History of Saybrooke Village, (Hartford County) Connecticut United States of America

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David Bushnell, inventor, was born in Saybrook, Conn., about the year 1742. Upon the death of his father, he sold his interest in the farm and devoted the proceeds to his education. Assisted by the village pastor, he fitted himself for college, and was graduated at Yale in 1775. He made a study of submarine warfare and navigation, and constructed a diving boat, which resembled two tortoise shells, and was for that reason called The American Turtle. A full description of the boat and torpedo will be found in the Transactions of the American philosophical society, and in Silliman's American Journal of Science (1820). In addition to this torpedo, Mr. Bushnell invented a number of devices for the destruction of the enemy's ships, but his "infernals," as they were called by the British, failed of accomplishing their purpose, owing to a series of unfortunate accidents. In 1777 he attempted to destroy the Cerberus, a frigate at anchor off New London, Conn. The machine, becoming fixed to a schooner at anchor astern the frigate, exploded, demolishing that vessel and killing several men. In December, 1777, he arranged and set adrift kegs charged with powder, so as to destroy the British ships, which held possession of the Delaware river. In the darkness he made a miscalculation as to the distance, and the explosion did not occur until the following day, when it caused slight damage, though creating consternation among the officers and sailors aboard the ships. A humorous poem, The Battle of the Kegs written by Hon. Francis Hopkinson, was founded on this incident. Though the principles on which Mr. Bushell's machines were constructed were shown to be correct, the accidents attending his experiments and his disappointment at not receiving government support, rendered him very dejected, and at the close of the war he went to France. Years passed without his friends hearing from him, and it was supposed that he had perished during the French revolution. He returned to America and for years had charge of a large school in Georgia, after which he practised medicine, under the name of Dr. Bush. The tidings of his death was the first news his friends had had of him in forty years. His death occurred at Warrenton, Ga., in 1826.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Saybrooke Village, (Hartford County) Connecticut

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