In modern terminology, it would have been what we would call a "game changer."
As it was, William C. Powers' invention was nothing more than a dream of a Confederate man who longed to break the stranglehold of the Union forces.
The year was 1862 and Powers, a Mobilian and architectural engineer by trade, was trying to figure out a way to break the Navy's blockade of Confederate ports. Knowing the Southern states did not have the naval power to break through the blockade, he thought of another way to get much needed supplies and commerce out of the ports.
If ships couldn't go through the blockades, maybe a special type of "air ship" could go above it, he reasoned. Or, maybe the air ship could drop bombs on the blockading ships.
Fascinating, Mr. Townsend - will have to look further into this . Anything to do with steam....
ReplyDeleteYes and I had never heard of this before.
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