Tinkerer, Sailor, Soldier, Surgeon

A Connecticut Yankee

Many of our early patriots were accomplished men of letters—lawyers, judges, planters, and merchants—but relatively few were involved in science and technology. David Bushnell belongs to the latter group. Born in Saybrook, Connecticut, on August 30, 1742, he was the son of a farmer. As the eldest of five children, he grew up working on the family farm near Westbrook. After his father died in 1769, he sold his half interest in the farm to his brother Ezra and entered Yale College in 1771.

David Bushnell

Bombs to Boats

While at Yale, he became intrigued by the idea of underwater explosions. An inventive tinkerer by nature, Bushnell successfully combined a black powder charge with a clockwork timing device, creating the first naval mine. He used this knowledge not only in building the underwater mine but also later in making floating torpedoes that exploded on contact. 

He worked with the wealthy New Haven inventor and manufacturer Isaac Doolittle to develop the first mechanically triggered time bomb as well as the first screw propeller. As he worked on developing a practical delivery system for this unique weapon, the start of the American War for Independence gave a new sense of urgency to his efforts. 

By fall that year, he had designed and built the American Turtle (better known simply as Turtle), a primitive submarine. He named it Turtle because it looked like two turtle shells lashed together. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

Turtle Design Sketch

Test and Evaluation

Gen Israel Putnam

This primitive submarine was operated by a single operator, who powered it with two hand-cranked screw propellers. A system of water pumps took in and expelled water to control the craft's climb or descent, which could reach a depth of about 15 feet. The pilot had a small conning tower with several windows. The tower contained a depth gauge and a phosphorus-lit compass. 

The Turtle’s punch was Bushnell’s original clock/mine combination connected to a metal drill engineered to bore through the copper sheathing coating the hulls of British warships. Once the mine was attached and released, the timing mechanism engaged, giving the Turtle one hour to escape before a 150-pound charge exploded, detonated by a flintlock trigger device. 

Bushnell arranged a successful demonstration, essentially a “demval” in today’s acquisition parlance. Present for the event on the Thames River was Connecticut General Israel Putnam, who urged the American government to continue funding for its “full operational capability.”

Turtle Replica

Run Silent, Run Deep - Sorta

History was made in the summer of 1776 when the Turtle attacked the British fleet anchored in New York Harbor under the command of Admiral Richard Howe. Unfortunately, Bushnell fell ill, and a sergeant named Ezra Lee volunteered to take his place. On the night of September 6, a pair of whaleboats towed the Turtle offshore, where it began its attack. Pumping feverishly, Lee slowly guided the Turtle toward the British fleet. 

Despite challenging tides, Lee managed to reach the primary target, Lord Howe’s flagship, the 64-gun ship of the line, HMS Eagle. The Turtle’s drill failed to penetrate the hull because it was blocked by an iron bar. With air running low, Lee abandoned the effort and released the mine, which floated free. The mine ultimately exploded in a massive blast that sent a plume of water into the night sky. 

The unexpected iron bar prevented what could have been a disastrous hit to a major target, potentially changing British naval tactics for the rest of the war. See my Yankee Doodle Spies post on "The Boat" for a more detailed discussion of this attack.

Bushnell's Turtle takes on HMS Eagle
and initiates submarine warfare

Torpedoes are Running

Bushnell remained undaunted. Confident in his progress, he kept improving the Turtle. He launched several small attacks on individual British ships, but inexperienced pilots and unfavorable tides prevented each attempt. The Turtle was lost the following October when a transport carrying it was sunk by British cannon fire on the North (Hudson) River. Undeterred by setbacks, Bushnell continued experimenting with naval mines and explosives. On August 13, 1777, he released another mine that floated toward the HMS Cerebus, anchored in Black Point Bay. This time, the tides were favorable, but the device got caught on a small schooner. It exploded, killing three British sailors.

 Turtle needed to be towed  into attack position by rowboats

Battle of the Kegs

A Bushnell mine exploding
unnerved the British

He tried again in January 1778, this time releasing 20 large kegs filled with explosives off Bordentown, New Jersey. The kegs were intended to float down the Delaware River and destroy the British fleet at Philadelphia. One mine exploded near a British rowboat, killing several sailors. 

The attack so rattled the British fleet that it spent the rest of the day shooting at the floating kegs and nearly anything else that floated. This event was satirized in the poem, “Battle of Kegs,” by Francis Hopkinson. Rebel propaganda portrayed this as an embarrassment for the hapless Royal Navy. However, Bushnell's career as an undersea weapons developer was over.

Captain David Bushnell's sappers and miners
fought during the siege at Yorktown

The Sapper

Bushnell returned to Saybrook in the spring of 1778. Local Loyalists had once detained him, but he managed to secure his release. Later that year, Bushnell left the world of maritime warfare and joined the Continental Army after General George Washington appointed him as commander of the first company of sappers and miners at West Point, NY. Captain Bushnell served competently for the rest of the conflict and led the sappers during the siege of Yorktown, the battle that effectively ended the war. After his discharge from the Continental Army, he briefly returned to Connecticut and later spent some time in France before coming back to the United States to settle in Warrenton, Georgia, where he practiced medicine. He died there in 1824.

David Bushnell Memorial in Georgia

Seminal Submariner

In the long run, David Bushnell’s efforts laid the groundwork for the later development of underwater mines, torpedoes, and, of course, the submarine. His fundamental use of water for ballast still applies today, as does the use of the propeller. Although his impact on the course of the American War for Independence was limited, he nonetheless shaped the future direction of naval warfare. No small feat for a Connecticut farm boy.

Today's submarines are descendants of Bushnell's
Turtle and still share its basic design, albeit on steroids

The Boat

Fans of the fabulous German naval flick Das Boot should not necessarily be disappointed by my little bait-and-switch. As I write this blog, it is the anniversary of the first submarine (sort of) attack in the American Revolution.

Development of a Secret Weapon

David Bushnell

The history of weapons development in Connecticut is long. The Nutmeg State has been a center of weapons development from colonial times through modern times. Think Colt, Norden, etc. In the early 1770s, a Yale man named David Bushnell began developing underwater explosives. When the war with Britain erupted, he turned his efforts toward a delivery system. He moved his work to Old Saybrook, Connecticut, where he developed a submersible boat that could attach one of his underwater charges to a ship. Bushnell named his boat the Turtle, although it looked more like a shellfish. The Turtle measured 10 feet by 3 and 6 feet tall. Letting water into a bilge tank lowered the Turtle into the water. It climbed when a hand pump evacuated the water. Crude hand-cranked propellers moved the boat. The Turtle held a crew of one and could operate underwater for thirty minutes at three miles an hour.

Diagram of the Boat

In the summer of 1776, the British invaded New York and seized western Long Island (see my highly acclaimed novel, The Patriot Spy), so Bushnell's boat was moved back to Connecticut. The Americans, driven from post to post by superior British soldiers, weapons, and discipline, were even more outmatched by the Royal Navy. Desperate times called for desperate measures.       

 

British landing at Staten Island

                             

The Black Operation

In a secret operation (the term "black op" had not yet been coined), approved by General George Washington, an expedition aboard the Turtle was launched in New York Harbor. An hour before midnight on September 6, Sergeant Ezra Lee began his daunting mission: to navigate the untested Turtle through hazardous waters in an attack on British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship, HMS Eagle. We know Howe from earlier posts. Black Dick was the brother of William Howe, the British commander in chief in North America. Taking out his ship (and possibly him) would be what we today call an asymmetrical attack. 

The Turtle takes on the Eagle

The Eagle was moored near Governors Island, just off the southern tip of Manhattan. Yankee rowboats towed the Turtle from the Battery to within striking distance of the British ships at anchor. Lee struggled to navigate for over two hours, and his chances seemed bleak. Then suddenly, the river's tidal currents subsided. Lee, against all odds, reached the Eagle! He tried to fix an explosive charge to the hull, but he failed. The Turtle's boring device struck metal - likely a plate connected to the ship's rudder. Tired and struggling to stay afloat and breathe, the undaunted Sergeant Lee tried once more to pierce the hull. However, he was unable to keep the Turtle beneath the ship.

 

Treachery

Unknown to Sergeant Lee (or George Washington), a spy had alerted the British to the possibility of an unconventional attack. Expecting subterfuge, alert British soldiers on Governors Island spotted the submarine and rowed out to investigate in the dark waters. Rather than risk capture or an unwanted explosion, Lee cut loose the "torpedo," a specially designed explosive device intended to sink the Eagle. The torpedo floated half-submerged toward the approaching British boat. Fearing the worst, the British turned their longboat around and made straight for Governor's Island. Sergeant Lee, meanwhile, pedaled madly toward the safety of The Battery. Fortunately for the British, the torpedo was caught in the strong currents at the confluence of the North (Hudson) and East rivers and exploded, sending plumes of wood and water high into the dark September sky. But fearful of another such attack, the British ships pulled anchor and moved to the upper bay. 

A spy may have alerted the British

Both Ezra Lee and David Bushnell went on to serve in other battles and campaigns. Sergeant Lee served in several pitched battles: Trenton, Brandywine, and Monmouth. Bushnell led several other "mining" operations along the Delaware River and served at Yorktown. His torpedoes wreaked havoc near Philadelphia.

Bushnell also received a medal from the commander in chief after the war. Many "black operations" were only grudgingly recognized by Washington, and all of them were acknowledged after the conflict. His Excellency understood that secrecy must be maintained before, during, and after covert operations. Bushnell moved to Georgia after the war, where he died. After the war, Lee returned to Connecticut. Remarkably, both men lived into the third decade of the next century.

What Gives?

Most of the account of the attack comes from Ezra Lee's report. Of the events of the night of September 7th, 1776, the British logs are strangely silent. They record no rebel attack nor any explosions in the vicinity of the Eagle. So what gives? Did this actually happen? It seems implausible that Lee (along with Bushnell) would concoct a tale of failure...or would he? 

Another attack was tried a month later with similarly disappointing results. It is axiomatic that proponents of a program zealously pursue it, sometimes fudging figures or achievements to maintain support. Or did the British keep the attack secret to protect their spy? Would they forgo the obvious propaganda value of exposing a foiled attack? Were they hesitant because they were unsure that future attacks might succeed? Then there is the matter of historiography: some British naval historians assert that the Turtle could not have sustained itself and navigated as the Americans claimed. So they believe it was a hoax. If so, this would not be the last hoax operation in America's military history. Maybe the hoax was on them.

Another rendition of the Boat