David Bushnell was born in 1742 and was a descendant of Francis Bushnell, an Englishman, who in 1639 joined the New Haven Colony and subsequently helped to found Guilford, Connecticut, was born on his father's farm in Saybrook, Connecticut.
The home was located in an extremely secluded portion of the township and here young Bushnell grew up, helping his father with the farm duties, devoting his leisure moments to reading, and shunning all society. When he was twenty-seven his father died, and, as his mother had died some years before, the farm descended to David and his brother.
David immediately sold his inheritance, moved into town, and began to prepare for college, securing as tutor, the Rev. John Devotion, pastor of the local Congregational church. Two years later Bushnell entered Yale, and completed the four-year course in 1775.
Apparently, David Bushnell gave much time and attention to this during his college years, for in 1775 he completed at Saybrook a man-propelled submarine boat on the outside shell of which was attached a wooden magazine containing gunpowder and a clock mechanism for igniting it at any particular time. The boat, built entirely of heavy oak beams, had the shape of a top.
In fact, its exterior appearance was said to resemble a structure which would result from joining together the upper shells of two turtles and weighting the whole so that the tail end pointed downward and the head skyward. For this reason it was called "Bushnell's Turtle. "
The vessel was equipped with a vertical and horizontal screw propeller and rudder, operated by hand from the interior; a water gauge to indicate the boat's depth; a compass for direction, lighted up with phosphorus; a foot-operated valve in the keel to admit water for descending; and two hand-operated pumps to eject the water for ascending.
The magazine, or torpedo, was located above the rudder and was connected by a line with a wooden screw, turned from within, which could be driven into a ship's hull. A further arrangement was contrived so that as the submarine moved away the clockwork in the mechanism was set in motion, having been previously set to ignite the charge at a certain time, the maximum being twelve hours. Bushnell successfully demonstrated his idea to the governor and Council of Safety of Connecticut who approved of his plan and suggested that he proceed with further experiment if necessary, with the expectation of a proper public reward.
During 1776-77 Bushnell attempted to blow up British ships but was never successful, owing entirely to his inability to obtain a skilled operator, he personally being too frail. Attempts were made in Boston Harbor; off Governor's Island, New York; and in the Delaware River above Philadelphia. After the failure at Philadelphia, in December 1777, Bushnell gave up further attempts amidst general popular ridicule, although to-day he is recognized as the father of the submarine.
His inability to prove the merits of his invention in actual warfare, however, did not entirely discredit him, for when General Washington in 1779 organized companies of sappers and miners, Bushnell was made a captain-lieutenant. He was promoted to captain in 1781, and was stationed at West Point in command of the Corps of Engineers on June 4, 1783.
In November of that year he was mustered out of service, receiving the commutation of five-years' pay in lieu of one-half pay for life. During the following ten or twelve years it is believed that he went to France. In 1795, however, he appeared in Columbia County, Georgia, as a school teacher, under the name of Dr. Bush.
Several years later he settled in Warrenton, Georgia, and began the practise of medicine which he continued until his death at the age of eighty-four.
David Bushnell is credited as the inventor of the submarine, which was first used to launch explosives against British ships during the American Revolution (1775-83). A full sized model of David Bushnell's Turtle is on display at the United States Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut. In 1915, the U. S. Navy named the submarine tender USS Bushnell (AS-2) after him and it was launched in Bremerton, Washington. Bushnell served during World War I and was renamed USS Sumner in 1940 and was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. On 14 September 1942, another submarine tender of the same name USS Bushnell (AS-15) was launched. The Georgia House of Representatives in appreciation to his achievements passed a resolution declaring August 30, 2004 as David Bushnell Day in Georgia.
On one occasion as a result, presumably, of a discussion with members of the faculty, he demonstrated, in a small way, the fact that gunpowder could be exploded under water. This is thought to have suggested to him the idea of a submarine mine or torpedo. Unknown On one occasion as a result, presumably, of a discussion with members of the faculty, he demonstrated, in a small way, the fact that gunpowder could be exploded under water. This is thought to have suggested to him the idea of a submarine mine or torpedo.
As far as is known David Bushnell was never married.
