Benjamin Silliman

“ The soldiers at Governor's-Island espied the machine, and curiosity drew several hundreds upon the parapet to watch its motions. At last a party came down to the beach, shoved off a barge, and rowed towards it. At that moment sergeant Lee thought he saw his certain destruction, and as a last act of defence, let go the magazine, expecting that they would seize that likewise, and thus all would be blown to atoms together. ”

“ IT is to be presumed that every person who has paid any attention to the mechanical inventions of this country, or has looked over the history of her revolutionary war, has heard of the machine invented by David Bushnell, for submarine navigation, and the destruction of hostile shipping. ”

“ By vigorous turning of the crank, says my informer, the machine could be propelled at the rate of about three miles an hour in still water. When beyond the reach of danger, or observation of an enemy, the machine was suffered to float with its head just rising from the water's surface, and while in this situation, air was constantly admitted through three small orifices in the head, which were closed when a descent was commenced.
The efficient part of this engine of devastation, its magazine, remains to be spoken of. This was separate and distinct from the machine. ”