RUNAWAY BALLOON: The Last Flight of Confederate Air Force One

by Burke Davis ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 1976

Lookaway, lookaway!"" small boys shout as the first and only Confederate balloon, patched together of silk from Southern ladies' best dresses in answer to a spying Yankee airship, is pulled to the front by a chugging locomotive. But the balloonist, Lieutenant John Randolph Bryan, is less enthusiastic when a gust of wind pulls his ropes from the ground crew and he goes skedaddling over enemy lines. . . then toward the river for which he prepares by shedding his clothes (and ID papers). . . finally landing naked as a jaybird near a Confederate camp whose officers have trouble believing his story. The patchwork balloon, pompous general, and reluctant lieutenant were real; Davis treats their adventure with gently deflating amusement.

Pub Date: June 9, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION