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Bushnell, David (1740-1826) [Recommendation for furloughs for Corporal Edward Bass and P. Gardner]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.09665 Author/Creator: Bushnell, David (1740-1826) Place Written: Constitution Island, New York Type: Manuscript document signed Date: 28 February 1783 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 21.9 x 18 cm. Order a Copy

Captain Bushnell recommends Bass for a leave of absence until 15 April 1783. Recommends [P.?] Gardner for a leave of absence for twenty-five days. Directs his recommendation to Major General Henry Knox.

David Bushnell built the first man-propelled submarine boat, called the "American Turtle." It featured a wooden magazine containing gunpowder and a clock mechanism for igniting it at any particular time. Although he was not successful in his attempts to destroy British ships during the American Revolution, he is recognized as the father of the modern submarine. While it could not be definitively confirmed that the writer of this document is the same Bushnell as the inventor of the submarine, it appears likely, as the inventor served as Captain of a corps of sappers and miners during the Revolution. David Bushnell's birth date appears as 1740 in most sources. His death date appears as either 1824 or 1826.

Bushnell, David, 1740-1826
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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