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A CALL FOR PAPERS !!! Like to review a book of Civil War interest?
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The War of the Aeronauts:
A History of Ballooning During the Civil War
Author: Charles M. Evans
ISBN 0-8177-1395-4Book review by Edith Elizabeth Pollitz
Civil War Courier"The War of Aeronauts", had, perhaps, more interest for this reviewer than it might for everyone (my recent novel incorporates the Balloon Corps into the story). However, the non-fiction account is as creative and entertaining as fiction. "The War of the Aeronauts" is a perfect description for the subject, for not only was there a very one-sided contest between Union and Confederate balloonists, but the infighting among Union aeronauts and between civillian balloonists and Federal military authorities provided min-wars in themselves.
The star of the show is professor Thaddeus Lowe, head of the Union's BalloonCorps and an extremely dynamic, ambitious and creative go-getter who worked tirelessly to provide the usefulness of balloons on the battle field. Not only did lowe use them for observation, but he sent telegraph messages from balloon-to-head-quarters and operated off the deck of the precusor to the aircraft carrier, Despite equipment failures, Lowe continued and expanded his efforts. Balloon "envelopes" ~the part we actually think of as the balloon ~were very fragile, and hydrogen, coal gas, or even plain old hot air in extreme circumstances had to be kept in the leaky craft. Balloons could be tricky to operate, and one actually got away with a Union general piloting it when the tethering snapped. Fortunately for the general, he landed behind Union lines. At war's outset, Lowe, one of the younger aeronauts on the scene, had to prove himself against several competitors for the top job.
This was not a problem in the Confederacy. The Rebels only managed one actual usable balloon. A concoction made of many different colored pieces of dress silk and now known as the "Silk Dress Balloon" made several ascents and became part of Confederate lore, but it eventually was captured by the yankees (not while in flight) and cut up into pieces for souvenirs.
Aerial observation was significant, primarily in Virginia, in the early part of the war. Aeronauts were particularly busy in the spring campaihns of 1862. Changes in command, an inopportune bout with malaria on Lowe's part, and the placement of a dictatorial military officer directly over the professor spelled the end of the Corps. It was disbanded in 1863, soon after Lowe left the service.
It is arguable whether the aerial reconnaissance provided was worth the cost and considerable trouble involved. Overcoming the prejudices of military men against the use of civilian aeronauts, who prior to war's outbreak were often part of carnival shows, was daunting. But, exixting reports by prominent generals who did see the value of balloons (often after a trip or so in one) indicate they were of some considerable use. The story of this precursor to our modern air force is one of the most interesting and creative sidelights to the war.
Title: The War of the Aeronauts: A History of Ballooning During the Civil War
Author: Charles M. Evans
Publisher: Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
First published in 1941 as Aeronautics in the Union and Confederate Armies, this volume received compliments in the London Times Literary Supplement for its exploration of "the attitude of soldiers toward innovations". This edition includes a new foreword by Tom D. Crouch, senior curator of the Aeronautics Division at the National Air and Space Museum.
Over half a century after its initial publication, F. Stansbury Haydon's well-researched book remains the definitive work on the creation of the United States Balloon Corps during the Civil War. Haydon explores his topic down to the last detail, from the amount of fabric used to manufacture every balloon that saw federal service, to the formula for varnish used to seal the envelopes. He explains the technical operation of mobile gas generators that T. S. C. Lowe designed to inflate balloons in the field and provides the precise cost of each rubber hose used in their construction. Military Ballooning during the Early Civil War raises large and important questions about technological change within a military bureaucracy. The book begins with an introduction to the history of military ballooning since the wars of the French Revolution, with special attention to discussions of military aeronautics in the United States since the time of the Seminole Wars. Haydon also demonstrates the complicated maneuvering among American balloonists who sought to aide the army before the Battle of Bull Run and shows how the attitudes of various officers toward the balloons changed during the ensuing months of 1861-62.
History, Theory and Practice of the Electric Telegraph
by George B. Prescott, 1860/1866 (reprint).Containing over 500 pages, this fourth edition of Prescott's famous (and scarce) book includes instruments, circuits and systems; practical observations (Prescott was Superintendent of Lines for the Western Union); laying the first Atlantic cable (including all messages sent on it); the history and stories of the era; and much more. This is one of the best references you'll find for early American landline telegraph. The discussion of various systems (including House, Bain and, of course, Morse) is invaluable for landline enthusiasts; the illustrations of the early instruments, including their manufacturers (Hall, Phelps) will aid key and sounder collectors in identifying and dating such items.
The fourth edition consists of the first (1860) edition plus two chapers added by Prescott in 1866. The first edition material (chapters 1 to 22) as well as its page numbering is the same as in the original work (it appears the 1860 printing plates were used), and so this volume may also be used as a first edition citation. This new old stock 1972 reprint also includes a few pages on line insulators from Franklin Pope's Modern Practice of the Electric Telegraph (1874) added at the back by the reprinter.
IMPORTANT: This book was in storage for over twenty years. As a result, the cover may show signs of fading or discoloration. The contents (text pages) are unaffected. Artifax Books is confident that this will not detract from the value of this book as a treasured addition to your reference library. This is a quality, offset printed, hardcover bound book which would be impossible to duplicate today for this low price.
HTP (pub. 1972): Hardover, 5.25 x 7.75 inches, 508 pages. $16.95
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The Signal Corps, U.S.A., in the War of the Rebellion
by: J. Willard BrownReviewed by: David Winfred Gaddy
THE STORY OF THE SIGNAL CORPS
Who were "the ablest, coolest, and most daring men in the Army"? This was the term applied by George Ward Nichols, in his Story of the Great March. Was he referring to dashing cavalry raiders -- sharp-shooters -- topographic engineers -- pioneers -- scouts? No, that was his description of the men of the signal corps, probably the least known and least appreciated body of men in the Civil War.
The ability to communicate rapidly on the battlefield and with higher headquarters -- anticipating radio in the Twentieth Century -- came about through the ingenuity, vision, and persistence of one man, Albert James Myer of New York. A pre-Civil War assistant surgeon in the army, Myer became the world's first signal officer in 1860. Through a cruel irony of fate, his brain-child -- a corps of technical military specialists -- was first realized by his opponents, and their success used to goad Federal authorities into action.
Simple in concept (a single flag waved to the left or right; torches at night), the Myer system was cheap, easily manufactured or even improvised, and could be carried by a single man. Using elevations that afforded extended line-of-sight (a hillock, tree, steeple or cupola, or a tower for the purpose), signaling was practicable over distances of ten miles or more in good visibility, and could be extended through relays to create networks. Although slow in comparison with the electromagnetic telegraph, it was free of wires, arching over the heads of the soldiers. A better comparison of capability would be made with the speed of couriers moving on horseback. From their lofty perches, aided by field glasses and 30-power telescopes, signal officers became a valued source of intelligence through their observations. In time they would augment that contribution by learning to "read" the signals of their opponents.
But Myer had several strikes against him: he was "non-academy," a civilian (and a medical doctor at that) in uniform. His persistence in promoting his vision, even to the extent of politicking with members of Congress, irritated and angered his chain-of-command, who combined with skeptics toward any new-fangled ideas to frustrate or thwart him. The Southern leadership, from their pre-war positions in government and the military, took his ideas with them into the Confederacy and jumped the gun on the inventor by using his system at First Manassas while Myer was struggling to get to the field. A year later, after Shiloh, Sherman was asked by Thomas, "Where is your Signal Corps?" and responded, "A Signal Corps, what is that?" (Brown, pp. 465-466). It was not until 1863, after two years of improvising with borrowed resources, that Myer became head of the provisional, wartime organization. Even then he found himself in conflict with Secretary of War Stanton over control of Morse telegraphy. Myer was "canned," "sent to Siberia" in the Department of the Gulf, and only restored after the war.
This epic of one man's struggle against bureaucracy and apathy, and the organization and military capability he introduced to warfare, both directly and (through his pre-war student and colleague, Edward Porter Alexander, CSA) indirectly in the Civil War, is not nearly as well known as it should be, nor the roles played by the signalmen. Most careful students of the war will have encountered the chapter in Miller's Photographic History, seen occasional references to signaling, or perhaps even encountered a monograph or article. But the story was once told, and told exceedingly well, in a book that, even in a 1974 reprint (minus the roster and index), is not well known, and in the original commands a price of $350 or more. This is the book that the Signal Corps Association, 1860 - 1865 ( an association of researchers, re-enactors and publishers of the Signal Cipher), has made available again in a "very" limited printing. Faithful to the original (except for two plates in color in the 1896 edition), hard bound on acid free paper, even to the extent of the attractive gold stamping on spine and cover, this edition restores the exhaustive roster, so useful to researchers and genealogists.
The author, Joseph Willard Brown, historian of the Veteran Signal Corps Association, embarked on a personal narrative in the late 1870s. Persuaded that a fuller story was merited, he approached Myer (back again as Chief Signal Officer), but was told that an official history was planned. The death of Myer a few years later (1880) may have prevented that, so the veterans undertook the task themselves, asking Brown to head a committee with four other veterans. With access to the records in Washington and full support from the Signal Service, they spent a decade in research and correspondence. Lacking the unit integrity of, say, a regiment, members of the signal corps served in small detachments (signal parties, or signal corps) scattered throughout the army and even aboard ships. Few officers were acquainted with one another, except through training schools (Myer was perhaps the first to establish strict pre-requisites, formal technical training schools or camps, and pre-entry testing) and chance assignments. Thanks to Myer's insistence on routine reporting of activities, they found a wealth of data in the files, but, as is usually the case with "our war," far better documentable for the East than the West. They compensated for this by years of correspondence and interviews, even as the Official Records were being produced. The result is an unmatched record of individual service (with over 600 photographs, including most of the officer corps), personal narratives, and technical detail found nowhere else, amplified by 49 maps and 164 line drawings, many by the author's talented son, the roster and index. It was largely through such details that a new generation, re-enactors of the 1970s, were re-introduced to Brown and his colleagues Photocopies were circulated. Forcing recognition by re-enactment planners (much as Myer had had to do through an uncooperative bureaucracy), they have caused the presence of the signal corps to come to the fore (witness the signalman at work at Meade's headquarters in TNT's Gettysburg and the station in the opening scene of Andersonville). Far less reason now to have to explain that Civil War signalling (after the war known as "wig-wag") did not involve two small flags, one in each hand!
The book treats the wartime history of the corps under two sections, the first devoted to background, initial organization, training, and administration, details the equipment and techniques, includes a chapter on the field telegraph and even an entire chapter on their Confederate counterparts. The second part is divided by all twelve military departments, and incorporates a wealth of personal detail and recollection useful to any historian. (A favorite example: Trying to convince newly summons General Warren that there were Confederates down in the woods below Little Round Top, and frustrated by his response that he couldn't see them, the signal officer was evidently not displeased when rebel gunners opened on them, nicking Warren in the neck. "Now do you see them?" he asked.)
Books of this nature can be expected to be heavy with praise and slighting of negative aspects. Surprisingly, the signal veterans were frank in admission of shortcomings and inadequacies. One negative having to do with their book is the lack of an "adequate" index. This conceals the wealth of data it contains, but makes the finding of "jewels" all the more rewarding from a careful reading.
The final transmission of the wartime signal corps was from the roof of army headquarters (the extant Winder Building in Washington, D.C.) to a single station of the once proud Army of the Potomac, across the river: "Sic transit gloria mundi," "thus passes the glory of the world." The glory of their wartime performance can be relived in this volume so essential to any re-enactor, such a valuable addition to the bookshelf (or to facilitate access while preserving a precious original). The Signal Corps Association 1860 - 1865 is to be commended for again making available this story of the signal corps.
- David Winfred Gaddy
(A co-author of Come Retribution: the Confederate Secret Service and the Assassination of Lincoln, Mr. Gaddy is at work on a book about the Confederate Army's Signal Corps.)A co-author of the award-winning Come Retribution: The Confederate Secret Service and the Assassination of Lincoln, David Winfred Gaddy is a long time student of Civil War signaling, telegraphy, cryptography, and secret service activities. His specialty is the Confederate side. He edited the Toomey Press reprint of Charles E. Taylor's The Confederate Signal and Secret Service and wrote "William Norris and the Confederate Signal and Secret Service" (Maryland Historical Magazine, reprinted in Paul J. Scheips, ed., Military Signal Communications). His articles have appeared in Civil War Times Illustrated, Gettysburg, Manuscripts, the Maryland Historical Magazine, and other publications. He was consultant to the Time-Life Civil War series volume, Spies, Scouts and Raiders and appeared on the A&E channel's Civil War series, dealing with espionage. He has lectured before the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the Virginia Historical Society, and numerous other groups, and is a past president of the District of Columbia Civil War Round Table. A biographical sketch is contained in Contemporary Authors, vol. 129 (1990). p. 162.
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The Signal Corps, U.S.A., in the War of the Rebellion.
Author: J. Willard Brown.
Illustrated, roster,index, 916 pp., 1996 centennial limited edition reprint.Make checks payable to:
Valerie Mathers
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Glen Burnie
Maryland 21060$55.00 postage paid, Maryland Residents include 6% sales tax.
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