BALLOONING. 



185 



BALLOON ENTERPRISE, Junt IS, 1S61. 

 To the President of the United States : 



From this point of observation, the city, with its 

 girdle of encampments, presents' a superb scene. I 

 nave pleasure in sending you the first despatch ever 

 telegraphed from an aerial station, and in acknowledg- 

 insrlndebtedness to your encouragement for the op- 

 portunity of demonstrating the availability of the 

 science "of aeronautics in the military service of the 

 country. T.'S. C. LOWE. 



Mr. Lowe not long afterward made recon- 

 noissances in the vicinity of Fairfax Court 

 House. Aug. 10 of the same year year. Mr. La 

 Mountain successfully observed the position of 

 the enemy's forces beyond Newport News and 

 on SewalTs Point, by ascending from the deck 

 of the tugboat Adriatic, anchored in Hampton 

 Roads, and to the unusual height of 3,000 ft. 

 Oct. 4, having ascended from the camp of the 

 Union army on the Potomac, and reconnoi- 

 tred, he then severed the cord holding the 

 balloon, and rising' to the height of 1-J- miles 

 was carried directly over the enemy's lines, 

 making a still more satisfactory observation of 

 their position; then discharging ballast, he 

 rose to 3 miles, and at this elevation passed 

 over Washington, descending finally within the 

 State of Maryland. In the peninsular campaign 

 under Gen. McClellan. balloons were employed 

 as a regular part of the system of reconnois- 

 sance. A letter from Mr. Parker Spring, super- 

 intendent of the telegraph construction in the 

 army, contains an account of the use of the 

 telegraph in connection with a balloon during 

 the battle of Seven Pines. He states that 

 when the battle was at its height Mr. Lowe 

 and himself, having established communication 

 with the wire to Fortress Monroe, 100 miles 

 distant, ascended to a height of 2,000 ft. Mr. 

 Lowe took observations through a good tel- 

 escope, reporting to Spring, who at once 

 telegraphed the information of the enemy's 

 position and movements thus acquired to the 

 commanding officers, through aid of an opera- 

 tor and recording instrument at the point be- 

 neath. . The aeronauts kept up their observa- 

 tions until dark of Saturday, pointing out the 

 position of the batteries. Arc. On Sunday morn- 

 ing they ascended again at daybreak, and about 

 noon were able to announce the commence- 

 ment of the enemy's retreat toward Richmond. 

 The streets of Richmond, as seen in the early 

 part of the day. appeared nearly deserted : af- 

 ter the retreat had set in multitudes of ambu- 

 lances, carts, ite., were seen conveying the 

 dead and wounded along the road to Rich- 

 mond : and about twilight the innumerable 

 camp fires lighted, and the smoke from the 

 hospitals and barracks, showed that the main 

 body of the army had fallen back to the city. 



At the meeting in 1861 of the British Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, a com- 

 mittee was appointed to superintend a series 

 of balloon ascents for scientific purposes, the 

 sum of 200 being applied for expenses. Mr. 

 Coxwell. an experienced aeronaut, being en- 

 listed in the matter, constructed a balloon of 



larger dimensions than any before seen in Eng- 

 land height 69 ft., diameter 54 ft. ; composed 

 of 46 gores, each 44 inches at greatest width ; 

 with a total capacity equal to 95,000 cubic 

 feet. A previous trial with an old balloon 

 and the first trial with the new one also hav- 

 ing failed, eight successful ascents were after- 

 ward made during the months of July, August, 

 and September ; and these have possessed con- 

 siderable interest in scientific and other points 

 of view. The committee at the last meeting at 

 Cambridge, 1862, report a total expenditure 

 for these ascents of 329,000 feet of gas. 115,000 

 feet being wasted ; whole outlay 270 ; and 

 they recommend a continuance of the experi- 

 ment r at other seasons of the year, and a fur- 

 ther appropriation to that end. 



In these ascents. Mr. James Glaisher per- 

 formed the office of philosophical observer, 

 Mr. Coxwell being engaged as the practical bal- 

 loonist. Mr. Glaisher read before the Associa- 

 tion at its last meeting a paper giving a sum- 

 mary of observations made and of facts con- 

 nected with the experiments. He first called 

 attention to the circumstance that all experi- 

 mental investigations carried on at and near 

 the surface of the earth are in many ways 

 subject to disturbance, from the influence of 

 the latter as a physical body ; among the dis- 

 turbing agencies, being heat, as radiated by the 

 earth, or conducted by or reflected from it; 

 reflection of light ; currents of air ; effect of 

 evaporation from neighboring bodies of water, 

 or of condensation on other bodies, &c. From 

 such influences we do not escape even by go- 

 ing to the tops of mountains : but to the great- 

 est extent practicable, only in a balloon at 

 considerable height. Is it then possible to 

 make delicate and accurate observations in a 

 balloon at great height? Can the observer 

 there be at his ease so as to observe as well as 

 on the earth ? Can he make the observations 

 with tolerable safety to himself? If these ques- 

 tions are practically answered in the affirma- 

 tive, very important gains should accrue to 

 the sciences of meteorology and astronomy, es- 

 pecially in the latter science in connection with 

 our knowledge of the refraction of light by our 

 atmosphere, and its effect on the apparent 

 places of the stars a point so essential to nav- 

 igation; while it was probable that valuable 

 results would also be attained in respect to 

 magnetism, chemistry. &c. A greater fami- 

 liarity moreover with the changing conditions 

 of the upper atmosphere, would doubtless ex- 

 tend our knowledge of the laws of aerial phe- 

 nomena, and turn it to practical account with 

 reference to the preserving of our own health 

 and comfort. Primarily, Mr. Glaisher proposed 

 to determine the temperature of the air, and 

 its hygrometrical state at different elevations 

 up to five miles ; secondarily, other of the in- 

 quiries already intimated ; to compare the 

 readings of the mercurial and aneroid barometer, 

 and the indications of the dew point given by 

 Daniell's, Regnault's, and the dry and wet bulb 



