Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1870-11-02
Aerial Warfare.

Among the stories which come from Paris
that demand no credence, is one which If
true, nearly realizes Tennyson's vision of the
heavens filed with commerce, and with the
navies Of different nations maneuvering in the
central empyrean. A French balloon had
left the vicinity of Tours to accomplish the
aerial voyage to Paris bearing dispatches
from the government to Gen Trochu. As 1t
lowered over tho region Of the metropolis
another balloon from distant quarter Of the
heavens approached it from the opposite d.
rectiou. The two met in mid air The one
from Tours supposed the other to be from
Paris aud fingered on its course to exchange
,alutations. But to the eternal disgrace Of
the Prussians. it was a Prussian balloon dis.
playing false colors, and when the unsuspect
ING Frenehmau was within shot, the treachor-
Gus German opened fire. aud one Of his bull
lets passed through the Gallic balloon, and Of
course by letting out the gas endangered the
safety Of the atmospheric ship. But the ac-
tive Frenchmau who steered the Tours bal.
loon, climbed up the network rigging and stop
ping M the bullet holes, descended to his car,
returned the cncmy's Gre with disastrous ei-
feet. and then effected safe landing in Par
is. We are panied to see that the opening
action in the aerial warfare was naugurated
with such porfiy on the part of the Prus-
slams. We are inclined to think that this
balloon could not have belonged to the regu-
lar navy. It must have been either priya-
teer or a pirate, a sort Of Alabama, cruising
round in the heavens to destroy the encmy's
commerce and capture his mails.
From what we can learn we infer that it
was fitted out in an English port and set
sail for France either from Folkcstone or
Calais. In this way the English attempt to
mouopolize the eommerceof the world. Hay-
ing got possession Of the sea aud appropriated
the proud title of mistress Of the seas,
by means Of such treachery as this on the
ocean, she now aspires to control the aerial
navigation Of the world. She scruples at no
treachery to accomplish this object aud is
ready to earn double right to the title she
mas 50 long monopolsed, of "perddious Al
6ion.7
If our information is correct abou. the
completely of England with this piratical
aerostation, we trust the great powers of Eu-
rope will at once enter solemn protest against
her ambition and her treaohery. If England
has thus made use of the French flag to de-
coy au unhappy French balloon within reach
of her treacherous guns, she has got another
Alabama case on her hands and sho will not
be able to wash them clean Of her perddy
This opening engagement between the two
great principalites and powers of Europe, in
heavenly places, will doubtless suggest some
changes in the mode of warfare If it i,
possible for these PruSsion privateer balloon.
to beat to the windward, and come up in the
face Of the Paris balloons when running with
the wind, it will be of course necessary foI
the French air ships to rely upon something
beside the wind for defense. France has hth.
erto implicitly trusted 10 this element 1t
has run its government and conducted the
war by wind, ever since the Prince Imperial
had his baptism of fire and the soldiers wepi
at seeing his tranquility" But the wind /,
found now to be an insecure reliance These
Prussian balloons go against it, better than
the French 60 with it. France must clearly
trust to something else than wind 1t will
have to put armor of iron on its balloons
and armor of iron on its heart If this be
the lesson that the French learn from thi,
first action in aerial warfare, they will moi
have suffered for nothing. If this or tn,
surrender of Metz with its 100000 soldiers
do not teach Fayre and Gambetta and Victor
Hugo that they cannot conquer Prussia either
on land, by water, or in air, by mere wind
they will show themselves as incapable Of
learning as they have shown themselves inca
pable of governing.