The 1862 Battle of Yorktown saw the first use of balloons for military reconnaissance
The 1862 Battle of Yorktown introduced a futuristic edge to the American Civil War when Union forces deployed hydrogen-filled balloons to spy on Confederate positions from the sky.
As the Siege of Yorktown began in April 1862, Professor Thaddeus Lowe ascended in a tethered silk balloon to provide high-altitude intelligence for the Union Army. This marked one of the first successful uses of aerial reconnaissance in military history.
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