In conjunction with his upcoming book, Here Is Where: In Search of America's Great Forgotten History, we're following historian and Legacy Project founder Andrew Carroll as he drives, flies, walks, boats, buses, bikes, and hikes to seek out little-known historic sites in all 50 states. Bookmark all of his posts here.
While heading to southwest Minnesota to research a little-known Sioux Indian site, I made a short detour to photograph a story related to a historic flight over St. Paul.
During the Civil War, military personnel from other nations came to the U.S. to observe combat operations. One of these visitors was a 25-year-old Prussian officer who was fascinated by the Union Army's Balloon Corps, which conducted reconnaissance missions over Confederate territory.
"Just now I ascended with Prof. [John] Steiner, the famous aeronaut, to an altitude of six or seven hundred feet," the young Prussian wrote from St. Paul to his father back in Wurttemberg on August 19, 1863. "Should one want to harass with artillery fire [opposing] troops...the battery could be informed by telegraphic signals where their projectiles hit. The above technique has at times been used with great success by this country's armies. No method is better suited to viewing quickly the terrain of an unknown, enemy-occupied region."
The experience had a dramatic impact; "While I was above St. Paul I had my first idea of aerial navigation strongly impressed upon me," he would later say. "[A]nd it was there that the first idea of my Zeppelins came to me." His full name was Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin, who went on to manufacture the eponymous airship. By World War I the Germans were utilizing almost 70 Zeppelins both for bombing raids and intelligence gathering against the Allies--including American troops.
Next up: Atlanta, GA
All photos and text © Andrew Carroll
While heading to southwest Minnesota to research a little-known Sioux Indian site, I made a short detour to photograph a story related to a historic flight over St. Paul.During the Civil War, military personnel from other nations came to the U.S. to observe combat operations. One of these visitors was a 25-year-old Prussian officer who was fascinated by the Union Army's Balloon Corps, which conducted reconnaissance missions over Confederate territory.
"Just now I ascended with Prof. [John] Steiner, the famous aeronaut, to an altitude of six or seven hundred feet," the young Prussian wrote from St. Paul to his father back in Wurttemberg on August 19, 1863. "Should one want to harass with artillery fire [opposing] troops...the battery could be informed by telegraphic signals where their projectiles hit. The above technique has at times been used with great success by this country's armies. No method is better suited to viewing quickly the terrain of an unknown, enemy-occupied region."
The experience had a dramatic impact; "While I was above St. Paul I had my first idea of aerial navigation strongly impressed upon me," he would later say. "[A]nd it was there that the first idea of my Zeppelins came to me." His full name was Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin, who went on to manufacture the eponymous airship. By World War I the Germans were utilizing almost 70 Zeppelins both for bombing raids and intelligence gathering against the Allies--including American troops.
Next up: Atlanta, GA
All photos and text © Andrew Carroll
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Afterall I mean to say Andrew reach it to St.Paul or not?