Confederate letter oberved first ballon going up a at Fort Monroe July 1861 rare

Confederate letter oberved first ballon going up a at Fort Monroe July 1861 rare (image 3/[null, null, null, null])

Confederate letter oberved first ballon going up a at Fort Monroe July 1861 rare (image 4/[null, null, null, null])

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source
Online Marketplace

Pleased to offer a Confederate letter written by a confederate soldier who writes about seeing a ballon go up at Fortress Monroe. This letter is dated Aug 3 1861. After research of balloons in civil war It is documented that the first balloons used in the civil war were launched from Fort Monroe Late July 1861. The writer of this letter states " we went down to Sewells Point day before yesterday and while down there we saw a ballon go up at Fortress Momroe, some of the Yanks went up with it to see the situation of the battery at Sewells Point and to look for marsh batteries" Wheather he saw the historical first ballon go up or one going up just a few days after he records the first use military areal aviation to accomplish a mission. The rest of the letter before and after this statement is general camp and war info written home. That is what is so awesome about this and other letters from the Civil War it captures a moment in time, a time where we can go back 150 years and be where and see what that soldier saw. Sometimes a letter capture records an historical event such as this. Only if that soldier could see what that first areal ballon launch turned into. The letter is in good shape accept for a couple holes that can be seen in the uploaded photographs. Below is words written and published in the Daily Press Dec 1990. The first recorded use of balloons in the Civil War was at Fort Monroe in July 1861. The balloonist was John LaMountain, of Troy, N.Y., who had accepted the job of aerial observer with Gen. Benjamin Butler's command, based at Fort Monroe.LaMountain brought his two balloons and other equipment to Old Point and made his first ascesion on the evening of July 25. His balloon, like all others used during the Civil War, was called a "captive balloon" or "barrage balloon" and was secured by a rope to the ground to prevent its blowing into enemy territory.Butler sent his young balloonist aloft for the first time over Monroe to learn the whereabouts of a Confederate force of 2,000 men which had marched through York and Elizabeth City counties to round up slaves."When the Confederates arrived in Hampton on July 25," writes Richard Weinert Jr. in his history of Fort Monroe, "a large balloon suddenly rose from behind the Federal lines ... but a stiff wind was blowing at the time and [LaMountain] was unable to attain sufficient altitude for effective observation."Several days later LaMountain tried again. He reached a height of 1,400 feet and had a good view over a radius of 30 miles, discovering an unknown Confederate camp near Sewells Point on the Norfolk shore. A day later LaMountain ascended again and was able to report that Confederate troops no longer occupied Hampton.On Aug. 3, 1861, Butler's balloonist tried a new trick. He attached his balloon rope to the Federal gunboat Fanny, which sailed out into Hampton Roads near the Confederate battery at Sewells Point, close to Norfolk. This time LaMountain ascended to 2,000 feet to observe Confederate concentrations around the south shore of Hampton Roads.With LaMountain's balloon still aloft, the Fanny proceeded to sail toward Craney Island and Pig Point, near the entrance to Norfolk.Butler was disappointed with LaMountain when he failed on Aug. 6 to spot 10,000 Confederates who had marched east from Yorktown in an effort to lure Butler's troops out from Fort Monroe to fight. It was during that foray that Magruder gave the order to his soldiers to burn Hampton so its buildings could not be used by Butler to house slaves.The little town of 500 houses was burned to ashes the next day, leaving only St. John's church standing.The buildup of Confederates and the burning of Hampton created great concern in the Union headquarters at Fort Monroe.LaMountain made his last ascensions for Butler on Aug. 10, 1861, rising to 3,500 feet. From that height he discovered a large number of Magruder's Confederates fortifying the area around Young's Mill in Warwick County. That night he and Butler ascended in the balloon from a base on board the Union tugboat Adriatic at Fort Monroe... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.