Yorktown in York County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Civil War Hot-Air Balloons

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 20, 2013

1. Civil War Hot-Air Balloons Marker

Inscription. In April and May of 1862, Union and Confederate commanders deployed observation balloons near Yorktown during the Peninsula Campaign. Professor Thaddeus Lowe and Brigadier General Fitz-John Porter gathered intelligence about the Confederate defenses from the hydrogen balloons Constitution and Intrepid. In response, the Confederates launched a hot-air balloon that observed the Union’s siege lines.

The Union and Confederate balloons were natural targets for artillery and small arms fire, but neither side scored a direct hit. The gunfire, however, caused uneasiness as Confederate aeronaut John Randolph Bryan noted: “For some minutes shells and bullets from the shrapnel whistled and sang around me with a most unpleasant music, but my balloon and I escaped.” Furthermore, Bryan and General Porter had accidental free-flight experiences when their tethered ropes broke and both narrowly escaped serious injury or capture. Neither side adequately supported balloon operations, but this was an important technological development that foreshadowed the rise of air power in the twentieth century.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress

Erected 2010 by York County.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

• War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1862.

Location. 37° 14.222′ N, 76° 30.407′ W. Marker is in Yorktown, Virginia, in York County. It can be reached from Water Street west of Read Street, on the right when traveling west. Located along Yorktown's Riverwalk. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Yorktown VA 23690, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula,

in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Steamboats on York River (here, next to this marker); Yorktown's Stormy Past (within shouting distance of this marker); TransAmerica Bike Trail (within shouting distance of this marker); Great Fire of 1814 (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Tobacco Inspection (about 400 feet away); Yorktown Waterfront (about 400 feet away); Kiskiack (about 400 feet away); Grace Episcopal Church (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Yorktown.

Other markers no longer nearby. USS Yorktown (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing); Seat of the County of York (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).

Yorktown's Riverwalk image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 20, 2013

2. Yorktown's Riverwalk

Professor Lowe's military balloon near Gaines Mill, Virginia image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mathew B. Brady, June 1, 1862

3. Professor Lowe's military balloon near Gaines Mill, Virginia

Library of Congress [LC-USZC4-7995]

Credits. This page was last revised on November 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 21, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,011 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 21, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.