The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry, presents the cavalcade of America. Tonight's star, McDonald Carey. The story, the quality of courage. Noah Webster defined courage as that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties without fear or depression of spirits. This is the story of one of the most courageous men who ever lived. Sergeant Ezra Lee of Lyme, Connecticut and the Continental Army. Time early fall of 1776 placed the headquarters of the American forces somewhere north of New York City which is held in part by the British. Sit down, Sergeant. Do sit down. Thank you, sir. Sergeant, I asked you to return this evening because I want to know all about what happened. From the beginning? Well, I wasn't in on the beginning, sir. The turtle began with young David Bushnell. You call it the turtle? Yes, sir. The American turtle. Good name, highly descriptive. And who is David Bushnell? Davey's one of the Connecticut Bushnells from Westbrook up near Lyme where I come from, just across the river. We used to sail together, Davey and I, when we were boys, but, well, he went to Yale College. Fortunate lad. I've always regretted my own lack of formal schooling, but go on. Yes, sir. Davey came home last spring with his degree and a big idea. Nobody had listened to him at first around the yards. They laughed. They always do. One man didn't laugh, as Davey tells it. An old man and very wise, I think. A Dr. Benjamin Gale. One night last June, Davey and Dr. Gale were discussing David's plan. But if it could be done, sir, it might end the war in three months' time. Yes, boy, I can see that. Wherever there are harbors, the British sea power must conquer, for they can bring in troops when and where they will. But if every harbor were turned into a death trap, if they knew no harbor could ever be safe, sir. I can conceive of no greater blow to the King's power in North America. You brought the new clams? I have. Here they are. I found a new way of channeling the crank, sir. The mechanic at the yard worked it out for me. I hope he knows his business. This death trap for British ships could well turn into a death trap for its operator. I'm aware of that. David, three things worry me. Yes? The channeling and cocking of the cranks and rods. Oh, you say you will overcome the trouble there. I have. The second, light and air. The man inside must be able to see to read a compass and a gauge. He has a best 30 minutes, did you say? The air should last 30 minutes. But anything that gives light to see by must consume precious air by combustion. I've written to Dr. Franklin in Philadelphia to inquire if he knows of some substance, perhaps a glowing substance like phosphorus that we could use. Yes, good. And the third difficulty, sir? It is the most important of all, David. I'm afraid it is all important, perhaps insurmountable. Who will operate this curious device of yours on its first attack? Why, I will, of course. Nonsense, David. It will require a man of prodigious strength to move those pedals against the slightest tide current. You are light of frame, David, and frail for your years. You've been ill. I won't let anyone else risk his life in my own invention. Have you thought what would happen if the first attack failed and the cask were recovered by the enemy? Your invention would be turned upon your own people. Think, lad, you know what I say is true. You are not strong enough. But they say I'm afraid. Do you care what they say? No, but I care about what I think and feel. Doctor, I must. Must you? Must you be ever the important one? Are you more important than your country's need? I think not. But how can I? I can't, I can't. David, it is time for you to grow up. Make a choice. Very well, let them talk. Let them call me a coward. You are no coward, David. I think then we'd better call for volunteers, hmm? There were three of us volunteers, all from General Parson's Continental Command. We were men who knew ships and their buildings. Jonas Shortlip, Sirene Allen, and me. Tell me, Sergeant Lee, did you know the nature of the work when you volunteered? No, sir. There were rumors, of course. Some sort of secret ship or a secret weapon was being built at Saybrook. We didn't know what kind. Well, late one night, Dr. Gale took us to a shed near the wharf. Davey unlocked the door of the shed. We haven't opened it yet, David. Why not, sir? I'd like to talk with these men. Would those of you who are carrying lanterns hold them up high so I can see your faces? Yes, sir. That's it, thank you. Now, gentlemen, you are going to be asked to engage in an enterprise of tremendous importance and tremendous danger. If you refuse, no one will blame you. But the enterprise is secret, utterly secret. I want you here and now, before you learn more, to swear to me and before God that you will never divulge what you will soon see in this shed, not to any man, friend or foe, so long as you shall live. Do you still swear? Jonas Shorcliffe? Well, yes, sir, I do. Sirene Allen? I swear, sir, help me, sir, help me, I swear. And Ezra Lee? I do solemnly swear. Good. Open the door, David. All right, go in, go in. Now, I shall place your lanterns together here on the workbench. Now, look. Great. Jumping, John Hossop. What is it? What is that? Looks like a rum barrel. Biggest rum barrel I ever did see. Must be six feet high. But there's a runner on it. A rudder if I ever saw one. David, what are you up to? I'll tell you now. This man, this is a craft built to operate underwater. Underwater? This is a submarine vessel. A submarine vessel? Underwater? Oh, I know, it's never been done before, but we're going to do it. We'll be the first. We? We're going to go down in that, that overgrown nail keg under the sea? One of us. It will only hold one man. How does it run? By these paddles here on the outside. They can be turned from the inside. On the inside there's a crank. As a matter of fact, there are four cranks. If you ask me, we've got another crank right here on the outside. Corporal Shortliffe, we have good reason to believe that this vessel will operate successfully. Now, all of you can read the ship's plan? Sure thing. Good. David, give me the drawings. Now, all of you, gather around the lantern here. Well, sir, David got out the plans and we spent two hours going over them, asking questions. Trying to make up our minds. All the time I kept watching David, I could feel his eagerness. But I had only to look at him and then at that great barrel to know he could never propel it underwater with those skinny arms. But he was ashamed to ask another man to try. Well, after we looked at the plans in the lantern light and looked inside the vessel and walked up and down trying to decide. What strikes me hard, Doctor, is this. The top, the lid here, can't be removed from the inside, right? That is correct. It is clamped on from the outside. And the air will last only half an hour underwater? We hope it will last half an hour. So that if the air is all gone and you're still underwater. You suffocate, Corporal. You'll die. Uh, Doctor? Yes, Private Allen? I'm a simple man and a wife. She's always staying inside. She says you ain't got no feelings in your head. No imagination? That shit ain't got any. I never figure things much ahead because go bang into them. I've been lucky. But I've been told I'm a brave man, Doctor. You wouldn't have been nominated for this task if your officers hadn't thought well of you in respect to strength and courage. But you see, it's that explosive charge that worries me. The bomb. 130 pounds of gunpowder right over my head. And then underwater. I have to bore into a ship's hull with this drill here? That's right. That fixes the explosive charge to the ship's side. Then you release the charge by turning this screw inward from the inside. Oh, yeah. And the time clock on the bomb takes care of the rest. Good. Just time to get away. Oh, yeah. But suppose I'm sticks. Suppose I can't pull free of the bomb. I'd answer you die. You are blown into a million pieces with the ship. Phew. I guess I've got more imagination than my wife thinks. Gentlemen, I believe everything has been fully explained. My instructions were to explain completely and then ask again for a volunteer. We need at first only one man. Corporal Shotliff. None of us will think the less of you, Corporal, if you choose not to work with us further. I'm sorry, gentlemen. I just don't believe this contraption will work. Very well. Private Allen. Sorry. I'm afraid it might work too well. Besides, I could never get my fat belly through that lid. And Sergeant Lee? I'll do it, gentlemen. Ezra. Good man. Ezra, are you sure? No, Davy. I know the thing will do what you say. I have no doubts. Don't you have any? Very well, gentlemen. Remember your oath. Davy, take these two good men to the tavern and buy a meager drink. I prescribe it under the circumstances. Very well. I'll be along in a few minutes. I'd like to have a word with the sergeant here. I'll see you then, Ezra. Right, Davy. In five minutes, I'll bring him with me. Be off with you now. Come along, gentlemen. Take a line. I wanted to get David away from you for a moment. You see, he... Yes, I know. He would try to persuade me against it. Tonight? Do you understand? I understand. I watched him. He wants to try it himself. And he could never do it. Never in the world. We won't even let him try. Good for you. Sergeant. Yes, sir? I have one more question, if you'll humor an old man. I've long been a student of human nature. I know most of the quirks, but I'm still, well, still curious. Tell me this. Why did you volunteer? For Davy's sake. We grew up together. You see, he was always the smart one. So much smarter than me. I fought some of his battles. He fought some of mine. The other kind. Well, you needed wits, not just muscles. Well, if Davy believes this thing will work, then somehow, somehow, I'll make it work. When can we get it in the water? Tonight on the Cavalcade of America, McDonald Carey is starring as Ezra Lee in The Quality of Courage. Sergeant Lee at headquarters continues his report on history's first submarine attack, the mission of the American Turtle in 1776 at New York Harbor. Well, sir, in a matter of days, we were ready to try her out in the Sound. The crank shafts piercing the skin of the great oak barrel, well, they leaked. Here, sir. General Parsons said you'd ask for a drawing. Oh, good. Yeah, I see the shafts might well leak. Well, they might. We fixed that with a heavier caulk and tar. Oh, yes. In the end, she was tar all over. Never really watertight entirely, but she'd always last a while at three fathoms down. But look here, Sergeant, how could you see? How could you tell where you were going? On the surface in daylight through these heavy glass slots, and in daylight I could see to read a compass and the depth measure at three fathoms down. But it was necessary to attack at night, of course. Yes, sir. It was Dr. Franklin, I believe, who suggested using the glow of fox fire, sort of rotten wood packed about the compass. That worked fairly well, submerged at night, but not too good. And you submerged how? Well, by first closing the air intake valve in the top, then by opening a petcock. With this foot spring here, sir, it lets water into this compartment at the bottom when you press down on the spring. I see. And to come up again. It's necessary to pump the water out by means of these hand pumps. Takes a lot of muscle. What an ingenious contrivance, but diabolical, absolutely diabolical. It's the very devil of the boat, sir, and devilish hard to manage. There's a little room aboard. Everywhere you turn, you hit something. I should think so. Well, as I was saying, we tried her out and we got her working pretty well. Good enough. Then we towed her down to the sound, the new Rochelle, hauled her up on shore, and took her over to the Hudson. And at the last dark of the moon, we towed her downstream, Davy and I, in a whale boat. Ezra. What's up? I can just see the lights of the English fleet. The writing lights. We've gone far enough, Rowan. Get the anchor out, Davy. Right. Now let's haul the turtle in. The tide's still setting up river. It'll change any minute. I figured on that. It'll help you downstream. You're sure the flagship's last in the line? She was there at dusk. She's been anchored there for a week. HMS Eagle, 64 guns. Lord Richard Howe's flagship. Maybe we'll send the britches a black dick himself, huh? Let's get the lid off. What is it? Compounded lid fell. Get my knuckle. It's all right. Now, steady the boat now. Climb in the turtle over the stern. Wait. What's wrong? Ezra. It's time, David. It's time to go. Your hand, it's bleeding. It's nothing. Scratch. The lid barely caught me. Let me go, Ezra, for the love of heaven. Ezra, let me go. No. Just plain no. But the tide's turned. I can drift down. Suppose you drifted past, just a little past, Eagle. Could you push this thing back again against the tide with the paddle cranks? The answer is no. You know it. I... I have no choice. Hold on to that idea. Now, one thing more. Time clock on the bomb is set. Yes. Yes, that you can count on. Now, once the drill is in the hull, release that bomb. It's just time to get clear. You go downstream with the tide. Paddle like the devil. It should be fifty yards away when... When Lord Howell senses a forecrop in all his glory, huh? Good. Now, hold all steady while I crawl into your tub. There. There. Hardest part is getting into this infernal machine. How does she ride? Even enough. No leaks yet. Let the lid down, Dave. Fasten it tight. Clamp her down. Can you hear me, Dave? I can hear you. Cast off. I'll start the paddle as soon as I'm clear. Goodbye, Ezra. Good luck. Goodbye, Davey. Goodbye. Down on the uptide goes Sergeant Lee, the top of his strange coffin-like craft, a bare foot and a half out of water. He stares eagerly through the glass slots, bearing always hard down upon the riding lathes of the British fleet, a great armada rocking in the stream. The tide is unexpectedly strong, and despite his desperate efforts, he's carried past the flagship, just above the water. And for two and one half hours, he battles inch by inch, turning the heavy paddles against the tide, until he's back under the stern of the HMS Eagle. It's almost dawn. In daylight, he cannot escape discovery. What are his thoughts? What is he thinking? The oak-staved barrel that may be his tomb huddles against the Eagle's idly swinging rudder. I've made it. It's the Eagle. Let's see now. What do I do? One, close air intake valve. Air valve closed. Two, open water intake with right foot. There. Down she goes. Not too much. Not too much. Three, check depth gauge by Fox fire. Yeah, caucus up one inch. Means we're one fathom down. Good. Thirty minutes now. But it's so dark. So dark. Now, the paddles feel along the side, slowly. No noise. The midships? Midships, that place. Bigger than two. Hundred and thirty pounds of powder. Now, the drill. Baby, baby boy, you didn't leave room. Where's that drill handle? Where's the crank? I can't see. I can't see. I can't find the drill. Here it is. Had to be there. About twenty minutes. Twenty minutes. Now, drill. What's wrong? Doesn't bite in. Must be a cop. The hull is copper sheet. Why didn't they know? Why didn't they know? Try again. Try again. It's no use. It's no use. It's got a release bond. Get away. Get away. It's got a release. No more bonds. There's no power. No air at all in here, sir. That was pranked. It's all in this room. Ten of the cranks. Oh, oh. Only a few minutes left. Keep just two. Under surface. Under surface. Under surface. Must be almost time. Turn crank. Turn crank. Turn. Turn. Turn. How long? How long? Well, sir, I failed. When the copper sheathing stopped my drill, I cut the bomb loose. And once loose, it was bound to explode. It drifted downstream on the tide, and HMS Eagle escaped. We were both very sorry, sir. You were both sorry? What do you mean? Davion. But we'll try again. You will try again. You'll try that suicidal deal again. The turtle works, sir. I proved that. With a little more luck and a boy that will drill through copper. Hedges, the... In this matter, two things are clear. First, you are the bravest man I have ever laid my eyes upon. And second, we are all amateurs at war. We need an intelligence service, an organized way to find and evaluate information about the enemy. I shall see to it that such a service is established. Copper sheathing. I confess, sir, I was pretty angry myself when I heard that drill hit metal. And where you might have been. As to your first point, sir. Yes, sergeant? Well, the way I figure it, there's a braver one than me. It was harder for Davy to stay out of that tub than for me to get into it. I know that. Yes, sergeant, perhaps there are two kinds of courage. I shall write to him. I shall tell him that I believe his invention to be a work of genius. If you'll forgive me, sir, I wouldn't put it quite that way. I'd tell him, well, that you understand why he let me take the turtle down the bay. I'll do that, sergeant, with great pleasure. Thank you, General Washington. A few months later, the British frigate Cerberus, lying at anchor in Black Point Bay, blew up with a large expressive bang. A little later, a British fleet in the Delaware River encountered a series of strange mishaps, all accompanied by underwater explosions. Sergeant Lee had learned how to use the American turtle. Yes, there are different kinds of courage, physical courage, moral courage. This republic has been served in the past by men well equipped in both kinds. It shall continue to be so served. Our thanks to McDonald's, Carrie, and the Cavalcade players for tonight's story, The Quality of Courage. Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade was written by George H. Faulkner and based on material from Lost Men of American History by Stuart H. Holbrook, published by Macmillan Company. Original music was composed by Arden Cornwell, conducted by Donald Borez. The program was directed by John Zoller. With McDonald, Carrie, our Cavalcade cast included Bernard Lenrode, Dick York, William Podmore, Ted Osborne, and Alan Hewitt. And this is Cy Harris reminding you to be with us next week when the DuPont Cavalcade will present The Dark Heart, the dramatic, powerful story of one of history's most reckless, headstrong women. Our star, Jane Wyman. Be sure to listen. The DuPont Cavalcade of America came to you tonight from the Velasco Theater in New York City and is sponsored by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. Tonight it's Barry Craig, confidential investigator on NBC.
