<p>Within five years, the US was at war with Mexico. Balloonist John Wise, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, wrote the War Department, suggesting that he be hired to make balloon observations of Mexico City and to bomb it, if that would help. He never received a reply.
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<p>When the first shot was fired at Fort Sumter by the forces of rebellion, starting the Civil War, the technology of balloon construction and operation was well established. Wise had set a world distance record 1 July 1859, flying from St Louis to Jefferson County, New York, a distance of 809 miles (1,302 km), in 19 hours and 40 minutes. Wise made other contributions to the art. He invented the rip panel, for almost instantaneous deflation of the balloon after landing. He discovered that a ripped balloon envelope would billow to the top of its covering network of ropes, to serve as a rudimentary, but effective, parachute.
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<p>James Allen was the first balloonist to volunteer for service in the Civil War. One week after the capture of Ft Sumter, he headed for Washington, DC, with two balloons, offering his four years of experience to the Union. His first balloon was inflated on 9 June from a gas main at Massachusetts Avenue and Third Street, hauled by a ground crew to Caton's Farm about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the Capitol building, and launched on a trial flight. The first attempt to use the balloon tactically was made on 9 July, during which Allen expected to observe rebel positions just outside Washington. The attempt failed; the balloon could not be fully inflated because of an inefficient gas generator.
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<p>But Lieutenant Henry L. Abbot, Topographical Engineers, was impressed. In his report, he wrote that balloons would be very useful in coming campaigns. He also singled out, at that early stage, the major factor that was to frustrate the balloon corps and its people: command and control. For all the time that balloons were in service with the Union armies, dedicated troops never were assigned. Instead, individual soldiers were temporarily detached from regular troops in the area. Their commanders objected, and kept the pressure on to get their men back as soon as possible. Further, there was no continuity of service under such an arrangement; ground crews never developed proficiency in operating and maintaining the balloons.
