American Revolution Podcast - Rev250-113 Launch of the Turtle

0:00You're listening to an Air Wave Media Podcast. Hello, and thanks for joining Revolution 250. This is where we remember events that took place 250 years ago this week, a short bonus episode from the American Revolution Podcast to remember these important 250th anniversaries from the Revolutionary War. This week we remember the launch of the Continental Submarine, the Turtle, which deployed against the British on September 6, 1776. In January of 1915, Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, became encased in the ice in the wettle sea. And with that, his attempt to cross Antarctica would turn into a desperate struggle for survival that would last for nearly two years. Through determination, grit and savvy, Shackleton would lead his men through a brutal winter, then over hundreds of miles of Antarctic ice, followed by 800 miles in a small boat across some of the roughest waters in the world.

1:00It is one of the most extraordinary and inspirational journeys in the history of exploration. If you want to learn about Shackleton's remarkable voyage and the details of his colorful life, check out our 10-part series on the Man. That is 9 and a half hours of detailed material, perfect for anyone who loves stories of adventure, exploration and survival. In this story and many others, at the Explorers Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts or at ExplorersPodcast.com. Following the Battle of Long Island in late August, the British had the Continental Army pinned down in Manhattan. Because the British Navy controlled all the waters around the island, the British could surround and capture the Continental pretty much anytime they wanted. Washington of course had no navy to come to his aid. Most of the small Continental Navy remained locked up in Rhode Island, and the few ships that were roaming around the Atlantic, along with many privateers that could harass isolated British ships, or perhaps even small convoys, but there was nothing that dared

2:04take on the Armada that was at New York. So if the Americans wanted to do anything, they needed to get creative. Of course the Patriots were nothing if not creative. David Bushnell headed a small team of inventive men looking for a way to attack the British Navy. Bushnell was working on a way to attach explosives to British ships in the harbor. For over a year Bushnell and his small team spent time developing a submarine. They created a vehicle by carving out two solid pieces of oak, leaving only one seam to waterproof. They fastened iron hoops around the wood, like a barrel to keep it together. The vehicle was only about seven or eight feet long and about six feet high, three feet wide, barely enough room to seat a single pilot. Since it was shaped like a turtle shell, they named it the turtle. To travel underwater, they developed what they called a windmill propeller. This is actually a four runner of the modern screw propeller that others have claimed to

3:04have been invented half a century later. They used a hand crank and foot trebles, similar to what is used in other machinery at the time to turn the propellers. Snorkels supplied air for the pilot, meaning that the vessel would have to travel near the surface for most of the trip, then rely on the air inside the small operator area when descending near the target. On the top they attached a hatch made of wood and brass, with windows on all four sides, as well as on top so that the pilot could see where he was going. The windows also provided light when on or near the surface. The pilot had no light while underwater. They had tried using a candle, but that quickly burned through the small amount of air in the cabin while it was submerged. Instead they turned to foxfire, a wood fungus that gave off a glow. They added this to the tip of the compass and the barometer so the pilot could see direction and depth while underwater in the dart. The pilot controlled descent underwater by allowing water into the bottom of the vessel around

4:07the pilot's feet. Several hundred pounds of lead ballast kept the vehicle for being too light while adding or removing a little water was enough to help it descend or rise. This combined with a vertical propeller that the pilot could also use. A small team built an underwater mine containing about 150 pounds of black powder, a screw that would allow it to be attached to the bottom of a ship. The turtle would tow the mine on a chain floating alongside the submarine. They also created a timing device that would allow the pilot to trigger the device and then have a few minutes to escape before a flint lock from a gun fired a spark into the gunpowder to trigger the explosion. The plan was to propel the turtle along the surface at night until it got close to the ship. Then it would descend underwater where the pilot would attach the explosive to the bottom of the ship with the screw, set the timing device, and move away before the explosion. The pilot had to perform the entire underwater portion of the operation in 15 to 20 minutes,

5:10otherwise he would run out of air. Bushnell proposed to test his device against the British Navy in New York. Both Governor Trumbull of Connecticut and General George Washington approved the attempt. Execution of the plan, however, ran into numerous problems. First the pilot, Ezra Bushnell, who was the brother of the gunventer, got sick. The historians widely believe that Ezra came down with typhus, one of the epidemics that was sweeping through the continental camps at the time. This man would be at a commission for weeks if he survived it all. The team had to recruit a new pilot for the secret mission. They didn't even tell the volunteer what the mission was until after he joined the team out of the need for secrecy. General Samuel Parsons, who was also from Connecticut, recommended his brother-in-law, Sergeant Ezra Lee to pilot the turtle on its first mission. The team put Lee through several weeks of training before he was ready. Finally, once he was familiar with all the controls, the team brought the turtle overland

6:10to New York Harbor. On the night of September 6th, about a week after Washington and Retreated from Long Island back to Manhattan, the team launched its attack. Right away, the mission ran into problems. The turtle, which took a huge effort to propel forward, had to fight an outgoing tide. It took hours to even get close to the fleet. By the time Lee had worked himself close enough to his target, it was close to dawn and Lee was exhausted. Still, he descended underneath the ship and attempted to attach the explosive. There, he found that he was unable to drill into the bottom of the ship for some reason. Since it had taken him so long to reach the ship, and he didn't have any time to pull away, ascend to get more air, and go back for another try. Because dawn was quickly approaching, Lee had to make his escape before being discovered. As he pulled away from his target, which was the flagship eagle, British centuries saw the vessel, and several guard boats were sent after him to discover what it was.

7:12The turtle could not outrun a rowboat, so Lee was in real trouble. Lee detached his explosive device, set the timing on it, hoping to take out his pursuers, and possibly himself as well. As he put it, he quote, let loose the magazine in hopes that if they should take me, they should likewise pick up the magazine, and then we should all be blown up together. The explosive drifted away from the turtle, and a few minutes later exploded harmlessly away from everyone, just sending up a big column of water into the air. That was enough for the British sailors to call off the pursuit. After seeing one wooden device explode, they did not want to get near the other bigger wooden device that they saw, for fear that it was another explosive as well. The British turned back, and Lee was able to propel the turtle back to the American lines near the shore. The Americans recovered the turtle, and prepared for a second attempt further up the Hudson River. The British, however, now alerted to the danger, discovered the vessel on two subsequent

8:12attempts to make contact with the enemy and fired on it. In both cases, the pilot was able to make his escape without being able to attach the explosive. Shortly after this, the British Army sank the transport vessel carrying the turtle, and with the loss of the vessel after three unsuccessful attempts, the American submarine project came to an end. I hope you've enjoyed this Revolution 250 moment. For more context on this story, please check out Episode 104 of the American Revolution podcast at blog.amrevpodcast.com. And please feel free to subscribe for free to the whole podcast on whatever podcast platform you like. Thanks again for listening to this Revolution 250 moment on the American Revolution podcast.