Flights of Fancy
A short history, or overview, of ballooning
during the Georgian and Regency, eras: together with interesting eye-witness accounts,
to which are added numerous woodcuts and descriptions of the various balloons.
Part 6 :
Return of the flying pastry chef.
Or: Faster than a rolling crumpet.
Plus: Napoleon's Angel.
After a hiatus of 24 years, James Sadler once again took up ballooning
and made a successful ascent at Oxford in July of 1810. This was followed by an
ascent from Bristol in September, with chemist William Clayfield. On this adventure
they learned that balloons and water do not mix, as their craft landed in Bristol
Channel, four miles off the Somerset coast, near Combe Martin. The sea was calm
on this occasion, and after floating for an hour they were picked up by a boat
from Lynmouth.
What Sadler lacked in success and dryness throughout 1810 he more than made up for in speed in the latter part of 1811. On October 7th, during a flight accompanied by a Mr. Burcham, Sadler set a balloon speed record as a gale swept their balloon 112 miles away in eighty minutes. The following account is from the Gentleman’s Magazine and provides complete details.
Oct. 7.
Mr. Sadler, accompanied by Mr. John Burcham of East Dereham, made his 21st ascension from Vauxhall, near Birmingham, amidst an immense concourse of spectators. The process of filling the balloon (which was 40 feet high by 50 wide) was completed by two o’clock, and 20 minutes after, it rose rapidly, steering North East by East. In about three minutes, they were enveloped in a cloud, which they soon cleared, when the aeronauts were at a sufficient height to have an extensive view of the surrounding country; Lichfield, Coventry, Tamworth, and Atherstone, appearing nearly under them. at 40 min. past two, the aerial voyagers perceived Leicester bearing East. At half past two, the thermometer stood at 50, the barometer at 24; and successively varied till 14 min. past three, when the thermometer was as low as 38, and the barometer at 18.
In the neighborhood of Leicester, the wind shifted due East, and in that direction they proceeded towards Market Deeping, in Lincolnshire, when the aeronauts were at their greatest elevation (about two miles and a half); from thence they saw the towns of Peterborough, Stamford, Wisbeach, Crowland, &c. Mr. Sadler, perceiving a current of air passing under him to the Northward, deemed it prudent to descend, in order to avoid being carried toward the sea. The balloon now quite distended, it became necessary to let out some of the gas, which was done at intervals, till it descended into the current Mr. Sadler had previously noticed; and the adventurers were carried directly Northward. Spalding was now on their right, and Bourn on their left, when they threw out their ballast. The car first struck the earth at Boston, to the Southward of Heckington, with extreme violence, the grappling irons being ineffectually thrown out; and on the second concussion, Mr. Sadler, having hold of the valve-line, was by a sudden jerk, caused by the grapple taking hold for an instant, thrown violently out, and unfortunately received several contusions on the head and body; but, notwithstanding, had sufficient presence of mind to call out to Mr. Burcham not to quit his seat.
The balloon immediately rose, about 100 yards, with great velocity, to the great hazard of the Gentleman who remained in it. At length he succeeded in pressing the bag of rarefied air, sufficiently to occasion the balloon to descend again; and throwing out the grappling-iron, in the parish of Asgarby about a mile and a half from the place where Mr. Sadler was thrown out, it came in contact with at tree, which stopped its progress; and Mr. Burcham was fortunately relieved from his perilous situation, and safely landed on terra firma with only a slight bruize. The aerial voyage was completed at 40 min. past three, being one hour and 20 min. from the moment of ascension, having in that short space traversed a distance of at least 100 miles. Mr. Sadler lost both his flags; and the balloon was nearly destroyed.
Each aeronaut had given the other up for dead, and they were delighted to meet in the flesh at the village of Heckington, shortly after their mishap. By the accounts of Sadler’s landings, he seemed destined for self-destruction, but each time he rose again and proved to be the toughest balloonist of his age -- perhaps, of any age.
In 1812 Sadler built a new balloon for his greatest challenge yet: crossing the Irish Sea. The balloon was 55 feet in diameter and carried 11 cwt. of ballast when he launched it from Belvedere House, Drumcondra in Ireland on October 1st. But, shortly after taking off things began to go awry. Sadler noticed a large rent in the valve cord tube and immediately improvized a repair by tying his neck-cloth around the tube. Upon stopping the leak, he proceeded to chart his course. The south-westerly wind carried Sadler to the Isle of Man, where he discharged ballast and climbed until he found a north-easterly current and floated on toward Anglesey, which he soon sighted. His balloon passed over the Skerry lighthouse, then sailed over Anglesey at a height of three-and-a-half miles. And this is where more trouble began.
Sadler now misjudged his ability to pick a landing spot by reckoning air currents. He thought that by descending he would pick up a south-westerly current and reach Liverpool. This he did, and 4 hours after leaving Ireland he was right on course just off Orme’s head -- when the wind shifted to the southward and began to blow him out to sea. Sadler sought a better air current, but in vain, coming down in the Irish sea astern of two ships that failed to see him. He discharged ballast and rose again, soon spotting the herring trawler Victory, which hoisted the Manx flag. Sadler descended into the sea near the trawler at 6.p.m., and its captain rammed the ship’s bowsprit through the balloon, picking up Sadler and saving him from a watery demise.
Although Sadler did not succeed with this venture, he had the satisfaction of seeing his son Windham conquer the Irish Sea on July 22nd, 1817. Taking off from Portobello Barracks, Dublin at 1:30 p.m., Windham embarked on a calm, uneventful flight -- making a perfect landing in Angelsey at seven o’clock. James Sadler’s sons Windham and John both made a number of ascents. James and Windham ascended together at Burlington House on May 27th, 1814 in honor of the Duke of Wellington; and John made a notable ascent from St. James Park on August 1, 1814, during the “Grand Jubilee” honoring the anniversary of Nelson’s victory of the Nile.
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Napoleon’s
Angel
Madame Blanchard
Madeléine-Sophie Blanchard, the most famous female aeronaut of her day, became the star of France, and was a favorite of Napoleon Buonaparte. She is described as being “small, with sharp, bird-like features.” And she truly was bird-like; feeling more at home in the air than on the ground. On earth the slightest noise frightened her, and she was terrified of riding in carriages. The sky was where she found her peace and inspiration, and it is said that she would often ascend at dusk, remaining aloft all night, sleeping in her tiny car. The following account is from an 1811 report in the Gentleman’s Magazine for March 1812:
ITALY Madame Blanchard, notwithstanding her late disaster at Rome, made another ascension from that capital on the 23d December. After experiencing the extremes of heat and cold, she says she fell into a profound sleep, during which her balloon attained an elevation of 12,000 feet. She afterwards descended at Tagliacozza.
Madame Blanchard ably carried on the tradition of her husband Jean-Pierre, who passed on in 1809, a year after he suffered a heart-attack during his 60th balloon ascent from the Hague. Because of Napoleon’s fondness for her and her aerial feats, she was the natural choice as balloon pilot for an ascent on June 24, 1810 from the Champs de Mars in Paris, celebrating his marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria.
A dazzling feature of Madame Blanchard’s balloon ascent, on this occasion and others, was the setting off of fire-works. Sparkling pots were lit and left to descend on small parachutes before exploding in a brilliant spectrum of colors, while colored lamps hanging on the balloon car twinkled like stars. This was an awe-inspiring scene, which no one who experienced it would ever forget.
At the “Féte de l’Emperor” in Milan, Italy on August 15, 1811, Madame Blanchard once more delighted Napoleon and his new Queen with her aerial pyrotechnics. And upon the restoration of Louis XVIII to the French throne in 1814, she graced the skies of France in triumphant celebration, being proclaimed “Official Aeronaut of the Restoration”. For the next 5 years Madame Blanchard continued to make numerous ascents, thrilling crowds over Paris with her aerial expertise.
Now that I have expended a prodigious quantity of hot air, I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride and gained a better understanding of the origins of “manned/womanned’ flight and the impact it had on the Georgian and Regency worlds. There are many other aeronauts worthy of worldly recognition, whose exploits I have not mentioned here -- with no disrespect for their remarkable aerial feats. My space is limited and, if I have jumped about between events, it has only been a simulation of balloon flight, during which you never know what direction the wind will take you. But, I have tried to stay on course as much as possible.
~Robert Whitworth