Cornelius Scranton Bushnell (July 19, 1829 – May 6, 1896) was an American railroad executive and shipbuilder who was instrumental in developing ironclad ships for the

Union Navy The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were un ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Background

Bushnell, the son of Nathan & Chloe (Scranton) Bushnell, was born July 19, 1829, in

Madison, Connecticut Madison is a town in the southeastern corner of New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, occupying a central location on Connecticut's Long Island Sound shoreline. The population was 17,691 at the 2020 census. Madison was first settled in 16 ...

. At the age of 15, he decided to become a sailor and shipped out on a coastal vessel. Within a year and a half, he was

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of a 60-ton schooner. Later, he went into the grocery business with his brother.

Railroad

The bankrupt New Haven and New London Railroad offered new opportunities for him. Working with friends and with his own capital, he invested in the railroad. By 1860, under Bushnell's guidance, it had completed a critical connection with the Providence Road, which completed the connection between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. By 1861, Bushnell had been elected president of the railroad.

USS ''Monitor''

Bushnell was in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, when the Civil War broke out. At that time, he volunteered to defend the capital in a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

unit until regular troops could be moved in. He mustered out on May 4, 1861, after the arrival of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry. In mid-1861, the Confederates raised and began refitting a 3500-ton frigate, the USS ''Merrimac'', that had been burned to the waterline by the Federals. They began restoring the ship as an ironclad. News of this caused great worry in Washington and the race was on to build Federal ironclads. With S. H. Pook of Boston, a naval expert, Bushnell and other officials soon developed plans for their own ironclad for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, a vessel later known as the ''Galena''. Out of a concern for the stability of the proposed craft, Bushnell traveled to see

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Ericsson John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive ''Novelty'', which co ...

for his analysis and opinion, which he agreed to provide. But Ericsson also had his own plans and a working model of a unique floating battery, a low slung ironclad outfitted with a revolving turret. This novel design was to revolutionize naval warfare. An impressed Bushnell went back to Washington and, within eight days, the new design was approved by Navy officials and the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Gideon Welles Gideon Welles (July 1, 1802 – February 11, 1878), nicknamed "Father Neptune", was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869, a cabinet post he was awarded after supporting Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Although opposed ...

. Through Bushnell's efforts, the USS ''Monitor'' was rapidly completed and went on to fight the refurnibished ''Merrimac'' (by then known as the CSS ''Virginia'') at Battle of Hampton Roads, saving the Union fleet of wooden sailing ships.

Submarine

Bushnell was also involved in the early development of a hand-crank powered submarine. the '' Intelligent Whale''. He disposed of his interest in the project before any actual attempts to deploy the vessel were made, however.

After the war

Following the Civil War, Bushnell returned to the railroad industry, and was one of the organizers of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. He died in

. The town of

Bushnell, Nebraska Bushnell is a village in Kimball County, Nebraska, Kimball County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 124 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geography Bushnell is located at (41.232230, −103.892377). According to the Uni ...

is named after him.

Notes

References

* Bushnell, George Eleazer, ''Bushnell Family Genealogy, Ancestry and Posterity of FRANCIS BUSHNELL (1580–1646).'' Nashville, Tennessee: 1945
Bushnell biography
* CORNELIUS SCRANTON BUSHNELL on roots web, from Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven Count

* Cornelius S. Bushnell on Madison Historical Society website, https://www.madisonhistory.org/key-figures/c-s-bushnell/ * Cornelius Scranton Bushnell portrait https://www.flickr.com/photos/madisonhistory/21044977096/in/album-72157665143254011/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell, Cornelius Scranton 1829 births 1896 deaths People from Madison, Connecticut 19th-century American railroad executives Union Navy People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Union Pacific Railroad people American sailors