Best Of - DE6

Courtesy Boar's Head Ballooning

petition among balloonists vying for
this unprecedented position, Lowe
impressed Lincoln by floating near the
White House in his balloon, the
Enterprise, and sending a telegraph to
the president. Before the Balloon
Corps was organized, Lowe attempted
a fairly successful reconnaissance mission at the First Battle of Bull Run, with
General Irvin McDowell. Lowe unfortunately landed in a thicket in
Confederate territory near George
Mason's Plantation and twisted his
ankle. His wife, who had been watching his balloon through a telescope,
bravely disguised herself in farm-woman's attire and snuck him and his balloon safely out in a wagon. Lowe went
on to serve in the Peninsula Campaign
of 1862, yet he always felt underappre-

Up, Up, and away!
The confines of a tiny wicker basket
can result in close quarters for a group
of total strangers. But the instant your
balloon leaves the ground that ceases
to matter and you quickly get caught
up in the moment.

ciated and underpaid for his services,
and he resigned in 1863, to the detriment of the Union Army Balloon Corps.
While admittedly less notable than
Lincoln's, my first encounter with hot air
balloons came while growing up in
Lexington, Va., which hosts the Sunrise
Rotary Club's 4th of July balloon rally
each year. I remember waking up to
the loud blast of propane ignition in
the middle of my summer-morning late
sleep and wandering outside disgrunSeptember/October 2013 | DE 6
Best Of

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