This is a section of the original balloon "Enterprise" that Thaddeus Lowe used to introduce aerial reconnaissance to the Union Army during the early days of the Civil War. The Enterprise was a gas inflated aerostat that Lowe built along with his father in 1858. it was the second such balloon built at their Hoboken, New Jersey facility. It is said that the balloon received it's name from Lowe's wife because of the time and money invested in building it. The balloon was constructed of India silk, lightweight cording and Lowe's patent varnish that enabled the balloon envelope to be gassed up for up to two weeks. In March of 1861 Lowe was performing pre test flights for a proposed transatlantic flight in Cincinnati, Ohio. On 19 April, 1861, Lowe boarded the Enterprise for an early morning test flight in Cincinnati. 900 miles later he landed in Unionville, South Carolina, where he was placed under house arrest as a Union spy. A couple of days later he was granted safe passage back to Cincinnati to retrieve his balloons. It was at this point that he was asked to provide his services to the Union Army. He remained in Washington for a time while the decision to use balloons was being made. He tried to convince the Army that special purpose balloons needed to be manufactured for military service, stating that his balloon Enterprise was not suitable for military application. Even so, he first put his services to use with the Enterprise at the First Battle of Bull Run supporting General McDowell. In his first free flight Lowe was denied landing by Union troops as they recognized no military insignia on the either the balloon or Lowe himself. He was forced to land behind Confederate lines, but managed to escape capture. The Enterprise was badly damaged during this escapade. Eventually it was put back into light service with Lowe's father Clovis and Captain John Dickenson in the Washington D.C. area. Once Thaddeus had an inventory of seven military balloons the Enterprise was decommissioned. This section of the balloon measures approximately 4" wide by 6" tall. It is in a wooden frame that contains the wrinkled and creased piece of the balloon along with a hand written note stating "A piece of Professor Lowe's balloon "Enterprise" sent home by Lt. S Millett Thompson, 13th N.H. Vol." Millett enlisted 13 August, 1862 as a First Sergeant. He mustered into E company, 13th New Hampshire Infantry on 19 September, 1862. Millett was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 10 June, 1863. He was severely wounded 15 May, 1864 at Petersburg, Virginia. Lieutenant Millett was discharged for wounds on 4 October, 1864. This is one of the coolest pieces of Civil War history to come through the shop in a while! There was even a CDV of Millett on the civil war database.

Item # AA1282

(Sold)