Editing David Bushnell (inventor) (section)

==Attack on HMS ''Cerberus''==
Realizing that ''Turtle'' was impractical as a weapon, Bushnell turned explosive devices that he called torpedoes<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thacher |first1=James |title=An Army Doctor's American Revolution Journal, 1775–1783 |date=2019 |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |isbn=9780486834153 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5eWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 |access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref> first used as a name for [[torpedo fish|electric rays]] (in the order ''[[Torpediniformes]]''), which in turn comes from the Latin word ''[[wikt:torpedo#Latin|torpēdō]]'' ("lethargy" or "sluggishness").<ref>{{cite web |title=torpedo (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/torpedo |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Douglas Harper |access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref> In 1777 Bushnell attempted to use a [[Naval mine|floating mine]] to blow up {{HMS|Cerberus|1758|6}} in Niantic Bay; the mine struck a small boat near ''Cerberus'' and detonated killing four sailors<ref>Manstan, Roy R.; Frese, Frederic J. (2010). ''Turtle: David Bushnell's Revolutionary Vessel''. Yardley, Pa: Westholme Publishing, p. 27o</ref> and destroying the vessel, but not the intended target. In 1778 he launched what became lauded as the [[Battle of the Kegs]], in which a series of mines was floated down the [[Delaware River]] to attack British ships anchored there, killing two curious young boys<ref>Marstan and Frese, p. 271</ref> and alerting the British. The attack was ineffectual.