Military Ballooning during the Early Civil War (Paperback)

by F. Stansbury Haydon (Author), Tom D. Crouch (Introduction) "By the spring of 1941 no one could doubt the immediate and terrifying impact on military aviation..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, James Allen, National Archives (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The definitive work on the creation of the United States Balloon Corps during the Civil War

Product Description

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 aid 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.

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." A reviewer in the Military Engineer praised the book both for its extensive scholarship and "as a lesson to all military men of the difficulties and misunderstandings which arise whenever a new means of conducting war is introduced into army circles." This edition includes a new foreword by Tom D. Crouch, senior curator of the Aeronautics Division at the National Air and Space Museum.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; First Edition edition (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801864429
• ISBN-13: 978-0801864421
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #991,635 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I read this book a long time ago and it hasn't changed..., January 12, 2004

By	Garth Moran Duncan (Des Plaines, Illinois) - See all my reviews

It's an incomplete work. The book apparently ends before the end of the balloons work during the Civil War. I read Evans's War of the Aeronauts and it's by far a superior book and a good read. This book is long detail, short on flare, and as already stated, incomplete. Pass, pass, pass...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Dated and Incomplete History, July 30, 2003

By	Morgan Thomas (Burlingame, CA) - See all my reviews

I have read an original copy of F. Stansbury Hayden's work, and while it was probably the seminal work for its time, circa 1941, it was only one volume of a two volume work that was never completed. Hayden is also not the most organized writer and his style is also not very well in keeping with contemporary standards.

I recently read and wrote a review of a recently published book called War of the Aeronauts by Evans. Comparatively, Evans write a complete history of ballooning in the Civil War and writes his book compellingly. I would really recommend that most readers would find War of the Aeronauts a more satisfying and well told story compared to this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Look at Technology and War, September 26, 2000

By	T. C. Ross (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The worst thing about this book is that Haydon never wrote volume two. As Crouch notes in the introduction, Haydon conceived Military Ballooning During the Early Civil War as a two volume work and there are occasional parenthetical/footnote references to engagements that were to be covered in that volume.

That being said, the book is fascinating, even if it only covers through 1862. Starting with a brief history of ballooning and its adoption by various military leaders during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, Hayden outlines the skepticism of U.S. generals during the Seminole Wars and the Mexican War and how they delayed the adoption of military balloons. Moving into the bulk of the book, Hayden builds on these earlier hesitancies to show how slow Union generals were to form a balloon corps and the difficulties Lowe, LaMountain and others faced in getting the army understand the value and difficulties of using balloons on the battlefield.

A great joy in the book are the extensive footnotes. Only a handful of pages lack them and Haydon uses the notes to provide additional information, context, and recollections, as well as sources. Haydon's love of detail is not constrained to the notes, however; he gives exacting details about the cost, materials, and staffing of the balloon corps, based upon archival records and receipts. It is a wonderful look at a little-known aspect of the Civil War and a good study of how reluctant military leaders could be to adopt/understand new technologies.