On Sept 6, 1776, Ezra Lee climbed into a peculiar craft named the Turtle. Sometimes refered to as Bushnell's Turtle or even USS Turtle.

It was made from two wooden shells bound tightly together.

He entered through a hole in the top of the craft which was crowned with a brass ring having windows as well as a snorkel.

Once inside he used a hole in the bottom to fill a balast tank allowing the craft to submerge. The water could be pumped out to allow the craft to surface.

To conserve oxygen, the compas and other instruments were covered in fox fire, a moss that glows in the dark.

Propelled mostly by the currents, but aided with a pedal driven propeller, Sgt Lee manuvered close to HMS Eagle where he tried to attach an explosive charge under the hull. He was not sucessful and had to abandon the effort and cut the explosive charge loose where it exploded harmlessly in the harbor.

Compare to the Jaredite barges and see how many similarities the two share :)




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Oh man! I was wondering what the heck this had to do with the price of grasshoppers in January, until I went back up and noticed the date!

Well done!

I certainly hope you're not implying what I think you are!


Haha.

You mean that Joseph when he was living in Salem towards the end of the warcof 1812 might have heard of the attempts to destroy the blockade in New York and Boston by a submersible a mere 35 years earlier?

Never crossed my mind.

Whew! That's a relief. He was only an innocent uneducated farm boy. He couldn't possibly have known. I know that because my mother told me.

I'm firmly in the "He lived withing walking distance of the Erie Canal" camp.

Whaddya think of the way these things look vs. the BoM description?

https://www.google.com/search?q=erie+canal+barge+1820&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS811US811&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFq_SywafdAhWODnwKHc4mAy4Q_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=631

I think he took what he saw and combined it with what he heard.