A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!
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With the outbreak of the American Revolution in April of 1775, thirteen North American colonies suddenly found themselves at odds with one of the foremost military powers of the 18th century. In order to combat the marked disadvantage with which Continental forces fought the British Army and Royal Navy, numerous innovations are thought up and implemented, with varying degrees of success. One of the more curious schemes of the American Revolution would take place on the night of September 6-7, 1776 in New York Harbor.
David Bushnell was a Connecticut farmer turned student, beginning his studies at Yale at age 31 in 1771. A great admirer of Benjamin Franklin, Bushnell hoped to become an inventor himself. While at Yale, Bushnell made waves (literally) with a number of experiments demonstrating that gunpowder could be detonated underwater. Hoping to put his inventive mind to use several years later, Bushnell develops a "Submarine Vessel" with which to attack British forces in New York harbor in late 1775/early 1776 named the Turtle.
For a description of Turtle, I think an excerpt of a letter from Dr. Benjamin Gale (a doctor at Yale) to Silas Deane written on December 9, 1775 serves best:
"The Body, when standing upright in the position in which it is navigated, has the nearest resemblance to the two upper shells of a Tortoise joined together. In length it doth not exceed 7-1/2 feet from the stem to the higher part of the rudder: the height not exceeding 6 feet. The person who navigates it enters at the top. It has a brass top or cover, which receives the person's head as he sits on a seat, and is fastened on the inside by screws. In this brass head is fixed eight glasses, viz. two before, two on each side, one behind, and one to look out upwards. In the same brass head are fixed two brass tubes, to admit fresh air when requisite, and a ventilator at the side to free the machine from the air rendered unfit for respiration. On the inside is fixed a Barometer, by which he can tell the depth he is under water; a Compass, by which he knows the course he steers. In the barometer and on the needles of the compass is fixed fox-fire, i.e. wood that gives light in the dark. His ballast consists of about 900 wt. of lead which he carried at the bottom and on the outside of the machine, part of which is so fixed as he can let run down to the Bottom, and serves as an anchor, by which he can ride ad libitum. He has a sounding lead fixed at the bow, by which he can take the depth of water under him; and to bring the machine into a perfect equilibrium with the water, he can admit so much water as is necessary, and has a forcing pump by which he can free the machine at pleasure, and can rise above water, and again immerge, as occasion requires.
In the bow, he has a pair of oars fixed like the two opposite arms of a wind mill, with which he can row forward, and turning them the opposite way, row the machine backward; another pair fixed upon the same model, with which he can row the machine round, either to the right or left, and a third, by which he can row the machine either up or down; all which are turn'd by foot, like a spinning wheel. The rudder by which he steers, he manages by hand, within board. All these shafts which pass through the machine are so curiously fix'd as not to admit any water to incommode the machine. The magazine for the powder is carried on the hinder part of the machine, without board, and so contrived, that when he comes under the side of the Ship, he rubs down the side until he comes to the keel, and a hook so fix'd as that when it touches the keel it raises a spring which frees the magazine from the machine and fastens it to the side of the Ship; at the same time, it draws a pin, which sets the watchwork agoing which, at a given time, springs the lock and the explosion ensues."
General George Washington was intrigued by Bushnell's vessel, giving him money and personnel to assist in its development. Beginning in the late summer of 1775, Bushnell began testing Turtle, but was frequently delayed by various setbacks. Finally, by early September 1776, Turtle was deemed ready to face the enemy. David Bushnell himself was too large to fit through Turtle's hatch, so his brother was initially slated to pilot the vessel into combat. When Bushnell's brother was stricken with the same "indisposition" ravaging Washington's camp, Sergeant Ezra Lee of the Continental Army was selected to take his place. The plan was to launch Turtle into New York harbor, affix the 150-pound gunpowder charge to the hull of HMS Eagle, a 64-gun ship of the line and flagship to Admiral Howe. If the mine was detonated successfully, Eagle would surely sink.
Unfortunately, the attack did not go as planned.
Two whale boats were enlisted to tow Turtle from Manhattan, arriving in the waters near the British warships at around 11:00 PM on the night of September 6. Almost immediately upon being cast loose, Turtle was swept up in the strong tidal currents and carried far beyond his intended position. Sergeant Lee spends several hours rowing back into position, surfacing repeatedly to confirm his position and check his bearings. Finally, the submarine is alongside Eagle. Lee makes numerous attempts to drill into the warship's hull far enough to affix the mine, set the timer and depart, but the drill doesn't want to bite, having apparently struck metal. Eagle was known to have a coppered hull at this time, but the sheathing was thin enough for the drill to penetrate...some historians suggest that the drill encountered certain iron fittings connected to the ship's rudder, while others point out a vessel Turtle's size could only contain about a half hour of good air and that Sergeant Lee was undoubtedly suffering from carbon dioxide inhalation at this point. In either case, with dawn approaching, Lee abandons the attack and begins rowing towards an agreed upon rendezvous point some four miles away.
Once again current and tide conspire to make Turtle's path a difficult one. Despite phosphorescent needles, Lee has difficulty reading his instruments, forcing him to surface and continually correct his course. Turtle's erratic course soon draws the attention of British soldiers at Governor's Island, who board a barge to pursue the curious craft. Unable to outrun his pursuers, Lee decides to release his mine in their midst so "we should all be blown up together." Upon sighting the released charge, the British barge rows clear. Lee immediately takes that opportunity to make his escape, safely reaching his rendezvous to be towed safely home. Not long after, the mine explodes, sending a plume of planks and water high into the morning air. (Though British reports do not document the alleged detonation.)
Even though Turtle failed to destroy the Eagle, George Washington would write of the submarine years later, "I then thought, and still think, that it was an effort of genius." This was also not the last nautical scheme Bushnell would be involved with during the war; his underwater mines would provide the catalyst for the 1778 "Battle of the Kegs" in Philadelphia. Over the years, numerous groups have taken an interest in Turtle's exploits: full scale replicas have been constructed for the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and the Connecticut River Museum (which actually launched theirs in 2007), and the submarine was dramatized in an early episode of TURN: Washington's Spies. While later submarines would earn the distinction of being the first to sink an enemy warship, Turtle remains the first documented use of a submarine in combat.
Sources:
1. McGrath, Tim. Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea. (The Penguin Group, 2014).
2. Naval History and Heritage Command, The Submarine Turtle: Naval Documents of the Revolutionary War, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/submarine-turtle-naval-documents.html (May 21, 2015).
 |
| Full scale reproduction of the submarine Turtle from the Turtle Project (2007). The submarine, piloted by Roy Manstan, was launched on November 10, 2007 at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, Connecticut. |
David Bushnell was a Connecticut farmer turned student, beginning his studies at Yale at age 31 in 1771. A great admirer of Benjamin Franklin, Bushnell hoped to become an inventor himself. While at Yale, Bushnell made waves (literally) with a number of experiments demonstrating that gunpowder could be detonated underwater. Hoping to put his inventive mind to use several years later, Bushnell develops a "Submarine Vessel" with which to attack British forces in New York harbor in late 1775/early 1776 named the Turtle.
For a description of Turtle, I think an excerpt of a letter from Dr. Benjamin Gale (a doctor at Yale) to Silas Deane written on December 9, 1775 serves best:
"The Body, when standing upright in the position in which it is navigated, has the nearest resemblance to the two upper shells of a Tortoise joined together. In length it doth not exceed 7-1/2 feet from the stem to the higher part of the rudder: the height not exceeding 6 feet. The person who navigates it enters at the top. It has a brass top or cover, which receives the person's head as he sits on a seat, and is fastened on the inside by screws. In this brass head is fixed eight glasses, viz. two before, two on each side, one behind, and one to look out upwards. In the same brass head are fixed two brass tubes, to admit fresh air when requisite, and a ventilator at the side to free the machine from the air rendered unfit for respiration. On the inside is fixed a Barometer, by which he can tell the depth he is under water; a Compass, by which he knows the course he steers. In the barometer and on the needles of the compass is fixed fox-fire, i.e. wood that gives light in the dark. His ballast consists of about 900 wt. of lead which he carried at the bottom and on the outside of the machine, part of which is so fixed as he can let run down to the Bottom, and serves as an anchor, by which he can ride ad libitum. He has a sounding lead fixed at the bow, by which he can take the depth of water under him; and to bring the machine into a perfect equilibrium with the water, he can admit so much water as is necessary, and has a forcing pump by which he can free the machine at pleasure, and can rise above water, and again immerge, as occasion requires.
In the bow, he has a pair of oars fixed like the two opposite arms of a wind mill, with which he can row forward, and turning them the opposite way, row the machine backward; another pair fixed upon the same model, with which he can row the machine round, either to the right or left, and a third, by which he can row the machine either up or down; all which are turn'd by foot, like a spinning wheel. The rudder by which he steers, he manages by hand, within board. All these shafts which pass through the machine are so curiously fix'd as not to admit any water to incommode the machine. The magazine for the powder is carried on the hinder part of the machine, without board, and so contrived, that when he comes under the side of the Ship, he rubs down the side until he comes to the keel, and a hook so fix'd as that when it touches the keel it raises a spring which frees the magazine from the machine and fastens it to the side of the Ship; at the same time, it draws a pin, which sets the watchwork agoing which, at a given time, springs the lock and the explosion ensues."
General George Washington was intrigued by Bushnell's vessel, giving him money and personnel to assist in its development. Beginning in the late summer of 1775, Bushnell began testing Turtle, but was frequently delayed by various setbacks. Finally, by early September 1776, Turtle was deemed ready to face the enemy. David Bushnell himself was too large to fit through Turtle's hatch, so his brother was initially slated to pilot the vessel into combat. When Bushnell's brother was stricken with the same "indisposition" ravaging Washington's camp, Sergeant Ezra Lee of the Continental Army was selected to take his place. The plan was to launch Turtle into New York harbor, affix the 150-pound gunpowder charge to the hull of HMS Eagle, a 64-gun ship of the line and flagship to Admiral Howe. If the mine was detonated successfully, Eagle would surely sink.
Unfortunately, the attack did not go as planned.
Two whale boats were enlisted to tow Turtle from Manhattan, arriving in the waters near the British warships at around 11:00 PM on the night of September 6. Almost immediately upon being cast loose, Turtle was swept up in the strong tidal currents and carried far beyond his intended position. Sergeant Lee spends several hours rowing back into position, surfacing repeatedly to confirm his position and check his bearings. Finally, the submarine is alongside Eagle. Lee makes numerous attempts to drill into the warship's hull far enough to affix the mine, set the timer and depart, but the drill doesn't want to bite, having apparently struck metal. Eagle was known to have a coppered hull at this time, but the sheathing was thin enough for the drill to penetrate...some historians suggest that the drill encountered certain iron fittings connected to the ship's rudder, while others point out a vessel Turtle's size could only contain about a half hour of good air and that Sergeant Lee was undoubtedly suffering from carbon dioxide inhalation at this point. In either case, with dawn approaching, Lee abandons the attack and begins rowing towards an agreed upon rendezvous point some four miles away.
Once again current and tide conspire to make Turtle's path a difficult one. Despite phosphorescent needles, Lee has difficulty reading his instruments, forcing him to surface and continually correct his course. Turtle's erratic course soon draws the attention of British soldiers at Governor's Island, who board a barge to pursue the curious craft. Unable to outrun his pursuers, Lee decides to release his mine in their midst so "we should all be blown up together." Upon sighting the released charge, the British barge rows clear. Lee immediately takes that opportunity to make his escape, safely reaching his rendezvous to be towed safely home. Not long after, the mine explodes, sending a plume of planks and water high into the morning air. (Though British reports do not document the alleged detonation.)
Even though Turtle failed to destroy the Eagle, George Washington would write of the submarine years later, "I then thought, and still think, that it was an effort of genius." This was also not the last nautical scheme Bushnell would be involved with during the war; his underwater mines would provide the catalyst for the 1778 "Battle of the Kegs" in Philadelphia. Over the years, numerous groups have taken an interest in Turtle's exploits: full scale replicas have been constructed for the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and the Connecticut River Museum (which actually launched theirs in 2007), and the submarine was dramatized in an early episode of TURN: Washington's Spies. While later submarines would earn the distinction of being the first to sink an enemy warship, Turtle remains the first documented use of a submarine in combat.
Sources:
1. McGrath, Tim. Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea. (The Penguin Group, 2014).
2. Naval History and Heritage Command, The Submarine Turtle: Naval Documents of the Revolutionary War, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/submarine-turtle-naval-documents.html (May 21, 2015).
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