USS George Washington Parke Custis was a barge acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War for use as a balloon-launching platform to spy on Confederate defenses from afar.

The Union Army balloon Washington tethered to the barge George Washington Parke Custis
History
Name	USS George Washington Parke Custis
Namesake	George Washington Parke Custis
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	mid-1850s
Acquired	August 1861
In service	1861
Out of service	1865
Stricken	not known
Fate	not known
General characteristics
Type	Barge
Displacement	not known
Length	120 ft (37 m) (net)
Beam	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Depth of hold	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Propulsion	none
Speed	not known
Complement	not known
Armament	not known

This initial balloon experiment by John A. Dahlgren led to intensified balloon spying during the remainder of the war.

Conversion to balloon barge by John A. Dahlgren

George Washington Parke Custis, a coal barge built in the mid-1850s, was purchased by the Union Navy in August 1861; fitted out with a gas-generating apparatus developed by Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe; and modified by Dahlgren at the Washington Navy Yard for her service as a balloon barge.

Balloon launched to view Confederate forces in Virginia

Early in the morning of 10 November 1861, steamer Coeur de Lion towed George Washington Parke Custis out of the Navy Yard and down the Potomac River. The next day Lowe, accompanied by General Daniel E. Sickles and others, ascended in his trial balloon from the barge off Mattawomen Creek to observe Confederate forces on the Virginia shore some three miles away.

On the 12th Lowe reported:

We had a fine view of the enemy camp fires during the evening and saw the rebels constructing batteries at Freestone Point.

Balloon launches cause technological leap in reconnaissance

This operation and John La Mountain's earlier ascension from Fanny began the widespread use of balloons for reconnaissance work during the Civil War and foreshadowed the Navy's future use of the air to extend its effective use of sea power.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

See also

• Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
• Union Army Balloon Corps
• Balloon (aircraft)
• Observation balloon