MILITARY BALLOONING. The first use of bal loons for this purpose was made under time first French Republic by the chemist Guyton de Mor veau, and two companies of military balloonists were organized the command of De Coutelle and sent to the field. The L'Entreprenant, a bal loon 27 feet in diameter, was at. Maubenge. June 2, 1794, doing excellent service for the French, and again at Charleroi, from June 21 to 25. The balloons used were of the captive type. held by ropes. During the battle of Fleurus, the L'Entreprcnant remained ten hours in the air, and gave General Jourdan all details of the Aus trian movements. During the Civil War in the United States, La Montain reconnoitred the Con federate position from a captive balloon near Washington, but finding his observations in sufficient, he cut the cable which held the balloon and passed over the enemy's army. :Maryland, lie was able to afford General Clellan important information concerning the enemy's movements. The balloon Rhode Island, also used in the Civil War, was the first used in communicating directly with a military post, by means of a wire conductor attached to the anchoring cable, and thus transmitted observa tions telegraphically to the ground. Later in the war, from a balloon before Richmond, at an altitude of 300 meters (about 9S0 feet), pano ramic photographs were taken of the terrain and surrounding country. In 1870 the Germans before Strassbnrg made ineffectual attempts to utilize balloons. in this respect the French were more successful, using•balloons during the siege of Paris to communicate with the otter world. A school of aerostation was founded in
Germany in 1884, under command of Major Buchols. Ascensions were made at the manwu vres near Cologne in 1885, and these experiments were renewed at Mainz in 1887. The German officers also made experiments with luminous balloons for signaling. using an electric lamp in the interior of the balloon. By means of an electric projector carried up by a balloon, they were able to throw light on the terrain at a great distance. Optic telegraphy was the sub ject of experiments and study in Russia in 1S84, and trials were made with arc lights suspended under the balloon and connected with the ground by conductors. ]n 1879 the English or ganized a company of military balloonists, and a park of construction for balloons was estab lished at Woolwich. In the Egyptian campaign in 1885 military ballooning was used to advan tage. The balloon section was used in South Africa, 1899-1901, with some measure of suc cess.
The balloon was used as an actual means of offense at the siege of Verona, 1849, by the Aus trians, who transported in balloons missiles of war, which they threw down upon the enemy. This method of warfare, which has often been proposed, has not been found successful, largely owing to the difficulty in droppine. the missiles accurately, slight wind currents deflecting them.