[Colonel Kangaroo]

A guy tried to start the Confederate Air Force 100 years ahead of schedule.

[Jonty30]

Somebody should try building one of these machines to see how they fly.

[Impy]

Neato.

[BigCinBigD]

A little late there Finley...

[max americana]

“”What if planes had appeared above the wilderness when [Union general Ulysses S.] Grant began his campaign in the Shenandoah Valley?”

He would have bombed those damn yankee bluecoats back to the stone age?

[fieldmarshaldj]

Holy crap ! This guy was brilliant. That would've taken out the entire Yankee military in a matter of minutes.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The hot-air balloon existed at that time but was not used. I know the Confederates attempted to use submarines. Kind of gives a new twist to “the South shall rise again” doesn’t it?

[SC DOC]

[iowamark]

An airplane with a steam engine was hardly a practical idea. Tethered balloons were used for observation during the Civil War.

[Bender2]

CAF... BUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there is a Red X above go to http://www.fisaviation.com/images/pa/bbp10.jpg

[Cheburashka]

With the industrial superiority of the North over the South the introduction of flying machines would have turned out much the same as the introduction of ironclads during the war. The South had the first, but it didn’t do them any good, and they were overwhelmed in short order.