GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND CONSTRUCTION OF A SUB-MARINE VESSEL, Communicated by D. Bushnell of Connecticut, the Inventor, in a Letter of October, 1787, to Thomas Jefferson then Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris. [From the "Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Volume IV"]. by Bushnell, David (1740-1824 or 1826?). American submarine inventor, scholar, patriot and veteran of the American Revolutionary War - [1799].

[Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by Thomas Dobson], [1799]., [1799].. Very good. - Quarto, 11-1/2 inches high by 9-1/8 inches wide. Unbound signatures from the "Transactions of the American Philosophical Society". 10 deckle-edged pages in all, with large uncut & untrimmed margins, consisting of pages 303 through 312. There is a small spot of oxidation to the first page with some very minor foxing in the margins. Very good.

First published edition.

Unbound sheets from volume 4 of the "Transactions of the American Philosophical Society".

Built by David Bushnell in 1775, the Turtle was the world's first submersible ship used in combat. Early in 1775, Bushnell had successfully designed a reliable method to detonate underwater explosives and, following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, went to work on designing a submarine which would be used to attach explosives to enemy ships. In a letter to Benjamin Franklin, Bushnell wrote that the vessel would be "Constructed with Great Simplicity and upon Principles of Natural Philosophy". Likely inspired by the work of the Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel, who had successfully built 3 submarines in the 1620's, Bushnell enlisted the help of the New Haven clock-maker & inventor Isaac Doolittle to assist with creating the mechanical parts and propulsion system. In crafting the turtle or clam-shaped hull he enlisted the services of several skilled craftsmen including his brother Ezra Bushnell and the ship carpenter Phineas Pratt. The Turtle was first deployed in 1776 against the HSM Eagle, the flagship of British fleet which was blockading New York's harbor. The plan failed due to the inability of the submarine's operator, Sgt. Ezra Lee, to affix the explosive to the ship's hull. This was likely made worse by the lessening supply of oxygen. Another attempt was made against a British frigate anchored off Manhattan but the submarine was spotted and Sgt. Lee had to abort. The submarine was sunk a few days later. Bushnell later reported salvaging the vessel. Despite its failures, Bushnell's inventions inspired others, including Robert Fulton, to design their own submarines.

The American inventor, scholar and patriot David Bushnell (1740-1824 or 1826?) was a veteran of the American Revolution. Although his vessel the Turtle did not succeed in accomplishing its missions, he is credited with creating the first submarine ever used in combat and also with creating the first time bomb. Turning his attention to creating floating mines (then known as torpedoes), their use proved ineffectual in those missions in which they were deployed largely due to their failure to strike the desired targets. In 1779, Bushnell was given command of the new "Corps of Sappers and Miners", a corps of combat engineers. Commissioned as a captain in the Continental Army in 1781, his corps saw their first action at the Siege of Yorktown. He moved to France in 1787 returning to settle in Warrenton, Georgia in 1803 where he settled under the pseudonym of David Bush.