histories collected by Alex Butzbach Often lost among accounts of more decisive battles in the Civil War is the account of Gainsborough Field. Though doing little to shift the balance between the Union and the Confederacy, it remains one of the more peculiar events in the annals of American history. After suffering great losses at the Battle of Antiem in 1862, Southern leaders searched for any area which might give an advantage over the North. The Union most clearly had a technological edge, and proved it in the form of superior trains used for troop movement, more accurate rifles and reliable explosives. As a result, the suggestions of Helmut Grokenberger often went on deaf ears. Grokenberger was born in Silesia, then part of the Prussian Empire, in 1837. The son of a blacksmith who inherited a dukeship from an estranged uncle, Grokenberger was educated at the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical Institute. Rather than returning to his native Prussia upon graduation, Grokenberger became an engineer and technical advisor to the Virginia Militia. When the Civil War broke out, he immediately pledged his allegiance to the Confederacy in the hope that he might be elevated in position and status as a result of his technological expertise. Throughout the course of the war, Grokenberger was constantly asking for funding from General Robert E. Lee in order to research new weaponry. He was allocated token amounts and was the subject of many articles in the Confederate Star-Picayune (in the hope that interest in his research would boost morale among troops with such technologically-backward weaponry). However, none of his prototypes were ever put into production, let alone implemented on the field of battle. However, by early 1863, with the Battle of Antiem fresh in the minds of Confederate Generals, he began to receive greater attention. General Argus Blackstone, commander of the 14th Kentuckian regiment in particular became interested in Grokenberger’s work. In a letter dated March 12, 1863, he wrote: This Ger-Man fellowe intrigues me, Major Auburn. Yes, the Federalists most certainly have the guns and the ammu-nitions to do us a proper amount of beating. No one doubts the passion of the Southern Man. But if we were to have those flint-locke guns they use against us, well! We would certainly be the victors in this struggle for independence! This Grokenberger, who is a foreigner, nevertheless seems to have some most interesting ideas. Have you ever thought about flying soldiers? Many historians have questioned the last sentence in that excerpt, wondering whether it is meant to be literal or figurative. However, as recent discoveries have unearthed, Grokenberger had indeed discovered some form of anti-gravity material and implemented it in a device of his invention. His laboratories, though poorly furnished and supplied, were located at the North Texas outpost of Dustville. There, with a team of agriculturalists, gunsmiths and alchemy experts, Grokenberger inadvertently stumbled upon the formula for Dolonium-B. This compound, discovered to be naturally resistant to gravity, was synthesized into a gelatinous form and run through a series of valves and pipes that were to be worn on the back of a Confederate soldier. The exact specifications of these devices have been lost to history. While other schematics may exist presently at some unknown location, the only confirmed blueprint for the Grokenberger Aufschweiler Device was destroyed in General Sherman’s march through the South and burning of Atlanta. Grokenberger most certainly stumbled upon Dolonium-B accidentally, as modern scientists have failed in all attempts to synthesize it. It is unclear how General Blackburn became aware of Dr. Grokenberg’s invention, but his zeal is certain. In a secret Confederate Army memo discovered in 1979, the General shows his enthusiasm for the project. Imagine the terrified look on the faces of 100,000 Unionist scoundrels as our boys in gray swoop down and utterly devastate them! It will appear as if the Army of God has joined our side, sending Legions of His Angels to defend our holy sovereignty! Gentlemen, if we truly wish to win this terrible but righteous war, we must put this plan into action! Blackburn’s recommendations called for the commissioning of 10,000 units, at an estimated cost of $800,000. Adjusted for inflation, that sum would today equal $1.2 Billion, representing 7% of last year’s total Defense Department spending. However, the Confederate Treasury was only willing to release $8,000 on the project, for a total of 100 levitation devices. Due to improper production and shoddy work, only 50 functional units were ever created. Little is known of the training process the cavalry unit, which was to become the 1st Confederate Aerotroop, underwent. In fact, no documentation exists describing the events surrounding this new technology between the official purser’s receipt confirming production of 50 functional units and the morning of June 17, 1863. What follows is ostensibly a firsthand account by yeoman farmer and Russian immigrant, Zlasty Mirrinov, who tilled a parcel of land adjacent to Gainsborough Field in the Dakota Territory (ed. Note: no Russian translator was employed by the Confederacy or the Union at the time this testimony was given. Thus, in an effort to preserve its authenticity, record-keeper’s intentionally archived Mirrinov’s words in the original broken English they were presented in). I am working on my fields, for because there is much needing to be done and I have the barley and tobacco for grown. Is a day so much of sun, with no clouds everywhere. I know the soldiers for the America are nearby, when they because have walked in big group just day before. I see maybe 12 mureks [ed. Note: a murek is roughly equivalent to a distance of 20 yards] off in distance the America men in big line. Sudden: there is maybe thirty or more flying things in distance. I think first maybe is birds or something, and I am afraid for vultures for eating my chickens. But soon is closer and is me with rifles. I know not what goes on, but I have bad feeling about all this that which goes on. I know war happens, and I run from War of Crimea in home. So I no want war to come for me when I want no war. But men which are flying are not doing flying so well. Is keep falling near ground, then go back up very fastly. I can see uniforms are gray, and are of South Slavers Country. They have the rifles, but cannot be of the aiming well, and are not in the control of selves. When fall near ground but still most certain in air by maybe it is 10 sobals [ed. Note: a sobal is around 2 feet in length], all men in gray are shot at and fall. Then are captured and prisoned. Such was the Battle of Gainsborough Field. It seems as if the Confederate High Command only wished to test the levitation devices in a limited capacity, or perhaps simply disprove their effectiveness and end all speculation regarding the brilliance of Dr. Grokenberger. In any event, the Battle of Gettysburg would soon turn the tide of the war decisively in favor the Union. However, the Battle of Gainsborough Field remains one of the more interesting, if not key encounters in this country’s war against itself.