Section of printed silk balloon fabric from a captured Confederate balloon. Referred to by Confederate general James Longstreet as the "silk dress balloon," the craft was constructed of bolts of dress silk. Constructed by captain Langdon Cheves and aeronaut Charles Cevor, the balloon, dubbed the Gazelle, saw service during the Peninsula campaign of 1862. The balloon was captured on July 3, 1862, while being moved aboard an armed tug.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.