! Most of that I have never run across.

 

[James N.]

… Napoleon was the first to use Balloons for Aerial Observation during the Battle of Fleures in 1794 and they were marginal at best. Thaddeus Lowe and the Aeronauts he hired perfected the use of Balloons for Observation during the Civil War and we are STILL using tethered Aerostats for Aerial Observation for Border Patrol, Drug Interdiction, and in Iraq and Afghanistan today (2020).

EP Alexander wrote after the War: "I never understood why the enemy abandoned the use of military balloons … Even if the observers never saw anything, they would have been worth all they cost for the annoyance and delays they caused us in trying to keep our movement out of sight."

James Longstreet wrote after the War: "The Federals had been using balloons in examining our positions and we watched with envious eyes their beautiful observations as they floated high up in the air, and well out of the range of our guns. We longed for the balloons that our poverty denied us."

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

I loved your thread, so this is just a niggling complaint about a period I'm currently "revisiting": Although you're certainly correct about the service of the French Aerosters in 1794, at that time Napoleon Bonaparte was still only a very minor figure of the French Revolution and had nothing at all to do with the battle at Fleurus. (He wouldn't get there until during the Waterloo campaign in 1815 when he observed the Battle of Ligny against the Prussians, not from a balloon but instead from a convenient windmill in Fleurus.) The French commander there was the future Marshal Jourdan. Although he had included one in his 1799 expedition to Egypt, once he was Emperor, Napoleon also essentially did away with the military use of balloons, probably from lack of interest in technology - remember he also refused an offer by American inventor Robert Fulton to build steamboats for France!

 

[Peace Society]

Found out balloons were in daily use just prior to Gettysburg. Are there any good books on CW balloons?

Letter to MBG June 5, 1863
We were sold again. After turning out at midnight and packing our traps, and preparing for a battle which somebody seemed to think impending, our orders were countermanded. So we have rebuilt our canvas cities and settled down again. The fact is, somebody is very much exercised lest the terrible Lee may do something dangerous. Three times now of late this army has been turned out of house and home to lie sweltering in the sun, only to have its marching orders countermanded. The boys have long ago learned to take such things philosophically. They tear down and build up cheerfully with the shrewd observation, that 'it is only Johnny Reb fooling the balloon again.' If we are to be all summer at the mercy of the balloon, I fear you will get no other letters than those written on the eve of an active campaign.

Sat. June 6, 1863, 10 1/2 a.m.
Played the same game we did two days ago. Nearly all night spent in getting ready to march at daylight, but here we still remain in that disagreeable state of uncertainty that a soldier so often experiences. ... We rely on guessing. I will make a guess: Johnny Reb has fooled 'fighting Joe.' Has Johnny hid? Has he evacuated? Where is he? Joe can't say and the balloon is nonplused and in disgrace.

General Hooker's reconnoitering balloon could be constantly seen in the air, and it was a subject of much humorous speculation.

Rufus R Dawes
Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers
Chapter VII
1890

 

[Valen]

After the installation was finally completed I went aloft with every tethered ride the first couple of weekends it was in operation. For those who weren't able to be there, here are some pictures share what you missed.



Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

I took a ride in the balloon either the first or second day they were offering rides (the woman who ran the museum took her first ride up it that same time). I thought it offered a unique look at the town and part of the battlefield. I've taken hot air balloon rides before and skydived, as well, so I enjoyed it.

 

[TSCLowe]

Are there any good books on CW balloons?

Most will be surprised at how many books are available relating to CW Balloons. THE BEST BOOK for ALL ages is Gail Jarrow's "Lincoln's Flying Spies. Click on the second picture to see all books specific to CW Ballooning. Once there, click on the book to view details.

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

 

[TSCLowe]

I took a ride in the balloon either the first or second day they were offering rides (the woman who ran the museum took her first ride up it that same time). I thought it offered a unique look at the town and part of the battlefield. I've taken hot air balloon rides before and skydived, as well, so I enjoyed it.

@Valen check out my album if you're on facebook and tag or download if you find a picture that includes you!

Respectfully Submitted,

TSC Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History

 

[Valen]

@Valen check out my album if you're on facebook and tag or download if you find a picture that includes you!

I looked through that Album. I didn't see myself in any of the pictures. I saw Tammy in one; if that was her first ride, I'm elsewhere on that basket.