The Turtle's one combat mission is a story of its own. Bushnell's brother Ezra trained for months as its pilot, then fell ill on the eve of the operation; Sergeant Ezra Lee of Old Lyme took the crank instead. Built and tested in secrecy on the Connecticut River, the Turtle was carried overland and by water to the war. On a September night in 1776, Lee steered the little craft beneath New York Harbor toward HMS Eagle, the British flagship, in history's first submarine attack. The mine never attached — but the concept was proven, and the age of undersea warfare had quietly begun. Benjamin Franklin was among those who took note of Bushnell's trials, and George Washington later judged the work "an effort of genius."
Then the inventor vanished. After the war and a failed venture in France, Bushnell dropped from public life entirely — and resurfaced, years later, in Georgia as "Dr. David Bush," a quiet country physician and teacher. Only after his death in Warrenton in 1824 did neighbors learn that the doctor down the road had invented the submarine. His hometown never forgot: the old red Bushnell homestead near the village is kept today as his memorial.
Why People Visit Westbrook
Westbrook offers quiet shoreline New England with a remarkable story beneath it. Visitors come for the beaches, the marsh and harbor, the historic town center, and the distinction of standing in the birthplace of the submarine. It's low-key, scenic, and steeped in Long Island Sound maritime heritage.
