It was the balloon of choice for Chief Aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe overlooking the Battle of Fair Oaks.

[1] The fateful flight over the Battle of Fair Oaks was instrumental in saving the fragmented army of Union Army General Samuel P. Heintzelman from what would have been a sure defeat at the hands of the Confederates.

The Intrepid undergoing lengthy inflation was quickly hooked up to the spout of the smaller Constitution by means of a de-bottomed camp kettle by which the gas was transferred in shorter time to make the ascent.

The Intrepid had a capacity of 32,000 cubic feet of lifting gas (Hydrogen).

These wagons, constructed by Lowe, reacted sulfuric acid with iron filings to produce hydrogen gas.