JOHN DEVOTION (1730-1802). Congregational Pastor of the Third Church in Saybrook, Connecticut, also called the West Parish of Saybrook, which later became the separate town of Westbrook, where he was settled by 1769. He taught David Bushnell, the West Saybrook-born Inventor of the “TURTLE”, the world's First Submarine used in combat, preparing him locally before Bushnell went on to Yale College. Devotion's role as David Bushnell's early instructor places him directly in the intellectual formation of one of the American Revolution's most inventive figures.
May 12, 1779-Dated Rare Type of Revolutionary War Partly-Printed Continental Loan Office Receipt and with a Historically Important Connection, Signed, “JOHN DEVOTION” and completed in bold brown ink manuscript at Hartford, Connecticut, Choice Crisp About Uncirculated. This vivid near mint typeset form recording receipt from John Lawrence, Commissioner of the Loan Office for the State of Connecticut, of two bills of exchange totaling forty two dollars. That amount representing a full year's interest on two Continental Loan Certificates held jointly by “Myself” John Devotion and Major John Murdock, one being for $400 and one for $300, dated January 1778 and running to January 1779. Major John Murdock was John Devotion's father-in-law.

This rare type payment form carries real significance of its own. Rather than paying interest in Hard Coin, Specie, or near worthless Continental paper money by 1779, Congress paid interest on Certificates issued before March 1778 through Bills of Exchange. JOHN DEVOTION was a Congregational minister settled at Saybrook, Connecticut, evidently trusted enough by his fellow investor to collect and manage both men's Continental Loan interest on their joint behalf, a small but telling example of how ordinary Connecticut citizens, clergy included, helped underwrite the Revolutionary War debt at one of the most financially precarious points of the Revolution.
On May 8th, 1777, John Devotion was chosen to preach the Connecticut Election Sermon before the General Assembly at Hartford, published as "The Duty and Interest of a People to Sanctify the Lord of Hosts." This was a significant civic honor each year the legislature selected one minister of high standing to address the assembled government on the moral obligations of leadership, and being chosen in 1777, deep in the war, meant Devotion was viewed by Connecticut's Revolutionary government as a trusted, Patriot-aligned voice at a critical moment (the year of Saratoga, and only months after Washington's retreat across New Jersey).

Perhaps John Devotion's most historically significant Revolutionary War connection was that he educated David Bushnell, the West Saybrook-born inventor of the Turtle, the world's First Submarine used in combat, preparing him locally before Bushnell went on to Yale College.

Bushnell's Turtle was used in a September 1776 attempt to attach a explosive charge to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor, an operation that drew praise from Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin as a bold, if ultimately unsuccessful, piece of early submarine warfare. Devotion's role as David Bushnell's early instructor places him directly in the intellectual formation of one of the Revolution's most inventive figures.

Major John Murdock (1706 --January 21, 1778) moved to Saybrook, Conn. and became a prominent, wealthy figure there serving as a Deacon in the Congregational Church, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, a Justice of the Peace and Quorum for New London County (Saybrook's county at the time), and was elected Deputy to the Connecticut General Assembly multiple times. He rose through the Connecticut militia to the rank of Major. Colonial records confirm "Major John Murdock" representing Saybrook as a deputy to the General Assembly (serving alongside Capt. John Shipman) as early as 1768, so by the 1778 document date he'd have held that rank and civic standing for a decade or more.

Major Murdock's daughter, Phebe Murdock (born November 13, 1738), married the Rev. John Devotion, the same pastor of the Third Church of Saybrook signing this form. She died in 1813. So Major John Murdock was John Devotion's father-in-law, both prominent figures in the same small West Saybrook/Westbrook community during the Revolutionary era being one the town's leading civil and military officer, the other its Minister and Election Day Preacher.
[American Revolution, Revolutionary War, Connecticut] [John Devotion, War Finance, Continental Congress] [Manuscripts, Documents, Currency, Autographs]