Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam, popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who served in the French and Indian War and American Revolutionary War. He was an officer in Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War, during which Putnam was captured by Mohawk warriors. He was saved from the ritual burning given to enemies by the intervention of French captain named Molang, with whom the Mohawks were allied. Putnam's exploits became known far beyond his home of Connecticut's borders through the circulation of folk legends in the American colonies and states celebrating his exploits.
Early life
Putnam was born in 1718 in Salem Village, Massachusetts to Joseph and Elizabeth Putnam, a prosperous farming Putnam family. His parents had opposed the Salem witch trials in the 1690s.Putnam moved west in 1740 at age 22 to Mortlake, Connecticut where land was cheaper. While living in Connecticut, Putnam purchased several Black slaves to work on his lands. He killed a wolf in 1743 with the help of a group of farmers from Mortlake seeking to safeguard their sheep. They tracked the wolf to its den and tried sending in their dogs, but all the dogs returned frightened or injured by the wolf. They tried smoking out the wolf and burning sulfur at the mouth of the cave, all to no avail. After Putnam arrived, he tried getting his dog to enter the den, with no luck. He also tried to get his servant to enter with a torch and gun to shoot the wolf. His servant refused, as did all the other farmers. Putnam then reportedly crawled into the den with a torch, a musket loaded with buckshot, and his feet secured with rope to be quickly pulled out. While in the den, he killed the wolf.
In celebration of the event, Putnam was carried in a torch-lit procession through Pomfret in a celebration that lasted until about midnight. He earned the nicknames "Wolf Putnam" and "Old Wolf Put", which stayed with him for decades afterward. A section of Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret is named "Israel Putnam Wolf Den" where the den was located. The name "Wolf Den Road" in adjacent Brooklyn also attests to the days of wolves.
Putnam married Hannah Pope in 1739, the mother of his children. She died in 1765, and he married Deborah Lothrop two years later.
Early military service
Putnam was one of the first men in Connecticut in 1755 to sign up to serve as a private in the militia in the French and Indian War at age 37. Over the course of the war, he was promoted to second lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel. He served with Robert Rogers, who gained fame as the commander of Rogers' Rangers, and the two of them had various exploits together, in one of which Putnam saved Rogers' life. Putnam's reputation for courage was made famous by his participation in the war. It was said that "Rogers always sent, but Putnam led his men to action."In 1757, the Rangers were stationed on an island off Fort Edward. The following February, Putnam and his Rangers were still on Roger's Island when fire broke out in the row of barracks nearest the magazine. The danger of an explosion was imminent, but Putnam took a position on the roof and poured bucket after bucket of water upon the flames, only descending when the buildings fell only a few feet from the magazine. In spite of his severe wounds, he continued to fight the fire, dashing water upon the magazine until the fire was under control. He was laid up for a month due to burns and exposure.
Putnam was captured on August 8, 1758, by Kahnawake Indians from a mission settlement south of Montreal during a military campaign near Crown Point in New York. He was saved from being ritually burned alive by a rainstorm and the last-minute intervention of a French captain named Molang.
In 1759, Putnam led a regiment into The Valley of Death in the attack on Fort Carillon and he was with the British army that marched on Montreal in 1760. In 1762, he survived a shipwreck during the British expedition against Cuba that led to the capture of Havana. Putnam is believed to have brought back Cuban tobacco seeds to New England, which he planted in the Hartford area. This reportedly resulted in the development of the renowned Connecticut Wrapper. In 1763, during Pontiac's Rebellion, Putnam was sent with reinforcements to relieve Chief Pontiac's siege of Fort Detroit.
After the war, he returned to his homestead, a remnant of which exists today as Putnam Farm in Brooklyn, Connecticut. Putnam publicly professed his Christian faith following the Seven Years' War in 1765 and joined the Congregational Church in his town. He was among those who objected to British tax action policies. 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 state's chapter of the Sons of Liberty. In the fall of 1765, he threatened Governor Thomas Fitch over this issue. He said 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.
American Revolutionary War
Battle of Bunker Hill
By the eve of the American Revolution, Putnam had become a relatively prosperous farmer and tavern keeper, with more than a local reputation for his previous exploits. He received news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 while he was plowing one of his fields with his son. He literally "came off the plow", leaving it in the field and riding in eight hours, reaching Cambridge the next day to offer his services to the Patriot cause. He was made a major general, putting him second in rank to General Artemas Ward in the Army of Observation which preceded the founding of the Continental Army.Putnam was one of the primary figures at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, both in its planning and on the battlefield. During the battle, he may have ordered William Prescott to tell his troops, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." It is debated who said these words first; they are attributed to a number of officers. This command has since become one of the American Revolution's notable quotations. It was given to make the best use of the low ammunition stocks that the troops had.
In the planning for the Battle of Bunker Hill, Putnam was likely the one who argued in favor of also fortifying the adjacent hill, which later became known as "Breed's Hill". This hill was closer to Boston so that cannons could fire on the British forces in town, forcing them to come out and attack the hill. The British suffered heavy casualties as they marched toward the American fortifications. However, the Americans ran out of powder and were eventually forced to retreat. American casualties were 449, while British casualties were 1,054. By the standard of the day the Americans lost, since they gave up the ground. However, Continental Army Brigadier General Nathanael Greene wrote to his brother that "I wish we could sell them another hill, at the same price."
Years after the battle, and after Putnam's death, he was accused by Henry Dearborn of failing to supply reinforcements and even of cowardice during the battle. The accusations created a long-standing controversy among veterans, family, friends, and historians. People were shocked by the rancor of the attack, and this prompted a forceful response from defenders of Putnam, including such notables as John and Abigail Adams. Historian Harold Murdock wrote that Dearborn's account "abounds in absurd misstatements and amazing flights of imagination." The Dearborn attack received considerable attention because at the time he was in the middle of controversy himself. He had been relieved of one of the top commands in the War of 1812 due to his mistakes. He had also been nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of War by President James Monroe, but was rejected by the United States Senate.
Long Island and later service
The Continental Congress voted to create the Continental Army on June 14, 1775. They appointed George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, with Putnam and three others appointed as major generals under him. Only the votes for Washington and Putnam were unanimous.After Bunker Hill, Washington arrived and Putnam served under him in the Siege of Boston. The British were forced to abandon Boston due largely to the efforts of Henry Knox and Putnam's cousin Rufus Putnam in moving 60 tons of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga over 300 miles of snow-covered terrain to Boston. Those cannon, placed on Dorchester Heights, forced the British to sail out of Boston.
Putnam subsequently served as temporary commander of the American forces in New York while waiting for Washington's arrival there on April 13, 1776. Putnam's fortunes declined at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, where he was forced to effect a hasty retreat from the British. Some in the Second Continental Congress blamed him for the defeat, but Washington witnessed the battle and did not lay blame on him.
It is possible that Putnam's efforts saved Washington's life or prevented his capture. As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan described it, "it could be argued that we owe our national existence to the fortifications which General Israel Putnam threw up in April 1776 on the Buttermilk Channel side of [Governors Island, New York." British troops landed on Long Island and headed for Washington and his army. He had to flee, and he made it because Putnam's artillery firing on Brooklyn Heights held Howe back just long enough for Washington to escape to Manhattan.
Putnam was fooled in October 1777 by a feint executed by British troops under the command of General Henry Clinton, making way for Clinton's capture of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton. As was standard procedure, Putnam was relieved of command and brought before a court of inquiry for these losses. The court determined that the loss was the result of a lack of men, not of the fault of any commander, and he was exonerated of any wrongdoing.
Putnam had personal friendships and deep respect for several British officers who he had served together with during the French and Indian War, many of whom were now his enemies. While in command in New York, there were several occasions on which he showed personal courtesies, such as providing newspapers to read or medical attention to British officers who had become American prisoners of war. This offended many New Yorkers. He also showed an "unconquerable aversion" to many of those who were entrusted with the disposal of Loyalist-owned property confiscated by American authorities; Putnam felt that they were instead embezzling the funds. This also led to Putnam becoming unpopular with many influential New Yorkers, who complained to Washington.
Washington had also lost some of his faith in Putnam due to an incident in which Putnam delayed in forwarding troops to Washington when ordered to do so. Washington felt that he could not have Putnam in charge of troops in New York without the support of that state, and transferred him to recruiting duties in Connecticut after the court of inquiry finished its investigation. Putnam was later put in command of the Eastern Division, consisting of three brigades of New Hampshire and Connecticut troops. In 1779, he was put in command of the right wing of the army, which included the Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania divisions.
During the winter of 1778–1779, Putnam and his troops were encamped at the site now preserved as the Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding, Connecticut. On February 26, 1779, Putnam escaped from the British, riding down a steep slope in Greenwich, Connecticut for which he became famous. A statue commemorating this escape was erected at Putnam Memorial State Park. In December 1779, Putnam suffered a paralyzing stroke which ended his military service.