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Abraham Lincoln’s Air Force – Balloons in the Civil War

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Who knew Abraham Lincoln had an air force during the Civil War?  Well, James L. Green knew.  And James L. Green is the authority on Abraham Lincoln’s balloon air force.  Jim’s fascination with Lincoln’s balloon corps goes back 30 years, and perhaps not surprisingly, Jim is the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA headquarters in Washington DC.  During this time he has conducted research into Civil War balloons and has spoken at a number of events.  Which is how I first met Jim – he presented Mr. Lincoln’s Air Force at the February 12th, 2012 meeting of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia.

The most well known Civil War balloonist was Thaddeus S. Lowe, who took over the title of “Chief Aeronaut” when John Wise quit the job after First Bull Run. According to Jim, Lowe was a skillful manager and lobbyist who was able to drum up government support to “build seven balloons, 12 field gas generators, and a flat-topped balloon barge.”  The latter served as an “aircraft carrier” for launching his balloons into the skies over battlefields and along the Potomac River to keep an eye on Confederate troop movements. Jim’s account of “Civil War Ballooning During the Seven Days Campaign” is a fascinating read.

Under Lowe’s direction Lincoln’s Air Force gave a unique and fundamental advantage to the North.  Unfortunately, it only lasted for a short time.  In a dispute with the government, who was trying to reign in Lowe’s sometimes self-serving management style, Lowe quit. Without a champion the balloons ended up in a warehouse in DC and were never again employed in the War effort. A lapse that may have extended the length of the war.

I had the pleasure of joining Jim for lunch not long after his Lincoln Group presentation.  While I believe I have a large collection of books on Abraham Lincoln (650 titles and nearly 1000 volumes), I was humbled to learn that Jim has 1200 books about the Civil War.  Given my own interest in Lincoln’s fascination with science and technology (the book I’m currently working on) I asked Jim how much Lincoln was involved in the balloon corps.  Not surprisingly, Lincoln definitely favored this use of “modern” technology in the war effort.  How much and in what ways is something that Jim may address in the book he is preparing about Mr. Lincoln’s Air Force.

In the end Jim and I traded recommendations for books of interest from our collections and agreed to keep in touch.  Jim has been invited to speak at an event near Richmond in May and is working with the Civil War Trust to help identify locations of the balloon stations during the Peninsula Campaign.

To view Jim’s February 12, 2012 presentation to the Lincoln Group of DC, check out the YouTube video below.

More on my Abraham Lincoln activities.

David J. Kent is the author of the forthcoming book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, scheduled for release in summer 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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The Artist at Midnight in Paris – It’s Oscar Night at the Academy Awards

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Funny how two of the movies that are in the running for the Best Picture at the Academy Awards – “The Oscars” – are throw backs to times long since gone.  The Artist is a silent film shot entirely in black-and-white as it explores George Valentin’s angst at the arrival of the “talkies.” Midnight in Paris is a modern day film, but is it? Suddenly we’re in 1920s Paris. Or are we? Is that Cole Porter? Hemingway? Carla Bruni? Wait – Carla Bruni?

Tonight’s Oscar gala reminded me of a photograph of mine. A photo of the artist in Paris. Perhaps an artist to be remembered some time in the future, but an artist nonetheless.

The girl seemed to be about 10 or 12 years old.  She diligently worked, unperturbed by the tourists who stopped to photograph her openly – and perhaps critique her work privately. As the overcast sky threatened to send us all running for shelter, she began to flesh out Notre Dame de Paris while its imposing Gothic presence entranced all comers.

After five trips to Paris I feel as if I can play tour guide to its major attractions, and yet also feel that I’ve only begun to sense its culture.  Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the funicular railway ascending the hill to the magnificent Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart), the Arc de Triomphe, and tour boats on the Seine – all are familiar to me.  What is missing is the aura of the time when the wonderful artists of the past livened the streets and studios of Montmartre – Dali, Modigliani, Picasso, van Gogh, Camille Pissarro.  Ah, the life they led.

Getting back to the Oscars, just tonight I watched Midnight in Paris, the modern day movie by Woody Allen that takes us back in time and regales us with the music of Cole Porter.  In a way it felt like Forrest Gump for the artistically acquainted.  I’m rooting for it to win Best Picture and will update this post after the announcements are made.  The money seems to be on The Artist taking home the big prize though, at least according to all those folks who claim to know these things.

Either way, I’ll always have the artist in Paris, even if it wasn’t really midnight at the time.

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Pap of Glen Coe – the Bonny of Loch Leven

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Aye, the highlands of Scotland.  You read about them, fancy yourself galloping across them with William Wallace, and perhaps spoil a good walk near them (i.e., play a round of golf in the Mark Twain sense).  For me, I admired them up close.

To be honest, I can’t imagine a good walk spoiled in the highlands. On a summer day in 2005 I hopped into my Vauxhall Corsa, remembered to drive on the left, and headed north from where I was living in Edinburgh, Scotland. The drive itself was amazing, in part because the day started off a wee bit foggy – actually almost completely immersed in clouds – but blossomed at the most opportune moment.

And that moment was the Pap.

The Pap of Glen Coe is the mountain you see above to the left.  It gets its name from the conical shape resembling a female breast (apparently the Scottish winters were quite dreary and imaginations were active). The Pap sits in the valley created by Glen Coe above the point where River Coe enters Loch Leven.  Nearby is the intriguing Bidean nam Bian mountain ridges, including the famous Three Sisters of Glen Coe.

To say that these views were awe-inspiring is to engage in severe understatement. The glen has a distinctive U-shape, the result of glacial action during a past ice age.  The area is what is left of an ancient supervolcano, long since gone extinct but imposing nonetheless.

I lingered in the Glen, admired the Pap, marveled at the mossy grass that seemed greener than naturally possible.  My mind hiked high into the mountains, though my feet stayed closer to the narrow road.  I took hundreds of photos that day, most of which are unfortunately lost due to the vagaries of my computer hard drive.  But the memories remain with me as if it was yesterday.

Until next time, my bonny lass. Until next time.

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David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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The Great Wall of China and Mount St. Helens – A note about the header photos

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I’ve been asked whether I took the photos you see in the header.  The answer is yes.

As of this writing there are several photos that alternate in the header as you click through the various pages.  I’ll write separate posts on each of these as this site develops – including showing the full photo (they had to be cropped to fit the header size). Click on the photo title to get to posts that have already been written. Here’s a quick synopsis:

The Great Wall of China: Taken on film in December 2000 on my first trip to Beijing, China.  The day was freezing. Actually, below freezing.  In fact, 5 degrees F.  But the experience was something that I couldn’t get out of my mind even if I wanted to (which I don’t).

Mount St. Helens: A special access visit to the Park Service location in Washington State as part of a scientific conference. You can see where the side of the mountain blew out in 1980. The hot vapors you see are from new volcanic activity occurring while I was there in November 2004.

Palau de les Arts and L’hemisferic: Two of the amazing modern buildings in the ancient city of Valencia, Spain. Taken in 2008, they are part of the “City of Arts and Sciences” that also includes a world famous aquarium. As with the other photos, the original is even more impressive because there is a reflecting pool in the foreground.

Sunset in Fairfax: A spectacular sunset I encountered by chance one day upon arriving home from work.  The photo is shot from my back deck and the moment was gone within a minute after taking it.  The jet contrails add some intrigue to the reddest sky I have ever seen.

Stonehenge: The famous archeological site about two hours west of London. Seems they still can’t figure out for sure what its purpose was, but that doesn’t stop everyone from guessing – everything from a celestial clock to a sign that we once had alien visitors. It’s actually pretty cool for a bunch of big stones.

Gondolas: The photo was taken near Piazza San Marco – St. Mark’s Plaza – in Venice during a beautiful late summer day. The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore can be seen in the background.

El Teide: The third largest volcano in the world, El Teide sits on Tenerife, the largest island of the seven Canary Islands. This was taken Christmas day. At the base it was hot as the tropics; at the peak it was below freezing and snow covered.

Perito Moreno Glacier: Perito Moreno is in southern Patagonia, Argentina. I went there in February (their summer) to visit and travel with a long-time friend from my days in Bermuda. The site truly is breathtaking.

James Joyce: The photo that accompanies this post is a detail of the James Joyce statue taken in downtown Dublin, Ireland in 2010. This photo plays an important role in my “Adventures in Europe” photobook.

The book Stack: This photo shows a stack of my published books through September of 2016, including the two Fall River Press books, the two e-books, and the photo book. It will be replaced with each new book that joins the stack.

More about me.

 

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Nikola Tesla – The Book

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Nikola Tesla[Update: The book is coming out in spring 2013. The following was written in February 2012.]

I’m currently in discussions with a literary agent and a publisher regarding the writing of a book on Nikola Tesla.

The story is an interesting one. In late December I came across an announcement for a writer’s conference in New York City, to be held in January.  On a lark I decided to pay the rather steep registration fee and hotel costs to attend.  And that’s when the fun started.

In attendance were about 450 writers and writers-wannabes.  There were keynote speakers and sessions over the course of two and a half days on what turned out to be a freak snowy weekend.  But the highlight was the “pitch slam.”

The best way to describe the pitch slam is to say it is speed dating for agents.  About 50 or so literary agents were spread around several large rooms, each with their little tables stretched menacingly between them and you.  Hoards of us lined up to give our pitch, and when it was our turn we had a grand total of 90 seconds to make the agent beg to represent you.  Another 90 seconds was allotted for Q&A (or to be sent packing if your pitch failed to impress).

What the heck.  Let’s give it a shot.  I have my Lincoln book in mind so let me pitch it and see what kind of feedback I get.  Of the five agents I pitched, five asked me to send them a proposal.  But more on that later.  This piece is about Tesla.

To my surprise the second agent I pitched not only liked my Lincoln book idea but asked if I knew anyone that would be interested in writing a book about Nikola Tesla, the great inventor.  Or better yet, she added, would I be interested? Hmmm.  I’ll think about it, I said, feeling more than a little impressed with myself but nonetheless skeptical.  Two days passed and I receive a call from the agent’s office – am I interested? They have a publisher who is champing at the bit to have someone write a book on Tesla.  And quick.  Can I send them a brief proposal and a bio? How about a writing sample?

Two more weeks pass. My skepticism kicks back in. Hard.  And then – “The publisher loved your proposals and is working up the financials for an offer. We should have something in the next few days.”

That was yesterday. Then I went to an Indian buffet for lunch, and wouldn’t you know it there is a new Tesla electric automobile showroom that just opened up two blocks from my office in downtown DC.

Kismet?

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A passion for Abraham Lincoln

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You could say I have a passion for Abraham Lincoln.  Ever since I was a kid I remember being fascinated by our 16th President.  A man of great strength – both physically and in character.  A man who was called to serve his country when his country was trying to rend itself asunder. A man who ultimately gave up his life to save the Union.

As this writer’s site develops I’ll be creating pages for topics of interest to me, and hopefully to you.  The first is Abraham Lincoln.  In it will be updates on Lincoln-related projects such as books about Lincoln and the book I’m writing about him.

Other pages will spring up as time permits.  The next will probably be one for a book that I may be writing about Nikola Tesla.  I’m waiting for the final offer from the publisher and a contract, then I’ll be off and running.

Another page will be travel.  I’ve done quite a bit of traveling in the last 10 years and plan to do quite a bit more.  I’ll document some of the stories from the road, including my long conversation with a Japanese man on a Tokyo train…a conversation in which he spoke no English and I spoke no Japanese and yet we got along famously.

Each of these pages, and others, can be found quickly by clicking on the bar below the photos.  That is, once they are all created.  And yes, the photos are all ones I have taken over the years.  I’ll do a post on that some day as well.

Feel free to subscribe to this web site – see the right column on the home page – or bookmark your favorite page and come back periodically for updates.  The site, and the writing, is a work in progress so expect things to pop up frequently.

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Adventures in Europe

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Ah, Europe.  Before the recent financial collapse, the kind of story book setting that I once read in, well, story books.

Spring to spring for the three years beginning in 2008 and ending in 2011 I had the good fortune to have been seconded to Brussels by my employer.  Not the first time I had lived overseas – I had short periods previously living in Bermuda and in Scotland – but at three full years it was my longest opportunity of ex-pat living.

And live I did.  Europe by its very proximity of nations offers a chance to experience  a wide variety of languages, and cultures within a few mere hours. A one week driving tour, for example, took me into five different countries speaking four primary languages and through some of the oldest and charming cities in central Europe.  More on those in later posts.

The purpose of this present post is to introduce a book of photography I published near the end of that three year European experience.  Called “Adventures in Europe,” the book has 46 pages of photos I took at venues across the continent.  Dedicated to my parents, it was my way of sharing my experiences with them and my extended family back home.

Click on the photo below to see the book.

See more travel stories here.