Americans have always been interested in flight. Benjamin Franklin witnessed an early balloon ascent while serving as U.S. Minister to France. “What good is it?” a spectator queried. “What good is a newborn baby?” Franklin responded. As always, the sage of Philadelphia was right in the mark: aviation was in its infancy, and would take some time to reach its full potential. Thaddeus Lowe was one of those early pioneers who helped develop a new means of exploration and transportation.
Thaddeus Lowe’s Early Years
Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe was born on August 20, 1832, near Jefferson Mills, New Hampshire. He had a natural curiosity and appetite for learning, and read all he could. His schooling was sketchy, because he was a farm boy who could only be spared from work during the winter months.
When Thaddeus was 14 he left home, first to Portland, Maine, and then to Boston. He joined his older brother Joseph in the shoe (parts) cutting trade. But then he attended a public chemistry lecture given by one Professor Reginald Dinkelhoff, who noted the youth’s eagerness and thirst for knowledge. Before long Thaddeus became the professor’s assistant. Before long Lowe was giving public lectures on his own, speaking of chemistry with real authority.
He made a good living on the lecture circuit--so good he was able to use some of the money to attend classes to fill the gaps in his education. Long interested in air currents and the atmosphere, he started to think in terms of flying with lighter-than air gasses like hydrogen. In 1858 he made his first ascent by balloon. Within a few short months he became one of the country’s leading aeronauts (flyers).
Lowe and the Civil War
In the late 1850s the leading aeronauts in the country, Lowe included, were planning to fly across the Atlantic by balloon. Lowe was persuaded that he conduct a long distance test flight first. The test run departed from Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 20, 1861. Lowe reached an altitude of some 12,000 feet on his journey. After nine hours, the aeronaut touched down a few miles from Unionville, South Carolina. He established a distance record for the time, 900 miles, but also got into hot water. Unfortunately the Civil war had broken out just a few days before, and Confederate authorities thought he was a spy. It was touch and go for a time, but eventually he was released and headed north.
Lowe headed for Washington, where he hoped to establish the U.S. Balloon Corps—in essence the first U.S. air force. Luck was with him, and he eventually secured an interview with President Abraham Lincoln himself. During one test, Lowe ascended 500 feet on a tethered rope with a telegraph operator. He sent telegraph message to Lincoln from the heights—the first such message sent from an aircraft.
For the next two years the fledgling U.S. Balloon Corps performed a vital intelligence service for the Union. During the Battle of Fair Oaks in 1862, for example, Lowe’s aerial observations of Confederate troop movements probably saved the Union from defeat. On another occasion, Lowe also directed artillery fire from the air—another first. A young officer, George Armstrong Custer, even took an observation flight.
But the U.S. Balloon Corps ended in 1863. Supplies were often inadequate, pay infrequent, and many hidebound traditional officers didn’t fully appreciate the value. Sick of government wrangles, Lowe resigned in disgust. The aeronaut died in 1913, living long enough to witness flight’s early years after the Wright brothers. Interestingly, a Prussian officer too a ride in one of Lowe’s balloons during the Civil War, and came away impressed. His name was Ferdinand von Zeppelin, and he was to develop the famous airships that bear his name.
Sources:
Donald Dale Jackson, The Aeronauts (Time-Life, 1981)
Eugene B. Block, Above the Civil War: The Story of Thaddeus S.C. Lowe (Howell-North, 1966)
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