Confederate Flying Machine Design to Be Auctioned

We all grew up reading that the only example of air warfare during the American Civil War was hot-air balloons performing aerial reconnaissance. But an Innovation News Daily article chronicles the efforts of R. Finley Hunt, a dentist turned aircraft designer, who drew sketches of a steam-powered bomber. Engineers of his day said his rotary steam engine could not generate enough power to get his flying machine off the ground. Despite the endorsement of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, Hunt was not able to raise enough money to build and fly his aircraft.