1862

APRIL 16 Over Virginia, Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe uses a hydrogen balloon to assist Union General Fitz-John Porter. However, his tether line breaks and he drifts over Confederate territory, but Lowe waits for a breeze to blow him back across Union lines and he

descends and relays his findings to Union headquarters.

MAY 31—June 1 Over Virginia, the hydrogen balloon Intrepid is flown to con­vey military intelligence during the Battle of Fair Oaks (Seven Pines).

1892

January In Paris, France, Lieutenant William A. Glassford purchases a balloon for the Signal Corps. It is subsequently named the General Myer and transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, for the Signal Corps.

MAY 6 At Quantico, Virginia, Samuel P. Langley launches Aerodrome No. 5, the first pilotless, engine-driven, heavier-than-air craft. The device manages to fly from a cata­pult mounted on a houseboat for a distance of3,300 feet and 2,300 feet in two flights.

1894

At Fort Logan, Colorado, the Signal Corps balloon detachment arrives from

Fort Riley, Kansas, in search of better weather conditions.