Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790) was an American army general who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775) during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1718 ( MDCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775 on Breed's Hill, as part of the Siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Year 1775 ( MDCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Although Putnam never quite attained the national renown of more famous heroes such as Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone, in his own time his reckless courage and fighting spirit were known far beyond Connecticut's borders through the circulation of folk legends celebrating his exploits. Colonel David Stern Crockett ( August 17, 1786 March 6, 1836) was a celebrated 19th-century American Folk hero, Daniel Boone ( &ndash September 26 1820 was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America.
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Early life
Putnam was born in Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts, to Joseph and Elizabeth Putnam, a prosperous farming family of Salem Witch Trials fame. Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court Trials to prosecute people accused of Witchcraft in Essex His birthplace, Putnam House, still exists. List of the oldest buildings in Massachusetts Putnam House (circa 1648 is a historic house located at 431 Maple Street Danvers Massachusetts, and the birthplace of Major General In 1740, at the age of 22, he moved to Mortlake (now Pomfret) in northeastern Connecticut where land was cheaper and easier to obtain. Year 1740 ( MDCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Mortlake is a historical place name in Connecticut. History On October 19 1687, the Connecticut Colonial General Court granted Captain Pomfret is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States.
Strong oral tradition in northeastern Connecticut claims that, in his youth, Putnam--with the help of a group of farmers from Mortlake--killed the last wolf in Connecticut. The tradition describes Putnam crawling into a tiny den with a torch, a musket, and his feet secured with rope as to be quickly pulled out of the den. While in the den, he allegedly killed the she-wolf, making sheep farming in Mortlake safe. There is a section of the Mashamoquet Brook State Park in modern day Pomfret named "Wolf Den" (which includes the 'den' itself), as well as a "Wolf Den Road" in Brooklyn, Connecticut. Brooklyn is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States.
By the eve of the Revolution he had become a relatively prosperous farmer and tavern keeper, with more than a local reputation for his previous exploits. Between 1755 and 1765, Putnam participated in campaigns against the French and Indians as a member of Rogers' Rangers, as well as with regular British forces. Year 1765 ( MDCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Rogers' Rangers was an independent company of rangers attached to the British Army during the French and Indian War. He was promoted to captain in 1756 and to major in 1758. Year 1756 ( MDCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Major is a Military rank the use of which varies according to country Year 1758 ( MDCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
As the commander of the Connecticut force in 1758, Putnam was sent to relieve Pontiac’s siege of Detroit. He was captured by the Caughnawaga Indians during a New York State campaign, and was saved from being roasted alive, after being bound to a tree, only by the last-minute intervention of a French officer. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
In 1759, Putnam led a regiment in the attack on Fort Ticonderoga and later at Montreal. Year 1759 ( MDCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Fort Ticonderoga is a large Eighteenth-century Fort built at a strategically important narrows in Lake Champlain where a short traverse gives access Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec In 1762, he survived a shipwreck during the British expedition against Cuba that led to the capture of Havana. Year 1762 ( MDCCLXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The British expedition against Cuba was a military action from March to August 1762 as part of the Seven Years' War. Havana ( IPA: aˈβana officially Ciudad de La Habana, is the Capital city, major port and leading It is believed that Major Putnam returned to New England from Cuba with Cuban tobacco seeds that he planted in the Hartford area resulting in the development of the renowned Connecticut Wrapper agricultural product.
Putnam was outspoken against British taxation policies and around the time of the Stamp Act crisis in 1766, he was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly and was one of the founders of the Connecticut Sons of Liberty. The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800 The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III c Year 1766 ( MDCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Connecticut General Assembly (or CGA) is the state legislature of the U The Sons of Liberty was a Secret organization of American Patriots which originated in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution.
In the fall of 1765 Putnam threatened Thomas Fitch, the popularly elected Connecticut Governor, promising that Fitch's house "will be leveled with the dust in five minutes" if Fitch did not turn over the stamp tax paper to the Sons of Liberty. Thomas Fitch IV (c 1700 - July 18, 1774) was governor of the Connecticut Colony from 1754 to 1766 (See Colonel David Humphreys, The Life and Heroic Exploits of Israel Putnam, Major-General in the Revolutionary War (no city or date, J. Miller, early 19th century), page 68. )
The American Revolution
On April 20 1775, when Putnam received news of the Battle of Lexington that started the day before, he left his plow in the field and rode 100 miles in 8 hours, reaching Cambridge the next day, to offer his services to the Patriot cause. Cambridge Massachusetts is a City in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. He joined the Continental army and was appointed colonel of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment and subsequently, brigadier of the Connecticut militia. Summary The 3rd Connecticut Regiment was authorized on 16 September 1776 and was organized between 1 January - April 1777 of eight companies
Shortly after the Battle of Lexington, Putnam led the Connecticut militia to Boston and was named major general, making him second in rank to his Chief in the Continental Army. Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries He was one of the primary figures at the Battle of Bunker Hill, both in its planning and on the battlefield. During that battle Putnam may have ordered his troops "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" (It is debated whether Putnam or Col. William Prescott uttered these words). This command has since become one of the American Revolution's more memorable quotes. This order was important, because his troops were low on ammunition. He progressed to overall command of the American forces in New York until the arrival of the newly-named commander-in-chief, General George Washington, on April 13, 1776. A commander-in-chief is the Commander of a nation's Military forces or significant element of those forces George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople Year 1776 ( MDCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a
The Battle of Bunker Hill must count as the greatest achievement in Putnam’s life, for thereafter, his fortunes took a downturn at Long Island (1776), where he was forced to effect a hasty retreat. Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, USA, its western shores directly across from Manhattan, from which the island stretches Washington did not blame Putnam for this failure as some in the Second Continental Congress did. The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met beginning in May 10 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania However, Washington reassessed the abilities of his general and assigned him to recruiting activities.
In 1777 Putnam received another, though lesser, military command in the Hudson Highlands. The Hudson Highlands are the Mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in the U He abandoned Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton to the British, and was brought before a court of inquiry for those actions. Fort Clinton was an American Revolutionary War fortification in Orange County New York, and a companion to Fort Montgomery. However, he was exonerated of any wrongdoing. During the winter of 1778-1779, Putnam and his troops were encamped at the present-day site of the Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding, Connecticut. Putnam Memorial State Park is named for Major General Israel Putnam who chose the site as the winter encampment for his men during the winter of 1778 - 1779 Redding is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. In December 1779, Putnam suffered a paralyzing stroke, which ended his military service. Year 1779 ( MDCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain
Epilogue
Putnam died in Brooklyn, Connecticut ten years later in 1790, and was buried in an above-ground tomb in Brooklyn's South Cemetery. A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. Within a few years, however, so many people visited Putnam's tomb that the badly-mutilated marble marker was removed for safe keeping to the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. The Connecticut State Capitol is located on Bushnell Park in the Connecticut capital of Hartford. In 1888, Putnam's remains were removed from the Brooklyn cemetery and placed in a sarcophagus built into the foundation of a monument, newly erected on a plot of ground near the Brooklyn town green. A sarcophagus is a Funeral receptacle for a Corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone
In the early days of the war, Putnam was regarded by Washington as one of America's most valuable military assets, but this view was probably based primarily upon earlier exploits from his colorful past. In the War for Independence, however, Putnam proved to be incapable of commanding complex campaigns, which sharply reduced his value to the cause.
Today there are many places named for Israel Putnam, including as many as eight Putnam Counties across the United States. This is a list of places named for Israel Putnam. Putnam Connecticut Putnam County Georgia Putnam County There is also an East Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut which is named after the path in which he retreated from British forces. Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Along East Putnam Avenue lies Putnam's cottage an eighteenth century residence that may have served as a tavern at the time of Putnam's escape.
Mural "The Life and Times of General Israel Putnam of Connecticut"
Recently a mural depicting General Putnam was to be returned to the newly renovated Hamilton Avenue School in Greenwich, CT. An article of September 28, 2006, entitled "Mural deemed too violent for school", explains the mural's reception:
After a debate that divided members largely along the lines of generation and gender, the Chickahominy Neighborhood Association voted unanimously yesterday not to bring a controversial Revolutionary War mural back to Hamilton Avenue School because its content is too violent. Instead, the group agreed to leave the mural, "The Life and Times of General Israel Putnam of Connecticut," at its current location at Greenwich Library. Painted by James Daughtery of Weston as part of the Works Progress Administration program in 1935, the mural depicts Putnam, Greenwich's war hero, aiming his musket at snarling wolves while all around him Native Americans hurl tomahawks and men armed with guns and knives tussle. It hung high in the gymnasium of Hamilton Avenue School for nearly 60 years, often knocked by errant basketballs, before it was removed in 1998 and restored with $54,145 donated by the Ruth W. Brown Foundation. It is located in Maine.
References
from "Old Put" The Patriot
* "Old Put" The Patriot, available at Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works (a biography by Frederick Albion Ober)
External links
- Israel Putnam Website
- Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
- The Massachusetts Historical Society
- Israel Putnam from u-s-history.com
- Israel Putnam at Curbstone
- Quotes from the American Revolution
- Putnam Cottage Historic House Museum
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