The Drones of the Civil War Meet the hot air balloonist who convinced Lincoln to use aerial reconnaissance. ... Thaddeus Lowe observes from his balloon Intrepid at the Battle of Fair Oaks in 1862.

How Thaddeus Lowe took the skies and invented aerial reconnaissance before the age of airplanes.

Thaddeus Lowe is remembered as the aeronaut who used his balloon service to gather information about Confederate movements during the Civil War. The war was only a few days old, however, when he ...

The Smithsonian Institution’s first secretary Joseph Henry, an advisor to balloonist Thaddeus Lowe, and his daughter Mary Henry observed the balloon’s controlled flight.

MUMFORD, N.Y. – Terry Lowe drove 1,000 miles to get a taste of what his Civil War balloonist ancestor experienced while observing troop movements on the battlefields of Virginia — minus the ...

Thaddeus Lowe intended to make balloon history in 1861. But his plan was to complete a transatlantic flight, not spy on the Confederate Army. He’ll be sworn into the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame ...

Below: NASA’s Jim Green (dressed as Civil War balloon ist Thaddeus Lowe) and his gondola were digitally added to this 360-degree panorama taken from an aerostat balloon over Edwards Ferry ...

The balloon was placed steps away from a refreshment stand, where famous Civil War balloonist Thaddeus Lowe originally showed President Abraham Lincoln how to use balloons for reconnaissance on ...

The balloon was placed steps away from a refreshment stand, where famous Civil War balloonist Thaddeus Lowe originally showed President Abraham Lincoln how to use balloons for reconnaissance on ...