First Aeronautic Operations Ever Made for Naval Purposes During the Civil War

The drawing below is from one of the papers published during the Civil War. It shows the first aeronautic operations ever made for naval purposes. A broad deck was erected on the hull of the steamer "George Washington Park Custiss," which used ply on the Potomac between Washington and Mt. Vernon. The gas generating supplies were on the stern and the manufacturing apparatus on the bow. When at rest the airship was anchored on the center of the deck. At the time the picture was made, Professor Lowe was observing the blockage at Budd's Ferry below Mt. Vernon. This, in conjunction with another of his balloons on land, caused the raising of the blockade of the Potomac in a few hours, thus allowing our fleet of transports to pass by. This blockade had been costing the government upwards of a million dollars a day for nearly two months.We operated with this craft on the Potomac, York, James and Pamunky Rivers and Chesapeake Bay during the Penninsula Campaign.