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04 LC 18 3654
Senate Resolution
1111
By: Senators Brush of the 24th and Cheeks of the 23rd
By: Senators Brush of the 24th and Cheeks of the 23rd
A RESOLUTION
Declaring August 30, 2004, as David Bushnell Day in Georgia;
and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, David Bushnell was born on August 30, 1740, in Saybrook, Connecticut, and attended Yale College; and
WHEREAS, while studying at Yale, David Bushnell invented a method of exploding timed charges of gunpowder underwater and hoped to use his invention to challenge the British ships blockading the harbors of the American colonies during the Revolutionary War; and
WHEREAS, in order to deliver his mine to the blockading ships, David Bushnell created the Turtle, a one-person, human-powered craft capable of underwater navigation with the assistance of the government of the State of Connecticut, the Continental Congress, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin; and
WHEREAS, on September 6, 1776, the Turtle, piloted by Continental Army Sgt. Ezra Lee, navigated New York Harbor and attacked the flagship of the British blockade, the HMS Eagle; and
WHEREAS, the Turtle was spotted by British sailors and Sgt. Lee was unable to attach the mine to the HMS Eagle, but the mine detonated near the ship and so unnerved the British that the blockade was repositioned further from shore, thereby reducing its effectiveness; and
WHEREAS, this is recognized as the first use of a submarine in combat, nearly 100 years before the successful attack by the Confederate submarine Hunley which became the first submarine to sink another vessel in war; and
WHEREAS, David Bushnell was later appointed by General Washington to the Corps of Miners and Sappers, the predecessor to the United States Army Corps of Engineers; and
WHEREAS, after the Revolutionary War ended, David Bushnell's friend and former Yale student Abraham Baldwin, who founded the University of Georgia, convinced Bushnell to move to Georgia; and
WHEREAS, under the assumed name of David Bush, Bushnell opened a private academy, became a physician, and lived the remaining 30 years of his life in what was then Columbia County, Georgia; and
WHEREAS, David Bushnell died in 1824 at the age of 84 and is buried in what is now Warrenton, Georgia; and
WHEREAS, Rick and Laura Brown, graduates of the University of Georgia and now professors at the Massachusetts College of Art, have constructed a replica of the Turtle which will be exhibited in Georgia this year; and
WHEREAS, the accomplishments of this remarkable individual are worthy of recognition and study.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that August 30, 2004, is hereby declared to be David Bushnell Day in Georgia.
WHEREAS, David Bushnell was born on August 30, 1740, in Saybrook, Connecticut, and attended Yale College; and
WHEREAS, while studying at Yale, David Bushnell invented a method of exploding timed charges of gunpowder underwater and hoped to use his invention to challenge the British ships blockading the harbors of the American colonies during the Revolutionary War; and
WHEREAS, in order to deliver his mine to the blockading ships, David Bushnell created the Turtle, a one-person, human-powered craft capable of underwater navigation with the assistance of the government of the State of Connecticut, the Continental Congress, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin; and
WHEREAS, on September 6, 1776, the Turtle, piloted by Continental Army Sgt. Ezra Lee, navigated New York Harbor and attacked the flagship of the British blockade, the HMS Eagle; and
WHEREAS, the Turtle was spotted by British sailors and Sgt. Lee was unable to attach the mine to the HMS Eagle, but the mine detonated near the ship and so unnerved the British that the blockade was repositioned further from shore, thereby reducing its effectiveness; and
WHEREAS, this is recognized as the first use of a submarine in combat, nearly 100 years before the successful attack by the Confederate submarine Hunley which became the first submarine to sink another vessel in war; and
WHEREAS, David Bushnell was later appointed by General Washington to the Corps of Miners and Sappers, the predecessor to the United States Army Corps of Engineers; and
WHEREAS, after the Revolutionary War ended, David Bushnell's friend and former Yale student Abraham Baldwin, who founded the University of Georgia, convinced Bushnell to move to Georgia; and
WHEREAS, under the assumed name of David Bush, Bushnell opened a private academy, became a physician, and lived the remaining 30 years of his life in what was then Columbia County, Georgia; and
WHEREAS, David Bushnell died in 1824 at the age of 84 and is buried in what is now Warrenton, Georgia; and
WHEREAS, Rick and Laura Brown, graduates of the University of Georgia and now professors at the Massachusetts College of Art, have constructed a replica of the Turtle which will be exhibited in Georgia this year; and
WHEREAS, the accomplishments of this remarkable individual are worthy of recognition and study.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that August 30, 2004, is hereby declared to be David Bushnell Day in Georgia.