Support provided by:
The Case:
A collector may have purchased a fragment of American aviation history. At first glance, it's a simple piece of frayed material in a frame.
But on the back of the frame are the words, "A piece of Prof. Lowe's Aeronautical balloon 'Enterprise'... after it was destroyed upon landing ... in 1862."
Could this be an artifact from the country's first military airship?
History Detectives heads to Washington, D.C. and Troy, New York to learn more about the ambitious and fascinating professor who launched the country's first aeronautic division by inflating his hot air balloon, The Enterprise, on the lawn of President Lincoln's White House.
Related Content
Technique:
Feature:
Feature:
Related Links
Explore
-
Also in Season 5
Continental Currency
Could this $6 bill represent America’s first declaration of its independence?
-
Related Investigation
Civil War Cannon
How did the contents of this glass tube impact the first hours of the Civil War?
-
Related Investigation
Army Muster Roll
What can a Continental Army muster roll tell us about this remarkable African-American soldier?
-
Also in Season 3
Texas POW Camp
Was this small town in Texas the home of a WWII POW camp?
-
Also with Wes Cowan
3D Cuban Missile Crisis
Did this portable projection screen help save the Free World?
-
Also in Civil War: 1850-1877
Civil War Bridge
Has a new discovery rewritten Civil War history?
Comments
This is a place for opinions, comments, questions and discussion; a place where viewers of History Detectives can express their points of view and connect with others who value history. We ask that posters be polite and respectful of all opinions. History Detectives reserves the right to delete comments that don’t conform to this conduct. We will not respond to every post, but will do our best to answer specific questions, or address an error.
Anyone wishing to submit an artifact for investigation should do so through Submit a Story.
- Submit your StoryDo you have a Civil War object? Submit your story now.
- Latest CommentIt turns out that this collage was sold last fall: http://www.worthpoint.com/wort... I wonder if it would be possible to contact the buyer by way of the auction house about getting a print made. (2 weeks ago)
- Twitterremember this investigation with @TukufuZuberi @elyseluray Tonight they reunite! Let us know your thoughts! @PBS http://t.co/4KMnc27K (8 months ago)
- FacebookCongrats on your exhibit, TZ! Here's a Washington Post article about the exhibit, everyone, and the great story TZ and Elyse did on his "Our Colored Heroes" story. http://tinyurl.com/mzpuyo8 http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigation/our-colored-heroes/ (2 weeks ago)