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Engines of Our Ingenuity

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Civil War Submarine Digital History ID 4478
Bushnell's Turtle was the first submarine used in war. His one-man, hand-cranked machine did little harm to the English in 1776, but it made the point. One person who got the point was Robert Fulton. Years later, he made a submarine for the French and tried without success to sink the enemy with it.
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The Last Masts Digital History ID 4501
Robert Fulton's original steamboat was equipped with two sails in 1807. American riverboats quickly abandoned sail because they always ran near a shore, and because sail wasn't much use without a lot of room for navigation. But abandoning sail at sea, after using it for several millenia, did more than just violate tradition -- it was a very frightening step to take.
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