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Lot 265
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David Bushnell Revolutionary War’s Father of Submarine Warfare
David Bushnell Revolutionary War’s Father of Submarine Warfare
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David Bushnell
Norwich, CT, April 26, 1787
David Bushnell Revolutionary War's Father of Submarine Warfare
ADS
[DAVID BUSHNELL.] Hezekiah Williams, Autograph Document Signed, Receipt for 10s..10d for David Bushnell, April 26, 1787, Norwich, Connecticut. 1 p., 6.5" x 5" Expected folds; general toning; very good.

This receipt indicates that Norwich town clerk Benjamin Huntington Jr. paid or delivered David Bushnell's "society rate" for 1786. The "society rate" was a parish tax for the support of the local parish of the Congregational church. Tax collector Hezekiah Williams wrote and signed the receipt.

Complete Transcript
Recd of Benjamin Huntington Junr Esqr Ten Shillings & Ten Pence a/c L M in full of Mr David Bushnell Society Rate granted on List 1786 ? Hez Williams Collector
Norwich 26th April 1787

Historical Background
Bushnell's invention was the world's first submersible vessel actually used in combat. While at Yale College, Bushnell proved that gunpowder could be exploded underwater and developed a clockwork to create a time bomb that could be attached to a ship. His individually-manned submarine, dubbed the Turtle because of its look in the water, included innovations such as using water as ballast for submerging and raising the vessel and a screw propeller that are still in use.

On September 6, 1776, the Turtle, piloted by Sergeant Ezra Lee, attacked British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship, the HMS Eagle, moored off Governor's Island in New York harbor. Lee made two attempts to attach the explosive device to the hull of the Eagle, but darkness, strong currents, and then the approach of dawn forced Lee to abandon his effort. On October 5, Lee attempted another assault on a frigate anchored off Manhattan, but the ship's watch spotted him, so he abandoned the operation. Later, the British sank the Turtle's tender vessel near Fort Lee, New Jersey, with the Turtle onboard.

Bushnell was taken prisoner by the British in Connecticut in early May 1779 but was exchanged within a week. In 1778, General George Washington had proposed the formation of a new "Corps of Sappers and Miners." The unit was organized in August 1779, and Bushnell was commissioned as one of three captain-lieutenants. In June 1781, Bushnell was promoted to captain in the Continental Army and served at the Siege of Yorktown. He was discharged in June 1783 and became an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati in Connecticut.

After the war, Bushnell was impoverished and the subject of both some honor and some ridicule. It may be in these circumstances that the town of Norwich authorized clerk Huntington to pay the tax for Bushnell, or Bushnell may have given the tax to Huntington for delivery.

In July 1785, Thomas Jefferson wrote from Paris to George Washington and requested that he "be so kind as to communicate to me what you can recollect of Bushnel's experiments in submarine navigation during the late war, and whether you think his method capable of being used successfully for the destruction of vessels of war. It's not having been actually used for this purpose by us, who were so peculiarly in want of such an agent seems to prove it did not promise success."

On September 26, 1785, Washington responded, "Bushnel is a Man of great Mechanical powers—fertile of invention—and a master in execution—He came to me in 1776 recommended by Governor Trumbull (now dead) and other respectable characters who were proselites to his plan. Although I wanted faith myself, I furnished him with money, and other aids to carry it into execution. He laboured for sometime ineffectually, & though the advocates for his scheme continued sanguine he never did succeed. One accident or another was always intervening. I then thought, and still think, that it was an effort of genius; but that a combination of too many things were requisite, to expect much Success from the enterprise against an enemy, who are always upon guard. That he had a Machine which was so contrived as to carry a man under water at any depth he chose, and for a considerable time & distance, with an apparatus charged with Powder which he could fasten to a Ships bottom or side & give fire to in any given time (Sufft for him to retire) by means whereof a ship could be blown up, or Sunk, are facts which I believe admit of little doubt—but then, where it was to operate against an enemy, it is no easy matter to get a person hardy enough to encounter the variety of dangers to which he must be exposed. 1[.] from the novelty 2[.] from the difficulty of conducting the Machine, and governing it under Water on Acct of the Currents &ca 3[.] the consequent uncertainty of hitting the object of destination, without rising frequently above water for fresh observation, wch when near the Vessel, would expose the Adventurer to a discovery, & almost to certain death—To these causes I always ascribed the non-performance of his plan, as he wanted nothing that I could furnish to secure the success of it. This to the best of my recollection is a true state of the case."

David Bushnell (1740-1824/1826) was born in Saybrook, Connecticut, and entered Yale College in 1771 at the age of 31. While studying at Yale, Bushnell proved that gunpowder could be exploded underwater. He graduated in 1775 and the following year, he created the first submarine ever used in combat, the Turtle. He later turned his attention to the creation of torpedoes, or floating bombs. After the war, he returned to Connecticut, where he lived until around 1790, when he moved to Columbia County, Georgia, where Yale classmate Abraham Baldwin (1754-1807) had lived. There, Bushnell taught school under the pseudonym David Bush. In 1803, he purchased land in Warrenton, Georgia, where he practiced medicine. He revealed his identity in his will.

Hezekiah Williams (1762-1790) was born in Norwich, Connecticut, where he became a merchant. He also served as collector of state and town taxes. In 1789, he married Dorothy Huntington Leonard (1765-1841), and they had one child before he died.

Benjamin Huntington Jr. (1736-1801) was born in Norwich in 1736, the son of Isaac Huntington (1688-1764), though he was referred to as Jr. after his second cousin, once removed Benjamin Huntington (1736-1800), who was a graduate of Yale College and represented Connecticut in the Continental Congress and the First Federal Congress. Benjamin Huntington Jr. succeeded his father and cousin as clerk of the town of Norwich, serving from 1765 to 1801 (with a one-year gap in 1778-1779). He was one of the selectmen of Norwich who called together the first revolutionary meeting in June 1774. He married the widow Mary Carew Brown (1734-1777) in 1767, and they had at least four children.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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