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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17049-8.txt b/17049-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..db00751 --- /dev/null +++ b/17049-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4747 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of "Old Put" The Patriot, by Frederick A. Ober + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: "Old Put" The Patriot + +Author: Frederick A. Ober + +Release Date: November 11, 2005 [EBook #17049] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "OLD PUT" THE PATRIOT *** + + + + +Produced by Graeme Mackreth, Michael Ciesielski and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +"OLD PUT" + +THE PATRIOT + +BY + +FREDERICK A. OBER + +AUTHOR OF CRUSOE'S ISLAND, THE STORIED WEST INDIES, PUERTO RICO AND ITS +RESOURCES, ETC. + +_ILLUSTRATED_ + + + + +NEW YORK +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + + +1904 + +Copyright, 1904, by +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + +_Published, September, 1904_ + + + + +CONTENTS +CHAPTER PAGE + + I.--Birthplace and Youth 1 + + II.--"Old Wolf Putnam" 11 + + III.--First Taste of War 25 + + IV.--A Partizan Fighter 39 + + V.--The Adventurous Soldier 53 + + VI.--Fighting on the Frontier 65 + + VII.--Strategy and Woodcraft 79 + + VIII.--A Prisoner and in Peril 92 + + IX.--A Campaign in Cuba 106 + + X.--Tavern-Keeper and Oracle 120 + + XI.--On the Side of His Country 134 + + XII.--At the Battle of Bunker Hill 150 + + XIII.--Holding the Enemy at Bay 171 + + XIV.--In Command at New York 184 + + XV.--Washington's Chief Reliance 198 + + XVI.--Defending the Hudson Highlands 212 + + XVII.--Last Years in the Service 226 + +XVIII.--The Disabled Veteran 243 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + FACING + PAGE + +"Old Put" escaping from the British at Horseneck _Frontispiece_ + +The Wolf Den at Pomfret, Connecticut 18 + +Fort near Havana where the Colonials landed 112 + +Israel Putnam 188 + _From a painting by Trumbull._ + +Statue to General Putnam at Brooklyn, Connecticut 254 + + + + +"OLD PUT," THE PATRIOT + + + + +CHAPTER I + +BIRTHPLACE AND YOUTH + + +This is the life story of one who was born on a farm, and died on a +farm, yet who achieved a world-wide fame through his military exploits. +It has been told many times, it will be told for centuries yet to come; +for the world loves a man of high emprise, and such was Israel Putnam, +the hero of this story. + +He was born January 7, 1718, in Danvers, then known as Salem Village, +Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England. His father's Christian +name was Joseph, his mother's Elizabeth, and Israel (as he was called at +baptism, after his maternal grandfather, Israel Porter) was the +great-grandson of his first American ancestor, John Putnam, who had +come from England, where the original name of the family was Puttenham. +He had settled at Salem more than eighty years before, and his son, +Thomas, built, in 1648, the house in which Israel was born in 1718. On +the death of Thomas it had become the property of Joseph, who first +occupied it in 1690, after his marriage to Elizabeth Porter. + +Here the young couple passed through the perilous "witchcraft times," +during the worst period of which, in 1692 (it is a tradition in the +family), Joseph Putnam kept a loaded musket at his bedside every night +and his swiftest horse saddled in the stable, ready for a fight or a +flight in case the witch-hunters should come to carry him off to jail. +They had accused his sister, who saved her life only by fleeing to the +wilderness and remaining in hiding until the insane furor was over. He +and his wife survived that gloomy period, and in the ancestral homestead +lived happily for more than thirty years, raising a "baker's dozen" of +children, of whom Israel was the eleventh. + +On both the maternal and paternal side Israel Putnam was descended from +a line of sturdy, prosperous farmers. The grandfather whose name he bore +had married a daughter of William Hathorne, who came from England and +settled in Salem about the year 1630, and who was an ancestor of the +famous romancist Nathaniel Hawthorne. John Hathorne, son of William, was +a military man and a magistrate. He presided at the infamous witchcraft +trials in Salem, and, like the near relatives of Joseph Putnam, looked +with severe disfavor upon any one who showed sympathy for the persecuted +witches. + +Joseph Putnam died in 1723, leaving his widow with eleven surviving +children, nine older than Israel, who was then but five years of age, +and one, little Mehitable, only three. Several of the older children +were already married, and when, in 1727, Mrs. Putnam took a second +husband, one Captain Thomas Perley, of Boxford, only the younger members +of her family went with her to live in the new home. There Israel +resided until he was about eighteen, and Boxford being only a few miles +distant from his birthplace, in the same county (Essex), he made +frequent visits to the old farm, to which he finally returned as part +owner before he attained his majority. + +Numerous anecdotes are still related of him in Danvers, all tending to +illustrate the early development of those high qualities for which in +after-life he became conspicuous. Courage, enterprise, activity, and +perseverance, says his original biographer, were the first +characteristics of his mind. His disposition was frank and generous, as +his mind was fearless and independent. From his earliest years he +craved, and was always in pursuit of, some daring adventure, yet he was +the most sober and apparently contented youth in the village, loving +hard work, even seeking to perform a man's task at daily labor, while +yet a mere stripling. Brought up mainly on the farm, spending his days +in severe labor and his nights in sweet slumber, he became the peer of +all his companions in athletic feats involving strength and skill. He +could "pitch the bar," run, leap, wrestle with the best of them, and +more than held his own with the most doughty champion. But he never +boasted of his strength, nor sought occasions to display his skill, +being content with their mere possession. + +His sense of fairness and self-respect, however, would not allow him to +become the butt of other people's ridicule, and when the need arose for +putting forth his energies in a good cause, he held nothing in reserve. +Such an occasion occurred the first time he paid a visit to Boston, the +metropolis of his State. He was roaming about in rustic fashion, when he +attracted the attention of a youth twice his size, who began to "make +fun" of him. Young Putnam bore the insult as long as he could, then he +"challenged, engaged, and vanquished his unmannerly antagonist, to the +great diversion of a crowd of spectators." + +There were very few diversions for the youth of Putnam's time, so long +ago; but the boys, like those of modern times, indulged in +bird's-nesting now and then. Climbing to a tree top one day, in his +endeavor to secure a nest, "Young Put" had a fall, owing to a branch +breaking in his hands. He was caught by a lower limb, however, and there +he hung, suspended by his clothes betwixt heaven and earth. His cries +attracted some companions, one of whom he commanded (as he had a gun) to +fire a bullet at the limb and try to break it. This the boy did, after +much coaxing on Putnam's part, and was so successful that his friend +came tumbling to the ground. He was bruised and lamed, but no bones were +broken; and the very next day the intrepid boy climbed up to the nest +again, and this time secured it. That was the "way with 'Old Put,'" the +man who in later years succeeded "Young Put" the youth. His motto was: +"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." + +He always tried, and with his utmost endeavor, to accomplish the task +that faced him at the time. What is more, he generally succeeded; and +that is the chief reason why he is considered worthy a biography. There +are few men, perhaps, who did so many things worthy of emulation, and so +few unworthy. Dangerously near the latter, however, was one act of his +youth, when he caught a vicious bull in a pasture, and, having mounted +astride the animal's back, with spurs on his heels, rode the furious +creature around the field until it finally fell from exhaustion, after +seeking refuge in a swamp. + +Young Putnam's education, as may have been inferred already, was +obtained mostly in the woods and open fields. While he possessed great +mental endowments, as afterward displayed in his career, yet his early +education was grossly neglected, in the school and college sense. Having +mastered the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic, he was +considered well equipped for his destined calling, which was to be that +of a farmer. Throughout his whole life he suffered from this neglect of +early instruction. His letters, particularly, though they always +"displayed the goodness of his heart, and frequently the strength of his +native genius, with a certain laconic mode of expression, and an +unaffected epigrammatic turn," were "fearfully and wonderfully made," +the despair of his correspondents and the ridicule of his enemies. + +It is doubtful if he had any greater ambition than to become a good +farmer, as good as was his father before him, and like him, attain to a +competency. He was already fairly well to do the year he became of age, +for his father, after providing generously for the other children, had +bequeathed to him and his brother David the homestead, house and farm +attached. His mother was to have a home there so long as she desired; +but on her second marriage she relinquished her claim upon the +homestead, and the two brothers shared it between them. Israel's +portion was set off in 1738, and the next year he built a home in a +remote corner of the farm, but within sight of the house and room in +which he was born. For, after the fashion of those primitive times, when +early matrimony was encouraged, young Israel had been "courting" a +lovely girl, the daughter of a neighbor, who lived about four miles +distant from the home farm, near the boundary-line between Salem and +Lynn. Hannah Pope was her name, and she also was descended from one of +the first families of Salem Village. Being a sensible girl, she accepted +Israel Putnam as soon as he proposed, and the 19th of July, 1739, they +were married, when he was twenty-one years of age and she only eighteen. +Taking his young wife to the little house he had built with his own +hands on the farm, there Israel Putnam and Hannah, his wife, began their +married life. The next year a son was born to them, the first of ten +children who blessed their union, and he was called Israel. + +The house in which the first Israel Putnam was born, an old colonial, +gambrel-roofed structure, still stands where it was erected by his +grandfather in 1648, near the foot of Hathorne Hill, in Danvers, on the +turn-pike road half-way between Boston and Newburyport. It contains many +relics of Putnam's time, but the most interesting portion of the house +itself is the little back chamber, with its one window looking out over +the farmyard, where the infant Israel first saw the light. + +Of the house which he himself built, on a distant knoll of the home +farm, nothing now remains but the cellar and foundation stones, near +which is the well he dug, now choked with rubbish and overgrown with +brambles. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +"OLD WOLF PUTNAM" + + +Judging from the stability of his position in Danvers, it would seem +that young Farmer Putnam was established for life. He had land enough to +satisfy any ordinary cultivator of that period, and a comfortable house +in which dwelt with him wife and child, to cheer him by their presence. +But the future patriot felt within him an ardent thirst for adventure. +He longed for a wider field, and though to all appearances firmly rooted +in the soil of Salem Village, he was already thinking of transplanting +himself and family into that of another region. Hardly, in fact, had he +settled in the home he had made than he began preparations for removal +to what was then considered a comparatively wild section of New England. + +In the old homestead at Danvers is still preserved the quit-claim deed +signed by Israel Putnam, "of Salem in the County of Essex and Province +of Massachusetts Bay in New England, husbandman," which records the +transfer by him to his brother David of his share in the ancestral house +and acres. + +In the local history of the town of Brooklyn, Conn., occurs this +passage: "In the year 1703, Richard Ames purchased 3,000 acres of land +lying in the south part of Pomfret, where the village of Brooklyn now +stands, which he divided into five lots and deeded to his sons. Directly +north of this was situated a tract of land owned by Mr. John Blackwell, +comprising 5,750 acres, which was willed to his son John, and afterward +sold to Governor Belcher of Massachusetts, who divided it into farms and +sold them to different individuals, among whom was General Israel +Putnam. This tract went by the name of 'Mortlake.' A beautiful stream +which rises in the western part of the tract, and received its name from +the former proprietor, Blackwell, empties into the Quinnebaug." + +These several transactions in real estate, taken together, will +sufficiently explain to the reader, perhaps, the subsequent movements of +Farmer Putnam. After disposing of property to his brother David, and +receiving therefor the goodly sum of £1,900, Israel Putnam joined with +his brother-in-law, Joseph Pope, in the purchase of more than five +hundred acres of land from Governor Belcher, for which they agreed to +pay at the rate of five pounds per acre. They paid for it partly in +"bills of credit on the Province of Massachusetts," and gave a mortgage +for the remainder. And so fertile was this wild land, and so thrifty was +the young pioneer farmer Israel Putnam, that within little more than two +years he had liquidated the mortgage and received a quit-claim deed from +the Governor, as well as purchased his brother-in-law's portion of the +tract they had bought together. + +The two pioneers may have made a special trip to the Connecticut tract +before deciding to purchase; for it was not in the nature of them to +"buy a pig in a poke," as it were. And such a journey of nearly a +hundred miles, mainly through a wilderness, was no child's task in those +days. In after-years General Israel Putnam made many a longer journey, +through wilds swarming with hostile Indians, too, and thought nothing of +it; but this was the first of any account that he took very far away +from home. + +What the young wife thought when the enthusiastic adventurer came back +with his story was never recorded. Neither, for that matter, was the +tale he told her, as well as his friends and neighbors, many of whom, +doubtless, would fain have dissuaded him from making what they viewed as +a rash and risky move. Details of Putnam's life at this period of his +career are lacking; but there stand the records, with their statement of +facts. They can not be gainsaid. The very fact that he, a prosperous +farmer, even then well off as to this world's goods, should make the +adventure--the first of his family in America to abandon the home acres +and seek others in the wilderness--is sufficient to attest his energy +and ambition. + +Sometime in the latter part of the year 1740 the young husband of +twenty-two, with a wife under twenty and a babe only a few months old, +set out to make his fortune in the rough country adjacent to his native +State. Many of his race and family have since become pioneers in various +parts of the world, and this country owes them much for blazing out the +way in which others might follow; but young Israel Putnam was the first +of them--the pioneer of pioneers, in the great American movement. + +A second time he set himself to the building of a house and the +establishing of a home, and as he found much of the material ready at +hand--stone for foundations and timber for the building--it was not long +before the farmer and his family had another roof-tree of their own +above their heads. This structure has gone the way of the first, and +long since disappeared, traces of the cellar and foundations only being +visible; but the large dwelling-house which he later built, and in which +he died, still stands at a little distance away. After clearing a +portion of the land, and working the stones with which it was +plentifully bestrewed into dividing walls, he planted an apple-orchard, +sowed grain of various sorts, and increased as rapidly as possible his +flocks and herds of live stock. His chief, perhaps his only, assistant +in these earlier labors was a negro servant, who figures, though not +greatly to his credit, in the narration of an adventure in which his +master took part, about two years after his arrival in Connecticut. +This, of course, is that famous encounter with the wolf, which has since +become part and parcel not only of local tradition, but of American +history. As many generations have been familiar with this story as +related in story-books and primers, particularly during the early part +of the nineteenth century, it will now be told in the language of a +contemporary, Colonel David Humphrey, who was an aide-de-camp to +General Putnam, and also to General Washington, during the Revolutionary +War, and who wrote the first and best biography of our hero, which was +published in his lifetime. "The first years on a new farm are not exempt +from disasters and disappointments, which can only be remedied by +stubborn and patient industry. Our farmer, sufficiently occupied in +building an house and barn, felling woods, making fences, sowing grain, +planting orchards, and taking care of his stock, had to encounter in +turn the calamities occasioned by drought in summer, blast in harvest, +loss of cattle in winter, and the desolation of his sheepfold by wolves. +In one night he had seventy fine sheep and goats killed, besides many +lambs and kids wounded. This havoc was committed by a she-wolf, which, +with her annual whelps, had for several years infested the vicinity. The +young were commonly destroyed by the vigilance of the hunters, but the +old one was too sagacious to come within reach of gunshot. Upon being +closely pursued she would generally fly to the western woods, and return +the next winter with another litter of whelps. This wolf at length +became such an intolerable nuisance that Farmer Putnam entered into a +combination with five of his neighbors to hunt alternately until they +could destroy her. Two by rotation were to be constantly in pursuit. It +was known that, having lost the toes from one foot by a steel trap, she +made one track shorter than the other, and by this vestige the pursuers, +in a light snow, recognized and followed the trail of this pernicious +animal. Having followed her to the Connecticut River and found she had +turned back toward Pomfret, they immediately returned, and by ten +o'clock the next morning their bloodhounds had driven her into a den, +about three miles distant from the house of Mr. Putnam. The people soon +collected, with dogs, guns, straw, fire, and sulphur, to attack the +common enemy, and made several unsuccessful efforts to force her from +the den. + +[Illustration: The Wolf Den at Pomfret, Connecticut.] + +"Wearied with the fruitless attempts (which had brought the time to +ten o'clock at night), Mr. Putnam tried once more to make his dog enter, +but in vain. Then he proposed to his negro man to go down into the +cavern and shoot the wolf; but he declined the hazardous service. Then +it was that the master resolved himself to destroy the ferocious beast, +lest she should escape through some unknown fissure of the rock. His +neighbors strongly remonstrated against the perilous enterprise; but he, +knowing that wild animals were intimidated by fire, and having provided +several strips of birch-bark, the only combustible material he could +obtain that would afford light in this deep and darksome cave, prepared +for his descent. Having accordingly divested himself of his coat and +waistcoat, and having a long rope fastened about his legs, by which he +might be pulled back at a concerted signal, he entered head foremost, +with the blazing torch in his hand. The aperture of the den, on the east +side of a very high ledge of rocks, is about two feet square; from +thence it descends obliquely fifteen feet, then running horizontally +about ten more, it ascends gradually sixteen feet to its termination. +The sides of this subterraneous cavity are composed of smooth and solid +rocks, as also are the top and bottom, and the entrance in winter, being +covered with ice, is exceedingly slippery. It is in no place high enough +for a man to raise himself upright, nor in any part more than three feet +in width. + +"Having groped his passage to the horizontal part of the den, he found +it dark and silent as the house of death. He, cautiously proceeding +onward, came to the ascent, which he slowly mounted on his hands and +knees until he discovered the glaring eyeballs of the wolf, who was +crouching at the extremity of the cavern. Startled by the sight of fire, +she gnashed her teeth and gave a sullen growl. Having made the necessary +discovery (that the wolf was in the den), Putnam kicked at the rope, as +a signal for pulling him out. The people at the mouth of the den, who +had listened with painful anxiety, hearing the growling of the wolf, and +supposing their friend to be in the most imminent danger, drew him forth +with such celerity that his shirt was stripped over his head and his +skin severely lacerated. + +"After adjusting his clothes, and loading his gun with nine buckshot, +holding a torch in one hand and the musket in the other, he descended +the second time. He drew nearer than before, and the wolf, assuming a +still more fierce and terrible appearance, growling, rolling her eyes, +snapping her teeth, and dropping her head between her legs, was +evidently on the point of springing at him. At this critical instant he +leveled his gun and fired at her head. Stunned with the shock and +suffocated with the smoke, he immediately found himself drawn out of the +cave. But, having refreshed himself, and permitted the smoke to +dissipate, he went down the third time. Once more he came within sight +of the wolf, who appearing very passive, he applied the torch to her +nose, and perceiving her dead, he took hold of her ears, and then +kicking the rope (still tied round his legs), the people above, with no +small exultation, dragged them both out together." + +This is the story, told by one who knew Putnam intimately and who had it +from his own lips, while neighbors were still living who were "in at the +death" and could have refuted any misstatement or exaggeration. The +deed, in truth, was characteristic of the dauntless young farmer, whose +courage and heroic character (as his eulogist justly remarks) "were ever +attended by a serenity of soul, a clearness of conception, a degree of +self-possession, and a superiority to all vicissitudes of fortune, +entirely distinct from anything that can be produced by a ferment of the +blood and flutter of spirits, which not unfrequently precipitate men to +action when stimulated by intoxication or some other transient +exhilaration." + +That was "Wolf Put," or "Old Wolf Putnam," as he came to be called +thenceforth. But at no time in his active and wonderful career was he +an old man when he performed his deeds of valor. The wolf-hunt, in fact, +was mainly a young men's and boys' affair, Putnam himself being only +twenty-four at the time, and the wolf having been traced to her lair by +young John Sharp, a boy of seventeen. + +The slayer of the old she-wolf was the hero of the time; but he bore his +laurels modestly, though exaggerated accounts of the affair were +published all over the colonies, and even in England, where they were +exploited in the public prints. By rising to the occasion, and doing the +right thing at the right time, he acquired a reputation for valor and +firmness that stood him in good stead in those coming conflicts, the +Seven Years' War and the Revolution. + +Unknown to him, however, and unsuspected, were the heights to which he +subsequently rose. He devoted himself to his farm, becoming the best +agriculturist in the region in which he lived, and also performed the +duties of a good citizen, never shrinking from his share of civic +burdens. The youth of to-day could not do better than emulate the +example of this illustrious American; and they might do worse than take +part in the patriotic pilgrimages annually made to the scenes of his +early life. The citizens of his adopted State have religiously preserved +intact the second house he built in Brooklyn, then Pomfret; and the +she-wolf's den may still be seen, in the side of a wooded hill. The +entrance-way is at present too low and narrow to admit the passage of a +boy, much less of a full-grown man; but that is said to have been caused +by the falling in of the rocks, in the lapse of time since Putnam's day. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +FIRST TASTE OF WAR + + +Israel Putnam's adventure with the wolf gave him an unsought, and in +some respects undesirable, notoriety; but that he did not court this +notoriety is shown by the fact that for the next twelve or thirteen +years he lived quietly on his farm, attending to his duties as a +cultivator of the soil and a simple citizen. During these years he +acquired an enviable reputation as one of the best farmers in all the +region of which Pomfret was the center, and had it not been for the +lamentable struggle between the French and the English for supremacy in +North America, he might have continued as the humble and prosperous +citizen-cultivator to the end of his days. The breaking out of the +prolonged strife which is known in history as the French and Indian +War, found Putnam in possession of what in those days was considered a +competency. Having received a good start from the paternal inheritance, +he had not hidden his talents in a napkin, but had put them out to good +purpose. He erected a large and substantial dwelling about a fourth of a +mile distant from the first he had built in Pomfret, and here he lived +most happily, with his good wife Hannah, surrounded by a growing family +of healthy children. + +In the year 1755, when active operations began in this war between +England and France, fought out on the soil of America, Israel Putnam was +thirty-seven years old and in the prime of life. There was no immediate +necessity for him to volunteer in defense of the frontier, where the +hostile French were gathering, for it was far distant from his home, the +forests around which were threatened by no roaming savages with +tomahawks and muskets. But his patriotic instincts were aroused by the +reports of massacres committed in other regions; he knew the tide must +be met before it became irresistible and breasted in the North. Four +great expeditions were planned by the English to frustrate the schemes +of the enemy: against Fort Niagara, Crown Point on Lake Champlain, Fort +Duquesne, and against the French in Nova Scotia. + +It was to take part in the expedition with Crown Point as its objective +that Israel Putnam abandoned his farm, early in the summer of 1755, just +when it needed him most, and started on his second long journey away +from home. He reached the rendezvous at Albany, after a toilsome march +through the forests that intervened between the Connecticut and the +Hudson, and there found three thousand other "Provincials" gathered for +the defense of the colonies. Most of them were sons of the soil, like +Putnam, and like him were yet to receive their baptism of fire; but they +were sturdy and valiant, though appearing rude and uncouth in the eyes +of the British veterans. + +The commander-in-chief of the British Colonial forces in North America +at the beginning of the war was Governor William Shirley of +Massachusetts, and the commander of the Crown Point expedition was +General William Johnson, the famous and eccentric "sachem" of the +Mohawks. Having lived for many years with or near the Indians, this +Englishman had acquired a great influence over them, especially over the +Mohawks, of whose tribe he had been elected an honorary sachem. He had +learned their language, had even adopted their peculiar garb, and at +times adorned his face with war-paint and performed with his savage +friends the furious war-dance. His stanch ally was the ever faithful +chief of the Mohawks, the valiant Hendrick, who rendered invaluable +service to the English and was killed while battling for their cause. + +As Putnam, the stalwart provincial soldier, was merely a private in the +ranks when he made the acquaintance of the famous general and the Mohawk +chief, he may not have attracted their attention; though he later won +encomiums from the commander. He could not but have admired the +General's sagacity in retaining the Mohawks as allies of the English +Colonials, when most of the Indian tribes had arrayed themselves on the +side of the French. At the time Johnson was assembling his army on the +Hudson, in that very month of July, 1755, General Braddock, commander of +the Duquesne expedition, met with most disastrous defeat, and almost his +last words were regrets that he had not taken the advice of his +aide-de-camp, a "young Virginian colonel named Washington," who had +earnestly besought him to abandon the British tactics and adopt the +American system of "bush-fighting." + +"We shall better know how to deal with them another time," the defeated +Braddock had said to Washington, just before he died. But General +Johnson and the Provincial officers already knew how to deal with their +wily foes. They had taken leaves from the unwritten book of Indian +tactics; their men fought from behind trees and logs, as the savages +fought, and in this manner turned the tables upon the French commanders. + +"It was owing to the pride and ignorance of that great general that came +from England," said an Indian chieftain, alluding to the terrible defeat +of Braddock. "He looked upon the Indians as dogs, and would never take +their advice, and that is the reason many of our warriors left him. We +are ready again to take up the hatchet with you against the French; but +let us unite our strength. You are numerous, and all the English +governors along your seashore can raise men enough. But don't let those +that come from over the great seas be concerned any more. They are unfit +to fight in the woods. Let us go by ourselves--we that came out of this +ground." + +Colonel Washington knew of what the Indians were capable, for young as +he was then, he had been through a dreadful experience and had received +valuable lessons in their mode of warfare. "It is in their power," he +declared, "to be of infinite use to us; and without the Indians we +shall never be able to cope with these cruel foes of our country." + +There is no doubt that the Indians turned the tide of the first battle +in which Israel Putnam took part--that of Lake George, on the eighth of +September, 1755. Having made all his preparations at Albany, General +Johnson took up his march for Crown Point by way of the "carrying-place" +(subsequently known as Fort Edward) and Lake George. After leaving some +of his troops to complete the fort he had begun at the "carrying-place," +the commander proceeded to the south end of Lake George, where he made +camp. He had between five and six thousand New York and New England +troops and his loyal Mohawks. Not long had he been in camp before his +Indian scouts brought him intelligence of an approaching force of French +and Indians. + +About the time that General Johnson had begun his march northwardly, +Baron Dieskau, with a force of 3,000 French troops, 800 Canadians and +700 Indians, had started southwardly from Montreal, also for Crown Point +on Lake Champlain. He had intended to proceed against Oswego; but +learning of the contemplated English expedition for the reduction of +Crown Point, he changed the direction of his march. + +Had he waited for the English general to carry out his original +intention, the result might have been more favorable to the French, for +the former would then have been the attacking party and have borne the +brunt of the battle. As it was, the French commander nearly succeeded in +drawing the thousand men that Johnson had sent out to meet him into an +ambuscade, and among the slain was brave Colonel Williams, commander of +the Provincials in this engagement, and gallant Chief Hendrick, who had +accompanied him with two hundred Mohawks. + +The Provincials fought fiercely, but vainly, for they were outnumbered, +and at first outgeneraled. They fell back upon the main body, the rear +of which was protected by the lake, the flanks by densely-wooded +swamps, and the front by a breastwork of trees, behind which were +mounted several cannon. + +On came the enemy, in pursuit of the retreating Provincials, who sought +shelter behind the rude breastworks as rapidly as possible. They had +lost heavily, they had been partially ambuscaded, some of their best +officers were killed and some wounded; but they had no thought of +surrender. Recovering from the first shock of surprise, they quickly +adopted the Indian fashion of fighting from behind the trees and rocks, +thus exposing themselves very little and inflicting upon the enemy the +greatest possible punishment by their accurate marksmanship. + +The gallant Dieskau was unable to control his Canadian and Indian +allies, but advanced his French regulars against the breastworks without +flinching. There, however, he committed the same mistake that had caused +Braddock's bloody defeat, by ordering his men to advance in a body and +fire by platoons. And again, though the Canadians and Indians fought +bravely, after their manner, posted behind the trees, they here +encountered what they feared so much, the fire of artillery. + +It had been Dieskau's intention to march upon Fort Edward; but hearing +that there were cannon mounted there, his allies had refused to go. So +he changed his course and set upon Johnson at Lake George. Here, +however, his forces, victoriously advancing after their successes of the +morning, were met by the destructive fire of the few cannon which had +been hastily mounted, and which mowed down the regulars and struck such +terror into the savage allies that the latter fled in a panic, their +whoops of triumph changed to yells of fear. + +It was then the turn of the Provincials to take the offensive, which +they did promptly, ably seconded by the Mohawks. They pursued the French +a long distance through the woods, and only halted when spent from +fatigue. + +The French themselves had paused for rest on the very ground where the +battle of the morning had been fought, and here, reenforced by soldiers +sent by General Lyman from Fort Edward, the Americans set upon them a +second time and finally vanquished them completely. They covered the +ground with the slain and took many prisoners, among them being the +French commander, who was found leaning against a stump, having been +wounded in the second fight. He was alone, save for a companion, who was +shot down by his side. Seeing an American soldier approach, the Baron +felt for his watch, hoping probably to secure good treatment by +presenting him with it; but the soldier, mistaking the motion for an +effort to draw a pistol, shot him through the hips, inflicting a wound +from which he ultimately died. Johnson himself was shot through the +thigh, early in the action, and the command devolved upon General Lyman, +who conducted the battle to a successful issue, as narrated. + +Thus was fought the battle of Lake George, September 8, 1755. The +brilliant victory gained here was greater than is apparent at a +superficial glance, for it checked the French advance upon the English +colonies; it probably saved Albany and other towns from destruction; it +was the means of driving the invaders back upon their defensive posts at +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, where they were eventually attacked and +overcome. + +Contrary to the expressed opinions (and perhaps advice) of the +Provincials, among whom was Putnam, General Johnson decided to advance +no further in that campaign, brief as it had been, but proceeded to +erect a fort on the site of his camp, alleging that this was necessary +to protect his base of supplies and maintain communication with Albany. +Had he followed up the victory and pursued the demoralized enemy to +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, he might have saved the English many +valuable lives and the humiliation of repeated defeats in their +subsequent efforts to reduce those important fortifications. + +The reduction of Crown Point was abandoned for that season; but +notwithstanding this, and the fact that the brunt of the fight had been +borne by General Phineas Lyman and his New England militia, the +commander-in-chief was rewarded for the victory by a baronetcy and a +grant of five thousand pounds! + +That the results of this victory at Lake George were far-reaching, and +not forgotten by posterity, was shown, for example, nearly a century and +a half after it was won, by the erection of a monument upon the site of +the battle-field. On the eighth of September, 1903, the governors of +four States--New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts--gathered +at the unveiling of a bronze memorial (erected by the Society of +Colonial Wars), the heroic figures of which, nine feet in height, are +General Johnson and Chief Hendrick. The inscriptions on the granite +pedestal tell the story: "Defeat would have opened the road to Albany +and the French.... Confidence inspired by the victory was of inestimable +value to the American Army in the War of the Revolution." + +It should be borne in mind that Israel Putnam was present at this +battle, and rendered important service. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A PARTIZAN FIGHTER + + +The shore of the beautiful lake was strewn with the slain, its waters +crimsoned by their blood, the French having lost nearly half their +regular force, and the English more than two hundred men. Several days +succeeding to the battle were passed in gathering the wounded and +burying the dead, in which dismal duty Putnam was engaged, with the rest +of the uninjured survivors. + +As our hero kept no diary of his doings, we know only in a general way +that he was in the thickest of the fight, that he went out with the +devoted band under Colonel Williams, and was foremost at the finish +under General Lyman. It has been stated by some of Putnam's biographers +that he held the rank of captain in this, his first, battle; but a +careful search of the colonial records makes it appear that he was +merely a private. With his accustomed eagerness to be foremost in a good +cause, he had hurried to the front without thought of rank or wages; and +although the General Assembly of Connecticut, which convened in August, +promptly made him out a commission as captain of a company, it did not +reach him until after the fight. + +He had outstripped his commission, had enlisted, had met the enemy, +acting, as he always acted, on his own initiative; and it seemed very +fit that he should be appointed to command a company of "partizans," as +the picked troops were called who made forays, performed scouting +duties, and led the advance of the main body. + +He became associated with the redoubtable leader of the hardy company of +back-woodsmen known as "Rogers' Rangers," and he held his own with the +best of them. The duties of these rangers were particularly hazardous, +for they were ever in the advance, as scouts or skirmishers, employing +the Indians' tactics in bush-fighting, engaged as escorts for the wagon +trains, as well as for the artillery, etc. They were thoroughly +independent, in the fullest sense of the word, following their +commander's general rule only, which was: "Every man's reason and +judgment must be his guide, according to the particular situation and +nature of things, and that he may do this to advantage, he should keep +in mind the maxim, never to be departed from by a commander, viz., to +preserve a firmness and presence of mind on every occasion." + +Had the foregoing rule been made expressly for our farmer-soldier, it +could not more exactly have exemplified the qualities he pre-eminently +possessed. He was a born "partizan," and entered at once into his +dangerous duties with ardor and zest. + +There exists a "Report of Captain Putnam, who was sent by Captain Rogers +as a Spy to Ticonderoga," dated October 9, 1755, which illustrates both +the bravery of the young officer, and the defects of his early +education, to which allusion has been made. It is as follows: + + "Then left Capt. Rogers upon a neck of Land upon the west side of + Lake George and Set out towards Tyconderogue to see what + Discoveries we Could make and after we had marchd about 7 or 8 + miles we came upon a Large Mountain near the Heither end of the + narrowes, and when we came there we Could make no Discovery at all, + but after sometime we espyed three Barke Cannoes Drew upon the + Shore upon a point of Land that Ran into the Lake, and then wee + espyed two Indians Comeing out of the Bushes toward the Cannoes, + after water, and after sometime wee espyed several french and + Indians on the East side of the Lake ... and so Concluded to tarry + there all knight and see what further Discoveries wee Could make by + the fires in the knight, and just at the Dusk of the evening their + came four Cannoes from the East and went to the west side of the + Lake and landed on the point where the others were incamped, and + Drew up their Cannoes on ye Shore and by this time wee began to + Discover the fires on the point and on the east side of the Lake, + but Could not Discover what number their was, because the Bushes + were so thick by the Lake and about Day Brake they mustered their + men to work and then wee Left the mountain and returned to Capt. + Rogers on the point and when we Came within 60 or 70 Rods of the + point we Espyed 13 Indians pass by within 10 Rods of us, towards + the point where we left Capt. Rogers, and after they had passed by + us we Came to the point where we left Capt. Rogers, and found all + well this is the Chef of the Discovery and best account that I am + able to give." + + "Israel Putnam." + +Captain Putnam belonged to that class of soldiers, so large in the early +wars of our country, that would "rather fight than eat," and made much +less of wielding the sword than the pen. It may well be believed that +after receiving a few "Reports" like this herewith quoted, his superiors +vastly preferred he should stick to the sword, since he was so much +better at fighting than writing. He himself was doubtless of the same +opinion, so he was kept constantly employed at the dangerous and arduous +work of the ranger, and within a week of writing his first report he had +distinguished himself by saving his commander's life. + +The French had retired to Crown Point and Ticonderoga, but the forests +between those points and Lake George were still swarming with hostile +Indians, engaged, like the Rangers, in reconnoitering the enemy's posts +and in cutting off stragglers. Captains Rogers and Putnam were ordered +by General Johnson to make a reconnaissance of Crown Point, and taking a +small party they penetrated the forests to within a short distance of +the works, where they left their men concealed, and, alone, set out on +their hazardous mission. + +They lay all night within gunshot of the fort, and in the gray dawn of +morning approached more closely in order to secure the information +desired, when Captain Rogers, who was slightly in advance, was +discovered and set upon by a big Frenchman, who seized his musket and +gave the alarm. A companion sentinel hastened to the Frenchman's +assistance, but Putnam also was at hand, and getting in ahead brought +the guard to the ground by a well-aimed blow from the butt-end of his +musket, and while the enemy lay quivering in his death-agonies the two +companions hastened away. They rejoined their men and finally reached +the camp in safety. + +An occurrence like this seemed of small moment at the time, perhaps, and +the ungrateful Rogers is said to have overlooked it entirely in his +report to General Johnson; but the same month (October, 1755) the two +again went out scouting, and another adventure followed which brought +Putnam's heroism into strong relief. + +Going down the lake in their bateaux, on the last day of the month, they +landed at night at a point where they had discovered some camp-fires of +the enemy, and in the morning three spies were sent out into the forest. +These spies were Putnam, a man named Fletcher, and Lieutenant Robert +Durkee, who was afterward tortured to death by the Indians. They +accomplished the immediate object of their mission, which was to +ascertain the location of some detached camps of Indians, and one of +them, Captain Fletcher, returned to report. Putnam and Durkee kept on, +in order to reconnoiter the enemy's main camp at the "Ovens," and in +consequence nearly lost their lives. + +Night overtook the two brave partizans before they had reached the +vicinity of the enemy, and when they saw the camp-fires gleaming they +incautiously approached, thinking that the French, like the English, +would be found within the circle. But the French pursued an altogether +different system, and probably the safer one, of building their +camp-fires within and themselves sleeping without the lines, protected +by the darkness of the night. Their sentinels were posted still further +from the center of the main body, so when the two spies approached and, +dropping to their hands and knees, crept cautiously toward the fires, +they had not gone far in this manner before they were discovered and +fired upon. + +To their amazement, they then found themselves right in the midst of +the enemy, hemmed in on every side. Lieutenant Durkee was slightly +wounded in the thigh, but he and Putnam immediately rose to their feet +and made the best of their way out into the darkness amid a shower of +bullets, and pursued by the awakened enemy. Unable "to see his hand +before his face," Putnam soon fell into a clay-pit, and Durkee, like the +immortal "Jill" in the nursery rhyme, came tumbling after. Knowing that +the enemy were in swift and close pursuit, Putnam raised his tomahawk to +give the supposed hostile a deadly stroke, when Durkee fortunately +spoke. Thankful that he had escaped murdering his companion, Putnam +immediately leaped out of the pit, and followed by Durkee, groped his +way to some ledges, where they lay down behind a large log for the +remainder of the night. Before they lay down, the original narration +goes on to state, "Captain Putnam said he had a little liquor in his +canteen, which could never be more acceptable or necessary than on that +occasion; but on examining the canteen, which hung under his arm, he +found the enemy had pierced it with their bullets, and that there was +not a drop of liquor left. The next morning he found fourteen +bullet-holes in his blanket!" + +His canteen was dry enough, but in falling into the clay-pit Putnam had +wet his gun, so that he could not return the fire of the Frenchmen, even +had he been so disposed. The tale as to the "fourteen bullet-holes in +his blanket" has often been held up to ridicule; but it is probably +true, for the blankets being rolled up, one ball alone might have cut +through many folds in its flight, and another have perforated his +canteen. At all events, he and his companion were in a most miserable +plight, all night in danger of being discovered. In the morning +(according to the official report by Captain Rogers) "they made the best +retreat they were able. Hearing the enemy close to their heels, they +made a tack and luckily escaped safe to our party." + +"How he escaped a wound is passing strange," says one of Putnam's +biographers [Mr. J.T. Headley]; "but he was one of those men who seem +eternally seeking death without being able to find it. There are some +persons in the world who appear to bear a charmed life, which no amount +of daring or exposure can endanger. Foremost in the charge, and the last +to retreat, they are never found with the dead. Fate seems to delight to +place them in the most desperate straits, on purpose to make their +deliverance appear the more miraculous. Putnam was one of those favored +beings, and was not born to be killed in battle." + +Another incident related of Captain Putnam shows his acute penetration +and acquaintance with Indian ways and wiles. It was in his second +campaign, when, after returning home for the winter, he had re-enlisted +and was again amid the scenes of his former adventures. He was stationed +at Fort Edward, the region immediately around which was infested with +savages bent on securing as many scalps as possible with the least +exposure. The sentinels on posts without the fort were in the greatest +danger, and there was one outpost in particular which had lost so many +of its sentries that at last no man could be found to accept a station +there voluntarily. One after another they had disappeared, as completely +as though the earth had opened and swallowed them. It was a post of such +danger that the officers at Fort Edward, having called for volunteers +repeatedly, all of whom had met the same mysterious fate, were compelled +to resort to drafting the men for duty there. As a commissioned officer +Putnam was exempt from the draft, but with his love of danger and from a +desire to penetrate the mystery, he volunteered for the hazardous +service for at least one night. His offer was accepted, although his +friends warned him of the risk he ran. He was already informed as to the +general instructions: on hearing the least noise to challenge promptly, +"Who goes there?" three times, and then, if no answer were returned, to +fire at whatever approached. + +Mounting guard at his post as early as possible, Putnam took occasion to +make a thorough examination of the nature of his environment, with a +trained woodsman's eye noting every peculiarity of rock, stump, bush, +tree, and leaf. Even then, as darkness fell and the scene became faintly +illumined by the rising moon, his surroundings assumed an unfamiliar +cast. + +He stood at his post till past midnight before anything unusual +happened, then his attention was attracted by what appeared to him a +wild hog which, with stealthy footstep, gradually neared his position. +There could be no danger in such a beast, any one less acute than he +might have reasoned; but anyway, he issued the challenge, and then, no +response having been made to his "Who goes there?" he immediately fired +at the animal. It was a groan, and not a grunt, that answered his +well-directed shot, and going up to the object, then writhing in its +death-struggles, he stripped off a bear-skin and revealed an immense +Indian, who had in this disguise approached the unsuspicious sentinels +previously stationed there, stabbed them, and carried them away. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE ADVENTUROUS SOLDIER + + +The campaign of 1755-'56, abounding in opportunities for personal +adventure, in which Israel Putnam took great delight, showed the true +mettle of the provincial soldier from Connecticut. At one time in the +summer of 1756, five or six hundred French soldiers from Ticonderoga +descended upon some British baggage wagons at Halfway Brook, a spot +about midway between Fort Edward and Fort William Henry at Lake George, +and overcoming the escort, succeeded in getting away with a large +quantity of provisions. They retreated northward, in the direction of +their stronghold, by the Narrows of Lake Champlain, and in order to head +them off, if possible, Rogers and Putnam were ordered by their commander +to take one hundred Rangers, with "two wall-pieces and two +blunderbusses," and proceed by boat down Lake George to a point opposite +a certain part of the Narrows, where they were to cross overland and try +to intercept the enemy. + +The orders were obeyed with such promptitude and exactness that the +pursuers reached the place appointed half an hour before the Frenchmen, +into whose boats, when they finally appeared, loaded down with their +plunder, they poured several deadly volleys, killing many of the oarsmen +and soldiers and throwing the party into confusion. Putnam had so placed +his men in ambush, behind bushes and trees, that they were entirely +concealed, while the enemy were exposed to their unexpected fire, which +was terribly effective. Had not a strong wind sprung up at this time, +few of the Frenchmen would have escaped; but several boatloads were +swept into South Bay, beyond musket-shot, and in a shattered condition +finally arrived at Ticonderoga. + +As soon as it was made known that the Rangers were at the Narrows, and +full twenty miles from their boats, which they had left under guard at +Lake George, three hundred soldiers were sent post-haste in pursuit. It +was now the turn of the Provincials to retreat, and indeed they had lost +no time in setting out for their boats, as soon as the Frenchmen were +out of sight, being well aware of their perilous position. It was a +close race between them and their enemies, who, having passed them at +night, were discovered next day off Sabbath-Day Point, where they +offered battle. They allowed the French and Indians to approach within +pistol-shot without firing a gun, but at just the right moment they +discharged their wall-pieces and blunderbusses, followed by a +destructive fire from their muskets, so that the havoc and confusion +were great. Completely routed, the enemy made for the shore and +retreated without delay to Ticonderoga. Only one man was killed and two +men were wounded on the side of the Rangers; but while the total losses +of the French and Indians were unknown they must have been great, as one +canoe containing twenty Indians lost fifteen of the number, and many +were seen to fall overboard and drown. + +In the preceding, the honors were shared between Rogers and Putnam; but +soon after the affair on the lakes the latter figured as the hero of an +exploit which was unique, if not altogether successful and creditable to +all concerned. General Webb, the commander of the forces, considered it +necessary to secure a French prisoner, for the sake of the intelligence +he might gain from him of the enemy's movements, and Captain Putnam was +deputed to accomplish the difficult task. + +Taking with him five men, Putnam concealed himself and them near a trail +which led to Ticonderoga, and they had not lain long in the high grass +before a Frenchman and an Indian came along. The Indian was in advance, +so Putnam allowed him to pass, but when the Frenchman arrived opposite +his place of concealment he sprang out, and after running quite a +distance overtook and seized him by the shoulder. It happened that the +Frenchman was large and muscular, and Captain Putnam, though himself a +marvel of strength and agility, was not quite his equal, in fact, he +soon found he had "caught a Tartar." His men had not supported him, +while the Indian was hastening to his opponent's assistance, so he +loosed his hold and snapped his musket at the man's breast. It missed +fire, as the rude firearms of that time were often liable to do, and so +Putnam turned and ran for his life, hotly pursued by the irate +Frenchman, followed by the Indian. + +There was a grim humor in the situation, for, since his men would not go +to the Frenchman, Captain Putnam was taking the Frenchman to them! They +had to assist him now, whether they wanted to or not, he thought; but as +they sprang up from the grass where they were hidden, the wary Indian +caught sight of them, gave the alarm to his companion, and both darted +off into the forest and escaped. Putnam was mortified as well as +enraged; but after denouncing his men as cowards and unfit for special +service, he sent them back to camp and finally accomplished his object +unassisted. + +In such adventures as these Captain Putnam found vent for his energy and +activity. He was rarely at rest, either by command of his superior +officer or of his own volition, being engaged in scouting in the forest +and along the shores of the lakes. As both regulars and Provincials were +withdrawn from the north country during the severest of the winter +months, it is likely that the soldier-farmer paid a short visit to his +home; but if so, he was soon back again, on active duty employed, as +early in the spring of 1757 he is reported at Fort Edward. + +The author of this biography has seen a most interesting letter, written +in June, 1757, by Lieutenant Samuel Porter, of Captain Putnam's company, +in which there are several references to our hero, as follows: + + "I received your letter May 20, at Fort Edward, from Capt. Putnam's + hand.... I have sent you six letters before this. In the last I + told you that Capt. Putnam had took out a number of his men and + also a number of another company and made up a company of + Rangers.... The next day after I wrote to you there was a number of + our Connecticut men out at work with a guard, but the Enemy came + and fired upon them and captivated four of them.... Capt. Putnam + was then out for several days and when he came in he brought a + Frenchman which he took near the Narrows." + +Always active, alert, and good-humored, Captain Putnam was the idol of +his men, and easily the most noted of the Provincials. Such was his +nature, however, that he paid no attention to what men said of him, but +always marched in the road that led to duty. Much like him in his +devotion to duty and principle was another of his name, who now appears +in this narrative, having come to Fort Edward in a Massachusetts +regiment, in which he was a private. This was Rufus Putnam, who achieved +a reputation in later years hardly second to that of Israel; in many +respects he surpassed him. These two have been called cousins; but, to +state their exact relationship, Israel's father and Rufus's grandfather +were brothers, or half-brothers. Here is what Rufus Putnam says, in his +Memorandum Book of Family Concerns, respecting his American +ancestry:... + + "I am the youngest son of Elisha Putnam, who was the third son of + Edward, grandson of John Putnam, who settled in Salem in 1634.... I + was born the 9th of April, 1738, at Sutton, Massachusetts." + +By this it will be seen that Rufus and Israel Putnam were descended from +the same English ancestor, John Putnam; and further, it may be observed, +they had many high qualities in common. What concerns us especially, in +this connection, is the fact that Rufus Putnam had acquired the habit of +keeping a diary, or journal, and he faithfully recorded all the +happenings at Fort Edward, after his arrival. He could not but make +mention of the most prominent personage there, his distinguished +kinsman; though the latter was too busily engaged in fighting and +marching to concern himself as to diaries and chronicles. + +Soon after arriving at Fort Edward, young Rufus Putnam was sent out +scouting with twenty-two men, and encountering some Indians, thirteen of +his comrades were killed. "This was the first sight I had of Indians +butchering," he writes, "and it was not agreeable to the feelings of a +young Soldier, and I think there are few if any who can view such Scenes +with indifference." + +Few, indeed. But, while realizing to the full the horrors of savage +warfare, Israel Putnam's kinsman stuck to his task and did his duty +gallantly. His first experience must have been a severe trial, for he +says: + + "Capt. Putnam then ordered three of us to follow the trale (of the + Indians) a mile or more further, and there lie close until quite + dark, to observe if any came back; for, said he, 'if they do not + embark in there boats to-night they will send a party back to See + if they are pursued.' We went back according to order but made no + discovery, and here I would remark that Capt. Putnam's precaution + Struck my mind very forceably, as a maxim always to be observed + whether you are pursuing or pursued by an enemy, especially in the + woods. It was the first Idea of Generalship I recollect to have + treasured up." + +These two remarkable men had a very similar experience in their youth, +for Rufus, like Israel, was deprived of his father by death at an early +age, the former at seven, and the latter at eight, and each went to live +with his stepfather after his mother had married a second time. + +Israel Putnam had been given a major's commission by the Connecticut +Legislature, in 1757, and almost every year succeeding he was promoted, +until finally he was at the head of the forces of the State. In common +with his fellow Provincials, he suffered from the incompetency of the +British commanders sent over from England. Crown Point was the objective +for assault during several years, and still was not reached until the +hearts of all concerned grew heavy with hope deferred. One of the most +glaringly inefficient of Britain's generals in America was Lord +Loudoun, at this time commander-in-chief of all the forces. Against him +was pitted the acute and discerning Montcalm, in command of the French, +who, by the destruction of important forts, and checkmating Loudoun at +Louisburg, soon put the latter on the defensive. Instead, then, of +carrying the war into Canada, the British Colonials were compelled to +rest on their arms while Montcalm himself, taking advantage of the +depletion of the forces caused by Loudoun's futile expedition against +Louisburg, marched down from Montreal and made a demonstration against +the forts to the south of Lake Champlain. + +Equally inefficient with Loudoun, the commander-in-chief, and in +addition cowardly as well (it would appear from the records of the +time), was General Webb, who commanded in the northern department, and +who, though he probably had intimation of the French army's approach, +allowed himself to be caught in a trap and lost thousands of his men. He +was warned by Putnam, who scouted to some purpose in the forest along +the lake shore, discovering the approaching hostiles; but he heeded not +the warning, and the result was a massacre. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +FIGHTING ON THE FRONTIER + + +Up to midsummer of 1757, the British had accomplished nothing of +account; the French, also, had little to show for all the marching and +counter-marching, fortifying, and skirmishing with their foes. But a +decisive blow was to be struck, and by Montcalm, who, having been +informed by his spies of the condition of affairs at the lakes, sent an +overwhelming force against Fort William Henry, at the south end of Lake +George. It happened that a few days before the French army arrived at +the lake, Major Putnam, with two hundred men, escorted his commander, +General Webb, from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry, his object being +to examine into the efficiency of the latter fortification. The fort +itself was a poor construction, but it was commandingly situated on +ground gently rising from the shore of the lake, and its approaches were +defended by felled forest trees forming an immense abattis deemed +impenetrable. + +With his customary caution, Major Putnam suggested to General Webb that +he should be sent down the lake to ascertain if the enemy were +approaching, certain inexplicable signs having aroused his suspicions. +His commander reluctantly consented, and Putnam took with him eighteen +volunteers and proceeded down the lake, but had not gone far before he +discovered a company of Frenchmen on an island. These men started out in +pursuit of Putnam in his whale-boats, and the latter retreated; but not +before he had, with the aid of a telescope, perceived a "large army in +motion." He reported to General Webb to this effect, and to his +astonishment that cowardly commander ordered him to make no mention of +the approach of the French army, though he agreed with Major Putnam +that it was destined for the reduction of the fort on the lake. He, +moreover, directed him to pledge his men to keep the matter secret from +the devoted garrison at Fort William Henry, and to make ready, without +loss of time, to return with him to headquarters at Fort Edward. + +"But, your Excellency," exclaimed the amazed and indignant Putnam, "I +hope you do not intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of giving +battle, should the enemy presume to land!" + +"What do you think we should do here?" replied the pusillanimous +commander; and no other answer would he give to the sub-ordinate who had +rashly ventured to expostulate with him. The next day, accordingly, +Putnam escorted Webb back to Fort Edward, whence the latter sent letters +to the Governor of New York, at Albany, urging him to send the militia +to his aid; and also despatched reenforcements to Fort William Henry +under Colonel Monroe, who was ordered to assume command of the +garrison, until then ignorant of their peril. + +There were then about three thousand men at Fort William Henry, with as +many more held in reserve at Fort Edward, half a day's march only away. +Against the lake fort, however, Montcalm brought an army of eight or +nine thousand men, including not only a corps of Canadians, but a +"larger number of Indians in a body than had ever before been +collected." The French and Indians outnumbered the hapless garrison +three to one; but during the week in which they appeared before the fort +at Lake George (the first week in August, 1757), Sir William Johnson +reached Fort Edward with his Indians and militia from Albany, thus +augmenting the total British force considerably. He demanded to be +allowed to proceed to Fort William Henry, and was permitted to start +out, taking with him, besides his own force, Major Putnam and his +company of Rangers. Three miles from the fort, however, this rescuing +force was ordered to return, and thus such men as Johnson and Putnam +were compelled to remain at Fort Edward and listen to "the report of +cannon from Fort William Henry, two or three shots sometimes within a +minute or two of one another." Those fateful cannon-shots continued all +day long, and day after day, meanwhile, messengers were arriving from +Colonel Monroe asking for assistance in most urgent terms. For six days +the siege continued, with thousands of soldiers lying inactive at Fort +Edward while their brothers-in-arms were in peril of their lives at Fort +William Henry, only fourteen miles away. On the morning of the eighth of +August the cannon firing ceased, just as the last express from Colonel +Monroe arrived stating that he must give up the fort unless at once +relieved. + +The ammunition of the beleaguered garrison was almost exhausted, many of +their cannon were split, some of the soldiers were sick with smallpox, +and their losses in killed and wounded amounted to more than three +hundred men. The end was inevitable, and it came after General Webb had +sent a letter to Colonel Monroe advising him to surrender. This letter +was intercepted by Montcalm, who thus knew the exact situation and acted +accordingly. He sent the letter to Colonel Monroe, with an urgent demand +for surrender, promising him most liberal terms, and the despairing +officer, who had gallantly defended the fort to the last, gave in and +threw himself upon the mercy of his foe. + +The Marquis de Montcalm may have intended to keep his stipulations, +which were that the garrison should be protected by an escort of French +troops to Fort Edward, and their sick and wounded cared for. Relying +upon these terms, they marched out of the fort without arms or baggage, +but were no sooner clear of the gates than they were set upon by more +than two thousand Indians, excited by the liquor they had discovered and +drunk, and frenzied at the prospect of the escape of their foes. Then +ensued a sickening scene of slaughter. Then was committed the massacre, +which, had Major Putnam's advice been followed, might have been +prevented. More than fifteen hundred, men, women, and children, were +indiscriminately butchered, despite the promises of the "noble" Marquis +de Montcalm, and the Indians reveled in a carnival of blood. + +It having been reported that the victorious Montcalm intended to march +against Fort Edward next, Major Putnam was despatched with his Rangers +to "watch the motions of the enemy," and reached the lake shore soon +after their departure. The fort was entirely demolished, he reported to +Webb, next day; "the barracks and all buildings were heaps of ruins, the +fires still burning, the smoke and stench from which were offensive and +suffocating. Innumerable fragments, human skulls, and bones were still +broiling, half consumed, in the smoldering flames. Dead bodies, mangled +with knives and tomahawks, including those of more than one hundred +women, were everywhere to be seen, affording a spectacle too horrible +for description." + +And this awful occurrence might have been obviated, if, in the first +place, Major Putnam's precautions had been adopted and a firm stand made +in the face of the enemy; or if, in the second place, the reenforcements +so often requested by the commander of the garrison had been sent. +Montcalm himself told Major Putnam, when he was a prisoner in Canada, +the next year, that when Sir William Johnson with the militia and +Rangers set out from Fort Edward one of his runners reported as to their +number, "If you can count the leaves on the trees, you can count them." + +Believing, then, that a mighty force was advancing against him, Montcalm +was on the point of abandoning the siege, when General Webb's order to +return saved the situation for the French. Of a truth, the conduct of +General Webb, in command of the forces at Fort Edward and Fort William +Henry, deserves the execration of the world. Fuming inwardly against +their unjustifiable detention, yet so well disciplined as to accept +their commander's orders with impassive faces, the soldiers all, +Provincials as well as regulars, were compelled to inaction, and thus +became in a sense accessories to the blood-thirsty savages who had +murdered their friends. + +We have no record of any oath that Putnam may have taken, but doubtless +one was registered in Heaven, that his comrades should be avenged, for +his acts accord with this assumption. He was even more active than +before in annoying the enemy and in taking prisoners, both French and +Indian; but there is no stain of cruelty affixed to any of his deeds. He +fought honorably, without thought of himself, without regard for what +Fame might say of him, or the future hold in store. His courage was of +the sort that shuts its eyes to the consequences and goes straight +ahead, in the path of duty and rectitude. + +Soon after the massacre at Fort William Henry, General Webb was relieved +of his command and succeeded by General Lyman, an old soldier under +whom Putnam had already served. Even old soldiers make mistakes, as will +now be shown. Having despatched one hundred and fifty men into the +forests adjacent to Fort Edward, to cut timber for strengthening the +fortification, General Lyman sent along a company of regulars to protect +them against possible attacks by Indians. This was a prudent measure; +but the commander had not counted upon the wary nature of the foe. He +should have sent out the Rangers, who knew the Indians and their ways +and would have provided protection, without a doubt. But there chanced +to be a Ranger on duty as a sentinel, and early one morning, before the +sun was up, his attention was attracted to a flight of wonderful birds +silently winging their way across the sky. Suddenly, one of those +"birds" came with great force against the limb of a tree right over his +head, where it stuck, and then the sentry saw that those winged +messengers were Indian arrows! He lost no time in giving the alarm and +the working party began retreating toward the fort. They were promptly +attacked by a large body of Indians, who had hoped to kill the sentry +without any noise, when the workmen would have been cut off, without a +doubt. + +The regulars bravely stood their ground and poured a destructive fire +into the savage ranks; but the foe was persistent and soon obtained the +upper hand. It happened that, as usual, brave Putnam was not far distant +from the sound of battle, which he no sooner heard than he hastened in +its direction. As he and his men were posted on an island, he and they +waded through the water to dry land, and in pressing to the scene of +conflict passed near the fort, on the parapet of which stood General +Lyman, who, imagining the attack came from the main body of the enemy, +had called in his outposts and closed the gates. As Major Putnam and his +men dashed past on the double-quick, intent only upon rescuing their +friends from the savages, the General ordered them to return, believing +that they were needlessly exposing their lives in a vain attempt against +an overwhelming force. + +For the first time in his military career (but not the last) Putnam +refused to obey the orders of his superior officer. Indignant at the +mere thought of abandoning his companions-at-arms at such a juncture, he +muttered something under his breath (which he afterward said was an +apology; but those who knew "Old Put" best thought otherwise) and pushed +on, without turning to right or left. And his obstinacy saved the day, +for, uniting with the regulars, the Rangers "rushed" the savages from +their position and chased them through the forest so long as daylight +lasted. Their victory was complete, and when they returned to the fort +the gates were no longer closed against them, nor was a reprimand +forthcoming from the General, the disobedience of whose orders made +Major Putnam more popular than ever. + +That Major Putnam's bravery was of the sort requiring no artificial +stimulus, and proceeded solely from the promptings of a nature +superlative in every sense, was shown in the winter of 1757, when the +barracks at Fort Edward were consumed by a fire which threatened and +almost reached the powder magazine. Seeing the blaze from his aerie on +the island, Putnam attacked the fire as he always attacked the enemy, +with impetuosity. He at once took the forefront of danger, nearest to +the powder magazine, and, mounted on a ladder, threw upon the raging +flames the buckets of water which the soldiers brought him from the +river. Enshrouded in smoke, and so near the sheets of flame that a pair +of thick mittens was burned from his hands, Putnam heroically toiled to +subdue the fire, which was rapidly eating its way toward the magazine, +containing three hundred barrels of powder. + +His commander at first begged him to descend, but as he was obstinate, +he provided him with another pair of mittens which had been dipped in +water, and, charmed at his pertinacity and bravery, exclaimed, "Well, +if we must be blown up we will all go together!" He then gave orders to +the men to redouble their efforts. + +The sequel was that Putnam, though at times enveloped in smoke and +cinders, maintained his position, even when there was but a charred +strip of timber between him and the powder, finally extinguishing the +fire and saving the fort. One hour and a-half he had fought the flames. +"His legs, arms and face were blistered, and when he pulled off his +second pair of mittens, the skin from his hands and fingers followed +them." He was a month in hospital, recovering from his terrible burns; +but before the winter was over he was off scouting with his beloved +Rangers in the vicinity of Ticonderoga. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +STRATEGY AND WOODCRAFT + + +The year 1758 was the most eventful in Putnam's life hitherto, +notwithstanding the numerous adventures in which he had already been +engaged, and which were enough to satisfy the craving of the most +ambitious individual. The great event of that year, in which he took +part, was the attack made by General Abercrombie on Fort Ticonderoga; +and the most dire happening, to him personally, was being made a +prisoner by the Indians. + +Before proceeding to narrate these occurrences, however, let us take +notice of two stirring incidents in his career, which further illustrate +his cool daring and his readiness of resource in the face of danger. In +the first instance, he was sent by his superior officer to a place +known as Wood Creek, in order to make such observations as were +possible, and also to intercept any parties of the enemy that might +chance to pass that way. With the intuition of a born strategist, he +posted his force on the bank of the creek where it jutted boldly into +the water, and there constructed a parapet of stone about thirty feet in +length, and masked it with young pine-trees in such a manner that they +appeared to be a part of the natural forest growth. + +The provisions of the party running short, and a big buck opportunely +appearing, Putnam departed from a rule he himself had always insisted +upon--of never firing a gun when waiting for an enemy or in the enemy's +country, and shot him. The result was as he might have anticipated. He +and his men got the deer and replenished their stores; but the wily +leader of the Indian hostiles, Marin, heard the report, and came with +his men in search of the cause of it. He came at night, so cautiously +and silently that some of the canoes which held his men, about five +hundred in number, were abreast the fort before the sentinels +discovered them. + +The creek at this point was scarcely a hundred feet in width, the banks +about fifteen or twenty feet in height. A full moon was shining in the +heavens, illumining spaces of water here and there, so that the oncoming +Indians were plainly visible to the men behind the parapet, there +awaiting, with fast-beating hearts, the signal to fire. At a critical +moment, one of the nervous soldiers accidentally struck his firelock +against a stone, and the sound being heard by the foe, in an instant +came the watchword for silence and caution--"Owish." The canoes in the +van halted, and the others coming up, they were soon huddled together +right in front of the breastwork. This was the moment awaited by Putnam, +who gave the signal for his men to fire by setting the example with his +own musket. + +The plunging fire, directed into the midst of the canoes, committed +terrible execution. It was returned by the enemy; but being caught at a +disadvantage, and unable to perceive their foes, concealed as they were +behind the breastwork, their fire was ineffective. During the whole +engagement, which is said to have lasted through the greater part of the +night, only two of the Provincials were wounded, none being killed +outright. + +There were but sixty men in Putnam's party, while the Indians were +estimated at not less than five hundred, half of which number were +either killed or wounded, it was thought, before daylight came. +Perceiving, from the intermittent fire, that it was a small party which +had ambuscaded him, Marin, the Indian scout and leader, attempted a +landing below the Americans, in order to cut off their retreat. But +Major Putnam had anticipated that move, and after sending a detachment +to repel the landing party, ordered his men to "swing their packs" and +retire up the creek, which they did in good order, leaving their wounded +men behind. This act was the one inexplicable occurrence of the affair, +for it was not creditable to Major Putnam, nor in accord with his +reputation for humanity and tender regard for his men. But the safety of +the greater number was considered, in preference to the security of the +two wounded men, one of whom, a Provincial of undaunted courage, was set +upon and hacked to pieces, after he had killed three of the approaching +enemy, as he lay on the ground unable to escape. The other, a friendly +Mohawk, was taken prisoner, and Major Putnam afterward saw him in +Canada. + +On the way back to Fort Edward, Putnam and his men were fired upon by a +scouting party of Provincials, who mistook them for Frenchmen; but they +were quickly undeceived when the doughty major ordered his men, "in a +stentorophonick tone," to advance and give a good account of themselves. +Putnam's "stentorophonick" voice--as his original biographer styles +it--was well known to all the army, having been heard many times rising +above the din of battle, and always in the forefront of the fighting. So +the commanding officer of the scouting party recognized it at once and +cried out that those approaching were friends. The volley had killed one +man only, and "Old Wolf Putnam," enraged, indignant, and yet sarcastic, +said to the opposing officer, "Friends or enemies, you all deserve to be +hanged for not killing more, when you had so fair a shot!" He had in +mind, of course, the numbers he and his men had slain, that night +preceding, when six or seven times their own force had fallen before +their unerring aim. + +Having suffered so considerably at Putnam's hands, the French and +Indians, as may be imagined, were constantly on the watch to take their +arch enemy at a disadvantage. Not many weeks after the unsuccessful +attack upon Ticonderoga--to which allusion will presently be made--it +appeared as though the savages were about to accomplish their purpose, +for they surprised him, together with a small body of his men, on the +left bank of the Hudson, with the river between them and the fort. The +party of Indians was too strong to be successfully resisted, it was +impossible to cross the river without being shot, while below lay a +quarter-mile stretch of rapids through which a boat had never been sent +without disaster. But, with his customary promptitude, Putnam ordered +his men into their single boat, himself taking the helm, and pushed off +just as the savages came within sight of the shore. The disappointed and +infuriated Indians sent a shower of balls after the boatmen, but none +took effect; though the fugitives seemed doomed to certain death by +drowning in the foaming rapids of the river. Calmly taking the helm, +Putnam steered the boat through the roaring rapids, avoiding the +half-hidden rocks and protruding ledges, and, while the Indians looked +on in amazement, in a few seconds brought his charge into smooth water +at the foot of the falls. Throughout all this turmoil and danger, he +maintained his self-possession, his customary placidity of countenance +even; and it is said that after that the Indians looked upon him as more +than human and under the special protection of the Great Spirit. + +It was the misfortune of the Provincials to become the sport of fate in +the shape of inefficient commanders from England, who led them, not only +to defeat, but to death by wholesale, in their endeavors to carry out +plans insufficiently matured and schemes which would not have received +the sanction of military experts at all. One of the most disastrous of +defeats was encountered at Ticonderoga, against which General +Abercrombie led a force of fifteen thousand men, consisting of six +thousand regulars and nine thousand Provincials. Crown Point and +Ticonderoga were still the British objectives, along with other posts of +greater or less strength, such as Louisburg, Frontenac, and Fort +Duquesne. All these last were taken before Crown Point and Ticonderoga +yielded; but it was fated that Ticonderoga, which had been seized and +fortified by the French in 1755, and which, together with Crown Point, +commanded the direct route from the St. Lawrence to the Hudson, should +first cost the lives of many men. + +On the morning of July 5, 1758, a magnificent flotilla set forth from +the southern end of Lake George, consisting of 135 whale-boats and 900 +bateaux, laden with soldiers, cannon, and military stores of every +description. As it sailed through the Narrows it made a line six miles +in length, and was indeed a most imposing spectacle. Sabbath-Day Point +was reached about five in the afternoon, and here the soldiers debarked +for rest and refreshment, but sailed on again about midnight, reaching +the northern end of the lake next morning at dawn. Soon after landing, +late in the day, a portion of the army became lost in the forest and +while entangled in the wilderness of trees encountered a French force of +observation which had been sent to watch their movements at Lake +George. This force, likewise lost in the woods, was cut to pieces by the +Rangers, only fifty escaping, while nearly three hundred were either +killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. + +This was the sole success of the expedition, and this cost the lives of +many men, including young Lord Howe, who was a great favorite in the +army with both regulars and Colonials. He had insisted on forging ahead +with Putnam, who, as usual, was in front with his Rangers, and against +his urgent remonstrances went with him into the vortex of the fire, +where he was killed. The soldiers considered their success on the first +day as a foretaste of victory to follow on the morrow; but while +Abercrombie delayed his advance for various reasons, Montcalm and his +men did herculean work by felling a forest of trees and constructing an +impenetrable abatis in front of the fort. + +It was this terrible entanglement, composed of thousands of trees with +pointed and jagged limbs turned outward, that really prevented the +British and Provincials from gaining even the outer works of +Ticonderoga, behind which lay not more than thirty-six hundred men under +Montcalm. Abercrombie's engineer having reported that the works were +unfinished, and might be easily captured if promptly attacked, the +British general gave the order for assault, though his cannon had not +arrived, and indeed were not used at all. + +Not satisfied with one futile assault, in which his men were cut down by +hundreds, torn by grape-shot and mangled by cross-fires of musketry, +Abercrombie ordered another and another, until the heroic and desperate +fighting men were entirely exhausted. Never was there a greater display +of courage and senseless devotion to a mistaken sense of duty, than on +that day when the fifteen thousand British and Provincial soldiers tried +vainly to dislodge one-third their number of Frenchmen from their +position at Ticonderoga. And it was all on account of the incapacity of +a British commander, whom the home Government had sent out with +authority, not only over his own regulars, but Colonial officers whose +abilities were vastly in excess of his own. But it was not for these +Colonials to question; only to "do and die," and they did all in their +power, and died by hundreds, merely that an incompetent commander's +whims should be gratified. + +When at last the inept Abercrombie had sacrificed the lives under his +command to the number of two thousand or more, and became convinced that +he could not take Ticonderoga that way, he was seized with panic and +ordered a retreat. As the Rangers under Putnam were the first in the +assault, so they were the last to retire, being obliged to protect the +retreat of the main army, and remained till dusk on the edge of the +forest, where they maintained a continuous fire, to prevent pursuit. +With but one-third as many soldiers as Abercrombie brought to the +attack, Montcalm did not feel like pursuing the retreating foe, but +contented himself with the great victory--a victory won not so much by +the valor of his men as by the incompetency of his chief opponent. + +Had the advice of Putnam, Rogers, and others of the Provincials been +sought and accepted, much of this loss of life might have been averted, +for though themselves fighting with great courage, doggedly and against +all hope, they were averse to a direct assault without the cannon, with +which a breach might have been opened into the fort. But the cannon +reposed at the lake-side, whither retreated the defeated soldiers, with +such haste that they were enabled to embark that very night, leaving +their dead and many of their wounded in the forest where they lay. A few +days before, after the first engagement, Major Rogers, of the Rangers, +having been sent to bring off the dead and wounded of the enemy, had +cruelly despatched the latter, to the horror not only of his confrère, +Major Putnam, but of the British officers who became cognizant of the +fact. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A PRISONER AND IN PERIL + + +The good fortune with which Major Putnam had been favored during three +years of fighting a wily and treacherous foe, suddenly deserted him +when, in the month of August, 1758, he found himself confronted by an +Indian warrior of herculean frame, during a skirmish near Fort St. Anne. +He and Major Rogers had been sent out by Abercrombie to ascertain the +whereabouts of a war party which was committing depredations between +Fort Edward and the lakes. The timid general was very much afraid of an +attack in force by the victorious Montcalm, and constantly on the watch. + +One morning, as the Rangers were proceeding through a dense thicket, +with Putnam's Provincials in front, they ran into an ambush which the +wary Marin, the French partizan fighter, had prepared, by posting his +men in a semicircular position across the trail. Suddenly the air was +rent with yells and reports of firearms, and several Provincials fell in +their tracks. Putnam, taken unawares, yet as always cool and collected, +gave orders to return the fire, and sent word back for support, which in +the confusion incident to the sudden attack was not promptly +forthcoming. Forging ahead, he was confronted by an Indian chieftain, a +giant in size, against whose breast he at once placed the muzzle of his +fusee, which--as those primitive flintlocks were likely to do in an +emergency--missed fire. The savage then had him at his mercy, and +brandishing his tomahawk above his head compelled him to surrender, when +he tied him to a tree, and then left him to mingle in the fight again. +As the Rangers rallied to battle it happened that the tree to which +Putnam was bound came directly between the fires of both parties, and as +the bullets flew thickly around our hero's position was not by any +means an enviable one. Some of the balls passed through the sleeves and +skirt of his coat, and in this perilous position he remained for more +than an hour, unable either to move a limb or even his head. + +No attention was paid to him, except that now and then a savage would +approach, and seeing him there helpless and a conspicuous mark would +throw a tomahawk at his head, to see how near he could come to this +living target without inflicting a fatal wound. An equally savage +Frenchman also approached, and aiming his fusee at his breast, would +have put him out of his misery had it not missed fire. This enraged the +scoundrel so that he gave Putnam a blow on the jaw with the butt-end of +his musket which nearly finished him, and then left him alone. + +The battle waged unevenly for a while, but was finally decided in favor +of the Provincials, and the French and Indians hastily gathered their +prisoners together and fled northward toward Ticonderoga. Putnam's +captor stripped him of his coat and waistcoat, socks and shoes, then +after binding his wrists together he loaded him with as many packs as he +could pile upon his shoulders, and giving him in charge of another +Indian, left him to attend to the wounded. + +Poor Putnam was soon in a deplorable condition, with hands swollen +terribly from the tightness of the ligature, and his feet gashed and +bleeding, as he trudged along the trail beneath his enormous burden. He +begged the savages to knock him on the head and end his sufferings; but +he was soon to experience even more horrible sensations, for, arriving +in advance of the main party at the place where they were to camp for +the night, the small body of Indians that had him in charge concluded to +burn him at the stake! He was suffering terribly from the blow on his +jaw, from his swollen hands and mutilated feet, and also from a tomahawk +gash in his cheek, so that he cared little what became of him, provided +the end came quickly. To be burned alive, however, was a fate that +brought a shudder to the frame of even stout-hearted Israel Putnam, and +he looked on in horror while his captors stripped him naked, bound him +to a tree and piled the dry brush they had gathered for fuel around him +in a circle. All the while, as they labored at their fiendish task, they +chanted a funeral dirge, which was almost as depressing to their captive +as their sinister preparations for his immediate immolation. + +"Major Putnam soon began to feel the scorching heat," says his +biographer, Colonel Humphreys, who had these details from the chief +actor's own lips. "His hands were so tied that he could move his body, +and he often shifted sides as the fire approached. This sight, at the +very idea of which all but savages must shudder, afforded the highest +diversion to his inhuman tormentors, who demonstrated the delirium of +their joy by yells, dances, and gesticulations. He saw clearly that his +final hour was inevitably come. He summoned all his resolution, and +composed his mind, as far as the circumstances would admit, to bid an +eternal farewell to all he held most dear.... His thought was ultimately +fixed on a happier state of existence, ... the bitterness of death, even +of that death which is accompanied with the keenest agonies, was in a +manner past, ... when a French officer rushed through the crowd, opened +a way by scattering the burning brands, and unbound the victim." + +The officer was no other than the redoubtable partizan, Marin, who +exerted a wonderful influence over his savage company. He at once sent +for the Indian who had captured Major Putnam, who did what he could to +make amends for the dreadful treatment the latter had received; but that +night, in order to prevent his prisoner from escaping, he stretched his +limbs out in the shape of a cross and bound them to four saplings, then +placed poles and bushes across his body as it lay on the ground with +several Indians at either side, who kept watch the night through. + +Arrived at Fort Ticonderoga, Major Putnam had an interview with the +Marquis de Montcalm, who ordered him sent to Montreal, whither he was +taken without delay, and where he met a brother American, Colonel Peter +Schuyler, of New Jersey, who, possessing considerable influence, +compelled the Frenchman to treat their prisoner more humanely. The +capture of Louisburg, Frontenac and other posts, by the English that +year gave them numerous prisoners, which they were not slow to exchange +for those in the hands of the French. Thus it came about that the period +of Major Putnam's captivity was quite short, for he was in Montreal and +Quebec in the last days of August, his exchange was accomplished in +October, and in November he was on his way to his home in Connecticut. + +If the French had known who it was they held a prisoner in the person of +Major Putnam, doubtless they would have been slow to permit his +exchange; but Colonel Schuyler kept this information to himself, and +when told by the governor that he might select whatever officer he liked +to be included in the cartel, he chose his friend. + +"There is an _old man_ here," he said, "who is a Provincial Major, and +who wishes to be at home with his wife and children; he can do no good +here or anywhere else; I believe your Excellency had better keep some of +the young men, who have no wife or children to care for, and let the old +fellow go home with me." + +This subterfuge availed, and Putnam went along with his friend; but +whether the latter was justified in alluding to him as an "old man" is +doubtful, as he was then only forty years of age. He had, however, won +the sobriquets of "Old Wolf Putnam" and of "Old Put," long before, and +doubtless was accustomed to be regarded as elderly, despite his jolly +countenance and ever-cheerful disposition. + +His kind and affectionate nature was displayed at its best on the +journey home, which was long and wearisome, when he took charge of a +lady, Mrs. Howe, whose husband had been killed and scalped three years +previously. She had been in captivity ever since, and had endured untold +outrages from her captors. Her seven children were dispersed, but five +of them were recovered, and accompanied her back to her home in New +Hampshire. Colonel Schuyler had rescued her from captivity, and Major +Putnam constituted himself her protector during the long and toilsome +journey, leading her little ones, assisting the sorrowful mother over +the rough places, and sharing his meals with the unfortunate family. + +What a welcome the hero received on his home-coming, from his loving, +constant wife and children! They had heard of his vicissitudes, had +almost given him up for dead; but at last he was with them again, and +the dismal past was buried. The joy of the family at meeting again was +clouded by sorrow, however, for death had entered the family circle +since the father and husband's departure. Israel, the eldest son, was +there, and the daughters; but the second son was absent, never to +return. + +On an old tombstone in the graveyard at Brooklyn, Connecticut, is this +inscription: + + "In Memory of Mr. Daniel Putnam, son of Col^o. Israel Putnam & Mrs. + Hannah his wife, who died Aug. 8th, 1758, Aged 17 Years." + + Also of David Putnam, Son of y^e above Col^o. Israel & Mrs. Hannah + Putnam, who died Nov. 21, 1761, aged 1 month." + +The first death, of Daniel, his pet and pride, occurred, it is said, on +the very day (August 8, 1758), at the close of which Major Putnam was in +direst peril, tied to a tree in the forest, environed by fire and within +a circle of whooping, yelling savages. The demise of David, whom he +never saw, took place while the father was away on the Amherst +expedition, or just before his return from that campaign. Sturdy Israel, +the first-born son, had taken charge of the farm while his father was +off on his various campaigns--or at least had done his best to do so, +and the family had not wanted for provisions during the enforced +absences of the head of the family. As he was now a robust young man of +nearly twenty, and possessed all the home-loving traits of his father, +Israel was considered perfectly competent to carry on the farm at least +another season, and in the spring of 1759 his father, now advanced to +the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, went away again to the wars. + +Israel Putnam seemed never to know when he had enough of fighting; or +else his sense of duty to the king and his country was paramount to all +other considerations else. At all events, one of his bravery and force +could not be omitted from the great expedition that General Amherst (who +had been sent by Pitt to supersede Abercrombie) was then organizing. In +July, 1759, we find him with his command at Lake George, where the +second expedition against Ticonderoga set forth, following the route +taken by Abercrombie, over the lake to Ticonderoga, which was reached on +the 22d. On the 23d, the French officer in command of the fortress +suddenly departed down Lake Champlain with nearly all his men; but +Amherst did not know it, and kept on with his preparations for +bombardment, having his batteries in position before he was made aware, +by French deserters, that the place had been abandoned. Soon the powder +magazine blew up, having been left by the French with a lighted +slow-match attached for the purpose, the barracks caught fire, and +Ticonderoga, which had held out so well against British and Provincial +assaults, was at last laid low. It was reconstructed, as we know, and +served both British and Patriots in the Revolutionary War; but is now in +ruins, picturesque and imposing in their decay. + +Crown Point was also evacuated by the French, and thus at last the main +object of so many months' toil in the wilderness with such woful waste +of life and vast expenditure of treasure, was accomplished. While Putnam +and his comrades were engaged in restoring the fortifications of Crown +Point, they heard the news of British victories on every hand: of the +fall of Fort Niagara; and of the storming and capture of Quebec, when, +on that fateful thirteenth of September, 1759, Wolfe and Montcalm found +death and fame, the former at the hour of victory, the latter in defeat. + +Israel Putnam met nearly all the great British commanders, with the +possible exception of Wolfe, and had assisted with all his might at the +upbuilding of English power in America, so it was not strange that when, +later, the Revolution opened, he was looked upon by them more as a +friend than an enemy. The next year, when Amherst moved upon Montreal, +then the chief, almost sole possession of the French in Canada, Colonel +Putnam went along, as a matter of course, and, it is gravely related by +his first biographer, he assisted the general at a critical moment and +in a very novel way. Two armed vessels of the enemy were likely to cause +trouble to the British on the St. Lawrence, and Amherst was anxious to +put them out of the way before they could sink his boats. Putnam +proffered his services, declaring he could take the vessels in short +order. + +"How?" asked the General, somewhat amused as well as surprised. + +"With beetles and wedges, and a boat-load of men," answered "Put." And, +the story goes, he rowed out to the vessels, in the dead of night, drove +wooden wedges in behind their rudders, and left them helpless, for when +the wind came up they would not answer the helm and were driven ashore, +where their crews were easily taken by the English. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A CAMPAIGN IN CUBA + + +It can not be denied that Israel Putnam was already quite a traveler; +but it must be added that he had so far traveled mainly within a +circumscribed area. Over and over again this faithful soldier had +plodded the trails and military roads, and pushed his way through the +swamps, morasses, forests, of the wilderness region of New York, which +by the end of 1761 he should have known almost as well as the woodland +pastures of his own farm. But he was destined to extend his travels and +make a foreign voyage, still in the service of the King of England, whom +he had served so long and so well. + +He was present at the capitulation of Montreal, one September day, 1760, +and had the pleasure of meeting the Indian chief who had taken him +prisoner two years previously. He lived near Montreal, at the Indian +village of Caughnawaga, where he received his former captive with pride, +and was highly delighted to see his old acquaintance, "whom he +entertained in his own well-built stone house with great friendship and +hospitality; while his guest did not discover less satisfaction in an +opportunity of shaking the brave savage by the hand and proffering him +protection in this reverse of his military fortunes." + +Returning home at the end of the 1760 campaign, Putnam remained on his +farm all winter, and the next spring set out again for what proved an +uneventful season, with much hard work on fortifications and +entrenchments, but no fighting of account. For, so far as the mainland +of North America was concerned, the long struggle between France and +England was nearly at an end. France had been shorn of her possessions +in Canada, and she was losing her islands in the West Indies, where, +early in 1762, beautiful Martinique (to become famous as the birthplace +of the Empress Josephine, and a rich land of sugar and spices) was +captured by the British. + +In fact, the theater of war was transferred to the more southern regions +of the Caribbean Sea, and the New Englanders took a long breath and +congratulated themselves that at last they were at liberty to pursue +their callings unmolested. But in this they were somewhat premature, as +England was still engaged in fighting, and, no matter where her battles +were fought, she seemed to expect the loyal American colonists to +furnish soldiers for her wars. Connecticut, Putnam's home State, was +again called upon for the same number of able-bodied men she had +furnished year by year, and promptly proffered her bone and sinew to +fight the wars of King George the Third. + +A thousand men, besides fifteen hundred from New York and New Jersey, +embarked at the port of New York, in the month of June, 1762, bound for +Havana in Cuba, where British regulars were dying by hundreds of +pestilence, and sorely needed those colonial reenforcements. On this, +his first sea voyage, Colonel Putnam had a rough experience all the way +down, and off the north coast of Cuba the transport containing himself +and five hundred of his men was wrecked on a coral ledge. "Old Put" was +calm and collected, never more so, though unused to life at sea, and +preserved strict discipline among his men, thus aiding the mariners in +their endeavors to get out rafts and boats, on and in which the entire +company finally reached the shore. To his perils by fire, twice +incurred, brave Putnam could now add that by flood, thus giving the +spice of variety to his various adventures. + +"As soon as all were landed," wrote the biographer who knew him best, +"Putnam fortified his camp, that he might not be exposed to insult from +inhabitants of the neighboring districts.... Here the party remained +unmolested several days, until the storm had so much abated as to +permit the convoy to take them off. They soon joined the troops before +Havana, who, having been several weeks in that unhealthy climate, had +already begun to grow extremely sickly. The opportune arrival of the +Provincial reenforcement, in perfect health, contributed not a little to +forward the works and hasten the reduction of that important place. But +the Provincials suffered so miserably by sickness afterward, that very +few ever returned to their native land again." + +This is all that Colonel Putnam's contemporary, Humphreys, has to say of +the most eventful episode of his hero's career, but it seems to the +present writer (who has personally investigated the British and Colonial +invasion of Cuba "on the spot") that the subject is worthy of more +extended notice. The English expedition against Havana was occasioned by +the King of Spain, Charles III, having entered into what was known as +the "family compact" with Louis XV of France, by which the Bourbons were +to support each other against British rapacity and aggrandizement, as +they styled it. + +England had long looked covetously upon Havana, which the Spaniards +themselves called the "Key of the New World," situated at the mouth of +the Gulf of Mexico and (in the hands of a strong power) then controlling +the seaboard of territory at present comprised in the South Atlantic +States of our Union. So she hastened to seize the capital of Cuba, the +"Pearl of the Antilles," and early in June, 1762, the surprised and +frightened inhabitants were informed that a fleet of sixty ships-of-war +had landed more than 20,000 men at the little port of Cogimar, a few +miles to the east of picturesque and formidable Morro Castle. + +Quickly, then, the Captain-General assembled the "Junta of Defense," +composed of men most eminent in military affairs in Havana, and placed +before them the situation.[1] They resolved upon a spirited defense, +even though their soldiers were insufficiently armed and they had no +defensive works save the Morro, then about a hundred years old, and its +companion fortress called the Punta, between which two forts lay the +deep and narrow entrance to the harbor. This harbor was blocked by some +big war-ships, and a chain was stretched across the mouth, but the +English did not even essay an entrance, having landed their troops to +the east, and first marching upon the Morro from Cogimar and the town of +Guanabacao, which they took quite easily, and then sweeping over the +Cabañas hills, where the Spaniards later built the vast fortifications +which they should have constructed sooner for the defense of their +capital city. + +[Footnote 1: From _Nociones de Historia de Cuba_, by Dr. Vidal Morales; +Havana, 1904.] + +The Provincials arrived the last of July, and landed to the west of +Havana, where stands a small fort known as the Torreon of Chorrera, +which was defended with much valor, but compelled to surrender. +Afterward, however, they were transported to the Cabañas hills, and +there, on the site of the fortifications (above which, in 1904, the +American flag last waved in token of possession in Cuba), Israel Putnam +and his Provincials joined the British troops. And they were welcome, +beyond a doubt, for nearly half the British army was incapacitated +through fevers, and many men had died. + +[Illustration: Fort near Havana where the Colonials landed.] + +The arrival of the sturdy Colonials gave the besiegers of the Morro new +strength, and fresh courage, and within a few days they were called upon +to assist at carrying the castle by storm. The English had been a long +time sapping toward the fortress walls, and a breach having been opened +near the bastion, the combined assailants poured through in an +invincible flood. The Duke of Albermarle, who commanded the British +forces, had informed the comandante of the castle that he had mined the +bastion and demanded a capitulation. But the heroic commander, Don Luis +de Velasco, spurned the proffer, and as a consequence the castle was +stormed, and he was included among the five hundred slain on that +occasion. A tablet to his memory may be seen affixed against the +seaward wall of the Morro, and from the parapet may be traced the +British and Provincial line of approach. + +The bastion they breached was afterward repaired; but nothing could +repair the terrible losses sustained by both armies through sickness +caused by exposure and bad water. More than one-third of the Colonials +died of disease; but nothing seemed to trouble sturdy Old Put, who was +everywhere among his men, with comfort and consolation, carrying water +to the wounded, supporting the dying. The chaplain of the Connecticut +troops one day recorded in his diary: "Col. Putman and Lt. Parks went +off into ye country to buy fresh provisions." Two days later he noted +the death of Putnam's companion in this trip into the country; and that +was in October, only a few days before orders were given for the +Colonials to embark for New York. + +Havana capitulated soon after its only real defense, Morro Castle, was +taken, and the English entered into possession. But imagine the +feelings of the surviving soldiers who had gone so far and been exposed +to so great peril, when they learned, less than a year later, that the +city and fortress that had cost so dear had been given up, in exchange +for Florida and other Spanish territory east of the Mississippi. + +In Havana, where he was one day roaming about unarmed, Colonel Putnam +met with an adventure which nearly cost him his life and made him the +involuntary owner of a negro slave. Seeing a Spaniard beating a black +man with a bamboo cane, he darted in with his old time impetuosity, and +seizing the stick, wrenched it away from its owner, who, joined by other +exasperated Cubans, turned upon the American and compelled him to flee +to a vessel for safety. Here he was followed by the negro, who so +successfully appealed to the soldier's tender sensibilities that he +allowed him to accompany him home to Connecticut. There he served him +faithfully, and when his master died he bequeathed to "Old Dick"--as he +was called--the "Havana cane," of which the colored Cuban exile was +inordinately proud. + +Israel Putnam was now a man of substance, more than ever looked up to by +his neighbors and honored by the community in which he dwelt. Taking up +his duties of citizenship where he had left them on being summoned to +war, he threw off the military habit as he might an old garment now no +longer of service, and became again the contented, humble farmer. In +1763, about the time the treaty of peace between England and France was +signed, he was elected "selectman" of the town in which he lived, and +the ensuing spring appointed to receive the heads of such crows as +should be killed in the township, for which a bounty was offered of +sixpence each! Such humble offices as these he by no means despised, +always lending a hand to whatever appeared in the guise of duty. + +It became his duty, he thought, to go to war again, in the year 1764, +when the Indians, neglected by both French and English, who had now no +further need of their services, found themselves in danger of being +ground between the upper and the nether millstones. They looked with +apprehension upon the forts the English were erecting on every hand, and +finally rose in rebellion, under the leadership of Pontiac, chief of the +Ottawas. He organized a widespread conspiracy among the Indian tribes, +believing he could eventually exterminate "those dogs dressed in red," +as he called the English. The rising was appointed for the 7th of May, +1763, and no less than eight English garrisons were massacred, a +five-months' siege ensuing at Detroit, where Pontiac himself commanded +the Indians. The attacks were intermitted in the winter, but as they +were sure to be renewed in the spring, a call was sent out for colonial +troops. Appointed to command the Connecticut troops raised for this +service, Putnam took a prominent part in suppressing the uprising, going +out in the Bradstreet expedition. At Fort Ontario he met many old +friends, including Sir William Johnson and his band, also the Indian +chief who had captured him at Fort Ann in 1758, and who was now fighting +on the side of the English with as much zeal as he had previously served +the French. + +On his return from this wearisome campaign, Colonel Putnam again settled +down to the chosen occupation of his youth and the solace of his latter +years, on the farm. Having given ten of the best years of his life to +soldiering, he felt that he was entitled now to the rewards of peace. +But alas! within five months of his arrival home he lost two of his dear +ones by death: his daughter Elizabeth, only seventeen years of age, who +died in the winter of 1764-'65, and his beloved wife, Hannah, who passed +away in the April following. Of the ten children born to Israel and +Hannah Putnam in the twenty-six years of their happy married life, seven +were living at the time of the mother's death, the youngest only three +months old, and bearing the name of Peter Schuyler, in honor of the New +Jersey colonel who had befriended his father when a captive in Canada. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +TAVERN-KEEPER AND ORACLE + + +No one could call in question Israel Putnam's loyalty, yet the year +following his last campaign in behalf of King George, he might have been +found opposing the Government and riding from town to town, for the +purpose of inciting men to make armed resistance to the iniquitous +"Stamp Act," which had been passed and made a law early in 1765. While +James Otis, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry were eloquently declaiming +against it, Putnam was for putting words into action, and as one of the +"Sons of Liberty" was active in urging his countrymen to make a stand +for freedom. + +Though prevented by an accident from taking part in the proceedings by +which the "stamp-master" for Connecticut was compelled to resign his +position and disavow the office to which he was appointed, yet Putnam +was foremost in bringing this condition of affairs about. It seems that +one Mr. Ingersoll was appointed stamp-master by the Crown, and, on being +requested to resign from such an obnoxious office by the Sons of +Liberty, he returned an evasive answer. Consequently, a body of them +mounted their horses and went out to meet him, as he was on his way to +Hartford. Finding him on the road, they caused him to dismount and, in +the presence of the company, now swelled to several hundred, to read his +resignation as a royal appointee, and to shout for "liberty and +property," three times, as loud as he could. + +The spirit of the people, now thoroughly aroused, was very accurately +expressed by Colonel Putnam, who, deputed by the Sons of Liberty to wait +on the Governor of his State and inform him of the public sentiment +respecting the Stamp Act, made him understand that there would be no +temporizing whatever in the matter. + +"But what should I do," asked the perplexed Governor, "if the stamped +paper should be sent me by the King's command?" + +"Lock it up until we shall visit you again," replied Putnam, boldly. + +"And what will you do then?" + +"We shall expect you to give us the key of the room in which it is +deposited, and if you think fit, in order to screen yourself, you may +forewarn us not to enter that room upon our peril." + +"And then what will you do?" + +"Send the paper safely back again." + +"But if I should refuse you admission?" + +"In that case, your house will be leveled to the ground in five +minutes!" + +The Governor, who desired to be loyal, and was inclined to receive the +paper, was not called upon to act, the determined attitude of the Sons +of Liberty, preventing any from being sent into the State. Elected a +representative in 1766, Putnam was prepared to do all in his power to +frustrate the intent of the Act; but, in common with his fellow +citizens, was made happy by the news of its repeal. As this was then +the only bone of contention between the Colonials and the King, the +former hastened to send the latter a loyal address of thanks, assuring +him of their continued devotion, etc., etc. + +It would seem that farming, in colonial days, was almost as hazardous an +employment as fighting in the wilds, for Putnam was the victim of two +different accidents, by one of which he lost the first joint of his +right thumb, and by the other he received a compound fracture of his +right thigh. The latter being imperfectly attended to, rendered that leg +an inch shorter than the other, "which occasioned him ever after to limp +in his walk." Notwithstanding these injuries, he faithfully attended to +his duties as representative at Hartford. In June, 1767, two years and +two months after the death of his wife, Hannah, he was married to Mrs. +Deborah Lothrop, widow of John Gardiner, of Gardiner's Island, New York. + +As his second wife had a fine property on Brooklyn Green, in the center +of the town, and as the entertainment of his numerous admirers (who +came from all over the country to see him) was becoming burdensome, +Farmer Putnam concluded to convert the newly acquired mansion into an +inn. So he moved himself and most of his belongings (including his stock +of war relics and anecdotes) from the farmhouse to the "Green," nearly +two miles distant, and there set up as "mine host" Putnam, putting out a +sign of the Wolfe--not of the beast he had slain in early life, but the +gallant general of that name who fell at Quebec. This veritable sign may +now be seen in Hartford, at the rooms of the Connecticut Historical +Society, where also are several other precious relics of Putnam and his +time, including some autograph letters by the hero himself. + +Some one, long ago, wrote of this sign, which was affixed to one of the +great trees that stood in front of the tavern on the Green, "It +represents General Wolfe in full uniform, his eye fixed in an expression +of fiery earnestness upon some distant object, and his right arm +extended in emphatic gesture, as if charging on the foe or directing +some important movement of his army. The sign seems to have fared hardly +in one respect, being plentifully sprinkled with shot-holes!" + +A contemporary wrote of him, about this time: "Col. Putnam served with +the Connecticut troops under Amherst in the last war. By his courage and +conduct he secured to himself a good share of reputation. When peace +commenced he returned to the civil line of life. Of late he has occupied +a tavern with a farm annexed to it." + +As the landlord of a country tavern, the genial and loquacious colonel +with a past peculiarly his own, possessing the rotund figure, the frame +and habit of the traditional Boniface, seemed at last to have fallen +into his proper groove, where he fitted exactly. Now nearly fifty years +of age, with a record of ten years' fighting any one might well be proud +of, a reputation not confined within the boundaries of his own country, +and with some of his children already married and settled around him, +he had good reason to consider himself a fixture at Brooklyn Green. + +He had joined the Congregational Church, soon after the death of his +first wife, in 1765, and took a leading part in building the structure +that stands to-day near the site of the first meeting-house, which was +erected in 1734. It was in the year 1771 that the new church was +erected, opposite the house that Putnam turned into a tavern, and the +old tree that bore the sign of Wolfe. Church and trees remain to-day, +separated only by the public road; but the tavern itself no longer +exists, the building having been torn down some time ago. + +In 1772, it was voted by the parish that "Colonel Putnam take care of ye +new meeting-house and ring ye bell," for which service he was to receive +three pounds a year. Thus the duties of sexton and bell-ringer were +assumed by this many-sided man; but he had not performed them long +before he was called to go on a strange voyage in quest of lands in +West Florida, which were reported to have been granted to the survivors +of the French-and-Indian wars. The claims of the survivors were just +enough; but their quest was fruitless, for they were not given the +lands. However, a band of "military adventurers" set out, under the +leadership of General Phineas Lyman, who had been in command of +Connecticut's troops all through the wars, and Landlord Putnam was one +of them. + +Urged, perhaps, by his admirers to preserve some chronicle of his doings +this time (having been so neglectful in this respect in the past) our +hero actually began a journal, writing on the blank leaves of the +"orderly book" which he used in his Havana campaign. This book, doubly +interesting to the present generation, is still preserved by a lineal +descendant of Putnam, and attests to the fact that the soldier of many +wars was not equal to the intellectual effort of writing even a legible +diary of his doings. He soon gave it up, in fact; but the few entries +he made are exceedingly quaint and simple, as for example: + + "friday ye forst of jenauary, 1773--this Day no work don--went to + Church.... satorday ye 2--this day taking in goods for ye + voige--good weathor. thorsday ye 7--this was a varey good Day and + had almost all completed. Satorday ye 9 of Jenauary--had all things + on bord and ready for sailing But the wind was so much to ye south + it would not Do." + +At last the "military adventurers" got away. On the 30th of January they +touched in at Mole San Nicolas, island of Haiti, and a week later made +port at Montego Bay, Jamaica, where, according to the veracious diarist, +"we waited on ye mannegor of the plantation who treted us very +hamseley--walked with ous--shewed ous all ye Works and the mills to +grind ye _Cain_ and as we went thare was a dog atacked ye manegor and in +ye fight I tumbelled into won of the vats that was full of Liquer to +make rum of--shifted all my Cloths and went on borde." + +They finally arrived at Pensacola, where, learning to their sorrow that +no lands had been granted them, they set out on a short exploring trip +of the Mississippi, by the way of New Orleans, which ended north of +Natchez, to which spot General Lyman later returned and founded a +settlement, where he passed his last days. The gallant adventurers +returned to Pensacola, thence sailed to New York, where they arrived the +first week in August, 1773. + +It was Colonel Putnam's intention to invest in lands on the Mississippi, +it is believed, but the events that shaped toward and brought about the +Revolution were yearly getting more exciting, intense, and his soldier +instinct was aroused. He keenly watched the trend of events, he +discussed in his tavern the exciting news of the day with visitors from +all parts of the country, and his convictions were becoming stronger and +stronger that something dire and dreadful was to happen. + +The Boston massacre of the 5th of March, 1770, fired our hero almost to +a frenzy, and while there may have been men more eloquent in their +denunciations of the British soldiery, like Otis and Adams, there was +none more emphatic and in earnest. Between the massacre and the Boston +"Tea Party" in 1773, Putnam made his journey to the Mississippi; but he +was home, and as usual alert and anxious, when the latter event +occurred. + +From that moment he was most attentive to what was going on in Boston, +which was then the "danger spot" of the Colonies. He gave his time +freely to the anticipatory work of organizing his fellow citizens into +military companies and drilling them into proficiency, and he was made +chairman of the "Committee of Correspondence" for Brooklyn. As such he +bore to Boston, when the infamous "Port Bill" was passed, the +condolences and sympathy of his fellow citizens, in a letter eloquently +phrased, and--what was more satisfactory and substantial--the gift of a +flock of sheep. + +"We send you," the committee wrote, "one hundred and twenty-five sheep +as a present from the inhabitants of Brooklyn, hoping thereby you will +stand more firm (if possible) in the glorious cause in which you are +embarked." And Israel Putnam, always the man for the emergency, always +ready to mount and away at a moment's notice, rode all the way to +Boston, driving that flock of sheep before him! When arrived there he +was not received as the farmer, the tavern-keeper, the drover, but as +the famous military man, hero of many battles, an American of renown. He +was the guest of Dr. Joseph Warren, the patriot who was killed at Bunker +Hill; but people of all classes and conditions united to do honor to +"the celebrated Colonel Putnam," one of the "greatest military +characters of the age," and "so well known throughout North America that +no words are necessary to inform the public any further concerning him +than that his generosity led him to Boston, to cherish his oppressed +brethren and support them by every means in his power." The newspapers +alluded to him as "the old hero, Putnam"; and yet he was only +fifty-four at the time, at the period of life in which a man should be +able to do his best work. "He looks fresh and hearty," wrote one of his +friends to another, "and on an emergency would be as likely to do good +business as ever." + +And why not? Putnam himself might have asked this question, for he had +by no means reached his "grand climacteric," and was still ready, +willing--and able, as well--to fight the enemies of his country. He was +zealous in behalf of his fellow patriots, but during this visit to +Boston he found almost as many friends on the British side as on the +Colonial, including Governor Gage, with whom he had fought their common +enemies, the Indians. When one of them banteringly asked them whether he +was going to stand by the flag or the country he answered seriously, but +with perfect good nature: "I shall always be found on the side of my +country!" + +"Now, Putnam," another asked him, "don't you seriously believe that a +well appointed British army of say five thousand veterans could march +through the whole continent of America?" + +"No doubt," he promptly replied, "if they behaved civilly, and paid well +for what they wanted; but," he added, after a moment's pause, "if they +should attempt it in a hostile manner (though the men of America were +out of the question) the women would knock them all on the head with +their ladles and broomsticks!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +ON THE SIDE OF HIS COUNTRY + + +Ready and willing was Putnam--of that there is no doubt. Too willing, +some of his enemies declared, when in September, 1774, news coming from +Boston that American blood had been shed, without waiting to verify the +report, he started out to alarm the country. This proved a false alarm, +and he was strongly censured by those who had not kept a close watch on +happenings in Boston; but he defended himself so sturdily that his +critics were silenced. Two things were proved by this false alarm: that +the people were ready to be aroused on the slightest provocation, for +they filled the highways and flocked by thousands in the direction of +Boston; again, that the British intended to stay where they were, for +they extended their fortifications. Both sides were warned, and the +lines of demarcation began to be visible where before they had seemed +hardly to be distinguished, between loyalists and patriots. It was now +either for England or for America, even the common people felt, while +the leaders, like Israel Putnam, saw in the closer approach of warlike +preparations only the fulfilment of their predictions. + +The very next month, October, 1774, the militia of Putnam's State were +ordered to provide themselves with an increased supply of powder, +bullets and flints for their muskets. More vigorously than ever now he +applied himself to the training of the sturdy militia; hoping for +continued peace, perhaps, but preparing for nothing less than war. When +war broke finally, with the first blood shed at Lexington, it found the +minutemen of New England better prepared than their enemies believed, +and when the news of this epoch-making event reached Israel Putnam, this +great exemplar of the minutemen proved a model worthy their emulation. + +The messenger with the doleful tidings found him plowing in the field +back of his house at Brooklyn Green. His son Daniel was with him +driving the oxen, and when the patriot had gathered the full meaning of +the news he left the boy to unyoke the team, and himself hastened to his +barn, where he saddled and mounted his best horse and started out to +arouse the country again, as he had done seven months before. He had no +doubts this time as to the truth of the rumor, for it had come direct +and contained its own confirmation on its face. + +The British, eight hundred strong, had left Boston for Concord, where +they hoped to find some military stores. Encountering a small body of +militia at Lexington, Major Pitcairn, in command of the British +soldiers, called out to them to throw down their arms and disperse; but +as they did not do so he ordered his men to fire, killing eight of the +sturdy Americans, who even then did not run away, but joined themselves +to other minutemen now assembling, and again came in contact with their +foes at Concord Bridge. Just how many were slain the first message did +not accurately report; but it was enough that blood had been shed, and +it mattered not whether that blood was from ten men or a thousand. + +The die was cast, the moment for armed resistance had arrived, and +Israel Putnam tarried not for details, but sped straight for the home of +Governor Trumbull, at Lebanon (the same who was afterward known as +"Brother Jonathan"), and receiving from him mandatory permission to +proceed to the scene of strife, hastened back to Brooklyn, arriving at +his tavern home late in the afternoon. He had already been in the saddle +for hours, as the news reached him between eight and nine in the +morning, but before sunset the tireless warrior was again on horseback +and galloping for Cambridge and Concord. He probably had received +refreshment, food and drink at intervals, but he had not stopped to +change his working clothes for better, and went off on both long rides +in the farmer's frock which he wore when plowing in the field behind his +house. + +Though the Putnam mansion at Brooklyn Green is no longer in existence, +the great trees that stood in front of it in his time still cast their +grateful shade upon its site, and the walled field, sloping toward a +verdant meadow, may be seen by the visitor, much as it lay to the sun on +that lovely morning in April, 1775, when the farmer-patriot was +peacefully running his furrows. + +The distance to Cambridge was nearly ninety miles, yet Putnam covered it +in an all-night's ride, going pretty much over the same ground he had +traversed when, a young man of twenty-two, he had taken his wife and +child to their new home in Connecticut. Thirty-five years had elapsed +since the young pioneer had made his first venture in the world, ten of +which he had passed in fighting for the King against whose soldiers he +was soon to lead his fellow countrymen in war. Trained to fight the +battles of Britain, yet those ten years of experience in warfare with +the Indians were to prepare him for a wider, vaster field. He must now +have felt this, his patriot friends must have believed it, for their +eyes were turned expectantly toward Israel Putnam, as soon as the first +blood was shed at Lexington and Concord. + +See that sturdy figure, hurrying on horseback over the rough roads, +through the darkness of the night, toward the goal of duty! The British +had marched out of Boston at night, on the eighteenth of April, their +purpose and their route foretold by Paul Revere (who, by the way, was in +the campaign at Lake George, if not a comrade of Israel Putnam at that +time). At or near daybreak of the nineteenth, at Lexington, the shots +were fired "heard round the world"; at noon the British were in retreat +from Concord, where they had been routed by the minutemen, and by night, +exhausted, disgraced, defeated, they had reached Charlestown, under the +escort of Lord Percy and his 1,200 reenforcements, where they were +protected from the enraged militia by the guns of the fleet. + +With such celerity traveled the news, that Putnam heard it on the +morning of the twentieth; and with such celerity traveled Putnam, that +he was at Cambridge _on the morning of the twenty-first_, and that same +day at Concord, wonderful as may seem the feat performed by gallant +horse and rider. + +In the custody of the Connecticut Historical Society, at Hartford, the +original of the following letter may be found, which attests to Putnam's +arrival at Concord on the twenty-first, and to the use he made of his +time: + + Concord, April 21, 1775. + + Col. Williams, Sir + + I have waited on the com'tee of the Provisional Congress and it is + there Determination to have a standing Armey of twenty-two thousand + Men from the New England colonys of wh'h it is soposed the coloney + of Conecticut must raise Six Thousand and beg they would be on + Parade at Cambridge as Speedy as may be with conveniency together + with Provisions and Sufficiency of amonition for there own use, the + Battle hear is much as represented at Pomfrett--Except that there + is more killed and a Number taken Prisoners--The accounts are at + Present so confused that it is Impossible to assertain the number + exact. Shall inform you of the Prossedings from Time to Time as we + have New occurencys. + + mean Time I am Sir yr very Humble Servt + + Israel Putnam. + + N.B. The Throop of Horse is not Expected to come on till further + notice. + + Sir. Being in hast and cannot write Disire a copy of this to be + transmitted to Governor Trumble. + + A true copy, Ebenezer Williams. + + Pomfret, April 22, 1775. + +In the Lexington-Concord fight, the first engagement between British and +native Americans, the former lost two hundred and seventy-three, and the +latter about one hundred, in killed and wounded, twenty-three towns +being represented among the wounded and slain. "It was not a great fight +in itself, but it was great, and even grand, in its consequences. On +that day a nation was born. Then the American learned for the first time +how to stand and fight for their own liberties." + +The rallying minutemen flocked to the scene of the encounter, springing +to arms without a thought of consequences, rising to the defense of +their homes as one man, and within a week there were sixteen thousand +men investing the demoralized enemy at Boston. Their alacrity in +assembling at the common rendezvous has been a matter of wonder ever +since, for nearly all marched on foot, without the assistance of horses +or steam. The writer of these lines had an ancestor who was foremost +among those minutemen hurrying to the defense of liberty, and who, it is +a tradition in his family, ran nearly all the way from Beverly, twenty +miles distant, with his flint-lock on his shoulder. Hence, as all were +equally prompt in leaping at the enemy's throat, Putnam's remarkable +feat was not at the time considered extraordinary. + +In a few days our hero was at home again, having been called to Hartford +by the legislators, who were desirous of consulting with their most +experienced warrior, and bestowed upon him the rank and title of +brigadier-general. All these events took place within the space of a +week's time, and before another week had passed Brigadier-General Putnam +was in headquarters at Cambridge, occupying a house which stood within +the present grounds of Harvard University. General Artemus Ward, of +Massachusetts, was commander-in-chief of the forces, having been +commissioned by the Provincial Congress; but Putnam was the greater +favorite with the soldiers, in whose vocabulary (to paraphrase a saying +common at the time) "the British were the Philistines, and Putnam, the +American Samson, a chosen instrument to defeat the foe." + +It is a matter of record that General Ward relied upon the advice of his +old friend, with whom he had fought, under Abercrombie, at Ticonderoga, +and kept him always within call at headquarters. Had he followed his +advice more closely, however, it would have been better for their sacred +cause, as was shown in the crucial test at the battle of Bunker Hill, +when Putnam's repeated requests for reenforcements were at first denied, +then so hesitatingly granted that they proved of small avail. + +To Putnam, then, and not to Ward, the officers and men of the assembled +militia looked for advice and encouragement. They were quite naturally +doubtful as to the result of their hasty action, and as most of them had +never been under fire they were timid and even down-hearted. But Putnam +was continually engaged in arousing both their patriotism and their +hopes. When General Warren asked him (wrote Putnam's son Daniel, many +years later) "if 10,000 British troops should march out of Boston, what +number, in his opinion, would be competent to meet them, the answer was, +'Let me pick my officers, and I would not fear to meet them with half +that number--not in a pitched battle, to stop them at once, for no +troops are better than the British--but I would fight on the retreat, +and every wall we passed should be lined with the dead!'" + +"Our men," the General said on another occasion, "would always follow +wherever their officers led--I know this to have been the case with +mine, and have also seen it in other instances." And as Putnam's record +had long since proved that he always led, and asked no man to approach +nearer the foe than he himself was willing to go, the soldiers were +enthusiastic for "Old Wolf Put," the fighter, though lukewarm in their +feelings toward the commander. + +They did not admire the methods Putnam employed to keep them out of +mischief--these raw and undisciplined militia, accustomed to do as they +liked and to take orders from no man--for he kept them actively employed +all the time. "It is better to dig a ditch every morning, and fill it up +at evening, than to have the men idle," said Old Put, and though the men +grumbled the results soon showed that he was right. + +What they also needed more than anything else was confidence, and, in +order to inspire that, he paraded some two thousand of them through +Charlestown over the hills soon to become world-famous, and right in +sight of the enemy. He did this several times, and on one occasion took +with him his son Daniel, who wrote of it afterward: "I felt proud to be +numbered among what I then thought to be a mighty host destined for some +great enterprise." + +Daniel was then only fifteen years of age, yet he performed a man's +work, proving himself worthy of his parentage, and was his father's +aide-de-camp and companion. During the progress of the battle at Bunker +Hill he acted as the guard and defender of a British refugee's wife and +family, and stoutly did his duty, boy that he was. + +Perhaps the highest tribute paid to Putnam's prowess was the offer of +his old-time friend and comrade, General Gage, the British +commander-in-chief, to pay him a large sum of money, and secure him a +major-generalcy in the British army, if he would desert the "rebel" +cause and come over to that of the King. Putnam spurned this offer, of +course, as did sturdy Colonel Stark, another comrade of the Indian wars, +and several others. He was all the more active, if possible, in seeking +out the enemy's weak points and in attempts to reduce his supplies. + +An opportunity offered, some time in the last week of May, both to annoy +the enemy and gain substantial recompense for a somewhat hazardous +adventure. Several hundred sheep and cattle were in pasture on Hog and +Noddles islands (the latter now East Boston), and as it was feared that +the British might secure them before the Colonials did, a small force +was sent to drive them to the mainland. It was sent by Putnam, whose +great and burning desire for a "brush" with the enemy was now about to +be gratified, and as a party of marines on guard over the live-stock +fired on the Americans, Putnam hastened to their rescue with a larger +force. + +A British sloop and schooner then joined in the fight; but the Colonials +turned their single cannon upon the craft, and soon disabled the larger +vessel, which drifted ashore and, after the crew had been either shot or +driven away, was set on fire. In this engagement ten or fifteen British +were killed and wounded, but no Provincial lost his life, though two or +three of Putnam's men were wounded. They fought with great spirit, +wading in water from knee to waist deep, and not only brought off all +the live-stock in safety, but also took away the guns, rigging and sails +of the schooner, as well as some clothes and money left by the sailors +in their flight. This brisk engagement gave the raw soldiers just the +confidence they needed, and they returned in high spirits to their camp. + +"I wish we could have something of this kind to do every day," remarked +Putnam to Ward and Warren, as he reached his headquarters, where they +were waiting for him to appear. "It would teach our men how little +danger there is from cannon-balls; for though they have sent a great +many at us, nobody has been much hurt by them." He was wet from head to +foot, and covered with mud to his waist; but he did not mind that at +all, and was as hilarious as a boy just let out from school. + +The British were greatly chagrined at this second defeat, the first +engagement after the Concord-Lexington fight, but at an exchange of +prisoners, conducted, on the one hand, under Putnam and Warren, and on +the other under Majors Small and Moncrief, the sixth of June, no ill +feeling was shown. Putnam and Small (whose life the former was +instrumental in saving at Bunker Hill, and who were old +companions-at-arms), embraced, and one eye-witness said, kissed each +other, in the excess of their joy at meeting; yet less than two weeks +later they were opposed in a fight to the death. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL + + +General Putnam was greatly elated over the exchange of prisoners, +recognizing, with the prescience of a statesman, that General Gage had +conceded a point of importance as to the status of his opponents. "He +may _call_ us rebels now, if he will," he said to his son, "but why then +doesn't he hang his prisoners instead of exchanging them? By this act he +has virtually placed us on an equality, and acknowledged our _right_ of +resistance." That was one point gained by the general; another was, the +consent of the Committee of Safety to his plan of operations against the +British in Boston. + +General Ward and Dr. Warren were in favor of moderation, and opposed to +the scheme advanced by Putnam, of forcing the enemy to either fight or +retire. They urged that they had no battering cannon and but little +powder, there being but sixty-seven barrels in the whole army, and no +mills to make any more when that was gone. And again, they feared for +the steadiness of the men, once they found themselves opposed by the +best of Britain's soldiers. But Putnam was persistent, not in advocating +the bombarding of Boston, or of a large expenditure of powder and ball +in trying to force the British from their position; but in fortifying +the heights of Dorchester and Charlestown, which completely commanded +the city. + +He knew the British mode of attack and defense, knew their tactics +through long observation in the ranks; and yet for him and his +compatriots those same British professed to feel naught but contempt. +They had always ignored the Provincials' claims to advancement on equal +terms with their own officers; they thought their soldiers in the Indian +wars were boorish and uncouth, merely because they paid little attention +to dress or discipline; yet here was one of those least regardful of +appearances (though an advocate of discipline) who knew them and their +tactics through and through. And he also knew the men of his command +better than any officers of inferior rank knew them. His one cry was, +"fight, fight; bring our men into contact with the enemy, in order that +they shall gain confidence and learn that they are really their equals, +and more than that. Fight and entrench, entrench and fight; run away +when it comes to a pinch, fight while you run; but fight!" + +"But will our men stand before an enemy?" queried the timid ones. "Yes, +they will," declared Putnam with a laugh. "Our troops are not all afraid +of their heads, though very much concerned for their _legs_, and if you +cover these they'll fight forever!" In other words, put them behind +entrenchments, and he would pit them against the finest fighters that +could be brought against them. The result at Bunker Hill was a +vindication of his belief. + +As Putnam had all along declared, it was in the nature of an +impossibility for sixteen thousand armed men to besiege ten thousand +other armed men without something happening partaking of violence. The +war was "on," there was no doubt of that, why then hesitate at warlike +measures? Still the commander-in-chief hesitated and paltered, while +Putnam fumed, but labored hard. + +What Putnam had advocated as the highest strategy, the seizing of some +height commanding the British position, was forced upon the irresolute +commander-in-chief by the British themselves. Shortly after General +Gage's four thousand soldiers had been reenforced by six thousand more, +under Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, the Americans learned that the enemy +intended to take and fortify the heights of Charlestown or Dorchester +themselves. As it was then the sixteenth of June, and their move was to +be made on the eighteenth, there was no time to lose if they were to be +forestalled; so orders were issued by the Committee of Safety, +sanctioned by a council of war, for taking possession of Bunker Hill in +Charlestown. + +A detail of a thousand men was made from three Massachusetts regiments, +to which, in order to placate General Putnam, two hundred Connecticut +soldiers were added under his friend, Captain Knowlton. This small body +of militia, with a few field pieces as artillery, was to sally forth to +rouse the British lion in his lair. The detachment was placed under +Colonel William Prescott, of Massachusetts, General Putnam "having the +general superintendence of the expedition," and about nine o'clock at +night, after having been paraded on Cambridge Common, and listened to +prayer by the president of Harvard College, this devoted band set forth +on its mysterious mission. + +Striding ahead of his men, all of whom had perfect confidence in their +beloved officer, Colonel Prescott led the way, accompanied by two +sergeants carrying lanterns. Not until they had reached the foot of +Bunker Hill, where they found entrenching tools awaiting them which had +been sent ahead in wagons, did the rank and file know the object of +their march in the night; yet they faltered not, nor displayed a +disposition to retreat. Their leaders knew, of course; but even they +were in doubt, when once arrived at Charlestown, which of its eminences +to select. Their orders explicitly indicated Bunker Hill as the one to +fortify, but, "though this was the most commanding and most defensible +position, it was too far from the enemy to annoy their army and +shipping." Situated nearer the British general position was another +elevation, Breed's Hill; but this was only sixty-two feet in height, as +compared with Bunker Hill's one hundred and ten. This was finally +selected, but only after a long consultation, which lasted until near +midnight, when the veteran military engineer, Colonel Gridley (who had +been awaiting the decision in great anxiety, owing to the loss of +valuable time), at once proceeded to lay out the works. + +On the summit of Breed's Hill the skilled engineer quickly ran the lines +of that world-famous redoubt in which our immortal freemen inflicted a +technical defeat upon Britain's bravest soldiers. It was planned and +constructed with a redan facing Charlestown which protected the south +side of the hill, and was only about eight rods square, continued by a +breastwork on its eastern side, from which it was separated by a +sallyport protected in front by a "blind," with a passage-way opening +rearward as a provision for retreat. The men were given picks and +shovels, and at once bent to their task with feverish energy. Scant four +hours they had before them, when daylight would reveal them and their +position to the enemy, for June's longest days and shortest nights were +near, with daylight at four in the morning. They all labored for their +lives, both officers and men, and toiled without cessation to the end. +The night was dark, but the stars shone bright, and by their light +Colonel Prescott and another officer, Major Brooks, stole down to the +shore to observe the enemy, where they were reassured by the "All's +well" from the British sentries on board the ships off shore. + +All was not well--for them--most assuredly; but it was not until the +morning mists rolled away from the rounded summits of the hills in front +that they found it out. Then they might well gaze in wrath and wonder, +beholding that work as if of enchantment going on before them, on that +hill-top within short cannon-shot of their shipping. But they did not +spend much time in rubbing their eyes and in vain speculation, being +well assured at a glance that the "rascally American militia" had stolen +a march upon them in the night and brought all their plans to naught. + +A brisk cannonade was opened from the war-ships upon the weary, toiling +men in the entrenchment; but they still worked on, incited to their +utmost by the gallant Prescott, who himself is said to have lent a hand +with pick and shovel. General Putnam's predictions as to their coolness +under fire were more than verified, and had he been there then he would +have been surprised at their indifference to the cannonading now going +on so furiously. One man only was killed in this preliminary firing, and +he had strayed outside the breastwork. + +"Man killed, what shall we do with him?" asked a subaltern of Prescott. + +"Bury him," was the laconic answer; and buried he was, in the ditch, +while the work on the redoubt went on. + +General Putnam was not on the hill when the cannon-fire began, having +gone back to camp to change his tired horse for a fresher one; for his +gait, says the historian, was always fast and furious. At the first +report, however, he pricked up his ears and sent to Commander Ward for +another horse; but before his orderly returned, he had procured still +another and was already on his way to Charlestown. He had tried to +procure for his men not only reenforcements but refreshments, for they +had taken with them only one day's rations. In this he was disappointed, +General Ward refusing to send over any more men, at that time, +believing the British would take advantage of his weakened force to make +a direct attack upon the main army at Cambridge. But when, having +arrived at the hill, Putnam conversed with Prescott and noted the +necessitous condition of the men, he again mounted and in hot haste rode +back to Cambridge, with an urgent plea to the commander for assistance. +This time it was not refused, and again gallant Putnam rode across +Charlestown Neck, at the risk of his life, to take part in the coming +conflict. + +Meanwhile, there was a great commotion in the British camps, and from +their place of vantage on Breed's Hill the patriots could see the +gathering soldiers marching for the shore. General Gage had quickly +called a council, which instantly decided that the patriots must be +dislodged at whatever cost. As the prescient Putnam had foretold, the +occupation of a hill so near their lines made their position untenable. +They must move out or fight, and not even Putnam believed they would +retreat from their snug quarters in Boston town. He knew well what was +coming, and was not at all surprised to see, gathering beneath the +blazing morning sun of the torrid day that had succeeded to a sultry +night, the thousands of redcoats, armed and equipped for battle. + +After informing the anxious soldiers on the hill of the promised succor +to arrive, Putnam rode along the lines and, casting his eye over the +situation, perceived that it would be a grave strategic omission to +neglect to entrench the hill in the rear, which was the original object +of their advance. As the main redoubt was then practically completed, +and the men were resting from their toil, he ordered the entrenching +tools to be taken to Bunker Hill, and another work begun which might +serve as a "rallying place" in case they were compelled to retreat--as +undoubtedly they would be. This entrenchment was begun but never +finished, owing to the lack of time. Had it been completed, and had the +men been able to avail of its defenses, there might have been a +different tale to tell of the final finish at Bunker Hill. But noon had +now arrived, the British frigates and floating batteries were by this +time not only raining shot like hail upon and around the redoubt, but +sending a scathing fire across the Neck, under cover of which +barge-loads of soldiers were landing on the peninsula preparatory to an +advance. + +Noon came, but not the reenforcements which had been promised by General +Ward, so General Putnam "seized the opportunity of hastening to +Cambridge, whence he returned without delay. He had to pass a galling +enfilading fire of round, bar, and chain shot, which thundered across +the Neck from a frigate in the Charles River, and two floating batteries +hauled close to the shore," wrote one who had conversed with +eye-witnesses of this scene. The neck, or narrow passage-way between the +Charles and Mystic Rivers, was only about one hundred and thirty yards +across and exposed to that terrible cannonade; yet over it flew the +reckless rider, coat off, in shirt-sleeves, an old white hat on his +head; back and forth he rode, fearless and unscathed. The great painter +Trumbull, who produced the celebrated picture of the Battle of Bunker +Hill, which has excited the admiration of thousands, represented General +Putnam conspicuously placed in that scene, but arrayed in an immaculate +uniform, with ruffles and frills, and such like accessories which "Old +Put" would have spurned. + +Still, the _man_ was there, if not the uniform. His appointment as +major-general was dated two days after that memorable 17th of June; but +he was then, as brigadier-general, the ranking officer present, until +brave Warren appeared upon the scene. The latter was discovered by +Putnam just as he was wheeling about after meeting and posting the +gallant Colonel Stark and his New Hampshire reenforcements behind the +rail fence and grass breastwork, where they gave such a good account of +themselves that day. Turning about, he saw the slender figure of the +newly-made major-general before him, a sword at his side, but a musket +on his shoulder. + +"What, Warren, you here?" he is said to have exclaimed. "I am sorry to +see you ... but I'm ready to submit myself to your orders." + +"No, no, I came only as a volunteer," replied Warren. "Tell me where I +can be most useful." + +Pointing to the redoubt, Putnam said, "You will be protected there." + +"I am not seeking a place of safety," rejoined Warren with warmth; "tell +me where the onset will be most furious." + +"There," answered Putnam. "That will be the enemy's object. Prescott is +there and will do his duty; if that can be defended, the day will be +ours." + +The shouts of the soldiers announced to Putnam the arrival of Warren in +their midst, and not long after another cheer proclaimed the arrival of +an old friend and comrade of his, Colonel Seth Pomeroy, a veteran of the +Indian wars, who, twenty years before, had succeeded to the command of +Colonel Ephraim Williams's regiment at the battle of Lake George. He had +been aroused by the tidings from the seat of war, and though, like +Putnam, he lived nearly or quite a hundred miles away, he had hastened +to be in the thick of the fight. He had borrowed a horse from General +Ward, but, with characteristic Yankee caution, had left it the other +side of the Neck, in charge of a sentry, and had walked over, amid the +hail of shot from the frigates and batteries. + +Pomeroy and Putnam would have made a good pair to represent Valor and +Intrepidity, were statues desired for those noble qualities. When Putnam +saw him he cried out: "You here, Pomeroy? By God! a cannon-shot would +waken you out of your grave!" He was in his seventieth year, having been +born in 1706, and twelve years Putnam's senior. + +So they gathered, the young and the old, the learned doctor and the +practical mechanic, for the defense of Freedom--a magnet that drew both +Pomeroy and Warren to that since-famous redoubt on the summit of Breed's +Hill. They offered their services to Colonel Prescott, and he gladly +accepted them, demurring as to Warren, and tendering him the command, +which was his by right of rank. But the patriot simply said, as before, +that he had come to fight as a volunteer, and at once mingled with the +men within the redoubt. + +The movements of the British were slow, and mid-afternoon had arrived +before the agonizing suspense was over and they began their advance up +the hill. The eager Americans were hardly to be kept behind their +earthworks, much less restrained from firing at the advancing foe, as +the solid ranks came marching up the acclivity, ominously silent, with +deadly intent. But Putnam was with them, riding slowly up and down the +lines. + +"Don't waste your powder, boys," he shouted. "Wait for orders, then fire +low, take aim at their waistbands. Aim at the handsome coats, pick off +the commanders!" They did as commanded, only a few anticipating orders, +and at the fatal command, "Fire!" the ranks in front of them melted away +like snow before the sun. + +It was the same at the breastwork as at the redoubt, and at the second +or third volley the remaining redcoats broke and fled promiscuously down +the hill. It was not in the nature of even the bravest men to march to +certain destruction, and General Howe had difficulty in re-forming his +defeated troops for a second assault; but on they came, the intrepid +Howe in advance and on foot, until within even a shorter distance of +redoubt, breastwork, and rail fence, when a sheet of flame burst forth +that carried all before it to destruction. + +The scene outspread from the hill was perfectly appalling, and, to add +to the terrors of thunderous artillery, from frigates, floating +batteries and field-pieces, clouds of smoke came pouring out from +Charlestown, which had been set on fire, enveloping the contestants, at +first, in semi-obscurity. It was the intention of the British, in +setting fire to Charlestown, to veil their movements as they marched up +the hill; but this was frustrated by the rising wind, which carried the +smoke aloft and away. + +In the second advance, as in the first, the soldiers were led by General +Howe, who seemed, like Putnam, to bear a charmed life, at this time +having all his staff officers killed or wounded but one. For the +Provincials had strictly obeyed Putnam's orders, to pick off the men in +handsome coats. He himself was touched to the heart. + +"Oh, my God, what carnage!" he cried, as he saw his former friends and +comrades fall before the withering blast. Seeing several of his men +aiming their pieces at the only officer remaining unhurt, he darted +forward and struck up their muskets, exclaiming: "For God's sake, lads, +don't fire at that man! I love him as I do my brother." It was Major +Small, a former companion of the Indian wars, who owed his life to +Putnam's intervention, and who afterward tried to requite the +favor--though vainly--when brave Warren fell, by entreating him to +surrender. + +The sword with which Old Put struck up the muskets of his men was always +visible in the thickest of the fight, waving in air, descending with +resounding whacks--the flat of it--upon recreant soldiers' shoulders; +held threateningly against the breast of cowardly artillerymen, when, +their cartridges proving inadequate, they were about abandoning their +guns. + +The little field-pieces were too puny to do much harm, but they counted +for something, Putnam said, as he tore a cartridge in pieces and, +ladling the powder and canister into the gun, aimed and discharged it +into the advancing ranks of the foe, with effect. But all was of no +avail. The Americans had good cause to believe the enemy had had enough; +but Putnam knew the foe and cautioned them against overconfidence. True +to his predictions, they reformed for a third charge upon the hill, led, +as before, by the gallant Howe, and this time, as the Provincials had +nearly exhausted their supply of ammunition, they were forced to +extremities. + +Yet nearer than before, the British were allowed to approach, and, with +their artillery enfilading the redoubt and the breastwork with deadly +effect, the brave Provincials waited till they were within twenty yards +before they fired their last rounds into the foe. Then they clubbed +their muskets, dashed stones into the faces of the foe, fighting hand to +hand, as the British poured over the earthworks in a stream. Seeing his +forlorn position, Prescott ordered a retreat, and his men sullenly +obeyed, fighting to the last, stubbornly contesting every foot. + +Down below, on the slope near the Neck, was the infuriated Putnam, doing +his utmost to urge forward the belated reenforcements. When he saw the +onpouring mass of men in retreat he was wild with rage. "Halt, you +infernal cowards!" he yelled. "Halt here and make a stand. We can stop +them yet!" But he was overborne by the resistless stream, and with an +impious imprecation on his lips he dismounted, near a field-piece, "and +seemed resolved to brave the foe alone." One man only, a sergeant, took +his stand beside him, but he was soon shot down, and brave Old Put was +left without support. "The enemy's bayonets were just upon him when he +retired," probably the last unwounded warrior to retreat from Bunker +Hill! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +HOLDING THE ENEMY AT BAY + + +The battle had been fought, and had resulted even better than the then +enraged Putnam himself could have anticipated, for although technically +defeated, the Provincials had achieved a real victory, the fruits of +which were to be enjoyed by generations then unborn. For they had +conquered themselves as well as the enemy, whom they had met with calm +confidence; and had they been better supplied with ammunition, that +enemy would never have seen the inside of the redoubt and the +breastworks. + +British bayonets defeated them finally, as opposed to clubbed muskets +and stones cast by despairing men, whose very last thought was of +retreat. Many and many a man besides Prescott and Putnam, Stark and +Pomeroy, Knowlton and McClary, raged like wolves that day at its ending, +to find themselves compelled to accept a retreat as the alternative of +capture or death. Like lions making for their lairs in the hills, +Prescott and Putnam gave way at last before the overwhelming forces of +the enemy; and, after passing through the storm of cannon-balls still +hurtling across the Neck, they had leisure to count up their losses; for +the British were too exhausted, too much in awe of their prowess, even, +to pursue. + +It was a very good showing for green troops, that which told the +respective losses of British and Americans: more than a thousand of the +former, as against less than five hundred of the latter. Each side lost, +in killed and wounded, about one-third the total number of its men, for +the British brought about four thousand five hundred troops into the +field; while the Americans in active conflict, including such +reenforcements as reached the hill, scarcely exceeded fifteen hundred. + +A very good showing, a "great victory"--yet purchased at fearful cost +to both sides. A host of British officers, many of them bearing names +distinguished for valor and honorable lineage, went down before the +volleys of the Provincials, while the latter had also a sorrowful tale +to tell. Warren had fallen, one of the last to leave the redoubt; old +Pomeroy had his musket shattered, but drew off in good order, taking it +along with him for repairs; McClary was killed by a cannon-ball, while +boasting that the shot was not cast that would end his life; and so the +story went. + +One of the strangest happenings was the end of Major Pitcairn, who had +ordered the first shots fired at Lexington, and who, one of the first +over the redoubt, was killed by a negro soldier named Salem, falling +into the arms of his son. It came about, some time after, that the +pistols he had carried at Lexington (which were taken from his holsters +when his horse was shot under him, and he lay on the ground feigning +himself dead) were presented to General Putnam. He carried them through +all his subsequent campaigns, and at present they may be found in the +custody of the Library at Lexington. + +One field-piece only was saved out of six guns taken by the Provincials +into battle, and it was near the last one left in the field that the +enraged Putnam took his stand, between his retreating men and the +advancing foe, until "his countrymen were in momentary expectation of +seeing this compeer of the immortal Warren fall." + +That was Putnam: one of the first in the field, the last to leave it. We +have seen (as all his biographers and many historians have agreed in +stating) that he took a most active part throughout, exposing himself +continually to the shots of the enemy, guiding, directing, leading; and +that no man's commands were so eagerly received and so promptly obeyed +as his. And yet there are cavilers who have raised the question as to +whether he or Prescott commanded at the battle of Bunker Hill--as though +it mattered much. Both were sons of Massachusetts, and Putnam an +adoptive son of Connecticut, fighting on Massachusetts soil. + +It is certain that neither he nor Prescott gave a thought to this +matter, especially at the time the balls flew thickest.[2] They may have +had differences of opinion, as, for instance, when Putnam attempted to +take away some of Prescott's men from the redoubt to throw up earthworks +on Bunker Hill. Subsequent events proved that Putnam's scheme of defense +was the right one, and only lack of time and men prevented its being +carried out. + +[Footnote 2: "Putnam," says Irving, in his Life of Washington, "also was +a leading spirit throughout the affair; one of the first to prompt and +the last to maintain it. He appears to have been active and efficient at +every point, sometimes fortifying, sometimes hurrying up reenforcements; +inspiriting the men by his presence while they were able to maintain +their ground, and fighting gallantly at the outpost to cover their +retreat."] + +As soon as once assured that the defeat of the Provincials was +overwhelming, Putnam lost no time in entrenching at Prospect Hill, the +first spot at which he could halt his fleeing troops. Here he stayed, +working like a beaver and digging like a badger, and this strategic +position, which he had seized and selected almost intuitively, he +continued to occupy until appointed to the command of the center +division of the army at Cambridge, where, on July 2, 1775, he for the +first time met General Washington, who had come with his appointment as +Commander-in-Chief recently received from the Continental Congress. + +Not long after formally taking command of the army, beneath the historic +elm at Cambridge, Washington made a tour of the fortifications and was +astonished at the progress Putnam had made at Prospect Hill, as well as +at the military skill he had shown in taking and fortifying it. Two days +later he presented him with his commission as a _Major-General_ in the +Continental Army, which had been unanimously bestowed by Congress on the +19th of June, two days after the battle of Bunker Hill, and which he +received on the 4th of July. Putnam's commission was the only one then +presented in person by Washington, though three others had been +appointed major-generals under him: Lee, Ward, and Schuyler. A great +deal of jealousy and heart-burning resulted from the appointments, one +of the brigadiers, General Spencer, over whom Putnam had been advanced, +threatening to resign. + +In these days began the friendship which existed between the +Commander-in-Chief and Major-General Putnam during the remainder of +their lives. Putnam's honesty, industry, frankness, and integrity +interested General Washington, who was delighted with this bluff old +soldier who wore his laurels so modestly. "You'll find," wrote a +contemporary to a friend, "that Generals Washington and Lee are vastly +fonder and think higher of Putnam than any man in the army; and he truly +is the hero of the day!" + +On the 6th of July, 1775, the Continental Congress sent out its formal +Statement, which was read at headquarters in Cambridge on the 15th, and +to Putnam's division, then at Prospect Hill, on the 18th. At the same +time the new standard recently sent from Connecticut was unfurled, to +the acclaim of a mighty "_Amen!_" and the thunder of cannon from the +fort. The commotion aroused the British in their dearly-bought +stronghold over at Charlestown. In the language of the Essex Gazette, +proclaiming this event: "The Philistines on Bunker Hill heard the shouts +of the _Israelites_, and being very fearful, paraded themselves in +battle array." + +Putnam's bold stand at Prospect Hill, so promptly taken and so stoutly +maintained, kept the enemy within the territory they had purchased with +the blood of their best soldiers, and they never advanced any farther +into the country they coveted. The lines of investment around Boston +were drawn closer and made more nearly impregnable, yet weeks and months +went by without any material change in the relative positions of British +and Provincials, save that Putnam still kept on digging, and creeping +nearer and nearer to the foe. By fortifying Cobble Hill, an elevation +that more completely commanded the Charles than his main fortress at +Prospect Hill, Putnam was enabled to open fire upon the British +men-of-war and floating batteries, and soon silenced and drove them +away. Not satisfied with this achievement, a few days later his men were +at work upon an entrenchment within half a mile and under the fire of a +British man-of-war, a squad of these intrepid soldiers being commanded +by his eldest son, Israel. + +The British were now alarmed, and doubtless believed, in the language of +a writer commenting on these events, that "every fort which was defended +by General Putnam might be considered as impregnable, if daring courage +and intrepidity could always resist superior force." + +Still, while the British feared to advance upon the Americans, the +latter, though eager to drive them out of their stronghold, were unable +to do so from lack of artillery and ammunition. This lack was to some +extent supplied by the capture of some ordnance ships by our gallant +privateers, though as late as January, 1776, one of the Provincial +colonels wrote to another: "The bay is open; everything thaws here +except Old Put. He is still as hard as ever, crying out for +_powder--powder_--ye gods, give us powder!" + +Cannon-balls, several hundred of them, he had secured (if we may credit +a story told at the time) by conspicuously posting some of his men on an +elevation in front of a sandy hill in sight of a British war-ship, from +which by this ingenious ruse he drew a rain of shot, which supplied his +needs for the time being, as they were afterward easily dug out of the +sand! + +Among the captures by the privateers was a 13-inch brass mortar weighing +nearly three thousand pounds, which was taken to Cambridge, where +(according to the same veracious narrator of the "powder cry," the witty +Provincial colonel), it was the occasion of a great jubilation. "To +crown the glorious scene," he says, "there intervened one truly +ludicrous, which was Old Put mounted on the large mortar, which was +fixed in its bed for the occasion, with a bottle of rum in his hand, +standing parson to christen, while godfather Mifflin, the +quartermaster-general, gave it the name of Congress!" + +Old Put never lost a chance for fun and frolic, though he was as stern a +disciplinarian as Washington himself, who, however, must have been +greatly shocked at this horse-play in which his favorite General took +part. But the rank and file were delighted; and it was the possession of +just such qualities, of hilarious good-humor combined with sturdy +common-sense, that made Old Put a universal favorite. For dignity he +cared nothing at all; for discipline he was a "stickler"; and, as the +men hated the one as much as they disliked the other, yet loved and +admired their rough-and-ready General intensely, Putnam proved the +coherent factor in the combination that held the army together. At +another "truly ludicrous" scene, somewhat later, in which Putnam was one +of the participants, the dignified Commander-in-Chief is said to have +laughed until his sides ached. Looking from a window of his chamber in +the Craigie mansion, one morning, Washington perceived Putnam +approaching on horseback, with a very stout lady mounted behind his +saddle, and riding as if for dear life. The woman was an accessory of a +British spy, whom Putnam had arrested, and had brought to his commander +to be disciplined. It was a long while before Washington could recover +his countenance sufficiently to proceed with the business. + +At last, after months of waiting, the arrival of General Knox with +fifty-five cannon and a quantity of ammunition, which, with magnificent +daring, he had collected and brought from the forts on the frontier, put +the Provincials in possession of the means they needed for compelling +the British to retire. Following a council of war, Dorchester Heights +were occupied on the 4th of March, the attention of the enemy being +first diverted from the real object by a two-days' cannon-fire upon the +other side of the city, and after a futile attempt by General Howe to +assault the works erected by the Americans, on the 17th the British +hastily took to their ships. + +Had this intended assault by the British taken place, Washington was +ready to make a direct attack upon Boston with the troops in two +divisions, under the command of General Putnam. At the last council of +war, it is narrated, when General Washington had requested Putnam to +give more attention to the matter in hand, he replied: "Oh, my dear +General, plan the battle to suit yourself, and I will fight it!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN COMMAND AT NEW YORK + + +The British had been forced out of Boston; they had embarked aboard +their fleet; but for more than a week they lingered in the outer harbor, +as if uncertain whither to go. While Washington was in doubt as to their +next movement, he shrewdly guessed that the city of New York, being so +advantageously situated, especially commanding communication with Canada +by the valley of the Hudson River, would be their ultimate, if not +immediate objective. He had already despatched thither General Lee, who +was planning defenses for the harbor; but as he desired Lee to command +in the South, he looked around for another man to take his place. Troops +were on the way, also, under Generals Heath and Sullivan, to be followed +by many more, and there was every indication that soon a large army +would be concentrated in and around New York. + +Who to trust with this important command was a serious question for the +Commander-in-Chief, but he finally pitched upon Putnam, in whom he +seemed to have confidence, though with some misgivings which +foreshadowed the accuracy of his final estimate of the man. In a letter +treating of a similar situation, two months previously, Washington had +written to Congress: "General Putnam is a most valuable man and a fine +executive officer; but I do not know how he would conduct in a separate +department." + +But he resolved to entrust him with the command, and on the 29th of +March, only twelve days after the British had left, gave him his orders, +which concluded with this expression of confidence: "Your long service +and experience will, better than my particular directions at this +distance, point out to you the works most proper to be raised; and your +perseverance, activity, and zeal will lead you, without my recommending +it, to exert every nerve to disappoint the enemy's designs." + +With his customary expedition, General Putnam lost no time in getting to +New York, arriving there on the 4th of April, whither he was followed by +Washington nine days later. The Commander-in-Chief found, when he +arrived, little to criticize and much to commend in what Putnam had +done, for he had already stopped the Tories from furnishing supplies to +the British fleet, had commenced to fortify Governor's Island and Red +Hook, increased the efficiency of the works on Brooklyn Heights, +barricaded the streets of New York with mahogany logs from the West +Indies, and organized a "navy" of schooners and whale-boats, to cruise +in the North and East rivers. + +As Washington was absent much of the time in consultation with Congress +at Philadelphia, Putnam was practically in supreme command; yet his +arduous and important duties did not prevent him from attending a dinner +on the first anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. In a letter +written by an American officer describing this event, it is more than +intimated that he was ever ready to accommodate when called upon for a +song or a speech on such an occasion, for he says: "Our good General +Putnam got sick and went to his quarters before dinner was over, and we +missed him a marvel, as there is not a chap in the camp who can lead him +in the 'Maggie Lauder's song.'" + +When in New York, Putnam's headquarters were on Bowling Green, where he +later had with him members of his family, including his wife, who had +also visited him at Cambridge, and had dispensed a generous hospitality +at the Inman mansion; while Mrs. Washington (with whom both Putnam and +his wife were in high favor) was at the Craigie house. His son Israel +was a member of his military family, which also included Major Humphreys +(who afterward wrote his biography) and Major Aaron Burr, his military +secretary. His justifiable severity in proclaiming martial law, and in +punishing Tories found guilty of harboring or assisting the enemy, +incurred the ill-will of New York's inhabitants, and militated against +his fortunes when later he fell into disrepute. + +Plots against his life were formed, among them most conspicuous for its +scheme of wholesale assassinations being that in which one of +Washington's own guards was concerned, and for complicity in which this +same man, Thomas Hickey, paid the penalty with his life, being executed +on the 27th of June. Two days later a large British fleet was reported +off Sandy Hook, and by the 1st of July there were more than a hundred of +the enemy's war-ships and transports in the bay. The presence of this +immense fleet did not prevent the proper reception of the immortal +_Declaration of Independence_, proclaimed by the Continental Congress at +Philadelphia on the 4th of July, 1776, and which was read to the troops, +amid loud acclaim from officers and common soldiers, on the 9th. + +[Illustration: Israel Putnam. + +From a painting by Trumbull.] + +The arrival of the vast fleet, the subsequent landing of an army of +nearly twenty-five thousand men, and the warlike preparations which the +British were feverishly making looking to the capture of the city, did +not alarm Old Put, with his total force of scarcely seventeen thousand. +He went on as calmly and as determinedly as though himself commander of +the larger army, for the hero of Bunker Hill never anticipated defeat. +He always fought to the last, after making every needful preparation for +whatever event, and at New York, although the chances were all against +him, he did his utmost to bring about success. He had fortified +Governor's Island and Red Hook in order to prevent the enemy's ships of +war from ascending the Hudson; he now sank several old hulks in the +channel for the same purpose; but, notwithstanding, two war-vessels +succeeded in getting up the North River, which they afterward descended, +without injury to themselves. + +It having been recommended by Congress that "fire-rafts be prepared and +sent among the enemy's shipping," Putnam acted in accordance with the +suggestion by fitting out fourteen fire-ships for the purpose, though +nothing was accomplished with them. Still persistent in his endeavors to +drive off the enemy, he adopted the invention of David Bushnell, a +native of his own State, which the inventor called the "great American +Turtle," and which, in fact, was a submarine torpedo, probably the first +one thus used in warfare. It was to be guided by one man, and that man +was to have been Bushnell himself; but, unfortunately, he fell sick, and +the "turtle" boat with its infernal machine was entrusted to a +Connecticut sergeant named "Bije" Shipman, who promised to row the +"submarine"--diminutive prototype of all those which have committed such +destruction since--down the bay and attach the torpedo to the bottom of +the British admiral's ship. He reached the ship without being +observed--strange to say--and attempted to attach the torpedo; but the +attaching screw struck against an iron plate and caused great delay. +Coming up to get a breath of fresh air, "Bije" was seen and fired upon +by a sentinel, and at once rowed away as fast as his oars could carry +him. The torpedo, the explosion of which was regulated by clockwork +operating on a gun-lock, actually exploded about half an hour after, +sending up a great geyser of water, which frightened the British admiral +so that he gave orders to up anchor and seek another mooring-place. + +The Yankee navigator of the submarine declared that when he struck the +iron plate he got "narvous," and couldn't affix the screw properly; but +that if he had had a fresh "cud of terbacker," he would have been all +right and the admiral's ship would have gone "a-kiting" into the air. +The attempt was not repeated, for some reason or other, probably because +the British got wary and kept farther away from shore. The next year, +however, inventor Bushnell succeeded in blowing up a British schooner +with his torpedo; but neither he nor quaint "Bije" Shipman ever +received the credit that was their due, the latter being one of the +forgotten heroes of the Revolution. + +About this time the Putnam family entertained as guest the pretty +daughter of a British officer, Major James Moncrieffe, the same one to +whom, at the siege of Boston, "Old Put" had sent a present of +provisions, even though they were opposed as enemies. This young lady +was received by the family with affection, presented to General and Mrs. +Washington, and afterward provided with a pass through the lines and +sent to her father, accompanied by a letter of which (as she wittily +said to a friend) "the bad orthography was amply compensated for by the +magnanimity of the man who wrote it." Here is the letter: "Ginrale +Putnam's compliments to Major Moncrieffe, has made him a present of a +fine daughter, if he don't lick [like] her he must send her back again, +and he will provide her with a good twig [Whig] husband." + +General Putnam's humor, like his generosity, was never-failing; but, as +"Josh Billings" once remarked of himself, "he was a bad speller" to the +end of his life. But he could spell _f-i-g-h-t_ as well as anybody; and +what is more, he could forgive his enemies, not only after the fight was +over, but while it was going on--as witness his generous actions on many +occasions. + +Though kept busy as a bee from morning to night, yet General Putnam +found life in New York irksome, and was glad enough when ordered by +Washington over to Long Island, to command at Brooklyn Heights and to +supersede Sullivan, who had superseded Greene, then sick with fever, who +had planned and erected the fortifications on the island. It was perhaps +this "lightning change" of commanders that was responsible for the +bitter defeat of the Americans in that encounter known as the "Battle of +Long Island." By the third week of August, when this battle took place, +the British were near New York with more than three hundred ships and +thirty thousand troops, including those of Clinton, Cornwallis, and +Howe. The last named was in command, and on the 22d of August he landed +twenty thousand troops, including five thousand hireling Hessians, at +Gravesend Bay, with the intention of flanking the Americans out of their +positions at Flatbush and the Heights and then advancing across the +island to East River and New York. + +It was not until two days later that (in the words of a soldier writing +to his wife at that time) "General Putnam was made happy by obtaining +leave to go over--the brave old man was quite miserable at being kept +here," in New York. Only three days after his arrival the battle was +fought, which (in brief) was brought about by the British surprising an +outpost at one of the three passes to the American rear, on the night of +the 26th of August and thus turning the patriots' position. With more +than three times the numerical strength of the Americans, the British +were successful, and the former lost more than a thousand men, most of +them made prisoners, including Generals Sullivan and Stirling. + +Washington hurried over reenforcements, until there were nearly ten +thousand men at the Heights; but Putnam soon found it impossible to +conduct its defense against twenty thousand of the enemy, with ten +thousand more in reserve, and, with Washington's sanction and +cooperation, he withdrew his men from their perilous position by a night +retreat across the river, which was a triumph of military sagacity and +achievement. The more than nine thousand men, with their ammunition, +arms, provisions, etc., were safely over the river before the British +became aware of what was going on. Then it was too late, and +notwithstanding that the Americans had been outflanked and defeated by +the most skilful strategy, the British lost the chief fruits of their +victory by procrastination. + +The loss of Long Island meant, of course, the evacuation of New York, +since the city could now be commanded by the enemy's guns on the +Heights. This movement was decided upon by Washington and his generals +at a council of war; the garrison was withdrawn from Governor's Island, +and after the surplus ammunition and military stores had been forwarded +to a point of safety, the troops leisurely followed after toward the +north. Putnam, Heath, and Spencer were placed in command of the three +grand divisions into which the army was divided preparatory for retreat +and stationed along the East River, Putnam, as usual, having the most +perilous situation, at the lower end of the city. To him was committed +the removal of the troops and military stores, so that he had no more +time at command than formerly. + +Yet the British did not move upon the city with precipitation. +Commander-in-Chief Howe had learned his lesson by heart at Bunker Hill, +and was no longer in haste to attack his brave opponents unless with +overwhelming numbers, whether entrenched or otherwise. He had resolved +upon a series of flank movements, for the purpose of cutting off the +American retreat northward, and on the 15th of September put the first +in execution. Washington was at his new headquarters, the Jumel mansion, +at Harlem Heights, and Old Put was busy hurrying off the last of the +detachments down in the city, when both heard the booming of cannon at +Kip's Bay. They met at Murray Hill, and together galloped toward the +sound of firing, but before they reached East River were met by their +own troops fleeing before the British advance. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +WASHINGTON'S CHIEF RELIANCE + + +It was at the retreat of the Americans before the British, who had +landed at Kip's Bay, that the unique spectacle was afforded of both +Washington and Putnam acting in unison, both in a towering rage, and +both attempting with all their might to turn their cowardly soldiers +face-about to stand against the foe. But all their efforts were in vain, +though Washington, in his endeavors to stem the tide of retreat, came +near being made prisoner, and would have been, probably, if one of the +soldiers had not taken his horse by the bridle and turned him in another +direction. + +In the actual retreat to Harlem Heights that then followed, brave Putnam +took the post of danger again, and, while nearly everybody else was +heading northward, he himself went the other way in search of his +detachment, which, fortunately, his aide-de-camp, Major Burr, had taken +the liberty of setting on the move. He and his men were the last to gain +the Heights, barely escaping the British as they tried to hem them in, +and reaching the rendezvous long after dark. + +It was a current rumor in camp, later, that his escape was not +altogether due to celerity of movement, nimble as he was, but to the +clever ruse of a fair Quakeress, Mrs. Murray (mother of Lindley Murray, +the renowned grammarian), who, being known to the British officers, +invited them in, as they filed past her door, to refresh themselves with +cake and wine. Being fatigued with their labors, and considering the +Americans as good as captured by their clever flanking movement, they +accepted the invitation gladly and remained enjoying her hospitality +about two hours, or just long enough for Putnam and his men to slip out +of the trap and scamper along the North River roads to the rendezvous. + +Their joy at their escape when (as Major Humphreys, who was with them, +said) they had been given up for lost by their friends, was tempered +next day by the death of Colonel Knowlton, who had been sent out with +his rangers to reconnoiter the enemy. In the ensuing engagement, known +as the Battle of Harlem Heights, the gallant Knowlton was killed, +besides about one hundred and seventy of his men. Knowlton, who had +taken a prominent part in the battle of Bunker Hill, was an old friend +and comrade of Putnam in the Indian wars, as well as at Havana, and the +latter felt his loss most keenly. + +There was no time for vain regrets, since the enemy were pushing after +the Americans, giving them no pause for a while. When at last there was +a cessation in their endeavors at direct assault, Washington was more +uneasy than before, and did not rest until he had discovered what it +meant. In short, General Howe was about trying the second in his +remarkable series of flanking movements, by which he hoped to get in +the rear of the Americans, and, with his overwhelming force, "bottle +them up" and compel a general engagement. But, with a force far inferior +to the British, Washington not only succeeded in avoiding a pitched +battle (for which he was wholly unprepared), but finally extricated his +army from the net which his enemy had spread on two sides and was now +attempting to sweep around to cut off his retreat. + +Sending several war-vessels up the North River, or Hudson (which had no +trouble in breaking through the barrier stretched across it), General +Howe embarked the main body of his troops in flatboats for Westchester, +landing at a point about nine miles above the Heights of Harlem. The +enemy's object was then apparent, and Washington set about defeating it +by one of the most complicated and ingenious military movements on +record. + +Leaving General Greene in command of Fort Washington, on the Hudson, not +far from Kingsbridge and the Heights, Washington hastened northward +toward White Plains, seizing upon every naturally strong position by the +way, and establishing a chain of entrenchments on the hill-crests that +commanded all the roads leading from the North River to the Sound. The +last week in October the opposing forces came in collision at Chatterton +Hill, where was fought the so-called Battle of White Plains, at which, +wrote Rufus Putnam, who had planned the defensive works, "the wall and +stone fence behind which our troops were posted proved as fatal to the +British as the rail-fence with grass hung on it did at Charlestown, June +17, 1775." + +General Putnam was ordered to reenforce General McDougall, who was in +command at the hill; but before he arrived the British had flanked the +Americans and driven them from their position. Putnam's men covered +their retreat by firing at the British and Hessians from behind fences +and trees, Indian and Ranger fashion, and that night Washington +practically began his famous retrograde movement to Fort Washington and +Manhattan Island. "By folding one brigade behind another," in rear of +those ridges he had fortified, he "brought off all his artillery, +stores, and sick, in the face of a superior foe." He took position, +first, at North Castle Heights, which he deemed impregnable; but after a +few days the British left for the Hudson, with the purpose (as was +afterward ascertained, and at the time divined by Washington) of +attacking forts Washington and Lee and invading New Jersey. In +anticipation of this move Putnam was detached with about four thousand +men and ordered into New Jersey. Crossing the Hudson, he penetrated +inland as far as Hackensack, near which place he encamped and awaited +developments. + +General Lee was left at North Castle Heights with seven thousand men to +watch the movements of the foe, while Washington followed after Putnam +to Hackensack. He was shortly recalled to the Hudson by a despatch +informing him that the British were before Fort Washington in +overwhelming force, and had demanded a surrender. Brave Colonel Magaw, +in command of the garrison, refused a reply until he had consulted his +superior officers, and as General Greene, in charge of both forts, was +of the opinion that they could be held, the result was the storming of +the fort and the loss of more than two thousand men. + +The assault of the British, who had threatened to put the garrison to +the sword, was witnessed by Washington, Greene, and Putnam from the west +bank of the Hudson. Their distress may be imagined at beholding the +slaughter that ensued, and there must have been some searching +self-questioning by the Commander-in-Chief as to the wisdom of his +policy, by which his divided forces became such an easy prey to the foe. + +Lee could hardly be induced to leave his secure retreat, from which he +departed only after repeated requests from Washington, whose great +reliance at this time was sturdy Israel Putnam. He assisted at the +evacuation of Fort Lee (now rendered useless by the loss of its sister +fort across the river), and piloted the commander and his friends to his +camp at Hackensack. + +British troops under Lord Cornwallis had landed above Fort Lee at the +base of the Palisades, and were now coming down to attempt to cut off +the Americans before they could extricate themselves from the marshes +lying between the Hudson and the Hackensack rivers. The latter left so +precipitately that their fires were burning, with camp kettles over +them, and tents still standing, when the British reached Fort Lee. + +Parallel with the Hackensack River runs the Passaic, and across country +between the two Washington was compelled to hasten, lest he be hemmed in +again by the pursuing enemy. It was now late in November, the weather +was cold, and gloomy were these "dark days of the Revolution," when the +militia left the army by hundreds, their terms of enlistment having +expired, and no others took their places. While the little army of less +than four thousand men was constantly depleted, it seemed as if its foes +increased, in that country of loyalists and British sympathizers. It was +with only the "skeleton of an army" that Washington, on the eighth of +December, crossed the Delaware at Trenton, less than three thousand +troops remaining by him then. Cornwallis and his soldiers were not far +behind, during a portion of that gloomy retreat, a few days measuring +the distance between the rival armies; but they did not catch up with +the Americans that time. + +The very day after his arrival at Trenton Washington ordered Putnam to +Philadelphia, where he was placed in absolute command, and where he +displayed the same energy and integrity of purpose that had always +animated him hitherto. He had been a sustaining force to the +Commander-in-Chief on that march across New Jersey, and of the few +generals who had stood by him, no one had endured with less complaint or +performed with more alacrity than Old Put. He was one upon whom to rely +in the proposed scheme of fortifying the city, and his long experience +at entrenching made him peculiarly fit for the work. + +His sturdy nature, good sense, and ready wit made him at once a favorite +with the Continental Congress and the Committee of Safety; though the +former, acting on his advice, soon left the city for the greater +security of Baltimore. Putnam soon placed the city under martial law, +drafted all the citizens, except the Quakers, into the military service, +and put the place in the best posture for defense of which it was +capable. "There were foes within the city as well as foes without," for +the Tory element was strong in Philadelphia, and it was because of it +that Putnam was unable to cooperate with Washington when he dealt the +enemy the first of those telling blows at Trenton and Princeton. He +dared not withdraw his men from the city, even for a short absence, in +order to create a diversion while his Commander-in-Chief made the direct +attack. Had he done so, and also the other generals to whom were +entrusted the details of this affair, the Hessians might have been +entirely cut off in their retreat from Trenton and practically +destroyed. As it was, Putnam held to his command in Philadelphia, and +soon had the pleasure of entertaining some of the Hessian captives, for +whom he was obliged to provide quarters while passing through the city. + +It must have fretted him vastly to be kept in Philadelphia while +Washington was pursuing the very tactics he himself would have used +against the enemy. After his first success Washington ordered Putnam out +to Crosswicks, a small place southeast of Trenton, "a very advantageous +post" for him to hold while his superior was planning his descent upon +Princeton. On the 5th of January, after Washington had launched his +thunderbolt at Princeton (of his intention to do which Putnam had been +informed by a letter from his adjutant, written at midnight preceding +that eventful third of January, 1777), he wrote at length to his trusty +friend and General: "It is thought advisable for you to march the troops +under your command to Crosswicks, and keep a strict watch upon the enemy +in that quarter. If the enemy continue at Brunswick you must act with +great circumspection, lest you meet with a surprise. As we have made two +successful attacks upon the enemy by the way of surprise, they will be +pointed with resentment, and if there is any possibility of retaliating +they will attempt it. _You will give out your strength to be twice as +great as it is._ Forward on all the baggage and scattered troops +belonging to this division of the army as soon as may be." + +In accordance with Washington's suggestion as to the augmenting of the +number of his men, Putnam availed himself of the request of a wounded +British officer, who was his prisoner, that a friend in Cornwallis's +army might be sent for to make his will, to practise a ruse. It was in +Princeton, whither he had been ordered from Crosswicks. As he had but a +few hundred men, in order to prevent his weakness from being known to +the military visitor he was brought in after dark, all the windows in +the college buildings and private houses were lighted up, "and the +handful of troops paraded about to such effect during the night that the +visitor, on his return to the British camp, reported the force under the +old general to be at least five thousand strong!" In this manner the +shrewd but kind-hearted Putnam complied with his prisoner's request, and +at the same time turned it to his own and his soldiers' advantage. + +Having failed in his attempt to "bag that old fox" (Washington), Lord +Cornwallis had scurried back to protect his baggage and communications +at New Brunswick, while Washington ensconced himself in the rugged +country about Morristown, and Putnam was left to protect the lowlands +and harass the enemy. So effectually did he perform the latter that his +aggregate of prisoners taken during the winter exceeded the number +captured by Washington at Trenton, and his captures of wagons laden +with provisions for the enemy were highly important. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +DEFENDING THE HUDSON HIGHLANDS + + +Snugly and safely entrenched in the Morristown hill-country, Washington +left to Putnam the post he so dearly loved, that of real danger, within +fifteen miles of New Brunswick, where the enemy lay in strength. At +Princeton, thirty miles from headquarters, Putnam remained until May, +when he was detached and sent into the Hudson Highlands. The British had +lost fewer men at Trenton and Princeton than the Americans had lost at +Fort Washington, yet the former were singularly dispirited. With the +Commander-in-Chief withdrawn to the hills, the road to Philadelphia lay +open to the enemy, and only Old Put opposing them, like a lion in the +path; but for some reason they did not avail themselves of the +situation. + +Putnam's division formed the right wing of the American army in +cantonment that winter, with the center at Morristown and the left wing +on the Hudson. At the opening of the spring campaign of 1777 Washington +was uncertain whether the British would leave their winter quarters in +New York for New England, the Hudson Highlands, or for Philadelphia. He +was inclined to believe that Philadelphia would be the first and chief +objective, and wished to hold himself in readiness for marching thither +at a moment's warning; but again there were rumors of an invasion from +Canada by way of the lakes and the Hudson, so this region must be +protected. + +Existing forts must be strengthened, others erected, a boom stretched +across the Hudson to impede the passage of British ships, and obstacles +of all kinds placed in the path of the British, should they advance +northward. Needing a reliable man in this emergency, Washington sent +Putnam to Peekskill, on the Hudson, preceded by a letter to General +McDougall, then in command there, which was, to say the least, not very +flattering to the gallant soldier who had been his right-hand man in +the various retreats through the Jerseys. "You are acquainted with the +old gentleman's temper," he wrote; "he is active, disinterested, and +open to conviction," etc. + +Washington would have been more fortunate if all his officers had been +as "active, disinterested, and open to conviction" as Old Put--for +instance, Lee, Arnold, Gates, and others--but he had allowed his +prejudices to warp his former opinion of Putnam's sterling qualities. + +Hardly had Putnam begun his work on the Hudson before there was a mighty +movement in the port of New York, and, fearing there might be an attempt +upon Philadelphia, Washington drew upon the old soldier's command until +he had scarcely a thousand men at call. Then followed the commander's +magnificent strategy at Middlebrook, whereby he finally defeated the +British plans and brought about the complete evacuation of New Jersey, +after which Putnam was strengthened in his position; only to be weakened +again, the process being repeated until he felt called upon to protest. + +Putnam was later accused by Hamilton, Washington's aide-de-camp, of +making a "hobby-horse" out of his desire to march upon New York, and of +riding it on all occasions; but it was no less a hobby-horse with him +than the defense of Philadelphia was with his Commander-in-Chief, who +many times imperiled the safety of other sections by withdrawing troops +in hot haste and flying to the succor of a city which was captured and +occupied by the British notwithstanding. + +Washington rode his hobby-horse full-tilt at the unfortunate Putnam and +threw him to the ground. With one hand, as it were, he wrote him to keep +an eye on the movements of the enemy and be fully prepared to meet them; +but with the other he signed an order for the weakening of his force. +The consequences came when Burgoyne, having descended from Canada and +invaded northern New York, Putnam found himself between two fires, that +of the former and that of Sir Henry Clinton, who finally set out on the +long-meditated trip up the Hudson in order to cooperate with the +southward-marching army. + +Putnam had learned of the successive moves on the military chess-board +as Burgoyne progressed in his triumphal march. First, of the fall of +Ticonderoga, in June; then of Fort Edward; finally, of the glorious +victory achieved by his former comrade in the Indian wars and at Bunker +Hill, the redoubtable General Stark, at Bennington. He was called upon +to furnish reenforcements not only to Washington, unfortunate in his +defense of Philadelphia, but to Schuyler and Gates in the north. + +The post of danger, as usual, Old Put occupied in the Highlands, and he +was delighted; only repining that whenever he was nearly ready to do +something, away went his troops on some wild-goose mission, of which he +knew neither the end or aim. + +Washington surmised that Howe's scheme of sailing southward with an +army aboard his ships was for the purpose of luring him away from the +real point of attack, which was to be in the Highlands, so he wrote +Putnam to be on the alert and to send spies down to New York to +ascertain Clinton's plans. "If he has the number of men with him that is +reported, it is probably with the intention to attack you from below, +while Burgoyne comes down upon you from above." Thus wrote Washington in +August, but still the depletion of the perplexed Putnam's command went +steadily on. When he protested he was recommended to hurry up the +militia from Connecticut, or some other New England State, and thus +supply the place of the seasoned troops he had trained, with raw +recruits. + +"The old general, whose boast it was that he never slept but with one +eye, was already on the alert. A circumstance had given him proof +positive that Sir Henry was in New York, and had aroused his military +ire," writes Washington Irving. This paragraph refers to one of +Clinton's spies, who was captured while gathering information in +Putnam's camp at Peekskill. When Clinton heard of it he sent a +war-vessel up the Hudson with a flag of truce, claiming the man as one +of his officers. This was Old Put's reply: + + Headquarters, _7th August, 1777_. + + Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken as a + spy lurking within our lines. He has been tried as a spy, condemned + as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy; and the flag is ordered + to depart immediately. + + I have the honor to be, etc., etc., + Israel Putnam. + + P.S.--Afternoon. He is hanged! + +The last week in September, Washington drew upon the patient commander +in the Highlands for more soldiers, so that he had only eleven hundred +men left with which to meet and withstand the British invasion of his +territory, which began on the 5th of October. Putnam was fully cognizant +of the situation, for he wrote to Governor Clinton, his coadjutor in +the defense of the Highlands, on the 29th of September: "I have received +intelligence on which I can fully depend that the enemy received a +reenforcement at New York last Thursday of about 3,000 British and +foreign troops; that General Clinton has called in guides who belong +about Croton River; has ordered hard bread to be baked; that the troops +are called from Paulus Hook to Kingsbridge; and the whole are now under +marching orders. I think it highly probable that the designs of the +enemy are against the posts of the Highlands, or of some parts of the +counties of Westchester or Duchess. P.S.--The ships are drawn up in the +river, and I believe nothing prevents them paying us an immediate visit +but a contrary wind!" + +Within a week the enemy were in force on the river near Putnam's +position, and within ten days they had completely outmaneuvered both +Putnam and Clinton, and had taken forts Montgomery and Clinton, their +chief defenses, with great loss to the Americans. Clinton had made a +feint on Tarrytown and Peekskill, and after this diversion, under cover +of the river mist, landed troops on the west shore of the Hudson, and +marched rapidly through ravines and dense woods to the rear of the two +forts, which were carried by the bayonet, the defenders being taken by +surprise. + +The British had twice the number of men that Putnam commanded in this +attack, and also the advantage of ships of war in the river, but it is +thought that results would have been different from what they were had a +despatch for reenforcements from Governor Clinton reached him. It was +sent by a messenger who proved a traitor and carried it within the +enemy's lines. As it was, however, the British have the credit of +consummate strategy on this occasion, and poorly as he was equipped, Old +Put was greatly mortified over the defeat. He had good occasion for +writing to Washington, as he wrote on the 8th of October: "I have +repeatedly informed your Excellency of the enemy's design against this +post, but from some motive or other you always differed from me in +opinion. As this conjecture of mine has for once proved right, I can not +omit informing you that my real and sincere opinion is that they mean to +join General Burgoyne with the utmost despatch." + +Further proof of British intentions was afforded by the capture of a +spy, who, on being arrested, was seen to swallow a silver bullet which, +being recovered, was found to contain a message written on very thin +paper and dated October 8th--the day before. This message read: "Here we +are, and nothing between us and Gates. I sincerely hope this little +success of ours will facilitate your operations." It was from Sir Henry +Clinton to General Burgoyne, and showed conclusively that the former had +set out to join with the latter. But events had so shaped in the north +that poor Burgoyne was then past all aid, General Gates then having him +at bay. Within a few days was fought the decisive battle that brought +about Burgoyne's surrender, and when the news reached Sir Henry Clinton +he immediately set about returning to New York, there being no longer +any incentive for action in the Highlands. Putnam and Clinton, after +blowing up their two vessels in the river, had effected their retreat to +Fishkill, where they entrenched; but on learning of the British retreat +they moved down to their former positions. + +The saying that "troubles never come singly" proved true for General +Putnam that month of October, 1777, for on the 14th he lost by death his +faithful wife, who had been with him at headquarters. Washington wrote +him, on being informed of the bereavement: "I am extremely sorry for the +death of Mrs. Putnam, and sympathize with you upon the occasion. +Remembering that all must die, and that she had lived to an honorable +age, I hope you will bear the misfortune with that fortitude and +complacency of mind that become a man and a Christian." + +The surrender of Burgoyne left the north free from foes, and +consequently with no use for great numbers of soldiers, so that Putnam +was soon in command of more than nine thousand men, mainly drafts from +Gates's army. He was then determined to carry out his twice-frustrated +scheme of marching upon New York, and was pushing forward his plans with +great confidence, when there appeared a marplot on the scene in the +person of Colonel Alexander Hamilton, at that time aide-de-camp to +General Washington, who peremptorily ordered Putnam to forward all the +new arrivals to the Commander-in-Chief and fill their places with +militia. + +The order was a verbal one and delivered by a slender "snip of a boy" +scarcely out of his teens, so it received scant attention from Old Put, +who went on with his plans, while Colonel Hamilton mounted a fresh horse +and posted off to Albany, where he had also great difficulty in +impressing General Gates with the need of Washington for the best men in +his command. But he succeeded in detaching a few regiments, and then +hastened back to Peekskill, there to find, to his surprise and +indignation, that Putnam still had all his men--and what was more, +seemed inclined to keep them with him. + + "I am pained beyond expression," wrote this precocious youth to + Washington on the 10th of November, "to inform your Excellency + that, on my arrival here, I find everything has been neglected and + deranged by General Putnam.... Not the least attention has been + paid to my order, in your name, for a detachment of one thousand + men from the troops hitherto stationed at that post. Everything is + sacrificed to the whim of taking New York.... By Governor Clinton's + advice, I have sent an order, in the most emphatical terms, to + General Putnam, immediately to despatch all the Continental troops + under him to your assistance, and to detain the militia instead of + them." + +This order "in the most emphatical terms" finally moved the general to +compliance; but it quite naturally excited his just resentment, and he +sent it to the Commander-in-Chief, with his comments. It would have been +a serious matter--detaching such a large body of troops on a mere verbal +order from a hot-headed stripling; yet Washington in effect reprimanded +the honest veteran by writing: + + I can not but say, there has been more delay in the march of the + troops than I think necessary; and I could wish that in future my + orders may be immediately complied with, without arguing upon the + propriety of them. If any accident ensues from obeying them, the + fault will be upon me, not upon you. + +Death, defeat, a reprimand--all within one short month--might have +affected a stouter heart than Old Put's. But was there ever a stouter +one? + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +LAST YEARS IN THE SERVICE + + +Care sat lightly on Israel Putnam, who never went about looking for +trouble, nor gave it more than a scant welcome as a guest. Possessed of +sturdy common sense, an unblemished character, and a conscience "void of +offence," Old Put did not long harbor the hasty words of Hamilton, nor +dwell upon the tacit reprimand of his chief. He still sat astride his +"hobby-horse," as Hamilton had contemptuously termed his desire for +descending upon New York, and as soon as the latter had departed with +the reenforcements for Washington, he resolved to take a look at the +city, anyway. Taking some of his men down the east bank of the Hudson, +he himself reconnoitered to a point within three miles of the enemy's +outpost, and went to New Rochelle with the intention of invading Long +Island. The British got wind of his intent, and hastily left their +forts, having no relish for a brush with their dreaded enemy. + +Although accused to Washington of being very lenient to Tories and other +disaffected persons, Putnam knew how to be severe on occasion, and in +reprisal for the repeated outrages committed by Governor Tryon's +murderous marauders, he destroyed by fire several residences of noted +loyalists, and fell upon Colonel DeLancey's infamous "Cowboys," taking +seventy-five prisoners, including the Tory officer himself, who was +drawn out from beneath a bed, where he had taken refuge at the approach +of Putnam's scouts. + +Washington himself had given Putnam the idea of descending upon New +York, some time before; but circumstances had changed, and along with +them the need for this diversion. Having satisfied himself with this +reconnoitering expedition, however, Old Put went back very amiably to +his post in the Highlands, and proceeded to carry out his commander's +instructions respecting the selection of a new fort for the defense of +the Hudson. In January, 1778, we find him at West Point, directing the +men of Parson's brigade where to break ground--frozen ground, at that, +with snow two feet deep above it--for the first fort at the picturesque +post on the Hudson since become historic. It was subsequently named Fort +Putnam, either after Old Put himself, or his cousin Rufus Putnam, whose +great natural talents as an engineer were subsequently availed of here, +as they had been before Boston, at Dorchester Heights. + +About mid-February, Putnam wrote to Washington, who had been constantly +and urgently pressing him to complete the work without delay, that "the +batteries near the water, and the fort to cover them, are laid out. The +latter is, within walls, 600 yards around, 21 feet base, 14 feet high, +the talus two inches to the foot. This I fear is too large to be +completed by the time expected." Even his placid disposition was by this +time slightly ruffled at the scarcely veiled distrust of his +capabilities by his chief, who had veered about with the wind blowing +from New York, and seemed to trust him no longer. His letter begins +stiffly: "The state of affairs now at this post, you will please to +observe, is as follows," and after this business has been stated, he +goes on to give some of the reasons for delay. One of his regiments was +at White Plains, "under inoculation with the smallpox. Dubois's regiment +is unfit to be ordered on duty, there being not one blanket in the +regiment. Very few have either a shoe or a shirt, and most of them have +neither stockings, breeches, or overalls.... Several hundred men are +rendered useless, merely for want of necessary apparel, as no clothing +is permitted to be stopped at this post." + +No complaint was made, but merely a statement of facts; for Putnam must +have known that many of the soldiers under his commander were at that +very time half starved and half naked at Valley Forge. The day after +writing this letter to Washington, having secured permission for a +brief furlough, General Putnam went home to attend to private affairs +which demanded his attention. He had applied for this leave of absence +two months previously, but before receiving it had attended to the +exigent matter of fortifying West Point, like the good soldier that he +was. + +Since he last left home much had happened to distract and break him +down, including the loss of his wife by death, and the loss of +Washington's friendly support, through no fault of his own. He was +deeply grieved over the change in the commander's attitude toward him, +as well as puzzled to account for it, knowing full well that he had done +nothing to incur his displeasure, now so plainly manifested, not alone +to General Putnam but to others. + +The change was probably due to their radical differences of temperament, +habits of life and education. While Washington the soldier recognized +the sterling qualities of Old Put, the veteran fighter, yet Washington +the aristocratic planter shrank from contact with Putnam the blunt, and +at times perhaps uncouth-appearing, farmer. Writing about that time, a +surgeon in the American army said: "This is my first interview with this +celebrated hero, Putnam. In his person he is corpulent and clumsy, but +carries a bold, undaunted front. He exhibits little of the refinements +of a well-educated gentleman, but much of the character of the veteran +soldier." + +This was not the style of soldier that the Commander-in-Chief liked to +have about him, and he allowed his personal prejudices to pervert his +judgment. + +"What shall I do with Putnam?" he breaks out in a letter to Gouverneur +Morris. "If Congress mean to lay him aside _decently_, I wish they would +devise the mode." + +"It has not been an easy matter to find a just pretense for removing an +officer from his command" (he writes to Chancellor Livingston on the +12th of March, 1778) "where his misconduct rather appears to result from +want of _capacity_ than from any real intention of doing wrong...." +Livingston had written complaining of Putnam's "imprudent lenity to the +disaffected, and too great intercourse with the enemy"--or, in other +words, that he had not persecuted the people Livingston disliked, and +had shown generosity to the foe when in distress. Yet he felt compelled +to add: "For my own part, I respect his bravery and former services, and +sincerely lament that his patriotism will not suffer him to take that +repose, to which his advanced age and past services justly entitle him." + +But Congress did not, fortunately, share the views of these +white-fingered, thin-skinned gentlemen, to whom a man's personal +appearance was vastly more than his distinguished services. They held, +with the doughty hero of many battles himself, that, as a soldier's duty +in war was to fight, it mattered not so much how he fought, nor in what +garb, so long as he won the victories. As to lack of capacity, and being +responsible for the loss of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, the court of +inquiry, which sat in the spring of 1778, entirely vindicated him, +holding that they fell, "not from any fault, misconduct, or negligence +of the commanding officers, but solely through the want of an adequate +force under their command to maintain and defend them." + +Who was responsible for the lack of that "adequate force" none knew +better than the Commander-in-Chief, who had withdrawn Old Put's veterans +on six different occasions and compelled him to clothe the skeleton +ranks with raw militia, so that it ill became him to write (in his +letter to Livingston): "Proper measures are taking to carry on the +inquiry into the loss of Fort Montgomery, agreeable to the direction of +Congress, and it is more than probable, from what I have heard, that the +issue of that inquiry will afford just grounds for the removal of +General Putnam." + +But the "issue of that inquiry" was in favor of Putnam, who demanded not +only a court of inquiry, but a trial by court-martial, "so that my +character might stand in a clearer light in the world." For, as he +justly observed in a letter to Congress, "to be posted here as a publick +spectator for every ill-minded person to make remarks upon, I think is +very poor encouragement for any persons to venture their lives and +fortunes in the service." + +General Putnam received notice of this court of inquiry and of his +suspension from command pending its proceedings, as he was returning +from Connecticut, in March; but the month of July had arrived, the +battle of Monmouth fought, and General Lee's court-martial had been +ordered, before he was reinstated. Then Washington rather grudgingly +gave him command of the right wing of the grand army, at White Plains, +near or on Chatterton Hill, where he had vainly tried to reenforce +McDougall, in the fierce fight that took place there not quite two years +before. The three armies were then collectively of "greater strength +than any force that had been brought together during the war," +consisting, says Major Humphreys, of sixty regular regiments of foot, +four battalions of artillery, four regiments of horse, and several corps +of State troops. "But, as the enemy kept close within their lines on +York Island, nothing could be attempted." + +Putnam was afterward sent across the Hudson, where, notwithstanding the +prejudices alleged against him in that region, where he had formerly +commanded, he was retained until the army was ordered into winter +quarters. These quarters were finally located in his own State, and were +admirably chosen for the purpose at that time, which was to hold the +troops together until the spring campaign should open. "The site for the +winter cantonment became an important question," writes Charles B. Todd, +a talented son of Connecticut, and an authority on her history, "and was +long and anxiously debated. Many of the general officers were for +staying where they were in the Highlands. Putnam pronounced in favor of +some central location in western Connecticut, where they could protect +both the Sound and the Hudson, and especially Danbury, which was a +supply station, and which had been taken and burned by the enemy the +year previous. General Heath's brigade had been on guard in Danbury +during this summer of 1778, and while visiting him Putnam had no doubt +discovered the three sheltered valleys formed by the Saugatuck and its +tributaries which lie along the border line of what was then Danbury +(now Bethel) and Redding. These valleys, open to the south, are warm, +sunny, well watered, and in that day were well wooded, and so defended +by dominating hills and crags, that a handful could hold them against an +army. They were but three days' march from the Highlands." + +Putnam himself superintended the laying out of the three camps, one for +each valley, where, in log huts similar to those erected at Valley Forge +the winter previous, the soldiers were quartered. Here the Army of the +North, consisting of two brigades of Continental troops, two of +Connecticut, one brigade from New Hampshire, with artillery and +cavalry, wore away the long and weary winter of 1778-'79. There were two +major-generals, including Putnam as commander-in-chief, and five +brigadiers, so it will be seen that the cantonment was one of great +importance. + +"Putnam pilgrims" should by all means refresh their patriotism by a +visit to the site of that winter camp in western Connecticut, for it has +been carefully preserved by the State, which has laid out a magnificent +park, erected a monument, restored some of the huts, and collected every +relic available of that noble Army of the North. The house which Old Put +occupied that winter, as headquarters, was on Umpawaug Hill and is still +pointed out, while at a little distance stands the one-time residence of +Joel Barlow, the Revolutionary poet, who, with Major Humphreys, Putnam's +aide-de-camp and later his biographer, enlivened the camp that winter. +From the summit of Gallows Hill, where General Putnam hung a spy, and +had a deserter shot to death, one may see the sites of the original +camps, the only visible remains of which are rude piles of stones, the +ruins of the "chimney-backs." + +In or near the camp preserved within the park, General Israel Putnam +once performed a deed which some have called his greatest act. "Greatest +if measured by results, and most typical of him. Who is not thrilled +with the poem of Sheridan's ride--turning a panic-stricken army, and +snatching victory from defeat; and here, near a century before, Putnam +rode after a deserting army and brought them back to victory ... a +victory over themselves." + +These remarks refer to the defection of the Connecticut troops, that +winter, who, half starved and half frozen in their narrow quarters, +"badly fed, badly clothed, and worse paid," resolved to march to +Hartford, lay their grievances before the General Assembly, and demand +redress at the point of the bayonet. + + "Word having been brought to General Putnam," says Major Humphreys, + who was present, "that the second brigade was under arms for this + purpose, he mounted his horse, galloped to the cantonment, and thus + addressed them: 'My brave lads, whither are you going? Do you + intend to desert your officers, and to invite the enemy to follow + you into the country? Whose cause have you been fighting and + suffering so long in--is it not your own? Have you no property, no + parents, wives or children? You have behaved like men so far--all + the world is full of your praise--and posterity will stand + astonished at your deeds; but not if you spoil all at last. Don't + you consider how much the country is distressed by the war, and + that your officers have not been any better paid than yourselves? + But we all expect better times, and that the country will do us + ample justice. Let us all stand together, then, and fight it out + like brave soldiers. Think what a shame it would be for Connecticut + men to run away from their officers!'" + +The gallant general's rude eloquence prevailed, the men saw their error, +were indeed ashamed of it; they listened with attention, presented arms, +as their beloved commander rode along the line to the din of the drums, +and about-faced for camp, which they did not desert again during the +winter. "Thus was a great and mighty battle fought and won. A battle +fought with the British far away. A battle fought with hunger, want, +cold, and banishment from home. A battle fought in the wilderness, where +most of the world's greatest battles are fought."[3] + +[Footnote 3: From an historical address by Prof. George A. Parker, of +Hartford, Conn., on the occasion of the visit of the famous Putnam +Phalanx to Putnam Park and Camp, June 17, 1903.] + +This episode of the winter camp of 1778-'79 forms a fitting prelude to +another feat performed by Old Put, this time a physical one, which, +while not so worthy of renown, perhaps, as the great moral victory he +achieved over his men, has brought him greater fame. Both taken together +absolutely refute the insinuations of his enemies, to the effect that he +had suffered a decline of mental, moral, or physical force. Washington +wrote, commending him for his action in suppressing the mutiny; and as +for the feat now to be mentioned, it may be said to speak for itself. In +fact, it has been speaking, now, for a century and a quarter, since it +is that famous ride down the stone steps of Horseneck Height to which +reference is made. + +It took place one morning in the last week of February, toward the close +of the long winter's vigil at Redding. Putnam and his men were out as +soon as the sap in the trees was flowing, and long before, in fact, +keeping watch upon and trying to check the operations of the notorious +Tryon and his crew. It chanced that he met the British, fifteen hundred +strong, when on a visit to his outpost at Horseneck, now "Putnam's +Hill," in Greenwich, Conn. Having but one hundred and fifty men and two +old iron guns, which latter he had posted "on the high ground by the +meeting-house," he was obliged to retreat. Ordering his men to seek +shelter in a near swamp, Old Put waited till the British dragoons were +almost within sword's length of him, when he put spurs to his horse and +dashed over the brow of the hill, zigzagging down a rude flight of +seventy stone steps set into the precipitous declivity. + +The dragoons dared not follow after this intrepid horseman, but they +sent a flight of bullets, one of which passed through his hat. Arrived +on level ground he made no halt until he had reached Stamford, where he +collected a force of militia in short order, with which he turned upon +Tryon, compelling him to retreat, and chasing him to his lair, capturing +forty prisoners and retaking a large amount of plunder. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE DISABLED VETERAN + + +General Putnam was sixty-one years old at the time of his famous exploit +at Horseneck, and apparently in the full possession of his powers; but, +as it eventuated, this was the beginning of his last campaign, which +actually opened with the removal of the soldiers from Redding to the +Hudson, about the last of May, where Putnam was appointed to the command +of the right wing of the army, with headquarters on the west bank of the +river. Previous to removal, he wrote the following interesting letter to +a friend, Colonel Wadsworth, of Hartford, which the author of this +memoir copied from the original in possession of the Connecticut +Historical Society: + + Redding, _ye 11 of May, 1779_. + + Dear Sir: On my arrivol to this plas I could hear nothing + of my hard mony and so must conclud it is gon to the dogs we have + no nus hear from head Quarters not a lin senc I cam hear and what + my destination is to be this summer cant even so much as geuss but + shuld be much obbliged to you if you would be so good as to send me + by the teems the Lym juice you was so good as to offer me and a par + of Shoes I left under the chamber tabel. I begin to think the nues + from the sutherd is tru of ginrol Lintons having a batel and + comming of the leator it is said he killed 200 hundred and took 500 + hundred what makes me creudit it is becaus the acounts in the New + york papers peartly agree with ours + + my beast Respeacts to your Lady and sistors and Litel soon. + + I am dear sir with the greatest respects your most obed and humbel + Sarvant + + Israel Putnam. + +Old Put's anxiety as to his destination having been allayed, he +established his military family at or near Buttermilk Falls, about two +miles below West Point, where, says Major Humphreys, "he was happy in +possessing the friendship of the officers of the line, and in living on +terms of hospitality with them. Indeed, there was no family in the army +that lived better than his own. The General, his second son, Major +Daniel Putnam, and the author of these memoirs, composed that family." + +Putnam was probably at this point when, on that dark and stormy night of +the fifteenth of July, "Mad Anthony" Wayne stormed and captured Stony +Point, on the river not far below. This remarkable exploit was not only +the most important event of the year, but, like the battle of Monmouth +of the year previous, almost the only action worthy of note. It had the +effect, probably, of causing the British to withdraw their troops from +along the Sound, where they were engaged in ravaging the seaboard places +of Connecticut; but the post was again taken by the enemy, who, like the +Americans, did not find it worth the while to hold it. + +The most important members of Putnam's military family, his son Daniel +and Major Humphreys, accompanied him home on leave of absence, in +November, whence, early in December, the General set out on his return +to the army, which was to winter at Morristown. Soon after leaving +Brooklyn, and while on the road to Hartford, he "felt an unusual torpor +slowly pervading his right hand and foot. This heaviness crept gradually +on until it had deprived him of the use of his limbs on that side, in a +considerable degree, before he reached the house of his friend Colonel +Wadsworth"--the gentleman to whom he had written the letter of the +eleventh of May previous. + +Having tried, though vainly, to shake off the terrible torpor and regain +the use of his limbs by exercise, the stricken soldier was at last +compelled to admit defeat and resign himself to the inevitable. He +returned home after a short tarry with his friend, and passed the +remainder of that winter at the farmhouse he had built in his younger +days, surrounded with loving care and affection by his children. At +first disposed to rebel against this stroke that had rendered him +useless while his country still stood in need of his services, +eventually he regained his cheerfulness and gave himself up to the +enjoyment of the home comforts of which for so many years he had been +deprived. + +The partial paralysis from which he suffered was premonitory of the +final stroke; but it was eleven years before it came and removed from +earth this stout-hearted man who had given his best years and his best +efforts to battling for his native land. There is no doubt that his +mighty struggles in the several wars--his daylight marches and nighttime +vigils; his tremendous exertions in emergencies like the fire at Fort +Edward, the running of the rapids at Fort Miller; long hours without +rest in the saddle, and in the trenches, with wet and frozen clothing +sometimes unchanged for days--all conduced toward the weakening of that +mighty frame prematurely stricken with paralysis. + +But he had regrets only for what he was prevented from doing; not for +what he had done. Having recovered somewhat, he entertained hopes--vain +hopes--of rejoining the army; but was finally convinced that his active +career was ended. Major Humphreys having visited him in May, 1780, by +his hand he sent a missive to Washington, informing him of his +condition, and ending with this pathetic postscript: "I am making a +great effort to use my hand to make the initials of my name for the +first time. "I.P."--Israel Putnam." + +Washington replied in July, congratulating him on his improved state of +health, and four years later, after peace was declared between Great +Britain and the United States, he wrote a long and cordial letter, which +the old General regarded as one of his most precious treasures. The +opening paragraph shows Washington's real and lasting estimate of his +former comrade in adversity, and is as follows: + + Your favor of the 20th of May I received with much pleasure. For I + can assure you that among the many worthy and meritorious officers + with whom I have had the happiness to be connected in service + throughout this war, and from whom I have had cheerful assistance + in the various and trying vicissitudes of a complicated contest, + the name of a Putnam is not forgotten; nor will it be but with + that stroke of time which shall obliterate from my mind the + remembrance of all those toils and fatigues through which we have + struggled for the preservation and establishment of the Rights, + Liberties, and Independence of our Country. + +It was not like Old Put to give up the fight so long as life held out, +and by the exercise of his iron will he kept up and about for years. +Within less than a twelvemonth from having been disqualified from +service on account of his affliction, he paid a visit to his former +command on the lower Hudson, where one of his old friends, General +Greene, complains, in a letter, that he is "talking as usual, and +telling his old stories." + +It can not be denied that he was somewhat loquacious, especially in his +later years, and those "old stories" were not alone his solace, but the +delight of numerous audiences of admiring friends and neighbors. At +Major Humphreys's request he retold them, two or three years before he +died (1788) and they form the basis of his first biographical memoir. +But they were doubtless very stale to those of his hearers who had +listened to them again and again, as plainly intimated by General +Greene. + +As they were mainly about himself and his exploits, and as many of them +were of events that happened in the distant past, it is not unlikely +that some of them were slightly exaggerated, to say the least. Some +others told of Old Put and his doings are perhaps not entitled to +credence. Among these latter may be the tales of his dueling days, as, +for instance, the story of his challenge by an English officer on +parole, who, when he came to the place appointed, found Old Put seated +near what appeared to be a keg of powder, serenely smoking his pipe. As +the officer reached the rendezvous, Putnam lighted a slow-match from his +pipe and thrust it into a hole bored in the head of the keg, upon which +were scattered a few grains of gunpowder. Viewing these sinister +preparations for the "duel," the Englishman concluded that the best +thing he could do was to run away, which he did very promptly. "O ho!" +shouted Putnam after him, taking his pipe from his mouth. "You are just +about as brave a man as I thought, to run away from a keg of onions! Ha, +ha, ha!" + +No date is given to this occurrence, nor to another account of the +"duel" he didn't fight with a brother officer whom he drove from the +field at the muzzle of a loaded musket. In fact, the "field of honor" +was not much frequented by Putnam, who preferred the field of battle, +where he always gave a good account of himself. + +During his declining years he was cheered by the companionship of his +children, most of whom were married and settled near him, and being in +the enjoyment of a competence, he was vastly better off than the +majority of the soldiers who had fought with and under him during the +Revolution, for many of them were impoverished. + +He preserved his strong will-power and great physical strength to the +end of his days, notwithstanding the ravages of disease, and in 1786, +four years before he died, performed a journey to his birthplace in +Danvers, riding all the way on horseback, though with frequent stops by +the way not only for rest, but on account of the people who flocked out +to see him and desired to entertain the famous fighter in so many wars. + +This was the last of his ventures afield, and henceforth he confined his +excursions to visiting the homes of his sons and daughters, and to trips +around his farm, though on Sundays and "prayer-meeting nights" he would +always be found in the meeting-house at the Green, where he was a +regular attendant. It is related that at one of the evening meetings one +of his fellow worshipers aroused him, by expressing his own conviction +that any person who had ever used profane language could hardly be +considered a model Christian. Old Put at once accepted the reproof as +intended, for it was well known that in moments of excitement, when +carried away by the furore of battle, he had often used words which he +would not care to review in print. He detested a coward, and when he met +one in retreat he did not hesitate to employ strong language in +expressing his opinion. At Horseneck, declared the only witness of his +reckless ride down the hill, "Old Put was cursing the British terribly." +There was no evading his friend's pointed remarks, so the honest old man +rose from his seat and "confessed the failing which he had finally +overcome"; but he added, with a twinkle in his eye, "it was enough to +make an angel swear at Bunker Hill to see the rascals run away from the +British!"[4] + +[Footnote 4: Livingston's Life of Israel Putnam. An exhaustive work, by +a conscientious and painstaking author.] + +In this respect he was no worse than his former Commander-in-Chief, +though he may have been oftener culpable, being so much more excitable +than the phlegmatic Washington. + +The final summons came on Saturday, the twenty-ninth of May, 1790, when, +in a lower room of the house he had built nearly fifty years before, the +battle-scarred warrior, life's fitful fever ended, passed peacefully +away to his rest. + +Israel Putnam was well prepared to die, declared his pastor in his +funeral sermon, and perfectly resigned to the will of God. + +"He had been for years," says Major Humphreys, "in patient yet fearless +expectation of the approach of the King of Terrors, whom he had full +often faced on the field of blood." + +On the first day of June the earthly remains of Israel Putnam, attended +by a distinguished company of former comrades and sorrowing friends, +were taken to the Brooklyn burying-ground, and placed in a brick tomb. + +Upon the slab of the tomb was carved the lengthy epitaph, printed on the +next page, as composed by Dr. Timothy Dwight, Putnam's former friend and +chaplain in the army, who subsequently became President of Yale College. + +[Illustration: Statue to General Putnam at Brooklyn, Connecticut.] + + + To the memory + of + Israel Putnam, Esquire, + Senior Major-General in the Armies + of + The United States of America + Who + Was born at Salem + In the Province of Massachusetts + On the seventh day of January + AD. 1718, + And died + On the twenty-ninth day of May + AD. 1790. + + PASSENGER + If thou art a Soldier + Drop a Tear over the dust of a Hero + Who + Ever attentive + To the lives and happiness of his Men + Dared to lead + Where any Dared to follow; + If a Patriot, + Remember the distinguished and gallant services + Rendered thy Country + By the Patriot who sleeps beneath this Monument; + If thou art Honest, generous & worthy + Render a cheerful tribute of respect + To a Man + Whose generosity was singular + Whose honesty was proverbial + Who + Raised himself to universal esteem + And offices of Eminent distinction + By personal worth + And a + Usefull life. + +With the passing of the years, Putnam's tomb in the pleasant little +cemetery in Brooklyn became defaced through the ravages of time and +heartless relic hunters, so the State resolved to erect a more enduring +monument to "Connecticut's hero of the Revolution." This monument was +dedicated June 14th, 1888, nearly a century after the death of the one +it is intended to commemorate, and is in the shape of a beautiful bronze +statue, representing Putnam on his war-horse, beneath the pedestal +supporting which, embedded in the foundation, is a sarcophagus +containing his ashes. It stands near the old church which Putnam helped +to build, and not far distant from the field in which he was plowing +when the call came from Lexington and Concord. Dr. Dwight's original +epitaph is inscribed on the tablets, and a wolf's head in bronze +ornaments the pedestal on each side. + +Little now remains to be added, except to call attention to Putnam's +character, eulogies upon which have been delivered by the ablest men of +his time and of the generations after him. This sterling character has +shone resplendent in his deeds, which we have noted; and we may almost +say of him, as of Washington, his great commander, "Whatever good may +at any time be said, it can never be an exaggeration!" + +General Putnam, remarked his first biographer, "is universally +acknowledged to have been as brave and honest a man as ever America +produced.... He seems to have been formed on purpose for the age in +which he lived. His native courage, unshaken integrity, and established +reputation as a soldier, were necessary in the early stages of our +opposition to Great Britain, and gave unbounded confidence to our troops +in their first conflicts on the field of battle." + +Over his open grave, on that day in June so long ago, were pronounced +the following words, as true now as yesterday, as they will be +henceforth, forever: "Born a hero, whom nature taught and cherished in +the lap of innumerable toils and dangers, he was terrible in battle.... +But from the amiableness of his heart, when carnage ceased, his humanity +spread over the field like the refreshing zephyrs of a summer's evening. +... He pitied littleness, loved goodness, admired greatness, and ever +aspired to its glorious summit." + +The name of Putnam, as Washington declared, is not forgotten--nor will +be, until time shall be no more. + + "He dared to lead + Where any dared to follow. In their need + Men looked to him. + A tower of strength was Israel Putnam's name, + A rally-word for patriot acclaim; + It meant resolve, and hope, and bravery, + And steady cheerfulness and constancy. + And if, in years to come, men should forget + That only freedom makes a nation great; + If men grow less as wealth accumulates, + Till gold becomes the life-blood of our States; + Should all these heavy ills weigh down our heart, + We'll turn to him who acted well his part + In those old days, draw lessons from his fame, + And hope and strength from Israel Putnam's name." + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's "Old Put" The Patriot, by Frederick A. 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Ober + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: "Old Put" The Patriot + +Author: Frederick A. Ober + +Release Date: November 11, 2005 [EBook #17049] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "OLD PUT" THE PATRIOT *** + + + + +Produced by Graeme Mackreth, Michael Ciesielski and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1>"OLD PUT"</h1> + +<h1>THE PATRIOT</h1> + +<h2>BY</h2> + +<h2>FREDERICK A. OBER</h2> + +<h5>AUTHOR OF CRUSOE'S ISLAND, THE STORIED WEST INDIES, PUERTO RICO AND ITS +RESOURCES, ETC.</h5> + +<h5><i>ILLUSTRATED</i></h5> +<h6>NEW YORK</h6> + +<h6>D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</h6> + +<h6>1904</h6> + +<h6><span class="smcap">Copyright,</span> 1904, by</h6> + +<h6>D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</h6> + +<h6><i>Published, September, 1904</i></h6> + +<p class="center"> +<a id="image1" name="image1"></a> +<img src="images/image1.png" alt="Old Put escaping"/> +</p> +<h5>"Old Put" escaping from the British at Horseneck</h5> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h3><a id="CONTENTS" name="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h3> + + + +<ul class="TOC"> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_I">—<span class="smcap">Birthplace and Youth</span></a> +</li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_II">—"<span class="smcap">Old Wolf Putnam</span>"</a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_III">—<span class="smcap">First Taste of War</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">—<span class="smcap">A Partizan Fighter</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_V">—<span class="smcap">The Adventurous Soldier</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">—<span class="smcap">Fighting on the Frontier</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">—<span class="smcap">Strategy and Woodcraft</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">—<span class="smcap">A Prisoner and in Peril</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">—<span class="smcap">A Campaign in Cuba</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_X">—<span class="smcap">Tavern-Keeper and Oracle</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">—<span class="smcap">On the Side of His Country</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">—<span class="smcap">At the Battle of Bunker Hill</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">—<span class="smcap">Holding the Enemy at Bay</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">—<span class="smcap">In Command at New York</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">—<span class="smcap">Washington's Chief Reliance</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">—<span class="smcap">Defending the Hudson Highlands</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">—<span class="smcap">Last Years in the Service</span></a></li> + +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">—<span class="smcap">The Disabled Veteran</span></a></li> +</ul> + + + +<h3>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h3> + +<p> + +<a href="#image1">"Old Put" escaping from the British at Horseneck</a><br /> +<br /> +<a href="#image2">The Wolf Den at Pomfret, Connecticut</a><br /> +<br /> +<a href="#image3">Fort near Havana where the Colonials landed </a><br /> +<br /> +<a href="#image4">Israel Putnam<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>From a painting by Trumbull.</i></span></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href="#image5">Statue to General Putnam at Brooklyn, Connecticut </a> +</p> + + + +<h3>"OLD PUT," THE PATRIOT</h3> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h4>BIRTHPLACE AND YOUTH</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>This is the life story of one who was born on a farm, and died on a +farm, yet who achieved a world-wide fame through his military exploits. +It has been told many times, it will be told for centuries yet to come; +for the world loves a man of high emprise, and such was Israel Putnam, +the hero of this story.</p> + +<p>He was born January 7, 1718, in Danvers, then known as Salem Village, +Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England. His father's Christian +name was Joseph, his mother's Elizabeth, and Israel (as he was called at +baptism, after his maternal grandfather, Israel Porter) was the +great-grandson of his first American ancestor, John Putnam, who had +come from England, where the original name of the family was Puttenham. +He had settled at Salem more than eighty years before, and his son, +Thomas, built, in 1648, the house in which Israel was born in 1718. On +the death of Thomas it had become the property of Joseph, who first +occupied it in 1690, after his marriage to Elizabeth Porter.</p> + +<p>Here the young couple passed through the perilous "witchcraft times," +during the worst period of which, in 1692 (it is a tradition in the +family), Joseph Putnam kept a loaded musket at his bedside every night +and his swiftest horse saddled in the stable, ready for a fight or a +flight in case the witch-hunters should come to carry him off to jail. +They had accused his sister, who saved her life only by fleeing to the +wilderness and remaining in hiding until the insane furor was over. He +and his wife survived that gloomy period, and in the ancestral homestead +lived happily for more than thirty years, raising a "baker's dozen" of +children, of whom Israel was the eleventh.</p> + +<p>On both the maternal and paternal side Israel Putnam was descended from +a line of sturdy, prosperous farmers. The grandfather whose name he bore +had married a daughter of William Hathorne, who came from England and +settled in Salem about the year 1630, and who was an ancestor of the +famous romancist Nathaniel Hawthorne. John Hathorne, son of William, was +a military man and a magistrate. He presided at the infamous witchcraft +trials in Salem, and, like the near relatives of Joseph Putnam, looked +with severe disfavor upon any one who showed sympathy for the persecuted +witches.</p> + +<p>Joseph Putnam died in 1723, leaving his widow with eleven surviving +children, nine older than Israel, who was then but five years of age, +and one, little Mehitable, only three. Several of the older children +were already married, and when, in 1727, Mrs. Putnam took a second +husband, one Captain Thomas Perley, of Boxford, only the younger members +of her family went with her to live in the new home. There Israel +resided until he was about eighteen, and Boxford being only a few miles +distant from his birthplace, in the same county (Essex), he made +frequent visits to the old farm, to which he finally returned as part +owner before he attained his majority.</p> + +<p>Numerous anecdotes are still related of him in Danvers, all tending to +illustrate the early development of those high qualities for which in +after-life he became conspicuous. Courage, enterprise, activity, and +perseverance, says his original biographer, were the first +characteristics of his mind. His disposition was frank and generous, as +his mind was fearless and independent. From his earliest years he +craved, and was always in pursuit of, some daring adventure, yet he was +the most sober and apparently contented youth in the village, loving +hard work, even seeking to perform a man's task at daily labor, while +yet a mere stripling. Brought up mainly on the farm, spending his days +in severe labor and his nights in sweet slumber, he became the peer of +all his companions in athletic feats involving strength and skill. He +could "pitch the bar," run, leap, wrestle with the best of them, and +more than held his own with the most doughty champion. But he never +boasted of his strength, nor sought occasions to display his skill, +being content with their mere possession.</p> + +<p>His sense of fairness and self-respect, however, would not allow him to +become the butt of other people's ridicule, and when the need arose for +putting forth his energies in a good cause, he held nothing in reserve. +Such an occasion occurred the first time he paid a visit to Boston, the +metropolis of his State. He was roaming about in rustic fashion, when he +attracted the attention of a youth twice his size, who began to "make +fun" of him. Young Putnam bore the insult as long as he could, then he +"challenged, engaged, and vanquished his unmannerly antagonist, to the +great diversion of a crowd of spectators."</p> + +<p>There were very few diversions for the youth of Putnam's time, so long +ago; but the boys, like those of modern times, indulged in +bird's-nesting now and then. Climbing to a tree top one day, in his +endeavor to secure a nest, "Young Put" had a fall, owing to a branch +breaking in his hands. He was caught by a lower limb, however, and there +he hung, suspended by his clothes betwixt heaven and earth. His cries +attracted some companions, one of whom he commanded (as he had a gun) to +fire a bullet at the limb and try to break it. This the boy did, after +much coaxing on Putnam's part, and was so successful that his friend +came tumbling to the ground. He was bruised and lamed, but no bones were +broken; and the very next day the intrepid boy climbed up to the nest +again, and this time secured it. That was the "way with 'Old Put,'" the +man who in later years succeeded "Young Put" the youth. His motto was: +"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."</p> + +<p>He always tried, and with his utmost endeavor, to accomplish the task +that faced him at the time. What is more, he generally succeeded; and +that is the chief reason why he is considered worthy a biography. There +are few men, perhaps, who did so many things worthy of emulation, and so +few unworthy. Dangerously near the latter, however, was one act of his +youth, when he caught a vicious bull in a pasture, and, having mounted +astride the animal's back, with spurs on his heels, rode the furious +creature around the field until it finally fell from exhaustion, after +seeking refuge in a swamp.</p> + +<p>Young Putnam's education, as may have been inferred already, was +obtained mostly in the woods and open fields. While he possessed great +mental endowments, as afterward displayed in his career, yet his early +education was grossly neglected, in the school and college sense. Having +mastered the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic, he was +considered well equipped for his destined calling, which was to be that +of a farmer. Throughout his whole life he suffered from this neglect of +early instruction. His letters, particularly, though they always +"displayed the goodness of his heart, and frequently the strength of his +native genius, with a certain laconic mode of expression, and an +unaffected epigrammatic turn," were "fearfully and wonderfully made," +the despair of his correspondents and the ridicule of his enemies.</p> + +<p>It is doubtful if he had any greater ambition than to become a good +farmer, as good as was his father before him, and like him, attain to a +competency. He was already fairly well to do the year he became of age, +for his father, after providing generously for the other children, had +bequeathed to him and his brother David the homestead, house and farm +attached. His mother was to have a home there so long as she desired; +but on her second marriage she relinquished her claim upon the +homestead, and the two brothers shared it between them. Israel's +portion was set off in 1738, and the next year he built a home in a +remote corner of the farm, but within sight of the house and room in +which he was born. For, after the fashion of those primitive times, when +early matrimony was encouraged, young Israel had been "courting" a +lovely girl, the daughter of a neighbor, who lived about four miles +distant from the home farm, near the boundary-line between Salem and +Lynn. Hannah Pope was her name, and she also was descended from one of +the first families of Salem Village. Being a sensible girl, she accepted +Israel Putnam as soon as he proposed, and the 19th of July, 1739, they +were married, when he was twenty-one years of age and she only eighteen. +Taking his young wife to the little house he had built with his own +hands on the farm, there Israel Putnam and Hannah, his wife, began their +married life. The next year a son was born to them, the first of ten +children who blessed their union, and he was called Israel.</p> + +<p>The house in which the first Israel Putnam was born, an old colonial, +gambrel-roofed structure, still stands where it was erected by his +grandfather in 1648, near the foot of Hathorne Hill, in Danvers, on the +turn-pike road half-way between Boston and Newburyport. It contains many +relics of Putnam's time, but the most interesting portion of the house +itself is the little back chamber, with its one window looking out over +the farmyard, where the infant Israel first saw the light.</p> + +<p>Of the house which he himself built, on a distant knoll of the home +farm, nothing now remains but the cellar and foundation stones, near +which is the well he dug, now choked with rubbish and overgrown with +brambles.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h4>"OLD WOLF PUTNAM"</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Judging from the stability of his position in Danvers, it would seem +that young Farmer Putnam was established for life. He had land enough to +satisfy any ordinary cultivator of that period, and a comfortable house +in which dwelt with him wife and child, to cheer him by their presence. +But the future patriot felt within him an ardent thirst for adventure. +He longed for a wider field, and though to all appearances firmly rooted +in the soil of Salem Village, he was already thinking of transplanting +himself and family into that of another region. Hardly, in fact, had he +settled in the home he had made than he began preparations for removal +to what was then considered a comparatively wild section of New England.</p> + +<p>In the old homestead at Danvers is still preserved the quit-claim deed +signed by Israel Putnam, "of Salem in the County of Essex and Province +of Massachusetts Bay in New England, husbandman," which records the +transfer by him to his brother David of his share in the ancestral house +and acres.</p> + +<p>In the local history of the town of Brooklyn, Conn., occurs this +passage: "In the year 1703, Richard Ames purchased 3,000 acres of land +lying in the south part of Pomfret, where the village of Brooklyn now +stands, which he divided into five lots and deeded to his sons. Directly +north of this was situated a tract of land owned by Mr. John Blackwell, +comprising 5,750 acres, which was willed to his son John, and afterward +sold to Governor Belcher of Massachusetts, who divided it into farms and +sold them to different individuals, among whom was General Israel +Putnam. This tract went by the name of 'Mortlake.' A beautiful stream +which rises in the western part of the tract, and received its name from +the former proprietor, Blackwell, empties into the Quinnebaug."</p> + +<p>These several transactions in real estate, taken together, will +sufficiently explain to the reader, perhaps, the subsequent movements of +Farmer Putnam. After disposing of property to his brother David, and +receiving therefor the goodly sum of £1,900, Israel Putnam joined with +his brother-in-law, Joseph Pope, in the purchase of more than five +hundred acres of land from Governor Belcher, for which they agreed to +pay at the rate of five pounds per acre. They paid for it partly in +"bills of credit on the Province of Massachusetts," and gave a mortgage +for the remainder. And so fertile was this wild land, and so thrifty was +the young pioneer farmer Israel Putnam, that within little more than two +years he had liquidated the mortgage and received a quit-claim deed from +the Governor, as well as purchased his brother-in-law's portion of the +tract they had bought together.</p> + +<p>The two pioneers may have made a special trip to the Connecticut tract +before deciding to purchase; for it was not in the nature of them to +"buy a pig in a poke," as it were. And such a journey of nearly a +hundred miles, mainly through a wilderness, was no child's task in those +days. In after-years General Israel Putnam made many a longer journey, +through wilds swarming with hostile Indians, too, and thought nothing of +it; but this was the first of any account that he took very far away +from home.</p> + +<p>What the young wife thought when the enthusiastic adventurer came back +with his story was never recorded. Neither, for that matter, was the +tale he told her, as well as his friends and neighbors, many of whom, +doubtless, would fain have dissuaded him from making what they viewed as +a rash and risky move. Details of Putnam's life at this period of his +career are lacking; but there stand the records, with their statement of +facts. They can not be gainsaid. The very fact that he, a prosperous +farmer, even then well off as to this world's goods, should make the +adventure—the first of his family in America to abandon the home acres +and seek others in the wilderness—is sufficient to attest his energy +and ambition.</p> + +<p>Sometime in the latter part of the year 1740 the young husband of +twenty-two, with a wife under twenty and a babe only a few months old, +set out to make his fortune in the rough country adjacent to his native +State. Many of his race and family have since become pioneers in various +parts of the world, and this country owes them much for blazing out the +way in which others might follow; but young Israel Putnam was the first +of them—the pioneer of pioneers, in the great American movement.</p> + +<p>A second time he set himself to the building of a house and the +establishing of a home, and as he found much of the material ready at +hand—stone for foundations and timber for the building—it was not long +before the farmer and his family had another roof-tree of their own +above their heads. This structure has gone the way of the first, and +long since disappeared, traces of the cellar and foundations only being +visible; but the large dwelling-house which he later built, and in which +he died, still stands at a little distance away. After clearing a +portion of the land, and working the stones with which it was +plentifully bestrewed into dividing walls, he planted an apple-orchard, +sowed grain of various sorts, and increased as rapidly as possible his +flocks and herds of live stock. His chief, perhaps his only, assistant +in these earlier labors was a negro servant, who figures, though not +greatly to his credit, in the narration of an adventure in which his +master took part, about two years after his arrival in Connecticut. +This, of course, is that famous encounter with the wolf, which has since +become part and parcel not only of local tradition, but of American +history. As many generations have been familiar with this story as +related in story-books and primers, particularly during the early part +of the nineteenth century, it will now be told in the language of a +contemporary, Colonel David Humphrey, who was an aide-de-camp to +General Putnam, and also to General Washington, during the Revolutionary +War, and who wrote the first and best biography of our hero, which was +published in his lifetime. "The first years on a new farm are not exempt +from disasters and disappointments, which can only be remedied by +stubborn and patient industry. Our farmer, sufficiently occupied in +building an house and barn, felling woods, making fences, sowing grain, +planting orchards, and taking care of his stock, had to encounter in +turn the calamities occasioned by drought in summer, blast in harvest, +loss of cattle in winter, and the desolation of his sheepfold by wolves. +In one night he had seventy fine sheep and goats killed, besides many +lambs and kids wounded. This havoc was committed by a she-wolf, which, +with her annual whelps, had for several years infested the vicinity. The +young were commonly destroyed by the vigilance of the hunters, but the +old one was too sagacious to come within reach of gunshot. Upon being +closely pursued she would generally fly to the western woods, and return +the next winter with another litter of whelps. This wolf at length +became such an intolerable nuisance that Farmer Putnam entered into a +combination with five of his neighbors to hunt alternately until they +could destroy her. Two by rotation were to be constantly in pursuit. It +was known that, having lost the toes from one foot by a steel trap, she +made one track shorter than the other, and by this vestige the pursuers, +in a light snow, recognized and followed the trail of this pernicious +animal. Having followed her to the Connecticut River and found she had +turned back toward Pomfret, they immediately returned, and by ten +o'clock the next morning their bloodhounds had driven her into a den, +about three miles distant from the house of Mr. Putnam. The people soon +collected, with dogs, guns, straw, fire, and sulphur, to attack the +common enemy, and made several unsuccessful efforts to force her from +the den.</p> + +<p class="center"> +<a id="image2" name="image2"></a> +<img src="images/image2.png" alt="The Wolf Den at Pomfret, Connecticut"/> +</p> + +<h5>The Wolf Den at Pomfret, Connecticut</h5> + + +<p>"Wearied with the fruitless attempts (which had brought the time to +ten o'clock at night), Mr. Putnam tried once more to make his dog enter, +but in vain. Then he proposed to his negro man to go down into the +cavern and shoot the wolf; but he declined the hazardous service. Then +it was that the master resolved himself to destroy the ferocious beast, +lest she should escape through some unknown fissure of the rock. His +neighbors strongly remonstrated against the perilous enterprise; but he, +knowing that wild animals were intimidated by fire, and having provided +several strips of birch-bark, the only combustible material he could +obtain that would afford light in this deep and darksome cave, prepared +for his descent. Having accordingly divested himself of his coat and +waistcoat, and having a long rope fastened about his legs, by which he +might be pulled back at a concerted signal, he entered head foremost, +with the blazing torch in his hand. The aperture of the den, on the east +side of a very high ledge of rocks, is about two feet square; from +thence it descends obliquely fifteen feet, then running horizontally +about ten more, it ascends gradually sixteen feet to its termination. +The sides of this subterraneous cavity are composed of smooth and solid +rocks, as also are the top and bottom, and the entrance in winter, being +covered with ice, is exceedingly slippery. It is in no place high enough +for a man to raise himself upright, nor in any part more than three feet +in width.</p> + +<p>"Having groped his passage to the horizontal part of the den, he found +it dark and silent as the house of death. He, cautiously proceeding +onward, came to the ascent, which he slowly mounted on his hands and +knees until he discovered the glaring eyeballs of the wolf, who was +crouching at the extremity of the cavern. Startled by the sight of fire, +she gnashed her teeth and gave a sullen growl. Having made the necessary +discovery (that the wolf was in the den), Putnam kicked at the rope, as +a signal for pulling him out. The people at the mouth of the den, who +had listened with painful anxiety, hearing the growling of the wolf, and +supposing their friend to be in the most imminent danger, drew him forth +with such celerity that his shirt was stripped over his head and his +skin severely lacerated.</p> + +<p>"After adjusting his clothes, and loading his gun with nine buckshot, +holding a torch in one hand and the musket in the other, he descended +the second time. He drew nearer than before, and the wolf, assuming a +still more fierce and terrible appearance, growling, rolling her eyes, +snapping her teeth, and dropping her head between her legs, was +evidently on the point of springing at him. At this critical instant he +leveled his gun and fired at her head. Stunned with the shock and +suffocated with the smoke, he immediately found himself drawn out of the +cave. But, having refreshed himself, and permitted the smoke to +dissipate, he went down the third time. Once more he came within sight +of the wolf, who appearing very passive, he applied the torch to her +nose, and perceiving her dead, he took hold of her ears, and then +kicking the rope (still tied round his legs), the people above, with no +small exultation, dragged them both out together."</p> + +<p>This is the story, told by one who knew Putnam intimately and who had it +from his own lips, while neighbors were still living who were "in at the +death" and could have refuted any misstatement or exaggeration. The +deed, in truth, was characteristic of the dauntless young farmer, whose +courage and heroic character (as his eulogist justly remarks) "were ever +attended by a serenity of soul, a clearness of conception, a degree of +self-possession, and a superiority to all vicissitudes of fortune, +entirely distinct from anything that can be produced by a ferment of the +blood and flutter of spirits, which not unfrequently precipitate men to +action when stimulated by intoxication or some other transient +exhilaration."</p> + +<p>That was "Wolf Put," or "Old Wolf Putnam," as he came to be called +thenceforth. But at no time in his active and wonderful career was he +an old man when he performed his deeds of valor. The wolf-hunt, in fact, +was mainly a young men's and boys' affair, Putnam himself being only +twenty-four at the time, and the wolf having been traced to her lair by +young John Sharp, a boy of seventeen.</p> + +<p>The slayer of the old she-wolf was the hero of the time; but he bore his +laurels modestly, though exaggerated accounts of the affair were +published all over the colonies, and even in England, where they were +exploited in the public prints. By rising to the occasion, and doing the +right thing at the right time, he acquired a reputation for valor and +firmness that stood him in good stead in those coming conflicts, the +Seven Years' War and the Revolution.</p> + +<p>Unknown to him, however, and unsuspected, were the heights to which he +subsequently rose. He devoted himself to his farm, becoming the best +agriculturist in the region in which he lived, and also performed the +duties of a good citizen, never shrinking from his share of civic +burdens. The youth of to-day could not do better than emulate the +example of this illustrious American; and they might do worse than take +part in the patriotic pilgrimages annually made to the scenes of his +early life. The citizens of his adopted State have religiously preserved +intact the second house he built in Brooklyn, then Pomfret; and the +she-wolf's den may still be seen, in the side of a wooded hill. The +entrance-way is at present too low and narrow to admit the passage of a +boy, much less of a full-grown man; but that is said to have been caused +by the falling in of the rocks, in the lapse of time since Putnam's day.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h4>FIRST TASTE OF WAR</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Israel Putnam's adventure with the wolf gave him an unsought, and in +some respects undesirable, notoriety; but that he did not court this +notoriety is shown by the fact that for the next twelve or thirteen +years he lived quietly on his farm, attending to his duties as a +cultivator of the soil and a simple citizen. During these years he +acquired an enviable reputation as one of the best farmers in all the +region of which Pomfret was the center, and had it not been for the +lamentable struggle between the French and the English for supremacy in +North America, he might have continued as the humble and prosperous +citizen-cultivator to the end of his days. The breaking out of the +prolonged strife which is known in history as the French and Indian +War, found Putnam in possession of what in those days was considered a +competency. Having received a good start from the paternal inheritance, +he had not hidden his talents in a napkin, but had put them out to good +purpose. He erected a large and substantial dwelling about a fourth of a +mile distant from the first he had built in Pomfret, and here he lived +most happily, with his good wife Hannah, surrounded by a growing family +of healthy children.</p> + +<p>In the year 1755, when active operations began in this war between +England and France, fought out on the soil of America, Israel Putnam was +thirty-seven years old and in the prime of life. There was no immediate +necessity for him to volunteer in defense of the frontier, where the +hostile French were gathering, for it was far distant from his home, the +forests around which were threatened by no roaming savages with +tomahawks and muskets. But his patriotic instincts were aroused by the +reports of massacres committed in other regions; he knew the tide must +be met before it became irresistible and breasted in the North. Four +great expeditions were planned by the English to frustrate the schemes +of the enemy: against Fort Niagara, Crown Point on Lake Champlain, Fort +Duquesne, and against the French in Nova Scotia.</p> + +<p>It was to take part in the expedition with Crown Point as its objective +that Israel Putnam abandoned his farm, early in the summer of 1755, just +when it needed him most, and started on his second long journey away +from home. He reached the rendezvous at Albany, after a toilsome march +through the forests that intervened between the Connecticut and the +Hudson, and there found three thousand other "Provincials" gathered for +the defense of the colonies. Most of them were sons of the soil, like +Putnam, and like him were yet to receive their baptism of fire; but they +were sturdy and valiant, though appearing rude and uncouth in the eyes +of the British veterans.</p> + +<p>The commander-in-chief of the British Colonial forces in North America +at the beginning of the war was Governor William Shirley of +Massachusetts, and the commander of the Crown Point expedition was +General William Johnson, the famous and eccentric "sachem" of the +Mohawks. Having lived for many years with or near the Indians, this +Englishman had acquired a great influence over them, especially over the +Mohawks, of whose tribe he had been elected an honorary sachem. He had +learned their language, had even adopted their peculiar garb, and at +times adorned his face with war-paint and performed with his savage +friends the furious war-dance. His stanch ally was the ever faithful +chief of the Mohawks, the valiant Hendrick, who rendered invaluable +service to the English and was killed while battling for their cause.</p> + +<p>As Putnam, the stalwart provincial soldier, was merely a private in the +ranks when he made the acquaintance of the famous general and the Mohawk +chief, he may not have attracted their attention; though he later won +encomiums from the commander. He could not but have admired the +General's sagacity in retaining the Mohawks as allies of the English +Colonials, when most of the Indian tribes had arrayed themselves on the +side of the French. At the time Johnson was assembling his army on the +Hudson, in that very month of July, 1755, General Braddock, commander of +the Duquesne expedition, met with most disastrous defeat, and almost his +last words were regrets that he had not taken the advice of his +aide-de-camp, a "young Virginian colonel named Washington," who had +earnestly besought him to abandon the British tactics and adopt the +American system of "bush-fighting."</p> + +<p>"We shall better know how to deal with them another time," the defeated +Braddock had said to Washington, just before he died. But General +Johnson and the Provincial officers already knew how to deal with their +wily foes. They had taken leaves from the unwritten book of Indian +tactics; their men fought from behind trees and logs, as the savages +fought, and in this manner turned the tables upon the French commanders.</p> + +<p>"It was owing to the pride and ignorance of that great general that came +from England," said an Indian chieftain, alluding to the terrible defeat +of Braddock. "He looked upon the Indians as dogs, and would never take +their advice, and that is the reason many of our warriors left him. We +are ready again to take up the hatchet with you against the French; but +let us unite our strength. You are numerous, and all the English +governors along your seashore can raise men enough. But don't let those +that come from over the great seas be concerned any more. They are unfit +to fight in the woods. Let us go by ourselves—we that came out of this +ground."</p> + +<p>Colonel Washington knew of what the Indians were capable, for young as +he was then, he had been through a dreadful experience and had received +valuable lessons in their mode of warfare. "It is in their power," he +declared, "to be of infinite use to us; and without the Indians we +shall never be able to cope with these cruel foes of our country."</p> + +<p>There is no doubt that the Indians turned the tide of the first battle +in which Israel Putnam took part—that of Lake George, on the eighth of +September, 1755. Having made all his preparations at Albany, General +Johnson took up his march for Crown Point by way of the "carrying-place" +(subsequently known as Fort Edward) and Lake George. After leaving some +of his troops to complete the fort he had begun at the "carrying-place," +the commander proceeded to the south end of Lake George, where he made +camp. He had between five and six thousand New York and New England +troops and his loyal Mohawks. Not long had he been in camp before his +Indian scouts brought him intelligence of an approaching force of French +and Indians.</p> + +<p>About the time that General Johnson had begun his march northwardly, +Baron Dieskau, with a force of 3,000 French troops, 800 Canadians and +700 Indians, had started southwardly from Montreal, also for Crown Point +on Lake Champlain. He had intended to proceed against Oswego; but +learning of the contemplated English expedition for the reduction of +Crown Point, he changed the direction of his march.</p> + +<p>Had he waited for the English general to carry out his original +intention, the result might have been more favorable to the French, for +the former would then have been the attacking party and have borne the +brunt of the battle. As it was, the French commander nearly succeeded in +drawing the thousand men that Johnson had sent out to meet him into an +ambuscade, and among the slain was brave Colonel Williams, commander of +the Provincials in this engagement, and gallant Chief Hendrick, who had +accompanied him with two hundred Mohawks.</p> + +<p>The Provincials fought fiercely, but vainly, for they were outnumbered, +and at first outgeneraled. They fell back upon the main body, the rear +of which was protected by the lake, the flanks by densely-wooded +swamps, and the front by a breastwork of trees, behind which were +mounted several cannon.</p> + +<p>On came the enemy, in pursuit of the retreating Provincials, who sought +shelter behind the rude breastworks as rapidly as possible. They had +lost heavily, they had been partially ambuscaded, some of their best +officers were killed and some wounded; but they had no thought of +surrender. Recovering from the first shock of surprise, they quickly +adopted the Indian fashion of fighting from behind the trees and rocks, +thus exposing themselves very little and inflicting upon the enemy the +greatest possible punishment by their accurate marksmanship.</p> + +<p>The gallant Dieskau was unable to control his Canadian and Indian +allies, but advanced his French regulars against the breastworks without +flinching. There, however, he committed the same mistake that had caused +Braddock's bloody defeat, by ordering his men to advance in a body and +fire by platoons. And again, though the Canadians and Indians fought +bravely, after their manner, posted behind the trees, they here +encountered what they feared so much, the fire of artillery.</p> + +<p>It had been Dieskau's intention to march upon Fort Edward; but hearing +that there were cannon mounted there, his allies had refused to go. So +he changed his course and set upon Johnson at Lake George. Here, +however, his forces, victoriously advancing after their successes of the +morning, were met by the destructive fire of the few cannon which had +been hastily mounted, and which mowed down the regulars and struck such +terror into the savage allies that the latter fled in a panic, their +whoops of triumph changed to yells of fear.</p> + +<p>It was then the turn of the Provincials to take the offensive, which +they did promptly, ably seconded by the Mohawks. They pursued the French +a long distance through the woods, and only halted when spent from +fatigue.</p> + +<p>The French themselves had paused for rest on the very ground where the +battle of the morning had been fought, and here, reenforced by soldiers +sent by General Lyman from Fort Edward, the Americans set upon them a +second time and finally vanquished them completely. They covered the +ground with the slain and took many prisoners, among them being the +French commander, who was found leaning against a stump, having been +wounded in the second fight. He was alone, save for a companion, who was +shot down by his side. Seeing an American soldier approach, the Baron +felt for his watch, hoping probably to secure good treatment by +presenting him with it; but the soldier, mistaking the motion for an +effort to draw a pistol, shot him through the hips, inflicting a wound +from which he ultimately died. Johnson himself was shot through the +thigh, early in the action, and the command devolved upon General Lyman, +who conducted the battle to a successful issue, as narrated.</p> + +<p>Thus was fought the battle of Lake George, September 8, 1755. The +brilliant victory gained here was greater than is apparent at a +superficial glance, for it checked the French advance upon the English +colonies; it probably saved Albany and other towns from destruction; it +was the means of driving the invaders back upon their defensive posts at +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, where they were eventually attacked and +overcome.</p> + +<p>Contrary to the expressed opinions (and perhaps advice) of the +Provincials, among whom was Putnam, General Johnson decided to advance +no further in that campaign, brief as it had been, but proceeded to +erect a fort on the site of his camp, alleging that this was necessary +to protect his base of supplies and maintain communication with Albany. +Had he followed up the victory and pursued the demoralized enemy to +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, he might have saved the English many +valuable lives and the humiliation of repeated defeats in their +subsequent efforts to reduce those important fortifications.</p> + +<p>The reduction of Crown Point was abandoned for that season; but +notwithstanding this, and the fact that the brunt of the fight had been +borne by General Phineas Lyman and his New England militia, the +commander-in-chief was rewarded for the victory by a baronetcy and a +grant of five thousand pounds!</p> + +<p>That the results of this victory at Lake George were far-reaching, and +not forgotten by posterity, was shown, for example, nearly a century and +a half after it was won, by the erection of a monument upon the site of +the battle-field. On the eighth of September, 1903, the governors of +four States—New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts—gathered +at the unveiling of a bronze memorial (erected by the Society of +Colonial Wars), the heroic figures of which, nine feet in height, are +General Johnson and Chief Hendrick. The inscriptions on the granite +pedestal tell the story: "Defeat would have opened the road to Albany +and the French.... Confidence inspired by the victory was of inestimable +value to the American Army in the War of the Revolution."</p> + +<p>It should be borne in mind that Israel Putnam was present at this +battle, and rendered important service.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h4>A PARTIZAN FIGHTER</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>The shore of the beautiful lake was strewn with the slain, its waters +crimsoned by their blood, the French having lost nearly half their +regular force, and the English more than two hundred men. Several days +succeeding to the battle were passed in gathering the wounded and +burying the dead, in which dismal duty Putnam was engaged, with the rest +of the uninjured survivors.</p> + +<p>As our hero kept no diary of his doings, we know only in a general way +that he was in the thickest of the fight, that he went out with the +devoted band under Colonel Williams, and was foremost at the finish +under General Lyman. It has been stated by some of Putnam's biographers +that he held the rank of captain in this, his first, battle; but a +careful search of the colonial records makes it appear that he was +merely a private. With his accustomed eagerness to be foremost in a good +cause, he had hurried to the front without thought of rank or wages; and +although the General Assembly of Connecticut, which convened in August, +promptly made him out a commission as captain of a company, it did not +reach him until after the fight.</p> + +<p>He had outstripped his commission, had enlisted, had met the enemy, +acting, as he always acted, on his own initiative; and it seemed very +fit that he should be appointed to command a company of "partizans," as +the picked troops were called who made forays, performed scouting +duties, and led the advance of the main body.</p> + +<p>He became associated with the redoubtable leader of the hardy company of +back-woodsmen known as "Rogers' Rangers," and he held his own with the +best of them. The duties of these rangers were particularly hazardous, +for they were ever in the advance, as scouts or skirmishers, employing +the Indians' tactics in bush-fighting, engaged as escorts for the wagon +trains, as well as for the artillery, etc. They were thoroughly +independent, in the fullest sense of the word, following their +commander's general rule only, which was: "Every man's reason and +judgment must be his guide, according to the particular situation and +nature of things, and that he may do this to advantage, he should keep +in mind the maxim, never to be departed from by a commander, viz., to +preserve a firmness and presence of mind on every occasion."</p> + +<p>Had the foregoing rule been made expressly for our farmer-soldier, it +could not more exactly have exemplified the qualities he pre-eminently +possessed. He was a born "partizan," and entered at once into his +dangerous duties with ardor and zest.</p> + +<p>There exists a "Report of Captain Putnam, who was sent by Captain Rogers +as a Spy to Ticonderoga," dated October 9, 1755, which illustrates both +the bravery of the young officer, and the defects of his early +education, to which allusion has been made. It is as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Then left Capt. Rogers upon a neck of Land upon the west side of +Lake George and Set out towards Tyconderogue to see what +Discoveries we Could make and after we had marchd about 7 or 8 +miles we came upon a Large Mountain near the Heither end of the +narrowes, and when we came there we Could make no Discovery at all, +but after sometime we espyed three Barke Cannoes Drew upon the +Shore upon a point of Land that Ran into the Lake, and then wee +espyed two Indians Comeing out of the Bushes toward the Cannoes, +after water, and after sometime wee espyed several french and +Indians on the East side of the Lake ... and so Concluded to tarry +there all knight and see what further Discoveries wee Could make by +the fires in the knight, and just at the Dusk of the evening their +came four Cannoes from the East and went to the west side of the +Lake and landed on the point where the others were incamped, and +Drew up their Cannoes on ye Shore and by this time wee began to +Discover the fires on the point and on the east side of the Lake, +but Could not Discover what number their was, because the Bushes +were so thick by the Lake and about Day Brake they mustered their +men to work and then wee Left the mountain and returned to Capt. +Rogers on the point and when we Came within 60 or 70 Rods of the +point we Espyed 13 Indians pass by within 10 Rods of us, towards +the point where we left Capt. Rogers, and after they had passed by +us we Came to the point where we left Capt. Rogers, and found all +well this is the Chef of the Discovery and best account that I am +able to give."</p> + +<p class="rightalign">"<span class="smcap">Israel Putnam</span>."</p></div> + +<p>Captain Putnam belonged to that class of soldiers, so large in the early +wars of our country, that would "rather fight than eat," and made much +less of wielding the sword than the pen. It may well be believed that +after receiving a few "Reports" like this herewith quoted, his superiors +vastly preferred he should stick to the sword, since he was so much +better at fighting than writing. He himself was doubtless of the same +opinion, so he was kept constantly employed at the dangerous and arduous +work of the ranger, and within a week of writing his first report he had +distinguished himself by saving his commander's life.</p> + +<p>The French had retired to Crown Point and Ticonderoga, but the forests +between those points and Lake George were still swarming with hostile +Indians, engaged, like the Rangers, in reconnoitering the enemy's posts +and in cutting off stragglers. Captains Rogers and Putnam were ordered +by General Johnson to make a reconnaissance of Crown Point, and taking a +small party they penetrated the forests to within a short distance of +the works, where they left their men concealed, and, alone, set out on +their hazardous mission.</p> + +<p>They lay all night within gunshot of the fort, and in the gray dawn of +morning approached more closely in order to secure the information +desired, when Captain Rogers, who was slightly in advance, was +discovered and set upon by a big Frenchman, who seized his musket and +gave the alarm. A companion sentinel hastened to the Frenchman's +assistance, but Putnam also was at hand, and getting in ahead brought +the guard to the ground by a well-aimed blow from the butt-end of his +musket, and while the enemy lay quivering in his death-agonies the two +companions hastened away. They rejoined their men and finally reached +the camp in safety.</p> + +<p>An occurrence like this seemed of small moment at the time, perhaps, and +the ungrateful Rogers is said to have overlooked it entirely in his +report to General Johnson; but the same month (October, 1755) the two +again went out scouting, and another adventure followed which brought +Putnam's heroism into strong relief.</p> + +<p>Going down the lake in their bateaux, on the last day of the month, they +landed at night at a point where they had discovered some camp-fires of +the enemy, and in the morning three spies were sent out into the forest. +These spies were Putnam, a man named Fletcher, and Lieutenant Robert +Durkee, who was afterward tortured to death by the Indians. They +accomplished the immediate object of their mission, which was to +ascertain the location of some detached camps of Indians, and one of +them, Captain Fletcher, returned to report. Putnam and Durkee kept on, +in order to reconnoiter the enemy's main camp at the "Ovens," and in +consequence nearly lost their lives.</p> + +<p>Night overtook the two brave partizans before they had reached the +vicinity of the enemy, and when they saw the camp-fires gleaming they +incautiously approached, thinking that the French, like the English, +would be found within the circle. But the French pursued an altogether +different system, and probably the safer one, of building their +camp-fires within and themselves sleeping without the lines, protected +by the darkness of the night. Their sentinels were posted still further +from the center of the main body, so when the two spies approached and, +dropping to their hands and knees, crept cautiously toward the fires, +they had not gone far in this manner before they were discovered and +fired upon.</p> + +<p>To their amazement, they then found themselves right in the midst of +the enemy, hemmed in on every side. Lieutenant Durkee was slightly +wounded in the thigh, but he and Putnam immediately rose to their feet +and made the best of their way out into the darkness amid a shower of +bullets, and pursued by the awakened enemy. Unable "to see his hand +before his face," Putnam soon fell into a clay-pit, and Durkee, like the +immortal "Jill" in the nursery rhyme, came tumbling after. Knowing that +the enemy were in swift and close pursuit, Putnam raised his tomahawk to +give the supposed hostile a deadly stroke, when Durkee fortunately +spoke. Thankful that he had escaped murdering his companion, Putnam +immediately leaped out of the pit, and followed by Durkee, groped his +way to some ledges, where they lay down behind a large log for the +remainder of the night. Before they lay down, the original narration +goes on to state, "Captain Putnam said he had a little liquor in his +canteen, which could never be more acceptable or necessary than on that +occasion; but on examining the canteen, which hung under his arm, he +found the enemy had pierced it with their bullets, and that there was +not a drop of liquor left. The next morning he found fourteen +bullet-holes in his blanket!"</p> + +<p>His canteen was dry enough, but in falling into the clay-pit Putnam had +wet his gun, so that he could not return the fire of the Frenchmen, even +had he been so disposed. The tale as to the "fourteen bullet-holes in +his blanket" has often been held up to ridicule; but it is probably +true, for the blankets being rolled up, one ball alone might have cut +through many folds in its flight, and another have perforated his +canteen. At all events, he and his companion were in a most miserable +plight, all night in danger of being discovered. In the morning +(according to the official report by Captain Rogers) "they made the best +retreat they were able. Hearing the enemy close to their heels, they +made a tack and luckily escaped safe to our party."</p> + +<p>"How he escaped a wound is passing strange," says one of Putnam's +biographers [Mr. J.T. Headley]; "but he was one of those men who seem +eternally seeking death without being able to find it. There are some +persons in the world who appear to bear a charmed life, which no amount +of daring or exposure can endanger. Foremost in the charge, and the last +to retreat, they are never found with the dead. Fate seems to delight to +place them in the most desperate straits, on purpose to make their +deliverance appear the more miraculous. Putnam was one of those favored +beings, and was not born to be killed in battle."</p> + +<p>Another incident related of Captain Putnam shows his acute penetration +and acquaintance with Indian ways and wiles. It was in his second +campaign, when, after returning home for the winter, he had re-enlisted +and was again amid the scenes of his former adventures. He was stationed +at Fort Edward, the region immediately around which was infested with +savages bent on securing as many scalps as possible with the least +exposure. The sentinels on posts without the fort were in the greatest +danger, and there was one outpost in particular which had lost so many +of its sentries that at last no man could be found to accept a station +there voluntarily. One after another they had disappeared, as completely +as though the earth had opened and swallowed them. It was a post of such +danger that the officers at Fort Edward, having called for volunteers +repeatedly, all of whom had met the same mysterious fate, were compelled +to resort to drafting the men for duty there. As a commissioned officer +Putnam was exempt from the draft, but with his love of danger and from a +desire to penetrate the mystery, he volunteered for the hazardous +service for at least one night. His offer was accepted, although his +friends warned him of the risk he ran. He was already informed as to the +general instructions: on hearing the least noise to challenge promptly, +"Who goes there?" three times, and then, if no answer were returned, to +fire at whatever approached.</p> + +<p>Mounting guard at his post as early as possible, Putnam took occasion to +make a thorough examination of the nature of his environment, with a +trained woodsman's eye noting every peculiarity of rock, stump, bush, +tree, and leaf. Even then, as darkness fell and the scene became faintly +illumined by the rising moon, his surroundings assumed an unfamiliar +cast.</p> + +<p>He stood at his post till past midnight before anything unusual +happened, then his attention was attracted by what appeared to him a +wild hog which, with stealthy footstep, gradually neared his position. +There could be no danger in such a beast, any one less acute than he +might have reasoned; but anyway, he issued the challenge, and then, no +response having been made to his "Who goes there?" he immediately fired +at the animal. It was a groan, and not a grunt, that answered his +well-directed shot, and going up to the object, then writhing in its +death-struggles, he stripped off a bear-skin and revealed an immense +Indian, who had in this disguise approached the unsuspicious sentinels +previously stationed there, stabbed them, and carried them away.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h4>THE ADVENTUROUS SOLDIER</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>The campaign of 1755-'56, abounding in opportunities for personal +adventure, in which Israel Putnam took great delight, showed the true +mettle of the provincial soldier from Connecticut. At one time in the +summer of 1756, five or six hundred French soldiers from Ticonderoga +descended upon some British baggage wagons at Halfway Brook, a spot +about midway between Fort Edward and Fort William Henry at Lake George, +and overcoming the escort, succeeded in getting away with a large +quantity of provisions. They retreated northward, in the direction of +their stronghold, by the Narrows of Lake Champlain, and in order to head +them off, if possible, Rogers and Putnam were ordered by their commander +to take one hundred Rangers, with "two wall-pieces and two +blunderbusses," and proceed by boat down Lake George to a point opposite +a certain part of the Narrows, where they were to cross overland and try +to intercept the enemy.</p> + +<p>The orders were obeyed with such promptitude and exactness that the +pursuers reached the place appointed half an hour before the Frenchmen, +into whose boats, when they finally appeared, loaded down with their +plunder, they poured several deadly volleys, killing many of the oarsmen +and soldiers and throwing the party into confusion. Putnam had so placed +his men in ambush, behind bushes and trees, that they were entirely +concealed, while the enemy were exposed to their unexpected fire, which +was terribly effective. Had not a strong wind sprung up at this time, +few of the Frenchmen would have escaped; but several boatloads were +swept into South Bay, beyond musket-shot, and in a shattered condition +finally arrived at Ticonderoga.</p> + +<p>As soon as it was made known that the Rangers were at the Narrows, and +full twenty miles from their boats, which they had left under guard at +Lake George, three hundred soldiers were sent post-haste in pursuit. It +was now the turn of the Provincials to retreat, and indeed they had lost +no time in setting out for their boats, as soon as the Frenchmen were +out of sight, being well aware of their perilous position. It was a +close race between them and their enemies, who, having passed them at +night, were discovered next day off Sabbath-Day Point, where they +offered battle. They allowed the French and Indians to approach within +pistol-shot without firing a gun, but at just the right moment they +discharged their wall-pieces and blunderbusses, followed by a +destructive fire from their muskets, so that the havoc and confusion +were great. Completely routed, the enemy made for the shore and +retreated without delay to Ticonderoga. Only one man was killed and two +men were wounded on the side of the Rangers; but while the total losses +of the French and Indians were unknown they must have been great, as one +canoe containing twenty Indians lost fifteen of the number, and many +were seen to fall overboard and drown.</p> + +<p>In the preceding, the honors were shared between Rogers and Putnam; but +soon after the affair on the lakes the latter figured as the hero of an +exploit which was unique, if not altogether successful and creditable to +all concerned. General Webb, the commander of the forces, considered it +necessary to secure a French prisoner, for the sake of the intelligence +he might gain from him of the enemy's movements, and Captain Putnam was +deputed to accomplish the difficult task.</p> + +<p>Taking with him five men, Putnam concealed himself and them near a trail +which led to Ticonderoga, and they had not lain long in the high grass +before a Frenchman and an Indian came along. The Indian was in advance, +so Putnam allowed him to pass, but when the Frenchman arrived opposite +his place of concealment he sprang out, and after running quite a +distance overtook and seized him by the shoulder. It happened that the +Frenchman was large and muscular, and Captain Putnam, though himself a +marvel of strength and agility, was not quite his equal, in fact, he +soon found he had "caught a Tartar." His men had not supported him, +while the Indian was hastening to his opponent's assistance, so he +loosed his hold and snapped his musket at the man's breast. It missed +fire, as the rude firearms of that time were often liable to do, and so +Putnam turned and ran for his life, hotly pursued by the irate +Frenchman, followed by the Indian.</p> + +<p>There was a grim humor in the situation, for, since his men would not go +to the Frenchman, Captain Putnam was taking the Frenchman to them! They +had to assist him now, whether they wanted to or not, he thought; but as +they sprang up from the grass where they were hidden, the wary Indian +caught sight of them, gave the alarm to his companion, and both darted +off into the forest and escaped. Putnam was mortified as well as +enraged; but after denouncing his men as cowards and unfit for special +service, he sent them back to camp and finally accomplished his object +unassisted.</p> + +<p>In such adventures as these Captain Putnam found vent for his energy and +activity. He was rarely at rest, either by command of his superior +officer or of his own volition, being engaged in scouting in the forest +and along the shores of the lakes. As both regulars and Provincials were +withdrawn from the north country during the severest of the winter +months, it is likely that the soldier-farmer paid a short visit to his +home; but if so, he was soon back again, on active duty employed, as +early in the spring of 1757 he is reported at Fort Edward.</p> + +<p>The author of this biography has seen a most interesting letter, written +in June, 1757, by Lieutenant Samuel Porter, of Captain Putnam's company, +in which there are several references to our hero, as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"I received your letter May 20, at Fort Edward, from Capt. Putnam's +hand.... I have sent you six letters before this. In the last I +told you that Capt. Putnam had took out a number of his men and +also a number of another company and made up a company of +Rangers.... The next day after I wrote to you there was a number of +our Connecticut men out at work with a guard, but the Enemy came +and fired upon them and captivated four of them.... Capt. Putnam +was then out for several days and when he came in he brought a +Frenchman which he took near the Narrows."</p></div> + +<p>Always active, alert, and good-humored, Captain Putnam was the idol of +his men, and easily the most noted of the Provincials. Such was his +nature, however, that he paid no attention to what men said of him, but +always marched in the road that led to duty. Much like him in his +devotion to duty and principle was another of his name, who now appears +in this narrative, having come to Fort Edward in a Massachusetts +regiment, in which he was a private. This was Rufus Putnam, who achieved +a reputation in later years hardly second to that of Israel; in many +respects he surpassed him. These two have been called cousins; but, to +state their exact relationship, Israel's father and Rufus's grandfather +were brothers, or half-brothers. Here is what Rufus Putnam says, in his +Memorandum Book of Family Concerns, respecting his American ancestry: +...</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"I am the youngest son of Elisha Putnam, who was the third son of +Edward, grandson of John Putnam, who settled in Salem in 1634.... I +was born the 9th of April, 1738, at Sutton, Massachusetts."</p></div> + +<p>By this it will be seen that Rufus and Israel Putnam were descended from +the same English ancestor, John Putnam; and further, it may be observed, +they had many high qualities in common. What concerns us especially, in +this connection, is the fact that Rufus Putnam had acquired the habit of +keeping a diary, or journal, and he faithfully recorded all the +happenings at Fort Edward, after his arrival. He could not but make +mention of the most prominent personage there, his distinguished +kinsman; though the latter was too busily engaged in fighting and +marching to concern himself as to diaries and chronicles.</p> + +<p>Soon after arriving at Fort Edward, young Rufus Putnam was sent out +scouting with twenty-two men, and encountering some Indians, thirteen of +his comrades were killed. "This was the first sight I had of Indians +butchering," he writes, "and it was not agreeable to the feelings of a +young Soldier, and I think there are few if any who can view such Scenes +with indifference."</p> + +<p>Few, indeed. But, while realizing to the full the horrors of savage +warfare, Israel Putnam's kinsman stuck to his task and did his duty +gallantly. His first experience must have been a severe trial, for he +says:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Capt. Putnam then ordered three of us to follow the trale (of the +Indians) a mile or more further, and there lie close until quite +dark, to observe if any came back; for, said he, 'if they do not +embark in there boats to-night they will send a party back to See +if they are pursued.' We went back according to order but made no +discovery, and here I would remark that Capt. Putnam's precaution +Struck my mind very forceably, as a maxim always to be observed +whether you are pursuing or pursued by an enemy, especially in the +woods. It was the first Idea of Generalship I recollect to have +treasured up."</p></div> + +<p>These two remarkable men had a very similar experience in their youth, +for Rufus, like Israel, was deprived of his father by death at an early +age, the former at seven, and the latter at eight, and each went to live +with his stepfather after his mother had married a second time.</p> + +<p>Israel Putnam had been given a major's commission by the Connecticut +Legislature, in 1757, and almost every year succeeding he was promoted, +until finally he was at the head of the forces of the State. In common +with his fellow Provincials, he suffered from the incompetency of the +British commanders sent over from England. Crown Point was the objective +for assault during several years, and still was not reached until the +hearts of all concerned grew heavy with hope deferred. One of the most +glaringly inefficient of Britain's generals in America was Lord +Loudoun, at this time commander-in-chief of all the forces. Against him +was pitted the acute and discerning Montcalm, in command of the French, +who, by the destruction of important forts, and check-*mating Loudoun at +Louisburg, soon put the latter on the defensive. Instead, then, of +carrying the war into Canada, the British Colonials were compelled to +rest on their arms while Montcalm himself, taking advantage of the +depletion of the forces caused by Loudoun's futile expedition against +Louisburg, marched down from Montreal and made a demonstration against +the forts to the south of Lake Champlain.</p> + +<p>Equally inefficient with Loudoun, the commander-in-chief, and in +addition cowardly as well (it would appear from the records of the +time), was General Webb, who commanded in the northern department, and +who, though he probably had intimation of the French army's approach, +allowed himself to be caught in a trap and lost thousands of his men. He +was warned by Putnam, who scouted to some purpose in the forest along +the lake shore, discovering the approaching hostiles; but he heeded not +the warning, and the result was a massacre.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h4>FIGHTING ON THE FRONTIER</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Up to midsummer of 1757, the British had accomplished nothing of +account; the French, also, had little to show for all the marching and +counter-marching, fortifying, and skirmishing with their foes. But a +decisive blow was to be struck, and by Montcalm, who, having been +informed by his spies of the condition of affairs at the lakes, sent an +overwhelming force against Fort William Henry, at the south end of Lake +George. It happened that a few days before the French army arrived at +the lake, Major Putnam, with two hundred men, escorted his commander, +General Webb, from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry, his object being +to examine into the efficiency of the latter fortification. The fort +itself was a poor construction, but it was commandingly situated on +ground gently rising from the shore of the lake, and its approaches were +defended by felled forest trees forming an immense abattis deemed +impenetrable.</p> + +<p>With his customary caution, Major Putnam suggested to General Webb that +he should be sent down the lake to ascertain if the enemy were +approaching, certain inexplicable signs having aroused his suspicions. +His commander reluctantly consented, and Putnam took with him eighteen +volunteers and proceeded down the lake, but had not gone far before he +discovered a company of Frenchmen on an island. These men started out in +pursuit of Putnam in his whale-boats, and the latter retreated; but not +before he had, with the aid of a telescope, perceived a "large army in +motion." He reported to General Webb to this effect, and to his +astonishment that cowardly commander ordered him to make no mention of +the approach of the French army, though he agreed with Major Putnam +that it was destined for the reduction of the fort on the lake. He, +moreover, directed him to pledge his men to keep the matter secret from +the devoted garrison at Fort William Henry, and to make ready, without +loss of time, to return with him to headquarters at Fort Edward.</p> + +<p>"But, your Excellency," exclaimed the amazed and indignant Putnam, "I +hope you do not intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of giving +battle, should the enemy presume to land!"</p> + +<p>"What do you think we should do here?" replied the pusillanimous +commander; and no other answer would he give to the sub-ordinate who had +rashly ventured to expostulate with him. The next day, accordingly, +Putnam escorted Webb back to Fort Edward, whence the latter sent letters +to the Governor of New York, at Albany, urging him to send the militia +to his aid; and also despatched reenforcements to Fort William Henry +under Colonel Monroe, who was ordered to assume command of the +garrison, until then ignorant of their peril.</p> + +<p>There were then about three thousand men at Fort William Henry, with as +many more held in reserve at Fort Edward, half a day's march only away. +Against the lake fort, however, Montcalm brought an army of eight or +nine thousand men, including not only a corps of Canadians, but a +"larger number of Indians in a body than had ever before been +collected." The French and Indians outnumbered the hapless garrison +three to one; but during the week in which they appeared before the fort +at Lake George (the first week in August, 1757), Sir William Johnson +reached Fort Edward with his Indians and militia from Albany, thus +augmenting the total British force considerably. He demanded to be +allowed to proceed to Fort William Henry, and was permitted to start +out, taking with him, besides his own force, Major Putnam and his +company of Rangers. Three miles from the fort, however, this rescuing +force was ordered to return, and thus such men as Johnson and Putnam +were compelled to remain at Fort Edward and listen to "the report of +cannon from Fort William Henry, two or three shots sometimes within a +minute or two of one another." Those fateful cannon-shots continued all +day long, and day after day, meanwhile, messengers were arriving from +Colonel Monroe asking for assistance in most urgent terms. For six days +the siege continued, with thousands of soldiers lying inactive at Fort +Edward while their brothers-in-arms were in peril of their lives at Fort +William Henry, only fourteen miles away. On the morning of the eighth of +August the cannon firing ceased, just as the last express from Colonel +Monroe arrived stating that he must give up the fort unless at once +relieved.</p> + +<p>The ammunition of the beleaguered garrison was almost exhausted, many of +their cannon were split, some of the soldiers were sick with smallpox, +and their losses in killed and wounded amounted to more than three +hundred men. The end was inevitable, and it came after General Webb had +sent a letter to Colonel Monroe advising him to surrender. This letter +was intercepted by Montcalm, who thus knew the exact situation and acted +accordingly. He sent the letter to Colonel Monroe, with an urgent demand +for surrender, promising him most liberal terms, and the despairing +officer, who had gallantly defended the fort to the last, gave in and +threw himself upon the mercy of his foe.</p> + +<p>The Marquis de Montcalm may have intended to keep his stipulations, +which were that the garrison should be protected by an escort of French +troops to Fort Edward, and their sick and wounded cared for. Relying +upon these terms, they marched out of the fort without arms or baggage, +but were no sooner clear of the gates than they were set upon by more +than two thousand Indians, excited by the liquor they had discovered and +drunk, and frenzied at the prospect of the escape of their foes. Then +ensued a sickening scene of slaughter. Then was committed the massacre, +which, had Major Putnam's advice been followed, might have been +prevented. More than fifteen hundred, men, women, and children, were +indiscriminately butchered, despite the promises of the "noble" Marquis +de Montcalm, and the Indians reveled in a carnival of blood.</p> + +<p>It having been reported that the victorious Montcalm intended to march +against Fort Edward next, Major Putnam was despatched with his Rangers +to "watch the motions of the enemy," and reached the lake shore soon +after their departure. The fort was entirely demolished, he reported to +Webb, next day; "the barracks and all buildings were heaps of ruins, the +fires still burning, the smoke and stench from which were offensive and +suffocating. Innumerable fragments, human skulls, and bones were still +broiling, half consumed, in the smoldering flames. Dead bodies, mangled +with knives and tomahawks, including those of more than one hundred +women, were everywhere to be seen, affording a spectacle too horrible +for description."</p> + +<p>And this awful occurrence might have been obviated, if, in the first +place, Major Putnam's precautions had been adopted and a firm stand made +in the face of the enemy; or if, in the second place, the reenforcements +so often requested by the commander of the garrison had been sent. +Montcalm himself told Major Putnam, when he was a prisoner in Canada, +the next year, that when Sir William Johnson with the militia and +Rangers set out from Fort Edward one of his runners reported as to their +number, "If you can count the leaves on the trees, you can count them."</p> + +<p>Believing, then, that a mighty force was advancing against him, Montcalm +was on the point of abandoning the siege, when General Webb's order to +return saved the situation for the French. Of a truth, the conduct of +General Webb, in command of the forces at Fort Edward and Fort William +Henry, deserves the execration of the world. Fuming inwardly against +their unjustifiable detention, yet so well disciplined as to accept +their commander's orders with impassive faces, the soldiers all, +Provincials as well as regulars, were compelled to inaction, and thus +became in a sense accessories to the blood-thirsty savages who had +murdered their friends.</p> + +<p>We have no record of any oath that Putnam may have taken, but doubtless +one was registered in Heaven, that his comrades should be avenged, for +his acts accord with this assumption. He was even more active than +before in annoying the enemy and in taking prisoners, both French and +Indian; but there is no stain of cruelty affixed to any of his deeds. He +fought honorably, without thought of himself, without regard for what +Fame might say of him, or the future hold in store. His courage was of +the sort that shuts its eyes to the consequences and goes straight +ahead, in the path of duty and rectitude.</p> + +<p>Soon after the massacre at Fort William Henry, General Webb was relieved +of his command and succeeded by General Lyman, an old soldier under +whom Putnam had already served. Even old soldiers make mistakes, as will +now be shown. Having despatched one hundred and fifty men into the +forests adjacent to Fort Edward, to cut timber for strengthening the +fortification, General Lyman sent along a company of regulars to protect +them against possible attacks by Indians. This was a prudent measure; +but the commander had not counted upon the wary nature of the foe. He +should have sent out the Rangers, who knew the Indians and their ways +and would have provided protection, without a doubt. But there chanced +to be a Ranger on duty as a sentinel, and early one morning, before the +sun was up, his attention was attracted to a flight of wonderful birds +silently winging their way across the sky. Suddenly, one of those +"birds" came with great force against the limb of a tree right over his +head, where it stuck, and then the sentry saw that those winged +messengers were Indian arrows! He lost no time in giving the alarm and +the working party began retreating toward the fort. They were promptly +attacked by a large body of Indians, who had hoped to kill the sentry +without any noise, when the workmen would have been cut off, without a +doubt.</p> + +<p>The regulars bravely stood their ground and poured a destructive fire +into the savage ranks; but the foe was persistent and soon obtained the +upper hand. It happened that, as usual, brave Putnam was not far distant +from the sound of battle, which he no sooner heard than he hastened in +its direction. As he and his men were posted on an island, he and they +waded through the water to dry land, and in pressing to the scene of +conflict passed near the fort, on the parapet of which stood General +Lyman, who, imagining the attack came from the main body of the enemy, +had called in his outposts and closed the gates. As Major Putnam and his +men dashed past on the double-quick, intent only upon rescuing their +friends from the savages, the General ordered them to return, believing +that they were needlessly exposing their lives in a vain attempt against +an overwhelming force.</p> + +<p>For the first time in his military career (but not the last) Putnam +refused to obey the orders of his superior officer. Indignant at the +mere thought of abandoning his companions-at-arms at such a juncture, he +muttered something under his breath (which he afterward said was an +apology; but those who knew "Old Put" best thought otherwise) and pushed +on, without turning to right or left. And his obstinacy saved the day, +for, uniting with the regulars, the Rangers "rushed" the savages from +their position and chased them through the forest so long as daylight +lasted. Their victory was complete, and when they returned to the fort +the gates were no longer closed against them, nor was a reprimand +forthcoming from the General, the disobedience of whose orders made +Major Putnam more popular than ever.</p> + +<p>That Major Putnam's bravery was of the sort requiring no artificial +stimulus, and proceeded solely from the promptings of a nature +superlative in every sense, was shown in the winter of 1757, when the +barracks at Fort Edward were consumed by a fire which threatened and +almost reached the powder magazine. Seeing the blaze from his aerie on +the island, Putnam attacked the fire as he always attacked the enemy, +with impetuosity. He at once took the forefront of danger, nearest to +the powder magazine, and, mounted on a ladder, threw upon the raging +flames the buckets of water which the soldiers brought him from the +river. Enshrouded in smoke, and so near the sheets of flame that a pair +of thick mittens was burned from his hands, Putnam heroically toiled to +subdue the fire, which was rapidly eating its way toward the magazine, +containing three hundred barrels of powder.</p> + +<p>His commander at first begged him to descend, but as he was obstinate, +he provided him with another pair of mittens which had been dipped in +water, and, charmed at his pertinacity and bravery, exclaimed, "Well, +if we must be blown up we will all go together!" He then gave orders to +the men to redouble their efforts.</p> + +<p>The sequel was that Putnam, though at times enveloped in smoke and +cinders, maintained his position, even when there was but a charred +strip of timber between him and the powder, finally extinguishing the +fire and saving the fort. One hour and a-half he had fought the flames. +"His legs, arms and face were blistered, and when he pulled off his +second pair of mittens, the skin from his hands and fingers followed +them." He was a month in hospital, recovering from his terrible burns; +but before the winter was over he was off scouting with his beloved +Rangers in the vicinity of Ticonderoga.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h4>STRATEGY AND WOODCRAFT</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>The year 1758 was the most eventful in Putnam's life hitherto, +notwithstanding the numerous adventures in which he had already been +engaged, and which were enough to satisfy the craving of the most +ambitious individual. The great event of that year, in which he took +part, was the attack made by General Abercrombie on Fort Ticonderoga; +and the most dire happening, to him personally, was being made a +prisoner by the Indians.</p> + +<p>Before proceeding to narrate these occurrences, however, let us take +notice of two stirring incidents in his career, which further illustrate +his cool daring and his readiness of resource in the face of danger. In +the first instance, he was sent by his superior officer to a place +known as Wood Creek, in order to make such observations as were +possible, and also to intercept any parties of the enemy that might +chance to pass that way. With the intuition of a born strategist, he +posted his force on the bank of the creek where it jutted boldly into +the water, and there constructed a parapet of stone about thirty feet in +length, and masked it with young pine-*trees in such a manner that they +appeared to be a part of the natural forest growth.</p> + +<p>The provisions of the party running short, and a big buck opportunely +appearing, Putnam departed from a rule he himself had always insisted +upon—of never firing a gun when waiting for an enemy or in the enemy's +country, and shot him. The result was as he might have anticipated. He +and his men got the deer and replenished their stores; but the wily +leader of the Indian hostiles, Marin, heard the report, and came with +his men in search of the cause of it. He came at night, so cautiously +and silently that some of the canoes which held his men, about five +hundred in number, were abreast the fort before the sentinels +discovered them.</p> + +<p>The creek at this point was scarcely a hundred feet in width, the banks +about fifteen or twenty feet in height. A full moon was shining in the +heavens, illumining spaces of water here and there, so that the oncoming +Indians were plainly visible to the men behind the parapet, there +awaiting, with fast-beating hearts, the signal to fire. At a critical +moment, one of the nervous soldiers accidentally struck his firelock +against a stone, and the sound being heard by the foe, in an instant +came the watchword for silence and caution—"Owish." The canoes in the +van halted, and the others coming up, they were soon huddled together +right in front of the breastwork. This was the moment awaited by Putnam, +who gave the signal for his men to fire by setting the example with his +own musket.</p> + +<p>The plunging fire, directed into the midst of the canoes, committed +terrible execution. It was returned by the enemy; but being caught at a +disadvantage, and unable to perceive their foes, concealed as they were +behind the breastwork, their fire was ineffective. During the whole +engagement, which is said to have lasted through the greater part of the +night, only two of the Provincials were wounded, none being killed +outright.</p> + +<p>There were but sixty men in Putnam's party, while the Indians were +estimated at not less than five hundred, half of which number were +either killed or wounded, it was thought, before daylight came. +Perceiving, from the intermittent fire, that it was a small party which +had ambuscaded him, Marin, the Indian scout and leader, attempted a +landing below the Americans, in order to cut off their retreat. But +Major Putnam had anticipated that move, and after sending a detachment +to repel the landing party, ordered his men to "swing their packs" and +retire up the creek, which they did in good order, leaving their wounded +men behind. This act was the one inexplicable occurrence of the affair, +for it was not creditable to Major Putnam, nor in accord with his +reputation for humanity and tender regard for his men. But the safety of +the greater number was considered, in preference to the security of the +two wounded men, one of whom, a Provincial of undaunted courage, was set +upon and hacked to pieces, after he had killed three of the approaching +enemy, as he lay on the ground unable to escape. The other, a friendly +Mohawk, was taken prisoner, and Major Putnam afterward saw him in +Canada.</p> + +<p>On the way back to Fort Edward, Putnam and his men were fired upon by a +scouting party of Provincials, who mistook them for Frenchmen; but they +were quickly undeceived when the doughty major ordered his men, "in a +stentorophonick tone," to advance and give a good account of themselves. +Putnam's "stentorophonick" voice—as his original biographer styles +it—was well known to all the army, having been heard many times rising +above the din of battle, and always in the forefront of the fighting. So +the commanding officer of the scouting party recognized it at once and +cried out that those approaching were friends. The volley had killed one +man only, and "Old Wolf Putnam," enraged, indignant, and yet sarcastic, +said to the opposing officer, "Friends or enemies, you all deserve to be +hanged for not killing more, when you had so fair a shot!" He had in +mind, of course, the numbers he and his men had slain, that night +preceding, when six or seven times their own force had fallen before +their unerring aim.</p> + +<p>Having suffered so considerably at Putnam's hands, the French and +Indians, as may be imagined, were constantly on the watch to take their +arch enemy at a disadvantage. Not many weeks after the unsuccessful +attack upon Ticonderoga—to which allusion will presently be made—it +appeared as though the savages were about to accomplish their purpose, +for they surprised him, together with a small body of his men, on the +left bank of the Hudson, with the river between them and the fort. The +party of Indians was too strong to be successfully resisted, it was +impossible to cross the river without being shot, while below lay a +quarter-mile stretch of rapids through which a boat had never been sent +without disaster. But, with his customary promptitude, Putnam ordered +his men into their single boat, himself taking the helm, and pushed off +just as the savages came within sight of the shore. The disappointed and +infuriated Indians sent a shower of balls after the boatmen, but none +took effect; though the fugitives seemed doomed to certain death by +drowning in the foaming rapids of the river. Calmly taking the helm, +Putnam steered the boat through the roaring rapids, avoiding the +half-hidden rocks and protruding ledges, and, while the Indians looked +on in amazement, in a few seconds brought his charge into smooth water +at the foot of the falls. Throughout all this turmoil and danger, he +maintained his self-possession, his customary placidity of countenance +even; and it is said that after that the Indians looked upon him as more +than human and under the special protection of the Great Spirit.</p> + +<p>It was the misfortune of the Provincials to become the sport of fate in +the shape of inefficient commanders from England, who led them, not only +to defeat, but to death by wholesale, in their endeavors to carry out +plans insufficiently matured and schemes which would not have received +the sanction of military experts at all. One of the most disastrous of +defeats was encountered at Ticonderoga, against which General +Abercrombie led a force of fifteen thousand men, consisting of six +thousand regulars and nine thousand Provincials. Crown Point and +Ticonderoga were still the British objectives, along with other posts of +greater or less strength, such as Louisburg, Frontenac, and Fort +Duquesne. All these last were taken before Crown Point and Ticonderoga +yielded; but it was fated that Ticonderoga, which had been seized and +fortified by the French in 1755, and which, together with Crown Point, +commanded the direct route from the St. Lawrence to the Hudson, should +first cost the lives of many men.</p> + +<p>On the morning of July 5, 1758, a magnificent flotilla set forth from +the southern end of Lake George, consisting of 135 whale-boats and 900 +bateaux, laden with soldiers, cannon, and military stores of every +description. As it sailed through the Narrows it made a line six miles +in length, and was indeed a most imposing spectacle. Sabbath-Day Point +was reached about five in the afternoon, and here the soldiers debarked +for rest and refreshment, but sailed on again about midnight, reaching +the northern end of the lake next morning at dawn. Soon after landing, +late in the day, a portion of the army became lost in the forest and +while entangled in the wilderness of trees encountered a French force of +observation which had been sent to watch their movements at Lake +George. This force, likewise lost in the woods, was cut to pieces by the +Rangers, only fifty escaping, while nearly three hundred were either +killed, wounded, or taken prisoners.</p> + +<p>This was the sole success of the expedition, and this cost the lives of +many men, including young Lord Howe, who was a great favorite in the +army with both regulars and Colonials. He had insisted on forging ahead +with Putnam, who, as usual, was in front with his Rangers, and against +his urgent remonstrances went with him into the vortex of the fire, +where he was killed. The soldiers considered their success on the first +day as a foretaste of victory to follow on the morrow; but while +Abercrombie delayed his advance for various reasons, Montcalm and his +men did herculean work by felling a forest of trees and constructing an +impenetrable abatis in front of the fort.</p> + +<p>It was this terrible entanglement, composed of thousands of trees with +pointed and jagged limbs turned outward, that really prevented the +British and Provincials from gaining even the outer works of +Ticonderoga, behind which lay not more than thirty-six hundred men under +Montcalm. Abercrombie's engineer having reported that the works were +unfinished, and might be easily captured if promptly attacked, the +British general gave the order for assault, though his cannon had not +arrived, and indeed were not used at all.</p> + +<p>Not satisfied with one futile assault, in which his men were cut down by +hundreds, torn by grape-shot and mangled by cross-fires of musketry, +Abercrombie ordered another and another, until the heroic and desperate +fighting men were entirely exhausted. Never was there a greater display +of courage and senseless devotion to a mistaken sense of duty, than on +that day when the fifteen thousand British and Provincial soldiers tried +vainly to dislodge one-third their number of Frenchmen from their +position at Ticonderoga. And it was all on account of the incapacity of +a British commander, whom the home Government had sent out with +authority, not only over his own regulars, but Colonial officers whose +abilities were vastly in excess of his own. But it was not for these +Colonials to question; only to "do and die," and they did all in their +power, and died by hundreds, merely that an incompetent commander's +whims should be gratified.</p> + +<p>When at last the inept Abercrombie had sacrificed the lives under his +command to the number of two thousand or more, and became convinced that +he could not take Ticonderoga that way, he was seized with panic and +ordered a retreat. As the Rangers under Putnam were the first in the +assault, so they were the last to retire, being obliged to protect the +retreat of the main army, and remained till dusk on the edge of the +forest, where they maintained a continuous fire, to prevent pursuit. +With but one-third as many soldiers as Abercrombie brought to the +attack, Montcalm did not feel like pursuing the retreating foe, but +contented himself with the great victory—a victory won not so much by +the valor of his men as by the incompetency of his chief opponent.</p> + +<p>Had the advice of Putnam, Rogers, and others of the Provincials been +sought and accepted, much of this loss of life might have been averted, +for though themselves fighting with great courage, doggedly and against +all hope, they were averse to a direct assault without the cannon, with +which a breach might have been opened into the fort. But the cannon +reposed at the lake-side, whither retreated the defeated soldiers, with +such haste that they were enabled to embark that very night, leaving +their dead and many of their wounded in the forest where they lay. A few +days before, after the first engagement, Major Rogers, of the Rangers, +having been sent to bring off the dead and wounded of the enemy, had +cruelly despatched the latter, to the horror not only of his confrère, +Major Putnam, but of the British officers who became cognizant of the +fact.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h4>A PRISONER AND IN PERIL</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>The good fortune with which Major Putnam had been favored during three +years of fighting a wily and treacherous foe, suddenly deserted him +when, in the month of August, 1758, he found himself confronted by an +Indian warrior of herculean frame, during a skirmish near Fort St. Anne. +He and Major Rogers had been sent out by Abercrombie to ascertain the +whereabouts of a war party which was committing depredations between +Fort Edward and the lakes. The timid general was very much afraid of an +attack in force by the victorious Montcalm, and constantly on the watch.</p> + +<p>One morning, as the Rangers were proceeding through a dense thicket, +with Putnam's Provincials in front, they ran into an ambush which the +wary Marin, the French partizan fighter, had prepared, by posting his +men in a semicircular position across the trail. Suddenly the air was +rent with yells and reports of firearms, and several Provincials fell in +their tracks. Putnam, taken unawares, yet as always cool and collected, +gave orders to return the fire, and sent word back for support, which in +the confusion incident to the sudden attack was not promptly +forthcoming. Forging ahead, he was confronted by an Indian chieftain, a +giant in size, against whose breast he at once placed the muzzle of his +fusee, which—as those primitive flintlocks were likely to do in an +emergency—missed fire. The savage then had him at his mercy, and +brandishing his tomahawk above his head compelled him to surrender, when +he tied him to a tree, and then left him to mingle in the fight again. +As the Rangers rallied to battle it happened that the tree to which +Putnam was bound came directly between the fires of both parties, and as +the bullets flew thickly around our hero's position was not by any +means an enviable one. Some of the balls passed through the sleeves and +skirt of his coat, and in this perilous position he remained for more +than an hour, unable either to move a limb or even his head.</p> + +<p>No attention was paid to him, except that now and then a savage would +approach, and seeing him there helpless and a conspicuous mark would +throw a tomahawk at his head, to see how near he could come to this +living target without inflicting a fatal wound. An equally savage +Frenchman also approached, and aiming his fusee at his breast, would +have put him out of his misery had it not missed fire. This enraged the +scoundrel so that he gave Putnam a blow on the jaw with the butt-end of +his musket which nearly finished him, and then left him alone.</p> + +<p>The battle waged unevenly for a while, but was finally decided in favor +of the Provincials, and the French and Indians hastily gathered their +prisoners together and fled northward toward Ticonderoga. Putnam's +captor stripped him of his coat and waistcoat, socks and shoes, then +after binding his wrists together he loaded him with as many packs as he +could pile upon his shoulders, and giving him in charge of another +Indian, left him to attend to the wounded.</p> + +<p>Poor Putnam was soon in a deplorable condition, with hands swollen +terribly from the tightness of the ligature, and his feet gashed and +bleeding, as he trudged along the trail beneath his enormous burden. He +begged the savages to knock him on the head and end his sufferings; but +he was soon to experience even more horrible sensations, for, arriving +in advance of the main party at the place where they were to camp for +the night, the small body of Indians that had him in charge concluded to +burn him at the stake! He was suffering terribly from the blow on his +jaw, from his swollen hands and mutilated feet, and also from a tomahawk +gash in his cheek, so that he cared little what became of him, provided +the end came quickly. To be burned alive, however, was a fate that +brought a shudder to the frame of even stout-hearted Israel Putnam, and +he looked on in horror while his captors stripped him naked, bound him +to a tree and piled the dry brush they had gathered for fuel around him +in a circle. All the while, as they labored at their fiendish task, they +chanted a funeral dirge, which was almost as depressing to their captive +as their sinister preparations for his immediate immolation.</p> + +<p>"Major Putnam soon began to feel the scorching heat," says his +biographer, Colonel Humphreys, who had these details from the chief +actor's own lips. "His hands were so tied that he could move his body, +and he often shifted sides as the fire approached. This sight, at the +very idea of which all but savages must shudder, afforded the highest +diversion to his inhuman tormentors, who demonstrated the delirium of +their joy by yells, dances, and gesticulations. He saw clearly that his +final hour was inevitably come. He summoned all his resolution, and +composed his mind, as far as the circumstances would admit, to bid an +eternal farewell to all he held most dear.... His thought was ultimately +fixed on a happier state of existence, ... the bitterness of death, even +of that death which is accompanied with the keenest agonies, was in a +manner past, ... when a French officer rushed through the crowd, opened +a way by scattering the burning brands, and unbound the victim."</p> + +<p>The officer was no other than the redoubtable partizan, Marin, who +exerted a wonderful influence over his savage company. He at once sent +for the Indian who had captured Major Putnam, who did what he could to +make amends for the dreadful treatment the latter had received; but that +night, in order to prevent his prisoner from escaping, he stretched his +limbs out in the shape of a cross and bound them to four saplings, then +placed poles and bushes across his body as it lay on the ground with +several Indians at either side, who kept watch the night through.</p> + +<p>Arrived at Fort Ticonderoga, Major Putnam had an interview with the +Marquis de Montcalm, who ordered him sent to Montreal, whither he was +taken without delay, and where he met a brother American, Colonel Peter +Schuyler, of New Jersey, who, possessing considerable influence, +compelled the Frenchman to treat their prisoner more humanely. The +capture of Louisburg, Frontenac and other posts, by the English that +year gave them numerous prisoners, which they were not slow to exchange +for those in the hands of the French. Thus it came about that the period +of Major Putnam's captivity was quite short, for he was in Montreal and +Quebec in the last days of August, his exchange was accomplished in +October, and in November he was on his way to his home in Connecticut.</p> + +<p>If the French had known who it was they held a prisoner in the person of +Major Putnam, doubtless they would have been slow to permit his +exchange; but Colonel Schuyler kept this information to himself, and +when told by the governor that he might select whatever officer he liked +to be included in the cartel, he chose his friend.</p> + +<p>"There is an <i>old man</i> here," he said, "who is a Provincial Major, and +who wishes to be at home with his wife and children; he can do no good +here or anywhere else; I believe your Excellency had better keep some of +the young men, who have no wife or children to care for, and let the old +fellow go home with me."</p> + +<p>This subterfuge availed, and Putnam went along with his friend; but +whether the latter was justified in alluding to him as an "old man" is +doubtful, as he was then only forty years of age. He had, however, won +the sobriquets of "Old Wolf Putnam" and of "Old Put," long before, and +doubtless was accustomed to be regarded as elderly, despite his jolly +countenance and ever-cheerful disposition.</p> + +<p>His kind and affectionate nature was displayed at its best on the +journey home, which was long and wearisome, when he took charge of a +lady, Mrs. Howe, whose husband had been killed and scalped three years +previously. She had been in captivity ever since, and had endured untold +outrages from her captors. Her seven children were dispersed, but five +of them were recovered, and accompanied her back to her home in New +Hampshire. Colonel Schuyler had rescued her from captivity, and Major +Putnam constituted himself her protector during the long and toilsome +journey, leading her little ones, assisting the sorrowful mother over +the rough places, and sharing his meals with the unfortunate family.</p> + +<p>What a welcome the hero received on his home-coming, from his loving, +constant wife and children! They had heard of his vicissitudes, had +almost given him up for dead; but at last he was with them again, and +the dismal past was buried. The joy of the family at meeting again was +clouded by sorrow, however, for death had entered the family circle +since the father and husband's departure. Israel, the eldest son, was +there, and the daughters; but the second son was absent, never to +return.</p> + +<p>On an old tombstone in the graveyard at Brooklyn, Connecticut, is this +inscription:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"In Memory of Mr. Daniel Putnam, son of Col<sup>o</sup>. Israel Putnam & Mrs. +Hannah his wife, who died Aug. 8th, 1758, Aged 17 Years."</p> + +<p>Also of David Putnam, Son of y<sup>e</sup> above Col<sup>o</sup>. Israel & Mrs. Hannah +Putnam, who died Nov. 21, 1761, aged 1 month."</p></div> + +<p>The first death, of Daniel, his pet and pride, occurred, it is said, on +the very day (August 8, 1758), at the close of which Major Putnam was in +direst peril, tied to a tree in the forest, environed by fire and within +a circle of whooping, yelling savages. The demise of David, whom he +never saw, took place while the father was away on the Amherst +expedition, or just before his return from that campaign. Sturdy Israel, +the first-born son, had taken charge of the farm while his father was +off on his various campaigns—or at least had done his best to do so, +and the family had not wanted for provisions during the enforced +absences of the head of the family. As he was now a robust young man of +nearly twenty, and possessed all the home-loving traits of his father, +Israel was considered perfectly competent to carry on the farm at least +another season, and in the spring of 1759 his father, now advanced to +the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, went away again to the wars.</p> + +<p>Israel Putnam seemed never to know when he had enough of fighting; or +else his sense of duty to the king and his country was paramount to all +other considerations else. At all events, one of his bravery and force +could not be omitted from the great expedition that General Amherst (who +had been sent by Pitt to supersede Abercrombie) was then organizing. In +July, 1759, we find him with his command at Lake George, where the +second expedition against Ticonderoga set forth, following the route +taken by Abercrombie, over the lake to Ticonderoga, which was reached on +the 22d. On the 23d, the French officer in command of the fortress +suddenly departed down Lake Champlain with nearly all his men; but +Amherst did not know it, and kept on with his preparations for +bombardment, having his batteries in position before he was made aware, +by French deserters, that the place had been abandoned. Soon the powder +magazine blew up, having been left by the French with a lighted +slow-match attached for the purpose, the barracks caught fire, and +Ticonderoga, which had held out so well against British and Provincial +assaults, was at last laid low. It was reconstructed, as we know, and +served both British and Patriots in the Revolutionary War; but is now in +ruins, picturesque and imposing in their decay.</p> + +<p>Crown Point was also evacuated by the French, and thus at last the main +object of so many months' toil in the wilderness with such woful waste +of life and vast expenditure of treasure, was accomplished. While Putnam +and his comrades were engaged in restoring the fortifications of Crown +Point, they heard the news of British victories on every hand: of the +fall of Fort Niagara; and of the storming and capture of Quebec, when, +on that fateful thirteenth of September, 1759, Wolfe and Montcalm found +death and fame, the former at the hour of victory, the latter in defeat.</p> + +<p>Israel Putnam met nearly all the great British commanders, with the +possible exception of Wolfe, and had assisted with all his might at the +upbuilding of English power in America, so it was not strange that when, +later, the Revolution opened, he was looked upon by them more as a +friend than an enemy. The next year, when Amherst moved upon Montreal, +then the chief, almost sole possession of the French in Canada, Colonel +Putnam went along, as a matter of course, and, it is gravely related by +his first biographer, he assisted the general at a critical moment and +in a very novel way. Two armed vessels of the enemy were likely to cause +trouble to the British on the St. Lawrence, and Amherst was anxious to +put them out of the way before they could sink his boats. Putnam +proffered his services, declaring he could take the vessels in short +order.</p> + +<p>"How?" asked the General, somewhat amused as well as surprised.</p> + +<p>"With beetles and wedges, and a boat-load of men," answered "Put." And, +the story goes, he rowed out to the vessels, in the dead of night, drove +wooden wedges in behind their rudders, and left them helpless, for when +the wind came up they would not answer the helm and were driven ashore, +where their crews were easily taken by the English.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h4>A CAMPAIGN IN CUBA</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>It can not be denied that Israel Putnam was already quite a traveler; +but it must be added that he had so far traveled mainly within a +circumscribed area. Over and over again this faithful soldier had +plodded the trails and military roads, and pushed his way through the +swamps, morasses, forests, of the wilderness region of New York, which +by the end of 1761 he should have known almost as well as the woodland +pastures of his own farm. But he was destined to extend his travels and +make a foreign voyage, still in the service of the King of England, whom +he had served so long and so well.</p> + +<p>He was present at the capitulation of Montreal, one September day, 1760, +and had the pleasure of meeting the Indian chief who had taken him +prisoner two years previously. He lived near Montreal, at the Indian +village of Caughnawaga, where he received his former captive with pride, +and was highly delighted to see his old acquaintance, "whom he +entertained in his own well-built stone house with great friendship and +hospitality; while his guest did not discover less satisfaction in an +opportunity of shaking the brave savage by the hand and proffering him +protection in this reverse of his military fortunes."</p> + +<p>Returning home at the end of the 1760 campaign, Putnam remained on his +farm all winter, and the next spring set out again for what proved an +uneventful season, with much hard work on fortifications and +entrenchments, but no fighting of account. For, so far as the mainland +of North America was concerned, the long struggle between France and +England was nearly at an end. France had been shorn of her possessions +in Canada, and she was losing her islands in the West Indies, where, +early in 1762, beautiful Martinique (to become famous as the birthplace +of the Empress Josephine, and a rich land of sugar and spices) was +captured by the British.</p> + +<p>In fact, the theater of war was transferred to the more southern regions +of the Caribbean Sea, and the New Englanders took a long breath and +congratulated themselves that at last they were at liberty to pursue +their callings unmolested. But in this they were somewhat premature, as +England was still engaged in fighting, and, no matter where her battles +were fought, she seemed to expect the loyal American colonists to +furnish soldiers for her wars. Connecticut, Putnam's home State, was +again called upon for the same number of able-bodied men she had +furnished year by year, and promptly proffered her bone and sinew to +fight the wars of King George the Third.</p> + +<p>A thousand men, besides fifteen hundred from New York and New Jersey, +embarked at the port of New York, in the month of June, 1762, bound for +Havana in Cuba, where British regulars were dying by hundreds of +pestilence, and sorely needed those colonial reenforcements. On this, +his first sea voyage, Colonel Putnam had a rough experience all the way +down, and off the north coast of Cuba the transport containing himself +and five hundred of his men was wrecked on a coral ledge. "Old Put" was +calm and collected, never more so, though unused to life at sea, and +preserved strict discipline among his men, thus aiding the mariners in +their endeavors to get out rafts and boats, on and in which the entire +company finally reached the shore. To his perils by fire, twice +incurred, brave Putnam could now add that by flood, thus giving the +spice of variety to his various adventures.</p> + +<p>"As soon as all were landed," wrote the biographer who knew him best, +"Putnam fortified his camp, that he might not be exposed to insult from +inhabitants of the neighboring districts.... Here the party remained +unmolested several days, until the storm had so much abated as to +permit the convoy to take them off. They soon joined the troops before +Havana, who, having been several weeks in that unhealthy climate, had +already begun to grow extremely sickly. The opportune arrival of the +Provincial reenforcement, in perfect health, contributed not a little to +forward the works and hasten the reduction of that important place. But +the Provincials suffered so miserably by sickness afterward, that very +few ever returned to their native land again."</p> + +<p>This is all that Colonel Putnam's contemporary, Humphreys, has to say of +the most eventful episode of his hero's career, but it seems to the +present writer (who has personally investigated the British and Colonial +invasion of Cuba "on the spot") that the subject is worthy of more +extended notice. The English expedition against Havana was occasioned by +the King of Spain, Charles III, having entered into what was known as +the "family compact" with Louis XV of France, by which the Bourbons were +to support each other against British rapacity and aggrandizement, as +they styled it.</p> + +<p>England had long looked covetously upon Havana, which the Spaniards +themselves called the "Key of the New World," situated at the mouth of +the Gulf of Mexico and (in the hands of a strong power) then controlling +the seaboard of territory at present comprised in the South Atlantic +States of our Union. So she hastened to seize the capital of Cuba, the +"Pearl of the Antilles," and early in June, 1762, the surprised and +frightened inhabitants were informed that a fleet of sixty ships-of-war +had landed more than 20,000 men at the little port of Cogimar, a few +miles to the east of picturesque and formidable Morro Castle.</p> + +<p>Quickly, then, the Captain-General assembled the "Junta of Defense," +composed of men most eminent in military affairs in Havana, and placed +before them the situation.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> They resolved upon a spirited defense, +even though their soldiers were insufficiently armed and they had no +defensive works save the Morro, then about a hundred years old, and its +companion fortress called the Punta, between which two forts lay the +deep and narrow entrance to the harbor. This harbor was blocked by some +big war-ships, and a chain was stretched across the mouth, but the +English did not even essay an entrance, having landed their troops to +the east, and first marching upon the Morro from Cogimar and the town of +Guanabacao, which they took quite easily, and then sweeping over the +Cabañas hills, where the Spaniards later built the vast fortifications +which they should have constructed sooner for the defense of their +capital city.</p> + +<div class="footnote"> + <p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> + From <i>Nociones de Historia de Cuba</i>, by Dr. Vidal Morales; Havana, 1904.</p> +</div> + +<p>The Provincials arrived the last of July, and landed to the west of +Havana, where stands a small fort known as the Torreon of Chorrera, +which was defended with much valor, but compelled to surrender. +Afterward, however, they were transported to the Cabañas hills, and +there, on the site of the fortifications (above which, in 1904, the +American flag last waved in token of possession in Cuba), Israel Putnam +and his Provincials joined the British troops. And they were welcome, +beyond a doubt, for nearly half the British army was incapacitated +through fevers, and many men had died.</p> + +<p class="center"> +<a id="image3" name="image3"></a> +<img src="images/image3.png" alt="Fort near Havana where the Colonials landed."/> +</p> + +<h5>Fort near Havana where the Colonials landed.</h5> + + +<p>The arrival of the sturdy Colonials gave the besiegers of the Morro new +strength, and fresh courage, and within a few days they were called upon +to assist at carrying the castle by storm. The English had been a long +time sapping toward the fortress walls, and a breach having been opened +near the bastion, the combined assailants poured through in an +invincible flood. The Duke of Albermarle, who commanded the British +forces, had informed the comandante of the castle that he had mined the +bastion and demanded a capitulation. But the heroic commander, Don Luis +de Velasco, spurned the proffer, and as a consequence the castle was +stormed, and he was included among the five hundred slain on that +occasion. A tablet to his memory may be seen affixed against the +seaward wall of the Morro, and from the parapet may be traced the +British and Provincial line of approach.</p> + +<p>The bastion they breached was afterward repaired; but nothing could +repair the terrible losses sustained by both armies through sickness +caused by exposure and bad water. More than one-third of the Colonials +died of disease; but nothing seemed to trouble sturdy Old Put, who was +everywhere among his men, with comfort and consolation, carrying water +to the wounded, supporting the dying. The chaplain of the Connecticut +troops one day recorded in his diary: "Col. Putman and Lt. Parks went +off into ye country to buy fresh provisions." Two days later he noted +the death of Putnam's companion in this trip into the country; and that +was in October, only a few days before orders were given for the +Colonials to embark for New York.</p> + +<p>Havana capitulated soon after its only real defense, Morro Castle, was +taken, and the English entered into possession. But imagine the +feelings of the surviving soldiers who had gone so far and been exposed +to so great peril, when they learned, less than a year later, that the +city and fortress that had cost so dear had been given up, in exchange +for Florida and other Spanish territory east of the Mississippi.</p> + +<p>In Havana, where he was one day roaming about unarmed, Colonel Putnam +met with an adventure which nearly cost him his life and made him the +involuntary owner of a negro slave. Seeing a Spaniard beating a black +man with a bamboo cane, he darted in with his old time impetuosity, and +seizing the stick, wrenched it away from its owner, who, joined by other +exasperated Cubans, turned upon the American and compelled him to flee +to a vessel for safety. Here he was followed by the negro, who so +successfully appealed to the soldier's tender sensibilities that he +allowed him to accompany him home to Connecticut. There he served him +faithfully, and when his master died he bequeathed to "Old Dick"—as he +was called—the "Havana cane," of which the colored Cuban exile was +inordinately proud.</p> + +<p>Israel Putnam was now a man of substance, more than ever looked up to by +his neighbors and honored by the community in which he dwelt. Taking up +his duties of citizenship where he had left them on being summoned to +war, he threw off the military habit as he might an old garment now no +longer of service, and became again the contented, humble farmer. In +1763, about the time the treaty of peace between England and France was +signed, he was elected "selectman" of the town in which he lived, and +the ensuing spring appointed to receive the heads of such crows as +should be killed in the township, for which a bounty was offered of +sixpence each! Such humble offices as these he by no means despised, +always lending a hand to whatever appeared in the guise of duty.</p> + +<p>It became his duty, he thought, to go to war again, in the year 1764, +when the Indians, neglected by both French and English, who had now no +further need of their services, found themselves in danger of being +ground between the upper and the nether millstones. They looked with +apprehension upon the forts the English were erecting on every hand, and +finally rose in rebellion, under the leadership of Pontiac, chief of the +Ottawas. He organized a widespread conspiracy among the Indian tribes, +believing he could eventually exterminate "those dogs dressed in red," +as he called the English. The rising was appointed for the 7th of May, +1763, and no less than eight English garrisons were massacred, a +five-months' siege ensuing at Detroit, where Pontiac himself commanded +the Indians. The attacks were intermitted in the winter, but as they +were sure to be renewed in the spring, a call was sent out for colonial +troops. Appointed to command the Connecticut troops raised for this +service, Putnam took a prominent part in suppressing the uprising, going +out in the Bradstreet expedition. At Fort Ontario he met many old +friends, including Sir William Johnson and his band, also the Indian +chief who had captured him at Fort Ann in 1758, and who was now fighting +on the side of the English with as much zeal as he had previously served +the French.</p> + +<p>On his return from this wearisome campaign, Colonel Putnam again settled +down to the chosen occupation of his youth and the solace of his latter +years, on the farm. Having given ten of the best years of his life to +soldiering, he felt that he was entitled now to the rewards of peace. +But alas! within five months of his arrival home he lost two of his dear +ones by death: his daughter Elizabeth, only seventeen years of age, who +died in the winter of 1764-'65, and his beloved wife, Hannah, who passed +away in the April following. Of the ten children born to Israel and +Hannah Putnam in the twenty-six years of their happy married life, seven +were living at the time of the mother's death, the youngest only three +months old, and bearing the name of Peter Schuyler, in honor of the New +Jersey colonel who had befriended his father when a captive in Canada.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h4>TAVERN-KEEPER AND ORACLE</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>No one could call in question Israel Putnam's loyalty, yet the year +following his last campaign in behalf of King George, he might have been +found opposing the Government and riding from town to town, for the +purpose of inciting men to make armed resistance to the iniquitous +"Stamp Act," which had been passed and made a law early in 1765. While +James Otis, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry were eloquently declaiming +against it, Putnam was for putting words into action, and as one of the +"Sons of Liberty" was active in urging his countrymen to make a stand +for freedom.</p> + +<p>Though prevented by an accident from taking part in the proceedings by +which the "stamp-master" for Connecticut was compelled to resign his +position and disavow the office to which he was appointed, yet Putnam +was foremost in bringing this condition of affairs about. It seems that +one Mr. Ingersoll was appointed stamp-master by the Crown, and, on being +requested to resign from such an obnoxious office by the Sons of +Liberty, he returned an evasive answer. Consequently, a body of them +mounted their horses and went out to meet him, as he was on his way to +Hartford. Finding him on the road, they caused him to dismount and, in +the presence of the company, now swelled to several hundred, to read his +resignation as a royal appointee, and to shout for "liberty and +property," three times, as loud as he could.</p> + +<p>The spirit of the people, now thoroughly aroused, was very accurately +expressed by Colonel Putnam, who, deputed by the Sons of Liberty to wait +on the Governor of his State and inform him of the public sentiment +respecting the Stamp Act, made him understand that there would be no +temporizing whatever in the matter.</p> + +<p>"But what should I do," asked the perplexed Governor, "if the stamped +paper should be sent me by the King's command?"</p> + +<p>"Lock it up until we shall visit you again," replied Putnam, boldly.</p> + +<p>"And what will you do then?"</p> + +<p>"We shall expect you to give us the key of the room in which it is +deposited, and if you think fit, in order to screen yourself, you may +forewarn us not to enter that room upon our peril."</p> + +<p>"And then what will you do?"</p> + +<p>"Send the paper safely back again."</p> + +<p>"But if I should refuse you admission?"</p> + +<p>"In that case, your house will be leveled to the ground in five +minutes!"</p> + +<p>The Governor, who desired to be loyal, and was inclined to receive the +paper, was not called upon to act, the determined attitude of the Sons +of Liberty, preventing any from being sent into the State. Elected a +representative in 1766, Putnam was prepared to do all in his power to +frustrate the intent of the Act; but, in common with his fellow +citizens, was made happy by the news of its repeal. As this was then +the only bone of contention between the Colonials and the King, the +former hastened to send the latter a loyal address of thanks, assuring +him of their continued devotion, etc., etc.</p> + +<p>It would seem that farming, in colonial days, was almost as hazardous an +employment as fighting in the wilds, for Putnam was the victim of two +different accidents, by one of which he lost the first joint of his +right thumb, and by the other he received a compound fracture of his +right thigh. The latter being imperfectly attended to, rendered that leg +an inch shorter than the other, "which occasioned him ever after to limp +in his walk." Notwithstanding these injuries, he faithfully attended to +his duties as representative at Hartford. In June, 1767, two years and +two months after the death of his wife, Hannah, he was married to Mrs. +Deborah Lothrop, widow of John Gardiner, of Gardiner's Island, New York.</p> + +<p>As his second wife had a fine property on Brooklyn Green, in the center +of the town, and as the entertainment of his numerous admirers (who +came from all over the country to see him) was becoming burdensome, +Farmer Putnam concluded to convert the newly acquired mansion into an +inn. So he moved himself and most of his belongings (including his stock +of war relics and anecdotes) from the farmhouse to the "Green," nearly +two miles distant, and there set up as "mine host" Putnam, putting out a +sign of the Wolfe—not of the beast he had slain in early life, but the +gallant general of that name who fell at Quebec. This veritable sign may +now be seen in Hartford, at the rooms of the Connecticut Historical +Society, where also are several other precious relics of Putnam and his +time, including some autograph letters by the hero himself.</p> + +<p>Some one, long ago, wrote of this sign, which was affixed to one of the +great trees that stood in front of the tavern on the Green, "It +represents General Wolfe in full uniform, his eye fixed in an expression +of fiery earnestness upon some distant object, and his right arm +extended in emphatic gesture, as if charging on the foe or directing +some important movement of his army. The sign seems to have fared hardly +in one respect, being plentifully sprinkled with shot-holes!"</p> + +<p>A contemporary wrote of him, about this time: "Col. Putnam served with +the Connecticut troops under Amherst in the last war. By his courage and +conduct he secured to himself a good share of reputation. When peace +commenced he returned to the civil line of life. Of late he has occupied +a tavern with a farm annexed to it."</p> + +<p>As the landlord of a country tavern, the genial and loquacious colonel +with a past peculiarly his own, possessing the rotund figure, the frame +and habit of the traditional Boniface, seemed at last to have fallen +into his proper groove, where he fitted exactly. Now nearly fifty years +of age, with a record of ten years' fighting any one might well be proud +of, a reputation not confined within the boundaries of his own country, +and with some of his children already married and settled around him, +he had good reason to consider himself a fixture at Brooklyn Green.</p> + +<p>He had joined the Congregational Church, soon after the death of his +first wife, in 1765, and took a leading part in building the structure +that stands to-day near the site of the first meeting-house, which was +erected in 1734. It was in the year 1771 that the new church was +erected, opposite the house that Putnam turned into a tavern, and the +old tree that bore the sign of Wolfe. Church and trees remain to-day, +separated only by the public road; but the tavern itself no longer +exists, the building having been torn down some time ago.</p> + +<p>In 1772, it was voted by the parish that "Colonel Putnam take care of ye +new meeting-house and ring ye bell," for which service he was to receive +three pounds a year. Thus the duties of sexton and bell-ringer were +assumed by this many-sided man; but he had not performed them long +before he was called to go on a strange voyage in quest of lands in +West Florida, which were reported to have been granted to the survivors +of the French-and-Indian wars. The claims of the survivors were just +enough; but their quest was fruitless, for they were not given the +lands. However, a band of "military adventurers" set out, under the +leadership of General Phineas Lyman, who had been in command of +Connecticut's troops all through the wars, and Landlord Putnam was one +of them.</p> + +<p>Urged, perhaps, by his admirers to preserve some chronicle of his doings +this time (having been so neglectful in this respect in the past) our +hero actually began a journal, writing on the blank leaves of the +"orderly book" which he used in his Havana campaign. This book, doubly +interesting to the present generation, is still preserved by a lineal +descendant of Putnam, and attests to the fact that the soldier of many +wars was not equal to the intellectual effort of writing even a legible +diary of his doings. He soon gave it up, in fact; but the few entries +he made are exceedingly quaint and simple, as for example:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"friday ye forst of jenauary, 1773—this Day no work don—went to +Church.... satorday ye 2—this day taking in goods for ye +voige—good weathor. thorsday ye 7—this was a varey good Day and +had almost all completed. Satorday ye 9 of Jenauary—had all things +on bord and ready for sailing But the wind was so much to ye south +it would not Do."</p></div> + +<p>At last the "military adventurers" got away. On the 30th of January they +touched in at Mole San Nicolas, island of Haiti, and a week later made +port at Montego Bay, Jamaica, where, according to the veracious diarist, +"we waited on ye mannegor of the plantation who treted us very +hamseley—walked with ous—shewed ous all ye Works and the mills to +grind ye <i>Cain</i> and as we went thare was a dog atacked ye manegor and in +ye fight I tumbelled into won of the vats that was full of Liquer to +make rum of—shifted all my Cloths and went on borde."</p> + +<p>They finally arrived at Pensacola, where, learning to their sorrow that +no lands had been granted them, they set out on a short exploring trip +of the Mississippi, by the way of New Orleans, which ended north of +Natchez, to which spot General Lyman later returned and founded a +settlement, where he passed his last days. The gallant adventurers +returned to Pensacola, thence sailed to New York, where they arrived the +first week in August, 1773.</p> + +<p>It was Colonel Putnam's intention to invest in lands on the Mississippi, +it is believed, but the events that shaped toward and brought about the +Revolution were yearly getting more exciting, intense, and his soldier +instinct was aroused. He keenly watched the trend of events, he +discussed in his tavern the exciting news of the day with visitors from +all parts of the country, and his convictions were becoming stronger and +stronger that something dire and dreadful was to happen.</p> + +<p>The Boston massacre of the 5th of March, 1770, fired our hero almost to +a frenzy, and while there may have been men more eloquent in their +denunciations of the British soldiery, like Otis and Adams, there was +none more emphatic and in earnest. Between the massacre and the Boston +"Tea Party" in 1773, Putnam made his journey to the Mississippi; but he +was home, and as usual alert and anxious, when the latter event +occurred.</p> + +<p>From that moment he was most attentive to what was going on in Boston, +which was then the "danger spot" of the Colonies. He gave his time +freely to the anticipatory work of organizing his fellow citizens into +military companies and drilling them into proficiency, and he was made +chairman of the "Committee of Correspondence" for Brooklyn. As such he +bore to Boston, when the infamous "Port Bill" was passed, the +condolences and sympathy of his fellow citizens, in a letter eloquently +phrased, and—what was more satisfactory and substantial—the gift of a +flock of sheep.</p> + +<p>"We send you," the committee wrote, "one hundred and twenty-five sheep +as a present from the inhabitants of Brooklyn, hoping thereby you will +stand more firm (if possible) in the glorious cause in which you are +embarked." And Israel Putnam, always the man for the emergency, always +ready to mount and away at a moment's notice, rode all the way to +Boston, driving that flock of sheep before him! When arrived there he +was not received as the farmer, the tavern-keeper, the drover, but as +the famous military man, hero of many battles, an American of renown. He +was the guest of Dr. Joseph Warren, the patriot who was killed at Bunker +Hill; but people of all classes and conditions united to do honor to +"the celebrated Colonel Putnam," one of the "greatest military +characters of the age," and "so well known throughout North America that +no words are necessary to inform the public any further concerning him +than that his generosity led him to Boston, to cherish his oppressed +brethren and support them by every means in his power." The newspapers +alluded to him as "the old hero, Putnam"; and yet he was only +fifty-four at the time, at the period of life in which a man should be +able to do his best work. "He looks fresh and hearty," wrote one of his +friends to another, "and on an emergency would be as likely to do good +business as ever."</p> + +<p>And why not? Putnam himself might have asked this question, for he had +by no means reached his "grand climacteric," and was still ready, +willing—and able, as well—to fight the enemies of his country. He was +zealous in behalf of his fellow patriots, but during this visit to +Boston he found almost as many friends on the British side as on the +Colonial, including Governor Gage, with whom he had fought their common +enemies, the Indians. When one of them banteringly asked them whether he +was going to stand by the flag or the country he answered seriously, but +with perfect good nature: "I shall always be found on the side of my +country!"</p> + +<p>"Now, Putnam," another asked him, "don't you seriously believe that a +well appointed British army of say five thousand veterans could march +through the whole continent of America?"</p> + +<p>"No doubt," he promptly replied, "if they behaved civilly, and paid well +for what they wanted; but," he added, after a moment's pause, "if they +should attempt it in a hostile manner (though the men of America were +out of the question) the women would knock them all on the head with +their ladles and broomsticks!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h4>ON THE SIDE OF HIS COUNTRY</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Ready and willing was Putnam—of that there is no doubt. Too willing, +some of his enemies declared, when in September, 1774, news coming from +Boston that American blood had been shed, without waiting to verify the +report, he started out to alarm the country. This proved a false alarm, +and he was strongly censured by those who had not kept a close watch on +happenings in Boston; but he defended himself so sturdily that his +critics were silenced. Two things were proved by this false alarm: that +the people were ready to be aroused on the slightest provocation, for +they filled the highways and flocked by thousands in the direction of +Boston; again, that the British intended to stay where they were, for +they extended their fortifications. Both sides were warned, and the +lines of demarcation began to be visible where before they had seemed +hardly to be distinguished, between loyalists and patriots. It was now +either for England or for America, even the common people felt, while +the leaders, like Israel Putnam, saw in the closer approach of warlike +preparations only the fulfilment of their predictions.</p> + +<p>The very next month, October, 1774, the militia of Putnam's State were +ordered to provide themselves with an increased supply of powder, +bullets and flints for their muskets. More vigorously than ever now he +applied himself to the training of the sturdy militia; hoping for +continued peace, perhaps, but preparing for nothing less than war. When +war broke finally, with the first blood shed at Lexington, it found the +minutemen of New England better prepared than their enemies believed, +and when the news of this epoch-making event reached Israel Putnam, this +great exemplar of the minutemen proved a model worthy their emulation.</p> + +<p>The messenger with the doleful tidings found him plowing in the field +back of his house at Brooklyn Green. His son Daniel was with him +driving the oxen, and when the patriot had gathered the full meaning of +the news he left the boy to unyoke the team, and himself hastened to his +barn, where he saddled and mounted his best horse and started out to +arouse the country again, as he had done seven months before. He had no +doubts this time as to the truth of the rumor, for it had come direct +and contained its own confirmation on its face.</p> + +<p>The British, eight hundred strong, had left Boston for Concord, where +they hoped to find some military stores. Encountering a small body of +militia at Lexington, Major Pitcairn, in command of the British +soldiers, called out to them to throw down their arms and disperse; but +as they did not do so he ordered his men to fire, killing eight of the +sturdy Americans, who even then did not run away, but joined themselves +to other minutemen now assembling, and again came in contact with their +foes at Concord Bridge. Just how many were slain the first message did +not accurately report; but it was enough that blood had been shed, and +it mattered not whether that blood was from ten men or a thousand.</p> + +<p>The die was cast, the moment for armed resistance had arrived, and +Israel Putnam tarried not for details, but sped straight for the home of +Governor Trumbull, at Lebanon (the same who was afterward known as +"Brother Jonathan"), and receiving from him mandatory permission to +proceed to the scene of strife, hastened back to Brooklyn, arriving at +his tavern home late in the afternoon. He had already been in the saddle +for hours, as the news reached him between eight and nine in the +morning, but before sunset the tireless warrior was again on horseback +and galloping for Cambridge and Concord. He probably had received +refreshment, food and drink at intervals, but he had not stopped to +change his working clothes for better, and went off on both long rides +in the farmer's frock which he wore when plowing in the field behind his +house.</p> + +<p>Though the Putnam mansion at Brooklyn Green is no longer in existence, +the great trees that stood in front of it in his time still cast their +grateful shade upon its site, and the walled field, sloping toward a +verdant meadow, may be seen by the visitor, much as it lay to the sun on +that lovely morning in April, 1775, when the farmer-patriot was +peacefully running his furrows.</p> + +<p>The distance to Cambridge was nearly ninety miles, yet Putnam covered it +in an all-night's ride, going pretty much over the same ground he had +traversed when, a young man of twenty-two, he had taken his wife and +child to their new home in Connecticut. Thirty-five years had elapsed +since the young pioneer had made his first venture in the world, ten of +which he had passed in fighting for the King against whose soldiers he +was soon to lead his fellow countrymen in war. Trained to fight the +battles of Britain, yet those ten years of experience in warfare with +the Indians were to prepare him for a wider, vaster field. He must now +have felt this, his patriot friends must have believed it, for their +eyes were turned expectantly toward Israel Putnam, as soon as the first +blood was shed at Lexington and Concord.</p> + +<p>See that sturdy figure, hurrying on horseback over the rough roads, +through the darkness of the night, toward the goal of duty! The British +had marched out of Boston at night, on the eighteenth of April, their +purpose and their route foretold by Paul Revere (who, by the way, was in +the campaign at Lake George, if not a comrade of Israel Putnam at that +time). At or near daybreak of the nineteenth, at Lexington, the shots +were fired "heard round the world"; at noon the British were in retreat +from Concord, where they had been routed by the minutemen, and by night, +exhausted, disgraced, defeated, they had reached Charlestown, under the +escort of Lord Percy and his 1,200 reenforcements, where they were +protected from the enraged militia by the guns of the fleet.</p> + +<p>With such celerity traveled the news, that Putnam heard it on the +morning of the twentieth; and with such celerity traveled Putnam, that +he was at Cambridge <i>on the morning of the twenty-first</i>, and that same +day at Concord, wonderful as may seem the feat performed by gallant +horse and rider.</p> + +<p>In the custody of the Connecticut Historical Society, at Hartford, the +original of the following letter may be found, which attests to Putnam's +arrival at Concord on the twenty-first, and to the use he made of his +time:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="rightalign"><span class="smcap">Concord</span>, April 21, 1775.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Col. Williams, Sir</span></p> + +<p>I have waited on the com'tee of the Provisional Congress and it is +there Determination to have a standing Armey of twenty-two thousand +Men from the New England colonys of wh'h it is soposed the coloney +of Conecticut must raise Six Thousand and beg they would be on +Parade at Cambridge as Speedy as may be with conveniency together +with Provisions and Sufficiency of amonition for there own use, the +Battle hear is much as represented at Pomfrett—Except that there +is more killed and a Number taken Prisoners—The accounts are at +Present so confused that it is Impossible to assertain the number +exact. Shall inform you of the Prossedings from Time to Time as we +have New occurencys.</p> + +<p>mean Time I am Sir yr very Humble Servt</p> + +<p class="rightalign"><span class="smcap">Israel Putnam.</span></p> + +<p>N.B. The Throop of Horse is not Expected to come on till further +notice.</p> + +<p>Sir. Being in hast and cannot write Disire a copy of this to be +transmitted to Governor Trumble.</p> + +<p>A true copy, <span class="smcap">Ebenezer Williams</span>.</p> + +<p>Pomfret, April 22, 1775.</p></div> + +<p>In the Lexington-Concord fight, the first engagement between British and +native Americans, the former lost two hundred and seventy-three, and the +latter about one hundred, in killed and wounded, twenty-three towns +being represented among the wounded and slain. "It was not a great fight +in itself, but it was great, and even grand, in its consequences. On +that day a nation was born. Then the American learned for the first time +how to stand and fight for their own liberties."</p> + +<p>The rallying minutemen flocked to the scene of the encounter, springing +to arms without a thought of consequences, rising to the defense of +their homes as one man, and within a week there were sixteen thousand +men investing the demoralized enemy at Boston. Their alacrity in +assembling at the common rendezvous has been a matter of wonder ever +since, for nearly all marched on foot, without the assistance of horses +or steam. The writer of these lines had an ancestor who was foremost +among those minutemen hurrying to the defense of liberty, and who, it is +a tradition in his family, ran nearly all the way from Beverly, twenty +miles distant, with his flint-lock on his shoulder. Hence, as all were +equally prompt in leaping at the enemy's throat, Putnam's remarkable +feat was not at the time considered extraordinary.</p> + +<p>In a few days our hero was at home again, having been called to Hartford +by the legislators, who were desirous of consulting with their most +experienced warrior, and bestowed upon him the rank and title of +brigadier-general. All these events took place within the space of a +week's time, and before another week had passed Brigadier-General Putnam +was in headquarters at Cambridge, occupying a house which stood within +the present grounds of Harvard University. General Artemus Ward, of +Massachusetts, was commander-in-chief of the forces, having been +commissioned by the Provincial Congress; but Putnam was the greater +favorite with the soldiers, in whose vocabulary (to paraphrase a saying +common at the time) "the British were the Philistines, and Putnam, the +American Samson, a chosen instrument to defeat the foe."</p> + +<p>It is a matter of record that General Ward relied upon the advice of his +old friend, with whom he had fought, under Abercrombie, at Ticonderoga, +and kept him always within call at headquarters. Had he followed his +advice more closely, however, it would have been better for their sacred +cause, as was shown in the crucial test at the battle of Bunker Hill, +when Putnam's repeated requests for reenforcements were at first denied, +then so hesitatingly granted that they proved of small avail.</p> + +<p>To Putnam, then, and not to Ward, the officers and men of the assembled +militia looked for advice and encouragement. They were quite naturally +doubtful as to the result of their hasty action, and as most of them had +never been under fire they were timid and even down-hearted. But Putnam +was continually engaged in arousing both their patriotism and their +hopes. When General Warren asked him (wrote Putnam's son Daniel, many +years later) "if 10,000 British troops should march out of Boston, what +number, in his opinion, would be competent to meet them, the answer was, +'Let me pick my officers, and I would not fear to meet them with half +that number—not in a pitched battle, to stop them at once, for no +troops are better than the British—but I would fight on the retreat, +and every wall we passed should be lined with the dead!'"</p> + +<p>"Our men," the General said on another occasion, "would always follow +wherever their officers led—I know this to have been the case with +mine, and have also seen it in other instances." And as Putnam's record +had long since proved that he always led, and asked no man to approach +nearer the foe than he himself was willing to go, the soldiers were +enthusiastic for "Old Wolf Put," the fighter, though lukewarm in their +feelings toward the commander.</p> + +<p>They did not admire the methods Putnam employed to keep them out of +mischief—these raw and undisciplined militia, accustomed to do as they +liked and to take orders from no man—for he kept them actively employed +all the time. "It is better to dig a ditch every morning, and fill it up +at evening, than to have the men idle," said Old Put, and though the men +grumbled the results soon showed that he was right.</p> + +<p>What they also needed more than anything else was confidence, and, in +order to inspire that, he paraded some two thousand of them through +Charlestown over the hills soon to become world-famous, and right in +sight of the enemy. He did this several times, and on one occasion took +with him his son Daniel, who wrote of it afterward: "I felt proud to be +numbered among what I then thought to be a mighty host destined for some +great enterprise."</p> + +<p>Daniel was then only fifteen years of age, yet he performed a man's +work, proving himself worthy of his parentage, and was his father's +aide-de-camp and companion. During the progress of the battle at Bunker +Hill he acted as the guard and defender of a British refugee's wife and +family, and stoutly did his duty, boy that he was.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the highest tribute paid to Putnam's prowess was the offer of +his old-time friend and comrade, General Gage, the British +commander-in-chief, to pay him a large sum of money, and secure him a +major-generalcy in the British army, if he would desert the "rebel" +cause and come over to that of the King. Putnam spurned this offer, of +course, as did sturdy Colonel Stark, another comrade of the Indian wars, +and several others. He was all the more active, if possible, in seeking +out the enemy's weak points and in attempts to reduce his supplies.</p> + +<p>An opportunity offered, some time in the last week of May, both to annoy +the enemy and gain substantial recompense for a somewhat hazardous +adventure. Several hundred sheep and cattle were in pasture on Hog and +Noddles islands (the latter now East Boston), and as it was feared that +the British might secure them before the Colonials did, a small force +was sent to drive them to the mainland. It was sent by Putnam, whose +great and burning desire for a "brush" with the enemy was now about to +be gratified, and as a party of marines on guard over the live-stock +fired on the Americans, Putnam hastened to their rescue with a larger +force.</p> + +<p>A British sloop and schooner then joined in the fight; but the Colonials +turned their single cannon upon the craft, and soon disabled the larger +vessel, which drifted ashore and, after the crew had been either shot or +driven away, was set on fire. In this engagement ten or fifteen British +were killed and wounded, but no Provincial lost his life, though two or +three of Putnam's men were wounded. They fought with great spirit, +wading in water from knee to waist deep, and not only brought off all +the live-stock in safety, but also took away the guns, rigging and sails +of the schooner, as well as some clothes and money left by the sailors +in their flight. This brisk engagement gave the raw soldiers just the +confidence they needed, and they returned in high spirits to their camp.</p> + +<p>"I wish we could have something of this kind to do every day," remarked +Putnam to Ward and Warren, as he reached his headquarters, where they +were waiting for him to appear. "It would teach our men how little +danger there is from cannon-balls; for though they have sent a great +many at us, nobody has been much hurt by them." He was wet from head to +foot, and covered with mud to his waist; but he did not mind that at +all, and was as hilarious as a boy just let out from school.</p> + +<p>The British were greatly chagrined at this second defeat, the first +engagement after the Concord-Lexington fight, but at an exchange of +prisoners, conducted, on the one hand, under Putnam and Warren, and on +the other under Majors Small and Moncrief, the sixth of June, no ill +feeling was shown. Putnam and Small (whose life the former was +instrumental in saving at Bunker Hill, and who were old +companions-at-arms), embraced, and one eye-witness said, kissed each +other, in the excess of their joy at meeting; yet less than two weeks +later they were opposed in a fight to the death.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h4>AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>General Putnam was greatly elated over the exchange of prisoners, +recognizing, with the prescience of a statesman, that General Gage had +conceded a point of importance as to the status of his opponents. "He +may <i>call</i> us rebels now, if he will," he said to his son, "but why then +doesn't he hang his prisoners instead of exchanging them? By this act he +has virtually placed us on an equality, and acknowledged our <i>right</i> of +resistance." That was one point gained by the general; another was, the +consent of the Committee of Safety to his plan of operations against the +British in Boston.</p> + +<p>General Ward and Dr. Warren were in favor of moderation, and opposed to +the scheme advanced by Putnam, of forcing the enemy to either fight or +retire. They urged that they had no battering cannon and but little +powder, there being but sixty-seven barrels in the whole army, and no +mills to make any more when that was gone. And again, they feared for +the steadiness of the men, once they found themselves opposed by the +best of Britain's soldiers. But Putnam was persistent, not in advocating +the bombarding of Boston, or of a large expenditure of powder and ball +in trying to force the British from their position; but in fortifying +the heights of Dorchester and Charlestown, which completely commanded +the city.</p> + +<p>He knew the British mode of attack and defense, knew their tactics +through long observation in the ranks; and yet for him and his +compatriots those same British professed to feel naught but contempt. +They had always ignored the Provincials' claims to advancement on equal +terms with their own officers; they thought their soldiers in the Indian +wars were boorish and uncouth, merely because they paid little attention +to dress or discipline; yet here was one of those least regardful of +appearances (though an advocate of discipline) who knew them and their +tactics through and through. And he also knew the men of his command +better than any officers of inferior rank knew them. His one cry was, +"fight, fight; bring our men into contact with the enemy, in order that +they shall gain confidence and learn that they are really their equals, +and more than that. Fight and entrench, entrench and fight; run away +when it comes to a pinch, fight while you run; but fight!"</p> + +<p>"But will our men stand before an enemy?" queried the timid ones. "Yes, +they will," declared Putnam with a laugh. "Our troops are not all afraid +of their heads, though very much concerned for their <i>legs</i>, and if you +cover these they'll fight forever!" In other words, put them behind +entrenchments, and he would pit them against the finest fighters that +could be brought against them. The result at Bunker Hill was a +vindication of his belief.</p> + +<p>As Putnam had all along declared, it was in the nature of an +impossibility for sixteen thousand armed men to besiege ten thousand +other armed men without something happening partaking of violence. The +war was "on," there was no doubt of that, why then hesitate at warlike +measures? Still the commander-in-chief hesitated and paltered, while +Putnam fumed, but labored hard.</p> + +<p>What Putnam had advocated as the highest strategy, the seizing of some +height commanding the British position, was forced upon the irresolute +commander-in-chief by the British themselves. Shortly after General +Gage's four thousand soldiers had been reenforced by six thousand more, +under Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, the Americans learned that the enemy +intended to take and fortify the heights of Charlestown or Dorchester +themselves. As it was then the sixteenth of June, and their move was to +be made on the eighteenth, there was no time to lose if they were to be +forestalled; so orders were issued by the Committee of Safety, +sanctioned by a council of war, for taking possession of Bunker Hill in +Charlestown.</p> + +<p>A detail of a thousand men was made from three Massachusetts regiments, +to which, in order to placate General Putnam, two hundred Connecticut +soldiers were added under his friend, Captain Knowlton. This small body +of militia, with a few field pieces as artillery, was to sally forth to +rouse the British lion in his lair. The detachment was placed under +Colonel William Prescott, of Massachusetts, General Putnam "having the +general superintendence of the expedition," and about nine o'clock at +night, after having been paraded on Cambridge Common, and listened to +prayer by the president of Harvard College, this devoted band set forth +on its mysterious mission.</p> + +<p>Striding ahead of his men, all of whom had perfect confidence in their +beloved officer, Colonel Prescott led the way, accompanied by two +sergeants carrying lanterns. Not until they had reached the foot of +Bunker Hill, where they found entrenching tools awaiting them which had +been sent ahead in wagons, did the rank and file know the object of +their march in the night; yet they faltered not, nor displayed a +disposition to retreat. Their leaders knew, of course; but even they +were in doubt, when once arrived at Charlestown, which of its eminences +to select. Their orders explicitly indicated Bunker Hill as the one to +fortify, but, "though this was the most commanding and most defensible +position, it was too far from the enemy to annoy their army and +shipping." Situated nearer the British general position was another +elevation, Breed's Hill; but this was only sixty-two feet in height, as +compared with Bunker Hill's one hundred and ten. This was finally +selected, but only after a long consultation, which lasted until near +midnight, when the veteran military engineer, Colonel Gridley (who had +been awaiting the decision in great anxiety, owing to the loss of +valuable time), at once proceeded to lay out the works.</p> + +<p>On the summit of Breed's Hill the skilled engineer quickly ran the lines +of that world-famous redoubt in which our immortal freemen inflicted a +technical defeat upon Britain's bravest soldiers. It was planned and +constructed with a redan facing Charlestown which protected the south +side of the hill, and was only about eight rods square, continued by a +breastwork on its eastern side, from which it was separated by a +sallyport protected in front by a "blind," with a passage-way opening +rearward as a provision for retreat. The men were given picks and +shovels, and at once bent to their task with feverish energy. Scant four +hours they had before them, when daylight would reveal them and their +position to the enemy, for June's longest days and shortest nights were +near, with daylight at four in the morning. They all labored for their +lives, both officers and men, and toiled without cessation to the end. +The night was dark, but the stars shone bright, and by their light +Colonel Prescott and another officer, Major Brooks, stole down to the +shore to observe the enemy, where they were reassured by the "All's +well" from the British sentries on board the ships off shore.</p> + +<p>All was not well—for them—most assuredly; but it was not until the +morning mists rolled away from the rounded summits of the hills in front +that they found it out. Then they might well gaze in wrath and wonder, +beholding that work as if of enchantment going on before them, on that +hill-top within short cannon-shot of their shipping. But they did not +spend much time in rubbing their eyes and in vain speculation, being +well assured at a glance that the "rascally American militia" had stolen +a march upon them in the night and brought all their plans to naught.</p> + +<p>A brisk cannonade was opened from the war-ships upon the weary, toiling +men in the entrenchment; but they still worked on, incited to their +utmost by the gallant Prescott, who himself is said to have lent a hand +with pick and shovel. General Putnam's predictions as to their coolness +under fire were more than verified, and had he been there then he would +have been surprised at their indifference to the cannonading now going +on so furiously. One man only was killed in this preliminary firing, and +he had strayed outside the breastwork.</p> + +<p>"Man killed, what shall we do with him?" asked a subaltern of Prescott.</p> + +<p>"Bury him," was the laconic answer; and buried he was, in the ditch, +while the work on the redoubt went on.</p> + +<p>General Putnam was not on the hill when the cannon-fire began, having +gone back to camp to change his tired horse for a fresher one; for his +gait, says the historian, was always fast and furious. At the first +report, however, he pricked up his ears and sent to Commander Ward for +another horse; but before his orderly returned, he had procured still +another and was already on his way to Charlestown. He had tried to +procure for his men not only reenforcements but refreshments, for they +had taken with them only one day's rations. In this he was disappointed, +General Ward refusing to send over any more men, at that time, +believing the British would take advantage of his weakened force to make +a direct attack upon the main army at Cambridge. But when, having +arrived at the hill, Putnam conversed with Prescott and noted the +necessitous condition of the men, he again mounted and in hot haste rode +back to Cambridge, with an urgent plea to the commander for assistance. +This time it was not refused, and again gallant Putnam rode across +Charlestown Neck, at the risk of his life, to take part in the coming +conflict.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, there was a great commotion in the British camps, and from +their place of vantage on Breed's Hill the patriots could see the +gathering soldiers marching for the shore. General Gage had quickly +called a council, which instantly decided that the patriots must be +dislodged at whatever cost. As the prescient Putnam had foretold, the +occupation of a hill so near their lines made their position untenable. +They must move out or fight, and not even Putnam believed they would +retreat from their snug quarters in Boston town. He knew well what was +coming, and was not at all surprised to see, gathering beneath the +blazing morning sun of the torrid day that had succeeded to a sultry +night, the thousands of redcoats, armed and equipped for battle.</p> + +<p>After informing the anxious soldiers on the hill of the promised succor +to arrive, Putnam rode along the lines and, casting his eye over the +situation, perceived that it would be a grave strategic omission to +neglect to entrench the hill in the rear, which was the original object +of their advance. As the main redoubt was then practically completed, +and the men were resting from their toil, he ordered the entrenching +tools to be taken to Bunker Hill, and another work begun which might +serve as a "rallying place" in case they were compelled to retreat—as +undoubtedly they would be. This entrenchment was begun but never +finished, owing to the lack of time. Had it been completed, and had the +men been able to avail of its defenses, there might have been a +different tale to tell of the final finish at Bunker Hill. But noon had +now arrived, the British frigates and floating batteries were by this +time not only raining shot like hail upon and around the redoubt, but +sending a scathing fire across the Neck, under cover of which +barge-loads of soldiers were landing on the peninsula preparatory to an +advance.</p> + +<p>Noon came, but not the reenforcements which had been promised by General +Ward, so General Putnam "seized the opportunity of hastening to +Cambridge, whence he returned without delay. He had to pass a galling +enfilading fire of round, bar, and chain shot, which thundered across +the Neck from a frigate in the Charles River, and two floating batteries +hauled close to the shore," wrote one who had conversed with +eye-witnesses of this scene. The neck, or narrow passage-way between the +Charles and Mystic Rivers, was only about one hundred and thirty yards +across and exposed to that terrible cannonade; yet over it flew the +reckless rider, coat off, in shirt-sleeves, an old white hat on his +head; back and forth he rode, fearless and unscathed. The great painter +Trumbull, who produced the celebrated picture of the Battle of Bunker +Hill, which has excited the admiration of thousands, represented General +Putnam conspicuously placed in that scene, but arrayed in an immaculate +uniform, with ruffles and frills, and such like accessories which "Old +Put" would have spurned.</p> + +<p>Still, the <i>man</i> was there, if not the uniform. His appointment as +major-general was dated two days after that memorable 17th of June; but +he was then, as brigadier-general, the ranking officer present, until +brave Warren appeared upon the scene. The latter was discovered by +Putnam just as he was wheeling about after meeting and posting the +gallant Colonel Stark and his New Hampshire reenforcements behind the +rail fence and grass breastwork, where they gave such a good account of +themselves that day. Turning about, he saw the slender figure of the +newly-made major-general before him, a sword at his side, but a musket +on his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"What, Warren, you here?" he is said to have exclaimed. "I am sorry to +see you ... but I'm ready to submit myself to your orders."</p> + +<p>"No, no, I came only as a volunteer," replied Warren. "Tell me where I +can be most useful."</p> + +<p>Pointing to the redoubt, Putnam said, "You will be protected there."</p> + +<p>"I am not seeking a place of safety," rejoined Warren with warmth; "tell +me where the onset will be most furious."</p> + +<p>"There," answered Putnam. "That will be the enemy's object. Prescott is +there and will do his duty; if that can be defended, the day will be +ours."</p> + +<p>The shouts of the soldiers announced to Putnam the arrival of Warren in +their midst, and not long after another cheer proclaimed the arrival of +an old friend and comrade of his, Colonel Seth Pomeroy, a veteran of the +Indian wars, who, twenty years before, had succeeded to the command of +Colonel Ephraim Williams's regiment at the battle of Lake George. He had +been aroused by the tidings from the seat of war, and though, like +Putnam, he lived nearly or quite a hundred miles away, he had hastened +to be in the thick of the fight. He had borrowed a horse from General +Ward, but, with characteristic Yankee caution, had left it the other +side of the Neck, in charge of a sentry, and had walked over, amid the +hail of shot from the frigates and batteries.</p> + +<p>Pomeroy and Putnam would have made a good pair to represent Valor and +Intrepidity, were statues desired for those noble qualities. When Putnam +saw him he cried out: "You here, Pomeroy? By God! a cannon-shot would +waken you out of your grave!" He was in his seventieth year, having been +born in 1706, and twelve years Putnam's senior.</p> + +<p>So they gathered, the young and the old, the learned doctor and the +practical mechanic, for the defense of Freedom—a magnet that drew both +Pomeroy and Warren to that since-famous redoubt on the summit of Breed's +Hill. They offered their services to Colonel Prescott, and he gladly +accepted them, demurring as to Warren, and tendering him the command, +which was his by right of rank. But the patriot simply said, as before, +that he had come to fight as a volunteer, and at once mingled with the +men within the redoubt.</p> + +<p>The movements of the British were slow, and mid-afternoon had arrived +before the agonizing suspense was over and they began their advance up +the hill. The eager Americans were hardly to be kept behind their +earthworks, much less restrained from firing at the advancing foe, as +the solid ranks came marching up the acclivity, ominously silent, with +deadly intent. But Putnam was with them, riding slowly up and down the +lines.</p> + +<p>"Don't waste your powder, boys," he shouted. "Wait for orders, then fire +low, take aim at their waistbands. Aim at the handsome coats, pick off +the commanders!" They did as commanded, only a few anticipating orders, +and at the fatal command, "Fire!" the ranks in front of them melted away +like snow before the sun.</p> + +<p>It was the same at the breastwork as at the redoubt, and at the second +or third volley the remaining redcoats broke and fled promiscuously down +the hill. It was not in the nature of even the bravest men to march to +certain destruction, and General Howe had difficulty in re-forming his +defeated troops for a second assault; but on they came, the intrepid +Howe in advance and on foot, until within even a shorter distance of +redoubt, breastwork, and rail fence, when a sheet of flame burst forth +that carried all before it to destruction.</p> + +<p>The scene outspread from the hill was perfectly appalling, and, to add +to the terrors of thunderous artillery, from frigates, floating +batteries and field-pieces, clouds of smoke came pouring out from +Charlestown, which had been set on fire, enveloping the contestants, at +first, in semi-obscurity. It was the intention of the British, in +setting fire to Charlestown, to veil their movements as they marched up +the hill; but this was frustrated by the rising wind, which carried the +smoke aloft and away.</p> + +<p>In the second advance, as in the first, the soldiers were led by General +Howe, who seemed, like Putnam, to bear a charmed life, at this time +having all his staff officers killed or wounded but one. For the +Provincials had strictly obeyed Putnam's orders, to pick off the men in +handsome coats. He himself was touched to the heart.</p> + +<p>"Oh, my God, what carnage!" he cried, as he saw his former friends and +comrades fall before the withering blast. Seeing several of his men +aiming their pieces at the only officer remaining unhurt, he darted +forward and struck up their muskets, exclaiming: "For God's sake, lads, +don't fire at that man! I love him as I do my brother." It was Major +Small, a former companion of the Indian wars, who owed his life to +Putnam's intervention, and who afterward tried to requite the +favor—though vainly—when brave Warren fell, by entreating him to +surrender.</p> + +<p>The sword with which Old Put struck up the muskets of his men was always +visible in the thickest of the fight, waving in air, descending with +resounding whacks—the flat of it—upon recreant soldiers' shoulders; +held threateningly against the breast of cowardly artillerymen, when, +their cartridges proving inadequate, they were about abandoning their +guns.</p> + +<p>The little field-pieces were too puny to do much harm, but they counted +for something, Putnam said, as he tore a cartridge in pieces and, +ladling the powder and canister into the gun, aimed and discharged it +into the advancing ranks of the foe, with effect. But all was of no +avail. The Americans had good cause to believe the enemy had had enough; +but Putnam knew the foe and cautioned them against overconfidence. True +to his predictions, they reformed for a third charge upon the hill, led, +as before, by the gallant Howe, and this time, as the Provincials had +nearly exhausted their supply of ammunition, they were forced to +extremities.</p> + +<p>Yet nearer than before, the British were allowed to approach, and, with +their artillery enfilading the redoubt and the breastwork with deadly +effect, the brave Provincials waited till they were within twenty yards +before they fired their last rounds into the foe. Then they clubbed +their muskets, dashed stones into the faces of the foe, fighting hand to +hand, as the British poured over the earthworks in a stream. Seeing his +forlorn position, Prescott ordered a retreat, and his men sullenly +obeyed, fighting to the last, stubbornly contesting every foot.</p> + +<p>Down below, on the slope near the Neck, was the infuriated Putnam, doing +his utmost to urge forward the belated reenforcements. When he saw the +onpouring mass of men in retreat he was wild with rage. "Halt, you +infernal cowards!" he yelled. "Halt here and make a stand. We can stop +them yet!" But he was overborne by the resistless stream, and with an +impious imprecation on his lips he dismounted, near a field-piece, "and +seemed resolved to brave the foe alone." One man only, a sergeant, took +his stand beside him, but he was soon shot down, and brave Old Put was +left without support. "The enemy's bayonets were just upon him when he +retired," probably the last unwounded warrior to retreat from Bunker +Hill!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h4>HOLDING THE ENEMY AT BAY</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>The battle had been fought, and had resulted even better than the then +enraged Putnam himself could have anticipated, for although technically +defeated, the Provincials had achieved a real victory, the fruits of +which were to be enjoyed by generations then unborn. For they had +conquered themselves as well as the enemy, whom they had met with calm +confidence; and had they been better supplied with ammunition, that +enemy would never have seen the inside of the redoubt and the +breastworks.</p> + +<p>British bayonets defeated them finally, as opposed to clubbed muskets +and stones cast by despairing men, whose very last thought was of +retreat. Many and many a man besides Prescott and Putnam, Stark and +Pomeroy, Knowlton and McClary, raged like wolves that day at its ending, +to find themselves compelled to accept a retreat as the alternative of +capture or death. Like lions making for their lairs in the hills, +Prescott and Putnam gave way at last before the overwhelming forces of +the enemy; and, after passing through the storm of cannon-balls still +hurtling across the Neck, they had leisure to count up their losses; for +the British were too exhausted, too much in awe of their prowess, even, +to pursue.</p> + +<p>It was a very good showing for green troops, that which told the +respective losses of British and Americans: more than a thousand of the +former, as against less than five hundred of the latter. Each side lost, +in killed and wounded, about one-third the total number of its men, for +the British brought about four thousand five hundred troops into the +field; while the Americans in active conflict, including such +reenforcements as reached the hill, scarcely exceeded fifteen hundred.</p> + +<p>A very good showing, a "great victory"—yet purchased at fearful cost +to both sides. A host of British officers, many of them bearing names +distinguished for valor and honorable lineage, went down before the +volleys of the Provincials, while the latter had also a sorrowful tale +to tell. Warren had fallen, one of the last to leave the redoubt; old +Pomeroy had his musket shattered, but drew off in good order, taking it +along with him for repairs; McClary was killed by a cannon-ball, while +boasting that the shot was not cast that would end his life; and so the +story went.</p> + +<p>One of the strangest happenings was the end of Major Pitcairn, who had +ordered the first shots fired at Lexington, and who, one of the first +over the redoubt, was killed by a negro soldier named Salem, falling +into the arms of his son. It came about, some time after, that the +pistols he had carried at Lexington (which were taken from his holsters +when his horse was shot under him, and he lay on the ground feigning +himself dead) were presented to General Putnam. He carried them through +all his subsequent campaigns, and at present they may be found in the +custody of the Library at Lexington.</p> + +<p>One field-piece only was saved out of six guns taken by the Provincials +into battle, and it was near the last one left in the field that the +enraged Putnam took his stand, between his retreating men and the +advancing foe, until "his countrymen were in momentary expectation of +seeing this compeer of the immortal Warren fall."</p> + +<p>That was Putnam: one of the first in the field, the last to leave it. We +have seen (as all his biographers and many historians have agreed in +stating) that he took a most active part throughout, exposing himself +continually to the shots of the enemy, guiding, directing, leading; and +that no man's commands were so eagerly received and so promptly obeyed +as his. And yet there are cavilers who have raised the question as to +whether he or Prescott commanded at the battle of Bunker Hill—as though +it mattered much. Both were sons of Massachusetts, and Putnam an +adoptive son of Connecticut, fighting on Massachusetts soil.</p> + +<p>It is certain that neither he nor Prescott gave a thought to this +matter, especially at the time the balls flew thickest.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> They may have +had differences of opinion, as, for instance, when Putnam attempted to +take away some of Prescott's men from the redoubt to throw up earthworks +on Bunker Hill. Subsequent events proved that Putnam's scheme of defense +was the right one, and only lack of time and men prevented its being +carried out.</p> + +<div class="footnote"> + <p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> + "Putnam," says Irving, in his Life of Washington, "also was a leading spirit + throughout the affair; one of the first to prompt and the last to maintain + it. He appears to have been active and efficient at every point, sometimes + fortifying, sometimes hurrying up reenforcements; inspiriting the men by his + presence while they were able to maintain their ground, and fighting gallantly + at the outpost to cover their retreat."</p> +</div> + +<p>As soon as once assured that the defeat of the Provincials was +overwhelming, Putnam lost no time in entrenching at Prospect Hill, the +first spot at which he could halt his fleeing troops. Here he stayed, +working like a beaver and digging like a badger, and this strategic +position, which he had seized and selected almost intuitively, he +continued to occupy until appointed to the command of the center +division of the army at Cambridge, where, on July 2, 1775, he for the +first time met General Washington, who had come with his appointment as +Commander-in-Chief recently received from the Continental Congress.</p> + +<p>Not long after formally taking command of the army, beneath the historic +elm at Cambridge, Washington made a tour of the fortifications and was +astonished at the progress Putnam had made at Prospect Hill, as well as +at the military skill he had shown in taking and fortifying it. Two days +later he presented him with his commission as a <i>Major-General</i> in the +Continental Army, which had been unanimously bestowed by Congress on the +19th of June, two days after the battle of Bunker Hill, and which he +received on the 4th of July. Putnam's commission was the only one then +presented in person by Washington, though three others had been +appointed major-generals under him: Lee, Ward, and Schuyler. A great +deal of jealousy and heart-burning resulted from the appointments, one +of the brigadiers, General Spencer, over whom Putnam had been advanced, +threatening to resign.</p> + +<p>In these days began the friendship which existed between the +Commander-in-Chief and Major-General Putnam during the remainder of +their lives. Putnam's honesty, industry, frankness, and integrity +interested General Washington, who was delighted with this bluff old +soldier who wore his laurels so modestly. "You'll find," wrote a +contemporary to a friend, "that Generals Washington and Lee are vastly +fonder and think higher of Putnam than any man in the army; and he truly +is the hero of the day!"</p> + +<p>On the 6th of July, 1775, the Continental Congress sent out its formal +Statement, which was read at headquarters in Cambridge on the 15th, and +to Putnam's division, then at Prospect Hill, on the 18th. At the same +time the new standard recently sent from Connecticut was unfurled, to +the acclaim of a mighty "<i>Amen!</i>" and the thunder of cannon from the +fort. The commotion aroused the British in their dearly-bought +stronghold over at Charlestown. In the language of the Essex Gazette, +proclaiming this event: "The Philistines on Bunker Hill heard the shouts +of the <i>Israelites</i>, and being very fearful, paraded themselves in +battle array."</p> + +<p>Putnam's bold stand at Prospect Hill, so promptly taken and so stoutly +maintained, kept the enemy within the territory they had purchased with +the blood of their best soldiers, and they never advanced any farther +into the country they coveted. The lines of investment around Boston +were drawn closer and made more nearly impregnable, yet weeks and months +went by without any material change in the relative positions of British +and Provincials, save that Putnam still kept on digging, and creeping +nearer and nearer to the foe. By fortifying Cobble Hill, an elevation +that more completely commanded the Charles than his main fortress at +Prospect Hill, Putnam was enabled to open fire upon the British +men-of-war and floating batteries, and soon silenced and drove them +away. Not satisfied with this achievement, a few days later his men were +at work upon an entrenchment within half a mile and under the fire of a +British man-of-war, a squad of these intrepid soldiers being commanded +by his eldest son, Israel.</p> + +<p>The British were now alarmed, and doubtless believed, in the language of +a writer commenting on these events, that "every fort which was defended +by General Putnam might be considered as impregnable, if daring courage +and intrepidity could always resist superior force."</p> + +<p>Still, while the British feared to advance upon the Americans, the +latter, though eager to drive them out of their stronghold, were unable +to do so from lack of artillery and ammunition. This lack was to some +extent supplied by the capture of some ordnance ships by our gallant +privateers, though as late as January, 1776, one of the Provincial +colonels wrote to another: "The bay is open; everything thaws here +except Old Put. He is still as hard as ever, crying out for +<i>powder—powder</i>—ye gods, give us powder!"</p> + +<p>Cannon-balls, several hundred of them, he had secured (if we may credit +a story told at the time) by conspicuously posting some of his men on an +elevation in front of a sandy hill in sight of a British war-ship, from +which by this ingenious ruse he drew a rain of shot, which supplied his +needs for the time being, as they were afterward easily dug out of the +sand!</p> + +<p>Among the captures by the privateers was a 13-inch brass mortar weighing +nearly three thousand pounds, which was taken to Cambridge, where +(according to the same veracious narrator of the "powder cry," the witty +Provincial colonel), it was the occasion of a great jubilation. "To +crown the glorious scene," he says, "there intervened one truly +ludicrous, which was Old Put mounted on the large mortar, which was +fixed in its bed for the occasion, with a bottle of rum in his hand, +standing parson to christen, while godfather Mifflin, the +quartermaster-general, gave it the name of Congress!"</p> + +<p>Old Put never lost a chance for fun and frolic, though he was as stern a +disciplinarian as Washington himself, who, however, must have been +greatly shocked at this horse-play in which his favorite General took +part. But the rank and file were delighted; and it was the possession of +just such qualities, of hilarious good-humor combined with sturdy +common-sense, that made Old Put a universal favorite. For dignity he +cared nothing at all; for discipline he was a "stickler"; and, as the +men hated the one as much as they disliked the other, yet loved and +admired their rough-and-ready General intensely, Putnam proved the +coherent factor in the combination that held the army together. At +another "truly ludicrous" scene, somewhat later, in which Putnam was one +of the participants, the dignified Commander-in-Chief is said to have +laughed until his sides ached. Looking from a window of his chamber in +the Craigie mansion, one morning, Washington perceived Putnam +approaching on horseback, with a very stout lady mounted behind his +saddle, and riding as if for dear life. The woman was an accessory of a +British spy, whom Putnam had arrested, and had brought to his commander +to be disciplined. It was a long while before Washington could recover +his countenance sufficiently to proceed with the business.</p> + +<p>At last, after months of waiting, the arrival of General Knox with +fifty-five cannon and a quantity of ammunition, which, with magnificent +daring, he had collected and brought from the forts on the frontier, put +the Provincials in possession of the means they needed for compelling +the British to retire. Following a council of war, Dorchester Heights +were occupied on the 4th of March, the attention of the enemy being +first diverted from the real object by a two-days' cannon-fire upon the +other side of the city, and after a futile attempt by General Howe to +assault the works erected by the Americans, on the 17th the British +hastily took to their ships.</p> + +<p>Had this intended assault by the British taken place, Washington was +ready to make a direct attack upon Boston with the troops in two +divisions, under the command of General Putnam. At the last council of +war, it is narrated, when General Washington had requested Putnam to +give more attention to the matter in hand, he replied: "Oh, my dear +General, plan the battle to suit yourself, and I will fight it!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h4>IN COMMAND AT NEW YORK</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>The British had been forced out of Boston; they had embarked aboard +their fleet; but for more than a week they lingered in the outer harbor, +as if uncertain whither to go. While Washington was in doubt as to their +next movement, he shrewdly guessed that the city of New York, being so +advantageously situated, especially commanding communication with Canada +by the valley of the Hudson River, would be their ultimate, if not +immediate objective. He had already despatched thither General Lee, who +was planning defenses for the harbor; but as he desired Lee to command +in the South, he looked around for another man to take his place. Troops +were on the way, also, under Generals Heath and Sullivan, to be followed +by many more, and there was every indication that soon a large army +would be concentrated in and around New York.</p> + +<p>Who to trust with this important command was a serious question for the +Commander-in-Chief, but he finally pitched upon Putnam, in whom he +seemed to have confidence, though with some misgivings which +foreshadowed the accuracy of his final estimate of the man. In a letter +treating of a similar situation, two months previously, Washington had +written to Congress: "General Putnam is a most valuable man and a fine +executive officer; but I do not know how he would conduct in a separate +department."</p> + +<p>But he resolved to entrust him with the command, and on the 29th of +March, only twelve days after the British had left, gave him his orders, +which concluded with this expression of confidence: "Your long service +and experience will, better than my particular directions at this +distance, point out to you the works most proper to be raised; and your +perseverance, activity, and zeal will lead you, without my recommending +it, to exert every nerve to disappoint the enemy's designs."</p> + +<p>With his customary expedition, General Putnam lost no time in getting to +New York, arriving there on the 4th of April, whither he was followed by +Washington nine days later. The Commander-in-Chief found, when he +arrived, little to criticize and much to commend in what Putnam had +done, for he had already stopped the Tories from furnishing supplies to +the British fleet, had commenced to fortify Governor's Island and Red +Hook, increased the efficiency of the works on Brooklyn Heights, +barricaded the streets of New York with mahogany logs from the West +Indies, and organized a "navy" of schooners and whale-boats, to cruise +in the North and East rivers.</p> + +<p>As Washington was absent much of the time in consultation with Congress +at Philadelphia, Putnam was practically in supreme command; yet his +arduous and important duties did not prevent him from attending a dinner +on the first anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. In a letter +written by an American officer describing this event, it is more than +intimated that he was ever ready to accommodate when called upon for a +song or a speech on such an occasion, for he says: "Our good General +Putnam got sick and went to his quarters before dinner was over, and we +missed him a marvel, as there is not a chap in the camp who can lead him +in the 'Maggie Lauder's song.'"</p> + +<p>When in New York, Putnam's headquarters were on Bowling Green, where he +later had with him members of his family, including his wife, who had +also visited him at Cambridge, and had dispensed a generous hospitality +at the Inman mansion; while Mrs. Washington (with whom both Putnam and +his wife were in high favor) was at the Craigie house. His son Israel +was a member of his military family, which also included Major Humphreys +(who afterward wrote his biography) and Major Aaron Burr, his military +secretary. His justifiable severity in proclaiming martial law, and in +punishing Tories found guilty of harboring or assisting the enemy, +incurred the ill-will of New York's inhabitants, and militated against +his fortunes when later he fell into disrepute.</p> + +<p>Plots against his life were formed, among them most conspicuous for its +scheme of wholesale assassinations being that in which one of +Washington's own guards was concerned, and for complicity in which this +same man, Thomas Hickey, paid the penalty with his life, being executed +on the 27th of June. Two days later a large British fleet was reported +off Sandy Hook, and by the 1st of July there were more than a hundred of +the enemy's war-ships and transports in the bay. The presence of this +immense fleet did not prevent the proper reception of the immortal +<i>Declaration of Independence</i>, proclaimed by the Continental Congress at +Philadelphia on the 4th of July, 1776, and which was read to the troops, +amid loud acclaim from officers and common soldiers, on the 9th.</p> + +<p class="center"> +<a id="image4" name="image4"></a> +<img src="images/image4.png" alt="Israel Putnam."/> +</p> + +<h5>Israel Putnam.</h5> + +<h6>From a painting by Trumbull.</h6> + + +<p>The arrival of the vast fleet, the subsequent landing of an army of +nearly twenty-five thousand men, and the warlike preparations which the +British were feverishly making looking to the capture of the city, did +not alarm Old Put, with his total force of scarcely seventeen thousand. +He went on as calmly and as determinedly as though himself commander of +the larger army, for the hero of Bunker Hill never anticipated defeat. +He always fought to the last, after making every needful preparation for +whatever event, and at New York, although the chances were all against +him, he did his utmost to bring about success. He had fortified +Governor's Island and Red Hook in order to prevent the enemy's ships of +war from ascending the Hudson; he now sank several old hulks in the +channel for the same purpose; but, notwithstanding, two war-vessels +succeeded in getting up the North River, which they afterward descended, +without injury to themselves.</p> + +<p>It having been recommended by Congress that "fire-rafts be prepared and +sent among the enemy's shipping," Putnam acted in accordance with the +suggestion by fitting out fourteen fire-ships for the purpose, though +nothing was accomplished with them. Still persistent in his endeavors to +drive off the enemy, he adopted the invention of David Bushnell, a +native of his own State, which the inventor called the "great American +Turtle," and which, in fact, was a submarine torpedo, probably the first +one thus used in warfare. It was to be guided by one man, and that man +was to have been Bushnell himself; but, unfortunately, he fell sick, and +the "turtle" boat with its infernal machine was entrusted to a +Connecticut sergeant named "Bije" Shipman, who promised to row the +"submarine"—diminutive prototype of all those which have committed such +destruction since—down the bay and attach the torpedo to the bottom of +the British admiral's ship. He reached the ship without being +observed—strange to say—and attempted to attach the torpedo; but the +attaching screw struck against an iron plate and caused great delay. +Coming up to get a breath of fresh air, "Bije" was seen and fired upon +by a sentinel, and at once rowed away as fast as his oars could carry +him. The torpedo, the explosion of which was regulated by clockwork +operating on a gun-lock, actually exploded about half an hour after, +sending up a great geyser of water, which frightened the British admiral +so that he gave orders to up anchor and seek another mooring-place.</p> + +<p>The Yankee navigator of the submarine declared that when he struck the +iron plate he got "narvous," and couldn't affix the screw properly; but +that if he had had a fresh "cud of terbacker," he would have been all +right and the admiral's ship would have gone "a-kiting" into the air. +The attempt was not repeated, for some reason or other, probably because +the British got wary and kept farther away from shore. The next year, +however, inventor Bushnell succeeded in blowing up a British schooner +with his torpedo; but neither he nor quaint "Bije" Shipman ever +received the credit that was their due, the latter being one of the +forgotten heroes of the Revolution.</p> + +<p>About this time the Putnam family entertained as guest the pretty +daughter of a British officer, Major James Moncrieffe, the same one to +whom, at the siege of Boston, "Old Put" had sent a present of +provisions, even though they were opposed as enemies. This young lady +was received by the family with affection, presented to General and Mrs. +Washington, and afterward provided with a pass through the lines and +sent to her father, accompanied by a letter of which (as she wittily +said to a friend) "the bad orthography was amply compensated for by the +magnanimity of the man who wrote it." Here is the letter: "Ginrale +Putnam's compliments to Major Moncrieffe, has made him a present of a +fine daughter, if he don't lick [like] her he must send her back again, +and he will provide her with a good twig [Whig] husband."</p> + +<p>General Putnam's humor, like his generosity, was never-failing; but, as +"Josh Billings" once remarked of himself, "he was a bad speller" to the +end of his life. But he could spell <i>f-i-g-h-t</i> as well as anybody; and +what is more, he could forgive his enemies, not only after the fight was +over, but while it was going on—as witness his generous actions on many +occasions.</p> + +<p>Though kept busy as a bee from morning to night, yet General Putnam +found life in New York irksome, and was glad enough when ordered by +Washington over to Long Island, to command at Brooklyn Heights and to +supersede Sullivan, who had superseded Greene, then sick with fever, who +had planned and erected the fortifications on the island. It was perhaps +this "lightning change" of commanders that was responsible for the +bitter defeat of the Americans in that encounter known as the "Battle of +Long Island." By the third week of August, when this battle took place, +the British were near New York with more than three hundred ships and +thirty thousand troops, including those of Clinton, Cornwallis, and +Howe. The last named was in command, and on the 22d of August he landed +twenty thousand troops, including five thousand hireling Hessians, at +Gravesend Bay, with the intention of flanking the Americans out of their +positions at Flatbush and the Heights and then advancing across the +island to East River and New York.</p> + +<p>It was not until two days later that (in the words of a soldier writing +to his wife at that time) "General Putnam was made happy by obtaining +leave to go over—the brave old man was quite miserable at being kept +here," in New York. Only three days after his arrival the battle was +fought, which (in brief) was brought about by the British surprising an +outpost at one of the three passes to the American rear, on the night of +the 26th of August and thus turning the patriots' position. With more +than three times the numerical strength of the Americans, the British +were successful, and the former lost more than a thousand men, most of +them made prisoners, including Generals Sullivan and Stirling.</p> + +<p>Washington hurried over reenforcements, until there were nearly ten +thousand men at the Heights; but Putnam soon found it impossible to +conduct its defense against twenty thousand of the enemy, with ten +thousand more in reserve, and, with Washington's sanction and +cooperation, he withdrew his men from their perilous position by a night +retreat across the river, which was a triumph of military sagacity and +achievement. The more than nine thousand men, with their ammunition, +arms, provisions, etc., were safely over the river before the British +became aware of what was going on. Then it was too late, and +notwithstanding that the Americans had been outflanked and defeated by +the most skilful strategy, the British lost the chief fruits of their +victory by procrastination.</p> + +<p>The loss of Long Island meant, of course, the evacuation of New York, +since the city could now be commanded by the enemy's guns on the +Heights. This movement was decided upon by Washington and his generals +at a council of war; the garrison was withdrawn from Governor's Island, +and after the surplus ammunition and military stores had been forwarded +to a point of safety, the troops leisurely followed after toward the +north. Putnam, Heath, and Spencer were placed in command of the three +grand divisions into which the army was divided preparatory for retreat +and stationed along the East River, Putnam, as usual, having the most +perilous situation, at the lower end of the city. To him was committed +the removal of the troops and military stores, so that he had no more +time at command than formerly.</p> + +<p>Yet the British did not move upon the city with precipitation. +Commander-in-Chief Howe had learned his lesson by heart at Bunker Hill, +and was no longer in haste to attack his brave opponents unless with +overwhelming numbers, whether entrenched or otherwise. He had resolved +upon a series of flank movements, for the purpose of cutting off the +American retreat northward, and on the 15th of September put the first +in execution. Washington was at his new headquarters, the Jumel mansion, +at Harlem Heights, and Old Put was busy hurrying off the last of the +detachments down in the city, when both heard the booming of cannon at +Kip's Bay. They met at Murray Hill, and together galloped toward the +sound of firing, but before they reached East River were met by their +own troops fleeing before the British advance.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h4>WASHINGTON'S CHIEF RELIANCE</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>It was at the retreat of the Americans before the British, who had +landed at Kip's Bay, that the unique spectacle was afforded of both +Washington and Putnam acting in unison, both in a towering rage, and +both attempting with all their might to turn their cowardly soldiers +face-about to stand against the foe. But all their efforts were in vain, +though Washington, in his endeavors to stem the tide of retreat, came +near being made prisoner, and would have been, probably, if one of the +soldiers had not taken his horse by the bridle and turned him in another +direction.</p> + +<p>In the actual retreat to Harlem Heights that then followed, brave Putnam +took the post of danger again, and, while nearly everybody else was +heading northward, he himself went the other way in search of his +detachment, which, fortunately, his aide-de-camp, Major Burr, had taken +the liberty of setting on the move. He and his men were the last to gain +the Heights, barely escaping the British as they tried to hem them in, +and reaching the rendezvous long after dark.</p> + +<p>It was a current rumor in camp, later, that his escape was not +altogether due to celerity of movement, nimble as he was, but to the +clever ruse of a fair Quakeress, Mrs. Murray (mother of Lindley Murray, +the renowned grammarian), who, being known to the British officers, +invited them in, as they filed past her door, to refresh themselves with +cake and wine. Being fatigued with their labors, and considering the +Americans as good as captured by their clever flanking movement, they +accepted the invitation gladly and remained enjoying her hospitality +about two hours, or just long enough for Putnam and his men to slip out +of the trap and scamper along the North River roads to the rendezvous.</p> + +<p>Their joy at their escape when (as Major Humphreys, who was with them, +said) they had been given up for lost by their friends, was tempered +next day by the death of Colonel Knowlton, who had been sent out with +his rangers to reconnoiter the enemy. In the ensuing engagement, known +as the Battle of Harlem Heights, the gallant Knowlton was killed, +besides about one hundred and seventy of his men. Knowlton, who had +taken a prominent part in the battle of Bunker Hill, was an old friend +and comrade of Putnam in the Indian wars, as well as at Havana, and the +latter felt his loss most keenly.</p> + +<p>There was no time for vain regrets, since the enemy were pushing after +the Americans, giving them no pause for a while. When at last there was +a cessation in their endeavors at direct assault, Washington was more +uneasy than before, and did not rest until he had discovered what it +meant. In short, General Howe was about trying the second in his +remarkable series of flanking movements, by which he hoped to get in +the rear of the Americans, and, with his overwhelming force, "bottle +them up" and compel a general engagement. But, with a force far inferior +to the British, Washington not only succeeded in avoiding a pitched +battle (for which he was wholly unprepared), but finally extricated his +army from the net which his enemy had spread on two sides and was now +attempting to sweep around to cut off his retreat.</p> + +<p>Sending several war-vessels up the North River, or Hudson (which had no +trouble in breaking through the barrier stretched across it), General +Howe embarked the main body of his troops in flatboats for Westchester, +landing at a point about nine miles above the Heights of Harlem. The +enemy's object was then apparent, and Washington set about defeating it +by one of the most complicated and ingenious military movements on +record.</p> + +<p>Leaving General Greene in command of Fort Washington, on the Hudson, not +far from Kingsbridge and the Heights, Washington hastened northward +toward White Plains, seizing upon every naturally strong position by the +way, and establishing a chain of entrenchments on the hill-crests that +commanded all the roads leading from the North River to the Sound. The +last week in October the opposing forces came in collision at Chatterton +Hill, where was fought the so-called Battle of White Plains, at which, +wrote Rufus Putnam, who had planned the defensive works, "the wall and +stone fence behind which our troops were posted proved as fatal to the +British as the rail-fence with grass hung on it did at Charlestown, June +17, 1775."</p> + +<p>General Putnam was ordered to reenforce General McDougall, who was in +command at the hill; but before he arrived the British had flanked the +Americans and driven them from their position. Putnam's men covered +their retreat by firing at the British and Hessians from behind fences +and trees, Indian and Ranger fashion, and that night Washington +practically began his famous retrograde movement to Fort Washington and +Manhattan Island. "By folding one brigade behind another," in rear of +those ridges he had fortified, he "brought off all his artillery, +stores, and sick, in the face of a superior foe." He took position, +first, at North Castle Heights, which he deemed impregnable; but after a +few days the British left for the Hudson, with the purpose (as was +afterward ascertained, and at the time divined by Washington) of +attacking forts Washington and Lee and invading New Jersey. In +anticipation of this move Putnam was detached with about four thousand +men and ordered into New Jersey. Crossing the Hudson, he penetrated +inland as far as Hackensack, near which place he encamped and awaited +developments.</p> + +<p>General Lee was left at North Castle Heights with seven thousand men to +watch the movements of the foe, while Washington followed after Putnam +to Hackensack. He was shortly recalled to the Hudson by a despatch +informing him that the British were before Fort Washington in +overwhelming force, and had demanded a surrender. Brave Colonel Magaw, +in command of the garrison, refused a reply until he had consulted his +superior officers, and as General Greene, in charge of both forts, was +of the opinion that they could be held, the result was the storming of +the fort and the loss of more than two thousand men.</p> + +<p>The assault of the British, who had threatened to put the garrison to +the sword, was witnessed by Washington, Greene, and Putnam from the west +bank of the Hudson. Their distress may be imagined at beholding the +slaughter that ensued, and there must have been some searching +self-questioning by the Commander-in-Chief as to the wisdom of his +policy, by which his divided forces became such an easy prey to the foe.</p> + +<p>Lee could hardly be induced to leave his secure retreat, from which he +departed only after repeated requests from Washington, whose great +reliance at this time was sturdy Israel Putnam. He assisted at the +evacuation of Fort Lee (now rendered useless by the loss of its sister +fort across the river), and piloted the commander and his friends to his +camp at Hackensack.</p> + +<p>British troops under Lord Cornwallis had landed above Fort Lee at the +base of the Palisades, and were now coming down to attempt to cut off +the Americans before they could extricate themselves from the marshes +lying between the Hudson and the Hackensack rivers. The latter left so +precipitately that their fires were burning, with camp kettles over +them, and tents still standing, when the British reached Fort Lee.</p> + +<p>Parallel with the Hackensack River runs the Passaic, and across country +between the two Washington was compelled to hasten, lest he be hemmed in +again by the pursuing enemy. It was now late in November, the weather +was cold, and gloomy were these "dark days of the Revolution," when the +militia left the army by hundreds, their terms of enlistment having +expired, and no others took their places. While the little army of less +than four thousand men was constantly depleted, it seemed as if its foes +increased, in that country of loyalists and British sympathizers. It was +with only the "skeleton of an army" that Washington, on the eighth of +December, crossed the Delaware at Trenton, less than three thousand +troops remaining by him then. Cornwallis and his soldiers were not far +behind, during a portion of that gloomy retreat, a few days measuring +the distance between the rival armies; but they did not catch up with +the Americans that time.</p> + +<p>The very day after his arrival at Trenton Washington ordered Putnam to +Philadelphia, where he was placed in absolute command, and where he +displayed the same energy and integrity of purpose that had always +animated him hitherto. He had been a sustaining force to the +Commander-in-Chief on that march across New Jersey, and of the few +generals who had stood by him, no one had endured with less complaint or +performed with more alacrity than Old Put. He was one upon whom to rely +in the proposed scheme of fortifying the city, and his long experience +at entrenching made him peculiarly fit for the work.</p> + +<p>His sturdy nature, good sense, and ready wit made him at once a favorite +with the Continental Congress and the Committee of Safety; though the +former, acting on his advice, soon left the city for the greater +security of Baltimore. Putnam soon placed the city under martial law, +drafted all the citizens, except the Quakers, into the military service, +and put the place in the best posture for defense of which it was +capable. "There were foes within the city as well as foes without," for +the Tory element was strong in Philadelphia, and it was because of it +that Putnam was unable to cooperate with Washington when he dealt the +enemy the first of those telling blows at Trenton and Princeton. He +dared not withdraw his men from the city, even for a short absence, in +order to create a diversion while his Commander-in-Chief made the direct +attack. Had he done so, and also the other generals to whom were +entrusted the details of this affair, the Hessians might have been +entirely cut off in their retreat from Trenton and practically +destroyed. As it was, Putnam held to his command in Philadelphia, and +soon had the pleasure of entertaining some of the Hessian captives, for +whom he was obliged to provide quarters while passing through the city.</p> + +<p>It must have fretted him vastly to be kept in Philadelphia while +Washington was pursuing the very tactics he himself would have used +against the enemy. After his first success Washington ordered Putnam out +to Crosswicks, a small place southeast of Trenton, "a very advantageous +post" for him to hold while his superior was planning his descent upon +Princeton. On the 5th of January, after Washington had launched his +thunderbolt at Princeton (of his intention to do which Putnam had been +informed by a letter from his adjutant, written at midnight preceding +that eventful third of January, 1777), he wrote at length to his trusty +friend and General: "It is thought advisable for you to march the troops +under your command to Crosswicks, and keep a strict watch upon the enemy +in that quarter. If the enemy continue at Brunswick you must act with +great circumspection, lest you meet with a surprise. As we have made two +successful attacks upon the enemy by the way of surprise, they will be +pointed with resentment, and if there is any possibility of retaliating +they will attempt it. <i>You will give out your strength to be twice as +great as it is.</i> Forward on all the baggage and scattered troops +belonging to this division of the army as soon as may be."</p> + +<p>In accordance with Washington's suggestion as to the augmenting of the +number of his men, Putnam availed himself of the request of a wounded +British officer, who was his prisoner, that a friend in Cornwallis's +army might be sent for to make his will, to practise a ruse. It was in +Princeton, whither he had been ordered from Crosswicks. As he had but a +few hundred men, in order to prevent his weakness from being known to +the military visitor he was brought in after dark, all the windows in +the college buildings and private houses were lighted up, "and the +handful of troops paraded about to such effect during the night that the +visitor, on his return to the British camp, reported the force under the +old general to be at least five thousand strong!" In this manner the +shrewd but kind-hearted Putnam complied with his prisoner's request, and +at the same time turned it to his own and his soldiers' advantage.</p> + +<p>Having failed in his attempt to "bag that old fox" (Washington), Lord +Cornwallis had scurried back to protect his baggage and communications +at New Brunswick, while Washington ensconced himself in the rugged +country about Morristown, and Putnam was left to protect the lowlands +and harass the enemy. So effectually did he perform the latter that his +aggregate of prisoners taken during the winter exceeded the number +captured by Washington at Trenton, and his captures of wagons laden +with provisions for the enemy were highly important.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h4>DEFENDING THE HUDSON HIGHLANDS</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Snugly and safely entrenched in the Morristown hill-country, Washington +left to Putnam the post he so dearly loved, that of real danger, within +fifteen miles of New Brunswick, where the enemy lay in strength. At +Princeton, thirty miles from headquarters, Putnam remained until May, +when he was detached and sent into the Hudson Highlands. The British had +lost fewer men at Trenton and Princeton than the Americans had lost at +Fort Washington, yet the former were singularly dispirited. With the +Commander-in-Chief withdrawn to the hills, the road to Philadelphia lay +open to the enemy, and only Old Put opposing them, like a lion in the +path; but for some reason they did not avail themselves of the +situation.</p> + +<p>Putnam's division formed the right wing of the American army in +cantonment that winter, with the center at Morristown and the left wing +on the Hudson. At the opening of the spring campaign of 1777 Washington +was uncertain whether the British would leave their winter quarters in +New York for New England, the Hudson Highlands, or for Philadelphia. He +was inclined to believe that Philadelphia would be the first and chief +objective, and wished to hold himself in readiness for marching thither +at a moment's warning; but again there were rumors of an invasion from +Canada by way of the lakes and the Hudson, so this region must be +protected.</p> + +<p>Existing forts must be strengthened, others erected, a boom stretched +across the Hudson to impede the passage of British ships, and obstacles +of all kinds placed in the path of the British, should they advance +northward. Needing a reliable man in this emergency, Washington sent +Putnam to Peekskill, on the Hudson, preceded by a letter to General +McDougall, then in command there, which was, to say the least, not very +flattering to the gallant soldier who had been his right-hand man in +the various retreats through the Jerseys. "You are acquainted with the +old gentleman's temper," he wrote; "he is active, disinterested, and +open to conviction," etc.</p> + +<p>Washington would have been more fortunate if all his officers had been +as "active, disinterested, and open to conviction" as Old Put—for +instance, Lee, Arnold, Gates, and others—but he had allowed his +prejudices to warp his former opinion of Putnam's sterling qualities.</p> + +<p>Hardly had Putnam begun his work on the Hudson before there was a mighty +movement in the port of New York, and, fearing there might be an attempt +upon Philadelphia, Washington drew upon the old soldier's command until +he had scarcely a thousand men at call. Then followed the commander's +magnificent strategy at Middlebrook, whereby he finally defeated the +British plans and brought about the complete evacuation of New Jersey, +after which Putnam was strengthened in his position; only to be weakened +again, the process being repeated until he felt called upon to protest.</p> + +<p>Putnam was later accused by Hamilton, Washington's aide-de-camp, of +making a "hobby-horse" out of his desire to march upon New York, and of +riding it on all occasions; but it was no less a hobby-horse with him +than the defense of Philadelphia was with his Commander-in-Chief, who +many times imperiled the safety of other sections by withdrawing troops +in hot haste and flying to the succor of a city which was captured and +occupied by the British notwithstanding.</p> + +<p>Washington rode his hobby-horse full-tilt at the unfortunate Putnam and +threw him to the ground. With one hand, as it were, he wrote him to keep +an eye on the movements of the enemy and be fully prepared to meet them; +but with the other he signed an order for the weakening of his force. +The consequences came when Burgoyne, having descended from Canada and +invaded northern New York, Putnam found himself between two fires, that +of the former and that of Sir Henry Clinton, who finally set out on the +long-meditated trip up the Hudson in order to cooperate with the +southward-marching army.</p> + +<p>Putnam had learned of the successive moves on the military chess-board +as Burgoyne progressed in his triumphal march. First, of the fall of +Ticonderoga, in June; then of Fort Edward; finally, of the glorious +victory achieved by his former comrade in the Indian wars and at Bunker +Hill, the redoubtable General Stark, at Bennington. He was called upon +to furnish reenforcements not only to Washington, unfortunate in his +defense of Philadelphia, but to Schuyler and Gates in the north.</p> + +<p>The post of danger, as usual, Old Put occupied in the Highlands, and he +was delighted; only repining that whenever he was nearly ready to do +something, away went his troops on some wild-goose mission, of which he +knew neither the end or aim.</p> + +<p>Washington surmised that Howe's scheme of sailing southward with an +army aboard his ships was for the purpose of luring him away from the +real point of attack, which was to be in the Highlands, so he wrote +Putnam to be on the alert and to send spies down to New York to +ascertain Clinton's plans. "If he has the number of men with him that is +reported, it is probably with the intention to attack you from below, +while Burgoyne comes down upon you from above." Thus wrote Washington in +August, but still the depletion of the perplexed Putnam's command went +steadily on. When he protested he was recommended to hurry up the +militia from Connecticut, or some other New England State, and thus +supply the place of the seasoned troops he had trained, with raw +recruits.</p> + +<p>"The old general, whose boast it was that he never slept but with one +eye, was already on the alert. A circumstance had given him proof +positive that Sir Henry was in New York, and had aroused his military +ire," writes Washington Irving. This paragraph refers to one of +Clinton's spies, who was captured while gathering information in +Putnam's camp at Peekskill. When Clinton heard of it he sent a +war-vessel up the Hudson with a flag of truce, claiming the man as one +of his officers. This was Old Put's reply:</p> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="rightalign"><span class="smcap">Headquarters</span>, <i>7th August, 1777</i>.</p> + +<p>Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken as a +spy lurking within our lines. He has been tried as a spy, condemned +as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy; and the flag is ordered +to depart immediately.</p> + +<p class="indented"> +I have the honor to be, etc., etc.,</p> +<p class="rightalign"><span class="smcap">Israel Putnam</span>.</p> +<br /> +P.S.—Afternoon. He is hanged!<br /> +</div> + +<p>The last week in September, Washington drew upon the patient commander +in the Highlands for more soldiers, so that he had only eleven hundred +men left with which to meet and withstand the British invasion of his +territory, which began on the 5th of October. Putnam was fully cognizant +of the situation, for he wrote to Governor Clinton, his coadjutor in +the defense of the Highlands, on the 29th of September: "I have received +intelligence on which I can fully depend that the enemy received a +reenforcement at New York last Thursday of about 3,000 British and +foreign troops; that General Clinton has called in guides who belong +about Croton River; has ordered hard bread to be baked; that the troops +are called from Paulus Hook to Kingsbridge; and the whole are now under +marching orders. I think it highly probable that the designs of the +enemy are against the posts of the Highlands, or of some parts of the +counties of Westchester or Duchess. P.S.—The ships are drawn up in the +river, and I believe nothing prevents them paying us an immediate visit +but a contrary wind!"</p> + +<p>Within a week the enemy were in force on the river near Putnam's +position, and within ten days they had completely outmaneuvered both +Putnam and Clinton, and had taken forts Montgomery and Clinton, their +chief defenses, with great loss to the Americans. Clinton had made a +feint on Tarrytown and Peekskill, and after this diversion, under cover +of the river mist, landed troops on the west shore of the Hudson, and +marched rapidly through ravines and dense woods to the rear of the two +forts, which were carried by the bayonet, the defenders being taken by +surprise.</p> + +<p>The British had twice the number of men that Putnam commanded in this +attack, and also the advantage of ships of war in the river, but it is +thought that results would have been different from what they were had a +despatch for reenforcements from Governor Clinton reached him. It was +sent by a messenger who proved a traitor and carried it within the +enemy's lines. As it was, however, the British have the credit of +consummate strategy on this occasion, and poorly as he was equipped, Old +Put was greatly mortified over the defeat. He had good occasion for +writing to Washington, as he wrote on the 8th of October: "I have +repeatedly informed your Excellency of the enemy's design against this +post, but from some motive or other you always differed from me in +opinion. As this conjecture of mine has for once proved right, I can not +omit informing you that my real and sincere opinion is that they mean to +join General Burgoyne with the utmost despatch."</p> + +<p>Further proof of British intentions was afforded by the capture of a +spy, who, on being arrested, was seen to swallow a silver bullet which, +being recovered, was found to contain a message written on very thin +paper and dated October 8th—the day before. This message read: "Here we +are, and nothing between us and Gates. I sincerely hope this little +success of ours will facilitate your operations." It was from Sir Henry +Clinton to General Burgoyne, and showed conclusively that the former had +set out to join with the latter. But events had so shaped in the north +that poor Burgoyne was then past all aid, General Gates then having him +at bay. Within a few days was fought the decisive battle that brought +about Burgoyne's surrender, and when the news reached Sir Henry Clinton +he immediately set about returning to New York, there being no longer +any incentive for action in the Highlands. Putnam and Clinton, after +blowing up their two vessels in the river, had effected their retreat to +Fishkill, where they entrenched; but on learning of the British retreat +they moved down to their former positions.</p> + +<p>The saying that "troubles never come singly" proved true for General +Putnam that month of October, 1777, for on the 14th he lost by death his +faithful wife, who had been with him at headquarters. Washington wrote +him, on being informed of the bereavement: "I am extremely sorry for the +death of Mrs. Putnam, and sympathize with you upon the occasion. +Remembering that all must die, and that she had lived to an honorable +age, I hope you will bear the misfortune with that fortitude and +complacency of mind that become a man and a Christian."</p> + +<p>The surrender of Burgoyne left the north free from foes, and +consequently with no use for great numbers of soldiers, so that Putnam +was soon in command of more than nine thousand men, mainly drafts from +Gates's army. He was then determined to carry out his twice-frustrated +scheme of marching upon New York, and was pushing forward his plans with +great confidence, when there appeared a marplot on the scene in the +person of Colonel Alexander Hamilton, at that time aide-de-camp to +General Washington, who peremptorily ordered Putnam to forward all the +new arrivals to the Commander-in-Chief and fill their places with +militia.</p> + +<p>The order was a verbal one and delivered by a slender "snip of a boy" +scarcely out of his teens, so it received scant attention from Old Put, +who went on with his plans, while Colonel Hamilton mounted a fresh horse +and posted off to Albany, where he had also great difficulty in +impressing General Gates with the need of Washington for the best men in +his command. But he succeeded in detaching a few regiments, and then +hastened back to Peekskill, there to find, to his surprise and +indignation, that Putnam still had all his men—and what was more, +seemed inclined to keep them with him.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"I am pained beyond expression," wrote this precocious youth to +Washington on the 10th of November, "to inform your Excellency +that, on my arrival here, I find everything has been neglected and +deranged by General Putnam.... Not the least attention has been +paid to my order, in your name, for a detachment of one thousand +men from the troops hitherto stationed at that post. Everything is +sacrificed to the whim of taking New York.... By Governor Clinton's +advice, I have sent an order, in the most emphatical terms, to +General Putnam, immediately to despatch all the Continental troops +under him to your assistance, and to detain the militia instead of +them."</p></div> + +<p>This order "in the most emphatical terms" finally moved the general to +compliance; but it quite naturally excited his just resentment, and he +sent it to the Commander-in-Chief, with his comments. It would have been +a serious matter—detaching such a large body of troops on a mere verbal +order from a hot-headed stripling; yet Washington in effect reprimanded +the honest veteran by writing:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>I can not but say, there has been more delay in the march of the +troops than I think necessary; and I could wish that in future my +orders may be immediately complied with, without arguing upon the +propriety of them. If any accident ensues from obeying them, the +fault will be upon me, not upon you.</p></div> + +<p>Death, defeat, a reprimand—all within one short month—might have +affected a stouter heart than Old Put's. But was there ever a stouter +one?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h4>LAST YEARS IN THE SERVICE</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Care sat lightly on Israel Putnam, who never went about looking for +trouble, nor gave it more than a scant welcome as a guest. Possessed of +sturdy common sense, an unblemished character, and a conscience "void of +offence," Old Put did not long harbor the hasty words of Hamilton, nor +dwell upon the tacit reprimand of his chief. He still sat astride his +"hobby-horse," as Hamilton had contemptuously termed his desire for +descending upon New York, and as soon as the latter had departed with +the reenforcements for Washington, he resolved to take a look at the +city, anyway. Taking some of his men down the east bank of the Hudson, +he himself reconnoitered to a point within three miles of the enemy's +outpost, and went to New Rochelle with the intention of invading Long +Island. The British got wind of his intent, and hastily left their +forts, having no relish for a brush with their dreaded enemy.</p> + +<p>Although accused to Washington of being very lenient to Tories and other +disaffected persons, Putnam knew how to be severe on occasion, and in +reprisal for the repeated outrages committed by Governor Tryon's +murderous marauders, he destroyed by fire several residences of noted +loyalists, and fell upon Colonel DeLancey's infamous "Cowboys," taking +seventy-five prisoners, including the Tory officer himself, who was +drawn out from beneath a bed, where he had taken refuge at the approach +of Putnam's scouts.</p> + +<p>Washington himself had given Putnam the idea of descending upon New +York, some time before; but circumstances had changed, and along with +them the need for this diversion. Having satisfied himself with this +reconnoitering expedition, however, Old Put went back very amiably to +his post in the Highlands, and proceeded to carry out his commander's +instructions respecting the selection of a new fort for the defense of +the Hudson. In January, 1778, we find him at West Point, directing the +men of Parson's brigade where to break ground—frozen ground, at that, +with snow two feet deep above it—for the first fort at the picturesque +post on the Hudson since become historic. It was subsequently named Fort +Putnam, either after Old Put himself, or his cousin Rufus Putnam, whose +great natural talents as an engineer were subsequently availed of here, +as they had been before Boston, at Dorchester Heights.</p> + +<p>About mid-February, Putnam wrote to Washington, who had been constantly +and urgently pressing him to complete the work without delay, that "the +batteries near the water, and the fort to cover them, are laid out. The +latter is, within walls, 600 yards around, 21 feet base, 14 feet high, +the talus two inches to the foot. This I fear is too large to be +completed by the time expected." Even his placid disposition was by this +time slightly ruffled at the scarcely veiled distrust of his +capabilities by his chief, who had veered about with the wind blowing +from New York, and seemed to trust him no longer. His letter begins +stiffly: "The state of affairs now at this post, you will please to +observe, is as follows," and after this business has been stated, he +goes on to give some of the reasons for delay. One of his regiments was +at White Plains, "under inoculation with the smallpox. Dubois's regiment +is unfit to be ordered on duty, there being not one blanket in the +regiment. Very few have either a shoe or a shirt, and most of them have +neither stockings, breeches, or overalls.... Several hundred men are +rendered useless, merely for want of necessary apparel, as no clothing +is permitted to be stopped at this post."</p> + +<p>No complaint was made, but merely a statement of facts; for Putnam must +have known that many of the soldiers under his commander were at that +very time half starved and half naked at Valley Forge. The day after +writing this letter to Washington, having secured permission for a +brief furlough, General Putnam went home to attend to private affairs +which demanded his attention. He had applied for this leave of absence +two months previously, but before receiving it had attended to the +exigent matter of fortifying West Point, like the good soldier that he +was.</p> + +<p>Since he last left home much had happened to distract and break him +down, including the loss of his wife by death, and the loss of +Washington's friendly support, through no fault of his own. He was +deeply grieved over the change in the commander's attitude toward him, +as well as puzzled to account for it, knowing full well that he had done +nothing to incur his displeasure, now so plainly manifested, not alone +to General Putnam but to others.</p> + +<p>The change was probably due to their radical differences of temperament, +habits of life and education. While Washington the soldier recognized +the sterling qualities of Old Put, the veteran fighter, yet Washington +the aristocratic planter shrank from contact with Putnam the blunt, and +at times perhaps uncouth-appearing, farmer. Writing about that time, a +surgeon in the American army said: "This is my first interview with this +celebrated hero, Putnam. In his person he is corpulent and clumsy, but +carries a bold, undaunted front. He exhibits little of the refinements +of a well-educated gentleman, but much of the character of the veteran +soldier."</p> + +<p>This was not the style of soldier that the Commander-in-Chief liked to +have about him, and he allowed his personal prejudices to pervert his +judgment.</p> + +<p>"What shall I do with Putnam?" he breaks out in a letter to Gouverneur +Morris. "If Congress mean to lay him aside <i>decently</i>, I wish they would +devise the mode."</p> + +<p>"It has not been an easy matter to find a just pretense for removing an +officer from his command" (he writes to Chancellor Livingston on the +12th of March, 1778) "where his misconduct rather appears to result from +want of <i>capacity</i> than from any real intention of doing wrong...." +Livingston had written complaining of Putnam's "imprudent lenity to the +disaffected, and too great intercourse with the enemy"—or, in other +words, that he had not persecuted the people Livingston disliked, and +had shown generosity to the foe when in distress. Yet he felt compelled +to add: "For my own part, I respect his bravery and former services, and +sincerely lament that his patriotism will not suffer him to take that +repose, to which his advanced age and past services justly entitle him."</p> + +<p>But Congress did not, fortunately, share the views of these +white-fingered, thin-skinned gentlemen, to whom a man's personal +appearance was vastly more than his distinguished services. They held, +with the doughty hero of many battles himself, that, as a soldier's duty +in war was to fight, it mattered not so much how he fought, nor in what +garb, so long as he won the victories. As to lack of capacity, and being +responsible for the loss of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, the court of +inquiry, which sat in the spring of 1778, entirely vindicated him, +holding that they fell, "not from any fault, misconduct, or negligence +of the commanding officers, but solely through the want of an adequate +force under their command to maintain and defend them."</p> + +<p>Who was responsible for the lack of that "adequate force" none knew +better than the Commander-in-Chief, who had withdrawn Old Put's veterans +on six different occasions and compelled him to clothe the skeleton +ranks with raw militia, so that it ill became him to write (in his +letter to Livingston): "Proper measures are taking to carry on the +inquiry into the loss of Fort Montgomery, agreeable to the direction of +Congress, and it is more than probable, from what I have heard, that the +issue of that inquiry will afford just grounds for the removal of +General Putnam."</p> + +<p>But the "issue of that inquiry" was in favor of Putnam, who demanded not +only a court of inquiry, but a trial by court-martial, "so that my +character might stand in a clearer light in the world." For, as he +justly observed in a letter to Congress, "to be posted here as a publick +spectator for every ill-minded person to make remarks upon, I think is +very poor encouragement for any persons to venture their lives and +fortunes in the service."</p> + +<p>General Putnam received notice of this court of inquiry and of his +suspension from command pending its proceedings, as he was returning +from Connecticut, in March; but the month of July had arrived, the +battle of Monmouth fought, and General Lee's court-martial had been +ordered, before he was reinstated. Then Washington rather grudgingly +gave him command of the right wing of the grand army, at White Plains, +near or on Chatterton Hill, where he had vainly tried to reenforce +McDougall, in the fierce fight that took place there not quite two years +before. The three armies were then collectively of "greater strength +than any force that had been brought together during the war," +consisting, says Major Humphreys, of sixty regular regiments of foot, +four battalions of artillery, four regiments of horse, and several corps +of State troops. "But, as the enemy kept close within their lines on +York Island, nothing could be attempted."</p> + +<p>Putnam was afterward sent across the Hudson, where, notwithstanding the +prejudices alleged against him in that region, where he had formerly +commanded, he was retained until the army was ordered into winter +quarters. These quarters were finally located in his own State, and were +admirably chosen for the purpose at that time, which was to hold the +troops together until the spring campaign should open. "The site for the +winter cantonment became an important question," writes Charles B. Todd, +a talented son of Connecticut, and an authority on her history, "and was +long and anxiously debated. Many of the general officers were for +staying where they were in the Highlands. Putnam pronounced in favor of +some central location in western Connecticut, where they could protect +both the Sound and the Hudson, and especially Danbury, which was a +supply station, and which had been taken and burned by the enemy the +year previous. General Heath's brigade had been on guard in Danbury +during this summer of 1778, and while visiting him Putnam had no doubt +discovered the three sheltered valleys formed by the Saugatuck and its +tributaries which lie along the border line of what was then Danbury +(now Bethel) and Redding. These valleys, open to the south, are warm, +sunny, well watered, and in that day were well wooded, and so defended +by dominating hills and crags, that a handful could hold them against an +army. They were but three days' march from the Highlands."</p> + +<p>Putnam himself superintended the laying out of the three camps, one for +each valley, where, in log huts similar to those erected at Valley Forge +the winter previous, the soldiers were quartered. Here the Army of the +North, consisting of two brigades of Continental troops, two of +Connecticut, one brigade from New Hampshire, with artillery and +cavalry, wore away the long and weary winter of 1778-'79. There were two +major-generals, including Putnam as commander-in-chief, and five +brigadiers, so it will be seen that the cantonment was one of great +importance.</p> + +<p>"Putnam pilgrims" should by all means refresh their patriotism by a +visit to the site of that winter camp in western Connecticut, for it has +been carefully preserved by the State, which has laid out a magnificent +park, erected a monument, restored some of the huts, and collected every +relic available of that noble Army of the North. The house which Old Put +occupied that winter, as headquarters, was on Umpawaug Hill and is still +pointed out, while at a little distance stands the one-time residence of +Joel Barlow, the Revolutionary poet, who, with Major Humphreys, Putnam's +aide-de-camp and later his biographer, enlivened the camp that winter. +From the summit of Gallows Hill, where General Putnam hung a spy, and +had a deserter shot to death, one may see the sites of the original +camps, the only visible remains of which are rude piles of stones, the +ruins of the "chimney-backs."</p> + +<p>In or near the camp preserved within the park, General Israel Putnam +once performed a deed which some have called his greatest act. "Greatest +if measured by results, and most typical of him. Who is not thrilled +with the poem of Sheridan's ride—turning a panic-stricken army, and +snatching victory from defeat; and here, near a century before, Putnam +rode after a deserting army and brought them back to victory ... a +victory over themselves."</p> + +<p>These remarks refer to the defection of the Connecticut troops, that +winter, who, half starved and half frozen in their narrow quarters, +"badly fed, badly clothed, and worse paid," resolved to march to +Hartford, lay their grievances before the General Assembly, and demand +redress at the point of the bayonet.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Word having been brought to General Putnam," says Major Humphreys, +who was present, "that the second brigade was under arms for this +purpose, he mounted his horse, galloped to the cantonment, and thus +addressed them: 'My brave lads, whither are you going? Do you +intend to desert your officers, and to invite the enemy to follow +you into the country? Whose cause have you been fighting and +suffering so long in—is it not your own? Have you no property, no +parents, wives or children? You have behaved like men so far—all +the world is full of your praise—and posterity will stand +astonished at your deeds; but not if you spoil all at last. Don't +you consider how much the country is distressed by the war, and +that your officers have not been any better paid than yourselves? +But we all expect better times, and that the country will do us +ample justice. Let us all stand together, then, and fight it out +like brave soldiers. Think what a shame it would be for Connecticut +men to run away from their officers!'"</p></div> + +<p>The gallant general's rude eloquence prevailed, the men saw their error, +were indeed ashamed of it; they listened with attention, presented arms, +as their beloved commander rode along the line to the din of the drums, +and about-faced for camp, which they did not desert again during the +winter. "Thus was a great and mighty battle fought and won. A battle +fought with the British far away. A battle fought with hunger, want, +cold, and banishment from home. A battle fought in the wilderness, where +most of the world's greatest battles are fought."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"> + <p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> + From an historical address by Prof. George A. Parker, of Hartford, Conn., + on the occasion of the visit of the famous Putnam Phalanx to Putnam Park and + Camp, June 17, 1903.</p> +</div> + +<p>This episode of the winter camp of 1778-'79 forms a fitting prelude to +another feat performed by Old Put, this time a physical one, which, +while not so worthy of renown, perhaps, as the great moral victory he +achieved over his men, has brought him greater fame. Both taken together +absolutely refute the insinuations of his enemies, to the effect that he +had suffered a decline of mental, moral, or physical force. Washington +wrote, commending him for his action in suppressing the mutiny; and as +for the feat now to be mentioned, it may be said to speak for itself. In +fact, it has been speaking, now, for a century and a quarter, since it +is that famous ride down the stone steps of Horseneck Height to which +reference is made.</p> + +<p>It took place one morning in the last week of February, toward the close +of the long winter's vigil at Redding. Putnam and his men were out as +soon as the sap in the trees was flowing, and long before, in fact, +keeping watch upon and trying to check the operations of the notorious +Tryon and his crew. It chanced that he met the British, fifteen hundred +strong, when on a visit to his outpost at Horseneck, now "Putnam's +Hill," in Greenwich, Conn. Having but one hundred and fifty men and two +old iron guns, which latter he had posted "on the high ground by the +meeting-house," he was obliged to retreat. Ordering his men to seek +shelter in a near swamp, Old Put waited till the British dragoons were +almost within sword's length of him, when he put spurs to his horse and +dashed over the brow of the hill, zigzagging down a rude flight of +seventy stone steps set into the precipitous declivity.</p> + +<p>The dragoons dared not follow after this intrepid horseman, but they +sent a flight of bullets, one of which passed through his hat. Arrived +on level ground he made no halt until he had reached Stamford, where he +collected a force of militia in short order, with which he turned upon +Tryon, compelling him to retreat, and chasing him to his lair, capturing +forty prisoners and retaking a large amount of plunder.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h4>THE DISABLED VETERAN</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#CONTENTS">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>General Putnam was sixty-one years old at the time of his famous exploit +at Horseneck, and apparently in the full possession of his powers; but, +as it eventuated, this was the beginning of his last campaign, which +actually opened with the removal of the soldiers from Redding to the +Hudson, about the last of May, where Putnam was appointed to the command +of the right wing of the army, with headquarters on the west bank of the +river. Previous to removal, he wrote the following interesting letter to +a friend, Colonel Wadsworth, of Hartford, which the author of this +memoir copied from the original in possession of the Connecticut +Historical Society:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="rightalign"><span class="smcap">Redding</span>, <i>ye 11 of May, 1779</i>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>: On my arrivol to this plas I could hear nothing +of my hard mony and so must conclud it is gon to the dogs we have +no nus hear from head Quarters not a lin senc I cam hear and what +my destination is to be this summer cant even so much as geuss but +shuld be much obbliged to you if you would be so good as to send me +by the teems the Lym juice you was so good as to offer me and a par +of Shoes I left under the chamber tabel. I begin to think the nues +from the sutherd is tru of ginrol Lintons having a batel and +comming of the leator it is said he killed 200 hundred and took 500 +hundred what makes me creudit it is becaus the acounts in the New +york papers peartly agree with ours</p> + +<p>my beast Respeacts to your Lady and sistors and Litel soon.</p> + +<p>I am dear sir with the greatest respects your most obed and humbel +Sarvant</p> + +<p class="rightalign"><span class="smcap">Israel Putnam</span>.</p></div> + +<p>Old Put's anxiety as to his destination having been allayed, he +established his military family at or near Buttermilk Falls, about two +miles below West Point, where, says Major Humphreys, "he was happy in +possessing the friendship of the officers of the line, and in living on +terms of hospitality with them. Indeed, there was no family in the army +that lived better than his own. The General, his second son, Major +Daniel Putnam, and the author of these memoirs, composed that family."</p> + +<p>Putnam was probably at this point when, on that dark and stormy night of +the fifteenth of July, "Mad Anthony" Wayne stormed and captured Stony +Point, on the river not far below. This remarkable exploit was not only +the most important event of the year, but, like the battle of Monmouth +of the year previous, almost the only action worthy of note. It had the +effect, probably, of causing the British to withdraw their troops from +along the Sound, where they were engaged in ravaging the seaboard places +of Connecticut; but the post was again taken by the enemy, who, like the +Americans, did not find it worth the while to hold it.</p> + +<p>The most important members of Putnam's military family, his son Daniel +and Major Humphreys, accompanied him home on leave of absence, in +November, whence, early in December, the General set out on his return +to the army, which was to winter at Morristown. Soon after leaving +Brooklyn, and while on the road to Hartford, he "felt an unusual torpor +slowly pervading his right hand and foot. This heaviness crept gradually +on until it had deprived him of the use of his limbs on that side, in a +considerable degree, before he reached the house of his friend Colonel +Wadsworth"—the gentleman to whom he had written the letter of the +eleventh of May previous.</p> + +<p>Having tried, though vainly, to shake off the terrible torpor and regain +the use of his limbs by exercise, the stricken soldier was at last +compelled to admit defeat and resign himself to the inevitable. He +returned home after a short tarry with his friend, and passed the +remainder of that winter at the farmhouse he had built in his younger +days, surrounded with loving care and affection by his children. At +first disposed to rebel against this stroke that had rendered him +useless while his country still stood in need of his services, +eventually he regained his cheerfulness and gave himself up to the +enjoyment of the home comforts of which for so many years he had been +deprived.</p> + +<p>The partial paralysis from which he suffered was premonitory of the +final stroke; but it was eleven years before it came and removed from +earth this stout-hearted man who had given his best years and his best +efforts to battling for his native land. There is no doubt that his +mighty struggles in the several wars—his daylight marches and nighttime +vigils; his tremendous exertions in emergencies like the fire at Fort +Edward, the running of the rapids at Fort Miller; long hours without +rest in the saddle, and in the trenches, with wet and frozen clothing +sometimes unchanged for days—all conduced toward the weakening of that +mighty frame prematurely stricken with paralysis.</p> + +<p>But he had regrets only for what he was prevented from doing; not for +what he had done. Having recovered somewhat, he entertained hopes—vain +hopes—of rejoining the army; but was finally convinced that his active +career was ended. Major Humphreys having visited him in May, 1780, by +his hand he sent a missive to Washington, informing him of his +condition, and ending with this pathetic postscript: "I am making a +great effort to use my hand to make the initials of my name for the +first time. "I.P."—Israel Putnam."</p> + +<p>Washington replied in July, congratulating him on his improved state of +health, and four years later, after peace was declared between Great +Britain and the United States, he wrote a long and cordial letter, which +the old General regarded as one of his most precious treasures. The +opening paragraph shows Washington's real and lasting estimate of his +former comrade in adversity, and is as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Your favor of the 20th of May I received with much pleasure. For I +can assure you that among the many worthy and meritorious officers +with whom I have had the happiness to be connected in service +throughout this war, and from whom I have had cheerful assistance +in the various and trying vicissitudes of a complicated contest, +the name of a Putnam is not forgotten; nor will it be but with +that stroke of time which shall obliterate from my mind the +remembrance of all those toils and fatigues through which we have +struggled for the preservation and establishment of the Rights, +Liberties, and Independence of our Country.</p></div> + +<p>It was not like Old Put to give up the fight so long as life held out, +and by the exercise of his iron will he kept up and about for years. +Within less than a twelvemonth from having been disqualified from +service on account of his affliction, he paid a visit to his former +command on the lower Hudson, where one of his old friends, General +Greene, complains, in a letter, that he is "talking as usual, and +telling his old stories."</p> + +<p>It can not be denied that he was somewhat loquacious, especially in his +later years, and those "old stories" were not alone his solace, but the +delight of numerous audiences of admiring friends and neighbors. At +Major Humphreys's request he retold them, two or three years before he +died (1788) and they form the basis of his first biographical memoir. +But they were doubtless very stale to those of his hearers who had +listened to them again and again, as plainly intimated by General +Greene.</p> + +<p>As they were mainly about himself and his exploits, and as many of them +were of events that happened in the distant past, it is not unlikely +that some of them were slightly exaggerated, to say the least. Some +others told of Old Put and his doings are perhaps not entitled to +credence. Among these latter may be the tales of his dueling days, as, +for instance, the story of his challenge by an English officer on +parole, who, when he came to the place appointed, found Old Put seated +near what appeared to be a keg of powder, serenely smoking his pipe. As +the officer reached the rendezvous, Putnam lighted a slow-match from his +pipe and thrust it into a hole bored in the head of the keg, upon which +were scattered a few grains of gunpowder. Viewing these sinister +preparations for the "duel," the Englishman concluded that the best +thing he could do was to run away, which he did very promptly. "O ho!" +shouted Putnam after him, taking his pipe from his mouth. "You are just +about as brave a man as I thought, to run away from a keg of onions! Ha, +ha, ha!"</p> + +<p>No date is given to this occurrence, nor to another account of the +"duel" he didn't fight with a brother officer whom he drove from the +field at the muzzle of a loaded musket. In fact, the "field of honor" +was not much frequented by Putnam, who preferred the field of battle, +where he always gave a good account of himself.</p> + +<p>During his declining years he was cheered by the companionship of his +children, most of whom were married and settled near him, and being in +the enjoyment of a competence, he was vastly better off than the +majority of the soldiers who had fought with and under him during the +Revolution, for many of them were impoverished.</p> + +<p>He preserved his strong will-power and great physical strength to the +end of his days, notwithstanding the ravages of disease, and in 1786, +four years before he died, performed a journey to his birthplace in +Danvers, riding all the way on horseback, though with frequent stops by +the way not only for rest, but on account of the people who flocked out +to see him and desired to entertain the famous fighter in so many wars.</p> + +<p>This was the last of his ventures afield, and henceforth he confined his +excursions to visiting the homes of his sons and daughters, and to trips +around his farm, though on Sundays and "prayer-meeting nights" he would +always be found in the meeting-house at the Green, where he was a +regular attendant. It is related that at one of the evening meetings one +of his fellow worshipers aroused him, by expressing his own conviction +that any person who had ever used profane language could hardly be +considered a model Christian. Old Put at once accepted the reproof as +intended, for it was well known that in moments of excitement, when +carried away by the furore of battle, he had often used words which he +would not care to review in print. He detested a coward, and when he met +one in retreat he did not hesitate to employ strong language in +expressing his opinion. At Horseneck, declared the only witness of his +reckless ride down the hill, "Old Put was cursing the British terribly." +There was no evading his friend's pointed remarks, so the honest old man +rose from his seat and "confessed the failing which he had finally +overcome"; but he added, with a twinkle in his eye, "it was enough to +make an angel swear at Bunker Hill to see the rascals run away from the +British!"<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<div class="footnote"> + <p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> + Livingston's Life of Israel Putnam. An exhaustive work, by a conscientious + and painstaking author.</p> +</div> + +<p>In this respect he was no worse than his former Commander-in-Chief, +though he may have been oftener culpable, being so much more excitable +than the phlegmatic Washington.</p> + +<p>The final summons came on Saturday, the twenty-ninth of May, 1790, when, +in a lower room of the house he had built nearly fifty years before, the +battle-scarred warrior, life's fitful fever ended, passed peacefully +away to his rest.</p> + +<p>Israel Putnam was well prepared to die, declared his pastor in his +funeral sermon, and perfectly resigned to the will of God.</p> + +<p>"He had been for years," says Major Humphreys, "in patient yet fearless +expectation of the approach of the King of Terrors, whom he had full +often faced on the field of blood."</p> + +<p>On the first day of June the earthly remains of Israel Putnam, attended +by a distinguished company of former comrades and sorrowing friends, +were taken to the Brooklyn burying-ground, and placed in a brick tomb.</p> + +<p>Upon the slab of the tomb was carved the lengthy epitaph, printed on the +next page, as composed by Dr. Timothy Dwight, Putnam's former friend and +chaplain in the army, who subsequently became President of Yale College.</p> + +<p class="center"> +<a id="image5" name="image5"></a> +<img src="images/image5.png" alt="Statue to General Putnam at Brooklyn, Connecticut."/> +</p> + +<h5>Statue to General Putnam at Brooklyn, Connecticut.</h5> + + + +<p class="center"> +To the memory<br /> +of<br /> +Israel Putnam, Esquire,<br /> +Senior Major-General in the Armies<br /> +of<br /> +The United States of America<br /> +Who<br /> +Was born at Salem<br /> +In the Province of Massachusetts<br /> +On the seventh day of January<br /> +AD. 1718,<br /> +And died<br /> +On the twenty-ninth day of May<br /> +AD. 1790.<br /> +<br /> +PASSENGER<br /> +If thou art a Soldier<br /> +Drop a Tear over the dust of a Hero<br /> +Who<br /> +Ever attentive<br /> +To the lives and happiness of his Men<br /> +Dared to lead<br /> +Where any Dared to follow;<br /> +If a Patriot,<br /> +Remember the distinguished and gallant services<br /> +Rendered thy Country<br /> +By the Patriot who sleeps beneath this Monument;<br /> +If thou art Honest, generous & worthy<br /> +Render a cheerful tribute of respect<br /> +To a Man<br /> +Whose generosity was singular<br /> +Whose honesty was proverbial<br /> +Who<br /> +Raised himself to universal esteem<br /> +And offices of Eminent distinction<br /> +By personal worth<br /> +And a<br /> +Usefull life.<br /> +</p> + +<p>With the passing of the years, Putnam's tomb in the pleasant little +cemetery in Brooklyn became defaced through the ravages of time and +heartless relic hunters, so the State resolved to erect a more enduring +monument to "Connecticut's hero of the Revolution." This monument was +dedicated June 14th, 1888, nearly a century after the death of the one +it is intended to commemorate, and is in the shape of a beautiful bronze +statue, representing Putnam on his war-horse, beneath the pedestal +supporting which, embedded in the foundation, is a sarcophagus +containing his ashes. It stands near the old church which Putnam helped +to build, and not far distant from the field in which he was plowing +when the call came from Lexington and Concord. Dr. Dwight's original +epitaph is inscribed on the tablets, and a wolf's head in bronze +ornaments the pedestal on each side.</p> + +<p>Little now remains to be added, except to call attention to Putnam's +character, eulogies upon which have been delivered by the ablest men of +his time and of the generations after him. This sterling character has +shone resplendent in his deeds, which we have noted; and we may almost +say of him, as of Washington, his great commander, "Whatever good may +at any time be said, it can never be an exaggeration!"</p> + +<p>General Putnam, remarked his first biographer, "is universally +acknowledged to have been as brave and honest a man as ever America +produced.... He seems to have been formed on purpose for the age in +which he lived. His native courage, unshaken integrity, and established +reputation as a soldier, were necessary in the early stages of our +opposition to Great Britain, and gave unbounded confidence to our troops +in their first conflicts on the field of battle."</p> + +<p>Over his open grave, on that day in June so long ago, were pronounced +the following words, as true now as yesterday, as they will be +henceforth, forever: "Born a hero, whom nature taught and cherished in +the lap of innumerable toils and dangers, he was terrible in battle.... +But from the amiableness of his heart, when carnage ceased, his humanity +spread over the field like the refreshing zephyrs of a summer's evening. +... He pitied littleness, loved goodness, admired greatness, and ever +aspired to its glorious summit."</p> + +<p>The name of Putnam, as Washington declared, is not forgotten—nor will +be, until time shall be no more.</p> + +<p class="poem"> +"He dared to lead<br /> +Where any dared to follow. In their need<br /> +Men looked to him.<br /> +A tower of strength was Israel Putnam's name,<br /> +A rally-word for patriot acclaim;<br /> +It meant resolve, and hope, and bravery,<br /> +And steady cheerfulness and constancy.<br /> +And if, in years to come, men should forget<br /> +That only freedom makes a nation great;<br /> +If men grow less as wealth accumulates,<br /> +Till gold becomes the life-blood of our States;<br /> +Should all these heavy ills weigh down our heart,<br /> +We'll turn to him who acted well his part<br /> +In those old days, draw lessons from his fame,<br /> +And hope and strength from Israel Putnam's name."<br /> +</p> + +<p>THE END.</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's "Old Put" The Patriot, by Frederick A. 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Ober + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: "Old Put" The Patriot + +Author: Frederick A. Ober + +Release Date: November 11, 2005 [EBook #17049] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "OLD PUT" THE PATRIOT *** + + + + +Produced by Graeme Mackreth, Michael Ciesielski and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +"OLD PUT" + +THE PATRIOT + +BY + +FREDERICK A. OBER + +AUTHOR OF CRUSOE'S ISLAND, THE STORIED WEST INDIES, PUERTO RICO AND ITS +RESOURCES, ETC. + +_ILLUSTRATED_ + + + + +NEW YORK +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + + +1904 + +Copyright, 1904, by +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + +_Published, September, 1904_ + + + + +CONTENTS +CHAPTER PAGE + + I.--Birthplace and Youth 1 + + II.--"Old Wolf Putnam" 11 + + III.--First Taste of War 25 + + IV.--A Partizan Fighter 39 + + V.--The Adventurous Soldier 53 + + VI.--Fighting on the Frontier 65 + + VII.--Strategy and Woodcraft 79 + + VIII.--A Prisoner and in Peril 92 + + IX.--A Campaign in Cuba 106 + + X.--Tavern-Keeper and Oracle 120 + + XI.--On the Side of His Country 134 + + XII.--At the Battle of Bunker Hill 150 + + XIII.--Holding the Enemy at Bay 171 + + XIV.--In Command at New York 184 + + XV.--Washington's Chief Reliance 198 + + XVI.--Defending the Hudson Highlands 212 + + XVII.--Last Years in the Service 226 + +XVIII.--The Disabled Veteran 243 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + FACING + PAGE + +"Old Put" escaping from the British at Horseneck _Frontispiece_ + +The Wolf Den at Pomfret, Connecticut 18 + +Fort near Havana where the Colonials landed 112 + +Israel Putnam 188 + _From a painting by Trumbull._ + +Statue to General Putnam at Brooklyn, Connecticut 254 + + + + +"OLD PUT," THE PATRIOT + + + + +CHAPTER I + +BIRTHPLACE AND YOUTH + + +This is the life story of one who was born on a farm, and died on a +farm, yet who achieved a world-wide fame through his military exploits. +It has been told many times, it will be told for centuries yet to come; +for the world loves a man of high emprise, and such was Israel Putnam, +the hero of this story. + +He was born January 7, 1718, in Danvers, then known as Salem Village, +Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England. His father's Christian +name was Joseph, his mother's Elizabeth, and Israel (as he was called at +baptism, after his maternal grandfather, Israel Porter) was the +great-grandson of his first American ancestor, John Putnam, who had +come from England, where the original name of the family was Puttenham. +He had settled at Salem more than eighty years before, and his son, +Thomas, built, in 1648, the house in which Israel was born in 1718. On +the death of Thomas it had become the property of Joseph, who first +occupied it in 1690, after his marriage to Elizabeth Porter. + +Here the young couple passed through the perilous "witchcraft times," +during the worst period of which, in 1692 (it is a tradition in the +family), Joseph Putnam kept a loaded musket at his bedside every night +and his swiftest horse saddled in the stable, ready for a fight or a +flight in case the witch-hunters should come to carry him off to jail. +They had accused his sister, who saved her life only by fleeing to the +wilderness and remaining in hiding until the insane furor was over. He +and his wife survived that gloomy period, and in the ancestral homestead +lived happily for more than thirty years, raising a "baker's dozen" of +children, of whom Israel was the eleventh. + +On both the maternal and paternal side Israel Putnam was descended from +a line of sturdy, prosperous farmers. The grandfather whose name he bore +had married a daughter of William Hathorne, who came from England and +settled in Salem about the year 1630, and who was an ancestor of the +famous romancist Nathaniel Hawthorne. John Hathorne, son of William, was +a military man and a magistrate. He presided at the infamous witchcraft +trials in Salem, and, like the near relatives of Joseph Putnam, looked +with severe disfavor upon any one who showed sympathy for the persecuted +witches. + +Joseph Putnam died in 1723, leaving his widow with eleven surviving +children, nine older than Israel, who was then but five years of age, +and one, little Mehitable, only three. Several of the older children +were already married, and when, in 1727, Mrs. Putnam took a second +husband, one Captain Thomas Perley, of Boxford, only the younger members +of her family went with her to live in the new home. There Israel +resided until he was about eighteen, and Boxford being only a few miles +distant from his birthplace, in the same county (Essex), he made +frequent visits to the old farm, to which he finally returned as part +owner before he attained his majority. + +Numerous anecdotes are still related of him in Danvers, all tending to +illustrate the early development of those high qualities for which in +after-life he became conspicuous. Courage, enterprise, activity, and +perseverance, says his original biographer, were the first +characteristics of his mind. His disposition was frank and generous, as +his mind was fearless and independent. From his earliest years he +craved, and was always in pursuit of, some daring adventure, yet he was +the most sober and apparently contented youth in the village, loving +hard work, even seeking to perform a man's task at daily labor, while +yet a mere stripling. Brought up mainly on the farm, spending his days +in severe labor and his nights in sweet slumber, he became the peer of +all his companions in athletic feats involving strength and skill. He +could "pitch the bar," run, leap, wrestle with the best of them, and +more than held his own with the most doughty champion. But he never +boasted of his strength, nor sought occasions to display his skill, +being content with their mere possession. + +His sense of fairness and self-respect, however, would not allow him to +become the butt of other people's ridicule, and when the need arose for +putting forth his energies in a good cause, he held nothing in reserve. +Such an occasion occurred the first time he paid a visit to Boston, the +metropolis of his State. He was roaming about in rustic fashion, when he +attracted the attention of a youth twice his size, who began to "make +fun" of him. Young Putnam bore the insult as long as he could, then he +"challenged, engaged, and vanquished his unmannerly antagonist, to the +great diversion of a crowd of spectators." + +There were very few diversions for the youth of Putnam's time, so long +ago; but the boys, like those of modern times, indulged in +bird's-nesting now and then. Climbing to a tree top one day, in his +endeavor to secure a nest, "Young Put" had a fall, owing to a branch +breaking in his hands. He was caught by a lower limb, however, and there +he hung, suspended by his clothes betwixt heaven and earth. His cries +attracted some companions, one of whom he commanded (as he had a gun) to +fire a bullet at the limb and try to break it. This the boy did, after +much coaxing on Putnam's part, and was so successful that his friend +came tumbling to the ground. He was bruised and lamed, but no bones were +broken; and the very next day the intrepid boy climbed up to the nest +again, and this time secured it. That was the "way with 'Old Put,'" the +man who in later years succeeded "Young Put" the youth. His motto was: +"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." + +He always tried, and with his utmost endeavor, to accomplish the task +that faced him at the time. What is more, he generally succeeded; and +that is the chief reason why he is considered worthy a biography. There +are few men, perhaps, who did so many things worthy of emulation, and so +few unworthy. Dangerously near the latter, however, was one act of his +youth, when he caught a vicious bull in a pasture, and, having mounted +astride the animal's back, with spurs on his heels, rode the furious +creature around the field until it finally fell from exhaustion, after +seeking refuge in a swamp. + +Young Putnam's education, as may have been inferred already, was +obtained mostly in the woods and open fields. While he possessed great +mental endowments, as afterward displayed in his career, yet his early +education was grossly neglected, in the school and college sense. Having +mastered the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic, he was +considered well equipped for his destined calling, which was to be that +of a farmer. Throughout his whole life he suffered from this neglect of +early instruction. His letters, particularly, though they always +"displayed the goodness of his heart, and frequently the strength of his +native genius, with a certain laconic mode of expression, and an +unaffected epigrammatic turn," were "fearfully and wonderfully made," +the despair of his correspondents and the ridicule of his enemies. + +It is doubtful if he had any greater ambition than to become a good +farmer, as good as was his father before him, and like him, attain to a +competency. He was already fairly well to do the year he became of age, +for his father, after providing generously for the other children, had +bequeathed to him and his brother David the homestead, house and farm +attached. His mother was to have a home there so long as she desired; +but on her second marriage she relinquished her claim upon the +homestead, and the two brothers shared it between them. Israel's +portion was set off in 1738, and the next year he built a home in a +remote corner of the farm, but within sight of the house and room in +which he was born. For, after the fashion of those primitive times, when +early matrimony was encouraged, young Israel had been "courting" a +lovely girl, the daughter of a neighbor, who lived about four miles +distant from the home farm, near the boundary-line between Salem and +Lynn. Hannah Pope was her name, and she also was descended from one of +the first families of Salem Village. Being a sensible girl, she accepted +Israel Putnam as soon as he proposed, and the 19th of July, 1739, they +were married, when he was twenty-one years of age and she only eighteen. +Taking his young wife to the little house he had built with his own +hands on the farm, there Israel Putnam and Hannah, his wife, began their +married life. The next year a son was born to them, the first of ten +children who blessed their union, and he was called Israel. + +The house in which the first Israel Putnam was born, an old colonial, +gambrel-roofed structure, still stands where it was erected by his +grandfather in 1648, near the foot of Hathorne Hill, in Danvers, on the +turn-pike road half-way between Boston and Newburyport. It contains many +relics of Putnam's time, but the most interesting portion of the house +itself is the little back chamber, with its one window looking out over +the farmyard, where the infant Israel first saw the light. + +Of the house which he himself built, on a distant knoll of the home +farm, nothing now remains but the cellar and foundation stones, near +which is the well he dug, now choked with rubbish and overgrown with +brambles. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +"OLD WOLF PUTNAM" + + +Judging from the stability of his position in Danvers, it would seem +that young Farmer Putnam was established for life. He had land enough to +satisfy any ordinary cultivator of that period, and a comfortable house +in which dwelt with him wife and child, to cheer him by their presence. +But the future patriot felt within him an ardent thirst for adventure. +He longed for a wider field, and though to all appearances firmly rooted +in the soil of Salem Village, he was already thinking of transplanting +himself and family into that of another region. Hardly, in fact, had he +settled in the home he had made than he began preparations for removal +to what was then considered a comparatively wild section of New England. + +In the old homestead at Danvers is still preserved the quit-claim deed +signed by Israel Putnam, "of Salem in the County of Essex and Province +of Massachusetts Bay in New England, husbandman," which records the +transfer by him to his brother David of his share in the ancestral house +and acres. + +In the local history of the town of Brooklyn, Conn., occurs this +passage: "In the year 1703, Richard Ames purchased 3,000 acres of land +lying in the south part of Pomfret, where the village of Brooklyn now +stands, which he divided into five lots and deeded to his sons. Directly +north of this was situated a tract of land owned by Mr. John Blackwell, +comprising 5,750 acres, which was willed to his son John, and afterward +sold to Governor Belcher of Massachusetts, who divided it into farms and +sold them to different individuals, among whom was General Israel +Putnam. This tract went by the name of 'Mortlake.' A beautiful stream +which rises in the western part of the tract, and received its name from +the former proprietor, Blackwell, empties into the Quinnebaug." + +These several transactions in real estate, taken together, will +sufficiently explain to the reader, perhaps, the subsequent movements of +Farmer Putnam. After disposing of property to his brother David, and +receiving therefor the goodly sum of L1,900, Israel Putnam joined with +his brother-in-law, Joseph Pope, in the purchase of more than five +hundred acres of land from Governor Belcher, for which they agreed to +pay at the rate of five pounds per acre. They paid for it partly in +"bills of credit on the Province of Massachusetts," and gave a mortgage +for the remainder. And so fertile was this wild land, and so thrifty was +the young pioneer farmer Israel Putnam, that within little more than two +years he had liquidated the mortgage and received a quit-claim deed from +the Governor, as well as purchased his brother-in-law's portion of the +tract they had bought together. + +The two pioneers may have made a special trip to the Connecticut tract +before deciding to purchase; for it was not in the nature of them to +"buy a pig in a poke," as it were. And such a journey of nearly a +hundred miles, mainly through a wilderness, was no child's task in those +days. In after-years General Israel Putnam made many a longer journey, +through wilds swarming with hostile Indians, too, and thought nothing of +it; but this was the first of any account that he took very far away +from home. + +What the young wife thought when the enthusiastic adventurer came back +with his story was never recorded. Neither, for that matter, was the +tale he told her, as well as his friends and neighbors, many of whom, +doubtless, would fain have dissuaded him from making what they viewed as +a rash and risky move. Details of Putnam's life at this period of his +career are lacking; but there stand the records, with their statement of +facts. They can not be gainsaid. The very fact that he, a prosperous +farmer, even then well off as to this world's goods, should make the +adventure--the first of his family in America to abandon the home acres +and seek others in the wilderness--is sufficient to attest his energy +and ambition. + +Sometime in the latter part of the year 1740 the young husband of +twenty-two, with a wife under twenty and a babe only a few months old, +set out to make his fortune in the rough country adjacent to his native +State. Many of his race and family have since become pioneers in various +parts of the world, and this country owes them much for blazing out the +way in which others might follow; but young Israel Putnam was the first +of them--the pioneer of pioneers, in the great American movement. + +A second time he set himself to the building of a house and the +establishing of a home, and as he found much of the material ready at +hand--stone for foundations and timber for the building--it was not long +before the farmer and his family had another roof-tree of their own +above their heads. This structure has gone the way of the first, and +long since disappeared, traces of the cellar and foundations only being +visible; but the large dwelling-house which he later built, and in which +he died, still stands at a little distance away. After clearing a +portion of the land, and working the stones with which it was +plentifully bestrewed into dividing walls, he planted an apple-orchard, +sowed grain of various sorts, and increased as rapidly as possible his +flocks and herds of live stock. His chief, perhaps his only, assistant +in these earlier labors was a negro servant, who figures, though not +greatly to his credit, in the narration of an adventure in which his +master took part, about two years after his arrival in Connecticut. +This, of course, is that famous encounter with the wolf, which has since +become part and parcel not only of local tradition, but of American +history. As many generations have been familiar with this story as +related in story-books and primers, particularly during the early part +of the nineteenth century, it will now be told in the language of a +contemporary, Colonel David Humphrey, who was an aide-de-camp to +General Putnam, and also to General Washington, during the Revolutionary +War, and who wrote the first and best biography of our hero, which was +published in his lifetime. "The first years on a new farm are not exempt +from disasters and disappointments, which can only be remedied by +stubborn and patient industry. Our farmer, sufficiently occupied in +building an house and barn, felling woods, making fences, sowing grain, +planting orchards, and taking care of his stock, had to encounter in +turn the calamities occasioned by drought in summer, blast in harvest, +loss of cattle in winter, and the desolation of his sheepfold by wolves. +In one night he had seventy fine sheep and goats killed, besides many +lambs and kids wounded. This havoc was committed by a she-wolf, which, +with her annual whelps, had for several years infested the vicinity. The +young were commonly destroyed by the vigilance of the hunters, but the +old one was too sagacious to come within reach of gunshot. Upon being +closely pursued she would generally fly to the western woods, and return +the next winter with another litter of whelps. This wolf at length +became such an intolerable nuisance that Farmer Putnam entered into a +combination with five of his neighbors to hunt alternately until they +could destroy her. Two by rotation were to be constantly in pursuit. It +was known that, having lost the toes from one foot by a steel trap, she +made one track shorter than the other, and by this vestige the pursuers, +in a light snow, recognized and followed the trail of this pernicious +animal. Having followed her to the Connecticut River and found she had +turned back toward Pomfret, they immediately returned, and by ten +o'clock the next morning their bloodhounds had driven her into a den, +about three miles distant from the house of Mr. Putnam. The people soon +collected, with dogs, guns, straw, fire, and sulphur, to attack the +common enemy, and made several unsuccessful efforts to force her from +the den. + +[Illustration: The Wolf Den at Pomfret, Connecticut.] + +"Wearied with the fruitless attempts (which had brought the time to +ten o'clock at night), Mr. Putnam tried once more to make his dog enter, +but in vain. Then he proposed to his negro man to go down into the +cavern and shoot the wolf; but he declined the hazardous service. Then +it was that the master resolved himself to destroy the ferocious beast, +lest she should escape through some unknown fissure of the rock. His +neighbors strongly remonstrated against the perilous enterprise; but he, +knowing that wild animals were intimidated by fire, and having provided +several strips of birch-bark, the only combustible material he could +obtain that would afford light in this deep and darksome cave, prepared +for his descent. Having accordingly divested himself of his coat and +waistcoat, and having a long rope fastened about his legs, by which he +might be pulled back at a concerted signal, he entered head foremost, +with the blazing torch in his hand. The aperture of the den, on the east +side of a very high ledge of rocks, is about two feet square; from +thence it descends obliquely fifteen feet, then running horizontally +about ten more, it ascends gradually sixteen feet to its termination. +The sides of this subterraneous cavity are composed of smooth and solid +rocks, as also are the top and bottom, and the entrance in winter, being +covered with ice, is exceedingly slippery. It is in no place high enough +for a man to raise himself upright, nor in any part more than three feet +in width. + +"Having groped his passage to the horizontal part of the den, he found +it dark and silent as the house of death. He, cautiously proceeding +onward, came to the ascent, which he slowly mounted on his hands and +knees until he discovered the glaring eyeballs of the wolf, who was +crouching at the extremity of the cavern. Startled by the sight of fire, +she gnashed her teeth and gave a sullen growl. Having made the necessary +discovery (that the wolf was in the den), Putnam kicked at the rope, as +a signal for pulling him out. The people at the mouth of the den, who +had listened with painful anxiety, hearing the growling of the wolf, and +supposing their friend to be in the most imminent danger, drew him forth +with such celerity that his shirt was stripped over his head and his +skin severely lacerated. + +"After adjusting his clothes, and loading his gun with nine buckshot, +holding a torch in one hand and the musket in the other, he descended +the second time. He drew nearer than before, and the wolf, assuming a +still more fierce and terrible appearance, growling, rolling her eyes, +snapping her teeth, and dropping her head between her legs, was +evidently on the point of springing at him. At this critical instant he +leveled his gun and fired at her head. Stunned with the shock and +suffocated with the smoke, he immediately found himself drawn out of the +cave. But, having refreshed himself, and permitted the smoke to +dissipate, he went down the third time. Once more he came within sight +of the wolf, who appearing very passive, he applied the torch to her +nose, and perceiving her dead, he took hold of her ears, and then +kicking the rope (still tied round his legs), the people above, with no +small exultation, dragged them both out together." + +This is the story, told by one who knew Putnam intimately and who had it +from his own lips, while neighbors were still living who were "in at the +death" and could have refuted any misstatement or exaggeration. The +deed, in truth, was characteristic of the dauntless young farmer, whose +courage and heroic character (as his eulogist justly remarks) "were ever +attended by a serenity of soul, a clearness of conception, a degree of +self-possession, and a superiority to all vicissitudes of fortune, +entirely distinct from anything that can be produced by a ferment of the +blood and flutter of spirits, which not unfrequently precipitate men to +action when stimulated by intoxication or some other transient +exhilaration." + +That was "Wolf Put," or "Old Wolf Putnam," as he came to be called +thenceforth. But at no time in his active and wonderful career was he +an old man when he performed his deeds of valor. The wolf-hunt, in fact, +was mainly a young men's and boys' affair, Putnam himself being only +twenty-four at the time, and the wolf having been traced to her lair by +young John Sharp, a boy of seventeen. + +The slayer of the old she-wolf was the hero of the time; but he bore his +laurels modestly, though exaggerated accounts of the affair were +published all over the colonies, and even in England, where they were +exploited in the public prints. By rising to the occasion, and doing the +right thing at the right time, he acquired a reputation for valor and +firmness that stood him in good stead in those coming conflicts, the +Seven Years' War and the Revolution. + +Unknown to him, however, and unsuspected, were the heights to which he +subsequently rose. He devoted himself to his farm, becoming the best +agriculturist in the region in which he lived, and also performed the +duties of a good citizen, never shrinking from his share of civic +burdens. The youth of to-day could not do better than emulate the +example of this illustrious American; and they might do worse than take +part in the patriotic pilgrimages annually made to the scenes of his +early life. The citizens of his adopted State have religiously preserved +intact the second house he built in Brooklyn, then Pomfret; and the +she-wolf's den may still be seen, in the side of a wooded hill. The +entrance-way is at present too low and narrow to admit the passage of a +boy, much less of a full-grown man; but that is said to have been caused +by the falling in of the rocks, in the lapse of time since Putnam's day. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +FIRST TASTE OF WAR + + +Israel Putnam's adventure with the wolf gave him an unsought, and in +some respects undesirable, notoriety; but that he did not court this +notoriety is shown by the fact that for the next twelve or thirteen +years he lived quietly on his farm, attending to his duties as a +cultivator of the soil and a simple citizen. During these years he +acquired an enviable reputation as one of the best farmers in all the +region of which Pomfret was the center, and had it not been for the +lamentable struggle between the French and the English for supremacy in +North America, he might have continued as the humble and prosperous +citizen-cultivator to the end of his days. The breaking out of the +prolonged strife which is known in history as the French and Indian +War, found Putnam in possession of what in those days was considered a +competency. Having received a good start from the paternal inheritance, +he had not hidden his talents in a napkin, but had put them out to good +purpose. He erected a large and substantial dwelling about a fourth of a +mile distant from the first he had built in Pomfret, and here he lived +most happily, with his good wife Hannah, surrounded by a growing family +of healthy children. + +In the year 1755, when active operations began in this war between +England and France, fought out on the soil of America, Israel Putnam was +thirty-seven years old and in the prime of life. There was no immediate +necessity for him to volunteer in defense of the frontier, where the +hostile French were gathering, for it was far distant from his home, the +forests around which were threatened by no roaming savages with +tomahawks and muskets. But his patriotic instincts were aroused by the +reports of massacres committed in other regions; he knew the tide must +be met before it became irresistible and breasted in the North. Four +great expeditions were planned by the English to frustrate the schemes +of the enemy: against Fort Niagara, Crown Point on Lake Champlain, Fort +Duquesne, and against the French in Nova Scotia. + +It was to take part in the expedition with Crown Point as its objective +that Israel Putnam abandoned his farm, early in the summer of 1755, just +when it needed him most, and started on his second long journey away +from home. He reached the rendezvous at Albany, after a toilsome march +through the forests that intervened between the Connecticut and the +Hudson, and there found three thousand other "Provincials" gathered for +the defense of the colonies. Most of them were sons of the soil, like +Putnam, and like him were yet to receive their baptism of fire; but they +were sturdy and valiant, though appearing rude and uncouth in the eyes +of the British veterans. + +The commander-in-chief of the British Colonial forces in North America +at the beginning of the war was Governor William Shirley of +Massachusetts, and the commander of the Crown Point expedition was +General William Johnson, the famous and eccentric "sachem" of the +Mohawks. Having lived for many years with or near the Indians, this +Englishman had acquired a great influence over them, especially over the +Mohawks, of whose tribe he had been elected an honorary sachem. He had +learned their language, had even adopted their peculiar garb, and at +times adorned his face with war-paint and performed with his savage +friends the furious war-dance. His stanch ally was the ever faithful +chief of the Mohawks, the valiant Hendrick, who rendered invaluable +service to the English and was killed while battling for their cause. + +As Putnam, the stalwart provincial soldier, was merely a private in the +ranks when he made the acquaintance of the famous general and the Mohawk +chief, he may not have attracted their attention; though he later won +encomiums from the commander. He could not but have admired the +General's sagacity in retaining the Mohawks as allies of the English +Colonials, when most of the Indian tribes had arrayed themselves on the +side of the French. At the time Johnson was assembling his army on the +Hudson, in that very month of July, 1755, General Braddock, commander of +the Duquesne expedition, met with most disastrous defeat, and almost his +last words were regrets that he had not taken the advice of his +aide-de-camp, a "young Virginian colonel named Washington," who had +earnestly besought him to abandon the British tactics and adopt the +American system of "bush-fighting." + +"We shall better know how to deal with them another time," the defeated +Braddock had said to Washington, just before he died. But General +Johnson and the Provincial officers already knew how to deal with their +wily foes. They had taken leaves from the unwritten book of Indian +tactics; their men fought from behind trees and logs, as the savages +fought, and in this manner turned the tables upon the French commanders. + +"It was owing to the pride and ignorance of that great general that came +from England," said an Indian chieftain, alluding to the terrible defeat +of Braddock. "He looked upon the Indians as dogs, and would never take +their advice, and that is the reason many of our warriors left him. We +are ready again to take up the hatchet with you against the French; but +let us unite our strength. You are numerous, and all the English +governors along your seashore can raise men enough. But don't let those +that come from over the great seas be concerned any more. They are unfit +to fight in the woods. Let us go by ourselves--we that came out of this +ground." + +Colonel Washington knew of what the Indians were capable, for young as +he was then, he had been through a dreadful experience and had received +valuable lessons in their mode of warfare. "It is in their power," he +declared, "to be of infinite use to us; and without the Indians we +shall never be able to cope with these cruel foes of our country." + +There is no doubt that the Indians turned the tide of the first battle +in which Israel Putnam took part--that of Lake George, on the eighth of +September, 1755. Having made all his preparations at Albany, General +Johnson took up his march for Crown Point by way of the "carrying-place" +(subsequently known as Fort Edward) and Lake George. After leaving some +of his troops to complete the fort he had begun at the "carrying-place," +the commander proceeded to the south end of Lake George, where he made +camp. He had between five and six thousand New York and New England +troops and his loyal Mohawks. Not long had he been in camp before his +Indian scouts brought him intelligence of an approaching force of French +and Indians. + +About the time that General Johnson had begun his march northwardly, +Baron Dieskau, with a force of 3,000 French troops, 800 Canadians and +700 Indians, had started southwardly from Montreal, also for Crown Point +on Lake Champlain. He had intended to proceed against Oswego; but +learning of the contemplated English expedition for the reduction of +Crown Point, he changed the direction of his march. + +Had he waited for the English general to carry out his original +intention, the result might have been more favorable to the French, for +the former would then have been the attacking party and have borne the +brunt of the battle. As it was, the French commander nearly succeeded in +drawing the thousand men that Johnson had sent out to meet him into an +ambuscade, and among the slain was brave Colonel Williams, commander of +the Provincials in this engagement, and gallant Chief Hendrick, who had +accompanied him with two hundred Mohawks. + +The Provincials fought fiercely, but vainly, for they were outnumbered, +and at first outgeneraled. They fell back upon the main body, the rear +of which was protected by the lake, the flanks by densely-wooded +swamps, and the front by a breastwork of trees, behind which were +mounted several cannon. + +On came the enemy, in pursuit of the retreating Provincials, who sought +shelter behind the rude breastworks as rapidly as possible. They had +lost heavily, they had been partially ambuscaded, some of their best +officers were killed and some wounded; but they had no thought of +surrender. Recovering from the first shock of surprise, they quickly +adopted the Indian fashion of fighting from behind the trees and rocks, +thus exposing themselves very little and inflicting upon the enemy the +greatest possible punishment by their accurate marksmanship. + +The gallant Dieskau was unable to control his Canadian and Indian +allies, but advanced his French regulars against the breastworks without +flinching. There, however, he committed the same mistake that had caused +Braddock's bloody defeat, by ordering his men to advance in a body and +fire by platoons. And again, though the Canadians and Indians fought +bravely, after their manner, posted behind the trees, they here +encountered what they feared so much, the fire of artillery. + +It had been Dieskau's intention to march upon Fort Edward; but hearing +that there were cannon mounted there, his allies had refused to go. So +he changed his course and set upon Johnson at Lake George. Here, +however, his forces, victoriously advancing after their successes of the +morning, were met by the destructive fire of the few cannon which had +been hastily mounted, and which mowed down the regulars and struck such +terror into the savage allies that the latter fled in a panic, their +whoops of triumph changed to yells of fear. + +It was then the turn of the Provincials to take the offensive, which +they did promptly, ably seconded by the Mohawks. They pursued the French +a long distance through the woods, and only halted when spent from +fatigue. + +The French themselves had paused for rest on the very ground where the +battle of the morning had been fought, and here, reenforced by soldiers +sent by General Lyman from Fort Edward, the Americans set upon them a +second time and finally vanquished them completely. They covered the +ground with the slain and took many prisoners, among them being the +French commander, who was found leaning against a stump, having been +wounded in the second fight. He was alone, save for a companion, who was +shot down by his side. Seeing an American soldier approach, the Baron +felt for his watch, hoping probably to secure good treatment by +presenting him with it; but the soldier, mistaking the motion for an +effort to draw a pistol, shot him through the hips, inflicting a wound +from which he ultimately died. Johnson himself was shot through the +thigh, early in the action, and the command devolved upon General Lyman, +who conducted the battle to a successful issue, as narrated. + +Thus was fought the battle of Lake George, September 8, 1755. The +brilliant victory gained here was greater than is apparent at a +superficial glance, for it checked the French advance upon the English +colonies; it probably saved Albany and other towns from destruction; it +was the means of driving the invaders back upon their defensive posts at +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, where they were eventually attacked and +overcome. + +Contrary to the expressed opinions (and perhaps advice) of the +Provincials, among whom was Putnam, General Johnson decided to advance +no further in that campaign, brief as it had been, but proceeded to +erect a fort on the site of his camp, alleging that this was necessary +to protect his base of supplies and maintain communication with Albany. +Had he followed up the victory and pursued the demoralized enemy to +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, he might have saved the English many +valuable lives and the humiliation of repeated defeats in their +subsequent efforts to reduce those important fortifications. + +The reduction of Crown Point was abandoned for that season; but +notwithstanding this, and the fact that the brunt of the fight had been +borne by General Phineas Lyman and his New England militia, the +commander-in-chief was rewarded for the victory by a baronetcy and a +grant of five thousand pounds! + +That the results of this victory at Lake George were far-reaching, and +not forgotten by posterity, was shown, for example, nearly a century and +a half after it was won, by the erection of a monument upon the site of +the battle-field. On the eighth of September, 1903, the governors of +four States--New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts--gathered +at the unveiling of a bronze memorial (erected by the Society of +Colonial Wars), the heroic figures of which, nine feet in height, are +General Johnson and Chief Hendrick. The inscriptions on the granite +pedestal tell the story: "Defeat would have opened the road to Albany +and the French.... Confidence inspired by the victory was of inestimable +value to the American Army in the War of the Revolution." + +It should be borne in mind that Israel Putnam was present at this +battle, and rendered important service. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A PARTIZAN FIGHTER + + +The shore of the beautiful lake was strewn with the slain, its waters +crimsoned by their blood, the French having lost nearly half their +regular force, and the English more than two hundred men. Several days +succeeding to the battle were passed in gathering the wounded and +burying the dead, in which dismal duty Putnam was engaged, with the rest +of the uninjured survivors. + +As our hero kept no diary of his doings, we know only in a general way +that he was in the thickest of the fight, that he went out with the +devoted band under Colonel Williams, and was foremost at the finish +under General Lyman. It has been stated by some of Putnam's biographers +that he held the rank of captain in this, his first, battle; but a +careful search of the colonial records makes it appear that he was +merely a private. With his accustomed eagerness to be foremost in a good +cause, he had hurried to the front without thought of rank or wages; and +although the General Assembly of Connecticut, which convened in August, +promptly made him out a commission as captain of a company, it did not +reach him until after the fight. + +He had outstripped his commission, had enlisted, had met the enemy, +acting, as he always acted, on his own initiative; and it seemed very +fit that he should be appointed to command a company of "partizans," as +the picked troops were called who made forays, performed scouting +duties, and led the advance of the main body. + +He became associated with the redoubtable leader of the hardy company of +back-woodsmen known as "Rogers' Rangers," and he held his own with the +best of them. The duties of these rangers were particularly hazardous, +for they were ever in the advance, as scouts or skirmishers, employing +the Indians' tactics in bush-fighting, engaged as escorts for the wagon +trains, as well as for the artillery, etc. They were thoroughly +independent, in the fullest sense of the word, following their +commander's general rule only, which was: "Every man's reason and +judgment must be his guide, according to the particular situation and +nature of things, and that he may do this to advantage, he should keep +in mind the maxim, never to be departed from by a commander, viz., to +preserve a firmness and presence of mind on every occasion." + +Had the foregoing rule been made expressly for our farmer-soldier, it +could not more exactly have exemplified the qualities he pre-eminently +possessed. He was a born "partizan," and entered at once into his +dangerous duties with ardor and zest. + +There exists a "Report of Captain Putnam, who was sent by Captain Rogers +as a Spy to Ticonderoga," dated October 9, 1755, which illustrates both +the bravery of the young officer, and the defects of his early +education, to which allusion has been made. It is as follows: + + "Then left Capt. Rogers upon a neck of Land upon the west side of + Lake George and Set out towards Tyconderogue to see what + Discoveries we Could make and after we had marchd about 7 or 8 + miles we came upon a Large Mountain near the Heither end of the + narrowes, and when we came there we Could make no Discovery at all, + but after sometime we espyed three Barke Cannoes Drew upon the + Shore upon a point of Land that Ran into the Lake, and then wee + espyed two Indians Comeing out of the Bushes toward the Cannoes, + after water, and after sometime wee espyed several french and + Indians on the East side of the Lake ... and so Concluded to tarry + there all knight and see what further Discoveries wee Could make by + the fires in the knight, and just at the Dusk of the evening their + came four Cannoes from the East and went to the west side of the + Lake and landed on the point where the others were incamped, and + Drew up their Cannoes on ye Shore and by this time wee began to + Discover the fires on the point and on the east side of the Lake, + but Could not Discover what number their was, because the Bushes + were so thick by the Lake and about Day Brake they mustered their + men to work and then wee Left the mountain and returned to Capt. + Rogers on the point and when we Came within 60 or 70 Rods of the + point we Espyed 13 Indians pass by within 10 Rods of us, towards + the point where we left Capt. Rogers, and after they had passed by + us we Came to the point where we left Capt. Rogers, and found all + well this is the Chef of the Discovery and best account that I am + able to give." + + "Israel Putnam." + +Captain Putnam belonged to that class of soldiers, so large in the early +wars of our country, that would "rather fight than eat," and made much +less of wielding the sword than the pen. It may well be believed that +after receiving a few "Reports" like this herewith quoted, his superiors +vastly preferred he should stick to the sword, since he was so much +better at fighting than writing. He himself was doubtless of the same +opinion, so he was kept constantly employed at the dangerous and arduous +work of the ranger, and within a week of writing his first report he had +distinguished himself by saving his commander's life. + +The French had retired to Crown Point and Ticonderoga, but the forests +between those points and Lake George were still swarming with hostile +Indians, engaged, like the Rangers, in reconnoitering the enemy's posts +and in cutting off stragglers. Captains Rogers and Putnam were ordered +by General Johnson to make a reconnaissance of Crown Point, and taking a +small party they penetrated the forests to within a short distance of +the works, where they left their men concealed, and, alone, set out on +their hazardous mission. + +They lay all night within gunshot of the fort, and in the gray dawn of +morning approached more closely in order to secure the information +desired, when Captain Rogers, who was slightly in advance, was +discovered and set upon by a big Frenchman, who seized his musket and +gave the alarm. A companion sentinel hastened to the Frenchman's +assistance, but Putnam also was at hand, and getting in ahead brought +the guard to the ground by a well-aimed blow from the butt-end of his +musket, and while the enemy lay quivering in his death-agonies the two +companions hastened away. They rejoined their men and finally reached +the camp in safety. + +An occurrence like this seemed of small moment at the time, perhaps, and +the ungrateful Rogers is said to have overlooked it entirely in his +report to General Johnson; but the same month (October, 1755) the two +again went out scouting, and another adventure followed which brought +Putnam's heroism into strong relief. + +Going down the lake in their bateaux, on the last day of the month, they +landed at night at a point where they had discovered some camp-fires of +the enemy, and in the morning three spies were sent out into the forest. +These spies were Putnam, a man named Fletcher, and Lieutenant Robert +Durkee, who was afterward tortured to death by the Indians. They +accomplished the immediate object of their mission, which was to +ascertain the location of some detached camps of Indians, and one of +them, Captain Fletcher, returned to report. Putnam and Durkee kept on, +in order to reconnoiter the enemy's main camp at the "Ovens," and in +consequence nearly lost their lives. + +Night overtook the two brave partizans before they had reached the +vicinity of the enemy, and when they saw the camp-fires gleaming they +incautiously approached, thinking that the French, like the English, +would be found within the circle. But the French pursued an altogether +different system, and probably the safer one, of building their +camp-fires within and themselves sleeping without the lines, protected +by the darkness of the night. Their sentinels were posted still further +from the center of the main body, so when the two spies approached and, +dropping to their hands and knees, crept cautiously toward the fires, +they had not gone far in this manner before they were discovered and +fired upon. + +To their amazement, they then found themselves right in the midst of +the enemy, hemmed in on every side. Lieutenant Durkee was slightly +wounded in the thigh, but he and Putnam immediately rose to their feet +and made the best of their way out into the darkness amid a shower of +bullets, and pursued by the awakened enemy. Unable "to see his hand +before his face," Putnam soon fell into a clay-pit, and Durkee, like the +immortal "Jill" in the nursery rhyme, came tumbling after. Knowing that +the enemy were in swift and close pursuit, Putnam raised his tomahawk to +give the supposed hostile a deadly stroke, when Durkee fortunately +spoke. Thankful that he had escaped murdering his companion, Putnam +immediately leaped out of the pit, and followed by Durkee, groped his +way to some ledges, where they lay down behind a large log for the +remainder of the night. Before they lay down, the original narration +goes on to state, "Captain Putnam said he had a little liquor in his +canteen, which could never be more acceptable or necessary than on that +occasion; but on examining the canteen, which hung under his arm, he +found the enemy had pierced it with their bullets, and that there was +not a drop of liquor left. The next morning he found fourteen +bullet-holes in his blanket!" + +His canteen was dry enough, but in falling into the clay-pit Putnam had +wet his gun, so that he could not return the fire of the Frenchmen, even +had he been so disposed. The tale as to the "fourteen bullet-holes in +his blanket" has often been held up to ridicule; but it is probably +true, for the blankets being rolled up, one ball alone might have cut +through many folds in its flight, and another have perforated his +canteen. At all events, he and his companion were in a most miserable +plight, all night in danger of being discovered. In the morning +(according to the official report by Captain Rogers) "they made the best +retreat they were able. Hearing the enemy close to their heels, they +made a tack and luckily escaped safe to our party." + +"How he escaped a wound is passing strange," says one of Putnam's +biographers [Mr. J.T. Headley]; "but he was one of those men who seem +eternally seeking death without being able to find it. There are some +persons in the world who appear to bear a charmed life, which no amount +of daring or exposure can endanger. Foremost in the charge, and the last +to retreat, they are never found with the dead. Fate seems to delight to +place them in the most desperate straits, on purpose to make their +deliverance appear the more miraculous. Putnam was one of those favored +beings, and was not born to be killed in battle." + +Another incident related of Captain Putnam shows his acute penetration +and acquaintance with Indian ways and wiles. It was in his second +campaign, when, after returning home for the winter, he had re-enlisted +and was again amid the scenes of his former adventures. He was stationed +at Fort Edward, the region immediately around which was infested with +savages bent on securing as many scalps as possible with the least +exposure. The sentinels on posts without the fort were in the greatest +danger, and there was one outpost in particular which had lost so many +of its sentries that at last no man could be found to accept a station +there voluntarily. One after another they had disappeared, as completely +as though the earth had opened and swallowed them. It was a post of such +danger that the officers at Fort Edward, having called for volunteers +repeatedly, all of whom had met the same mysterious fate, were compelled +to resort to drafting the men for duty there. As a commissioned officer +Putnam was exempt from the draft, but with his love of danger and from a +desire to penetrate the mystery, he volunteered for the hazardous +service for at least one night. His offer was accepted, although his +friends warned him of the risk he ran. He was already informed as to the +general instructions: on hearing the least noise to challenge promptly, +"Who goes there?" three times, and then, if no answer were returned, to +fire at whatever approached. + +Mounting guard at his post as early as possible, Putnam took occasion to +make a thorough examination of the nature of his environment, with a +trained woodsman's eye noting every peculiarity of rock, stump, bush, +tree, and leaf. Even then, as darkness fell and the scene became faintly +illumined by the rising moon, his surroundings assumed an unfamiliar +cast. + +He stood at his post till past midnight before anything unusual +happened, then his attention was attracted by what appeared to him a +wild hog which, with stealthy footstep, gradually neared his position. +There could be no danger in such a beast, any one less acute than he +might have reasoned; but anyway, he issued the challenge, and then, no +response having been made to his "Who goes there?" he immediately fired +at the animal. It was a groan, and not a grunt, that answered his +well-directed shot, and going up to the object, then writhing in its +death-struggles, he stripped off a bear-skin and revealed an immense +Indian, who had in this disguise approached the unsuspicious sentinels +previously stationed there, stabbed them, and carried them away. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE ADVENTUROUS SOLDIER + + +The campaign of 1755-'56, abounding in opportunities for personal +adventure, in which Israel Putnam took great delight, showed the true +mettle of the provincial soldier from Connecticut. At one time in the +summer of 1756, five or six hundred French soldiers from Ticonderoga +descended upon some British baggage wagons at Halfway Brook, a spot +about midway between Fort Edward and Fort William Henry at Lake George, +and overcoming the escort, succeeded in getting away with a large +quantity of provisions. They retreated northward, in the direction of +their stronghold, by the Narrows of Lake Champlain, and in order to head +them off, if possible, Rogers and Putnam were ordered by their commander +to take one hundred Rangers, with "two wall-pieces and two +blunderbusses," and proceed by boat down Lake George to a point opposite +a certain part of the Narrows, where they were to cross overland and try +to intercept the enemy. + +The orders were obeyed with such promptitude and exactness that the +pursuers reached the place appointed half an hour before the Frenchmen, +into whose boats, when they finally appeared, loaded down with their +plunder, they poured several deadly volleys, killing many of the oarsmen +and soldiers and throwing the party into confusion. Putnam had so placed +his men in ambush, behind bushes and trees, that they were entirely +concealed, while the enemy were exposed to their unexpected fire, which +was terribly effective. Had not a strong wind sprung up at this time, +few of the Frenchmen would have escaped; but several boatloads were +swept into South Bay, beyond musket-shot, and in a shattered condition +finally arrived at Ticonderoga. + +As soon as it was made known that the Rangers were at the Narrows, and +full twenty miles from their boats, which they had left under guard at +Lake George, three hundred soldiers were sent post-haste in pursuit. It +was now the turn of the Provincials to retreat, and indeed they had lost +no time in setting out for their boats, as soon as the Frenchmen were +out of sight, being well aware of their perilous position. It was a +close race between them and their enemies, who, having passed them at +night, were discovered next day off Sabbath-Day Point, where they +offered battle. They allowed the French and Indians to approach within +pistol-shot without firing a gun, but at just the right moment they +discharged their wall-pieces and blunderbusses, followed by a +destructive fire from their muskets, so that the havoc and confusion +were great. Completely routed, the enemy made for the shore and +retreated without delay to Ticonderoga. Only one man was killed and two +men were wounded on the side of the Rangers; but while the total losses +of the French and Indians were unknown they must have been great, as one +canoe containing twenty Indians lost fifteen of the number, and many +were seen to fall overboard and drown. + +In the preceding, the honors were shared between Rogers and Putnam; but +soon after the affair on the lakes the latter figured as the hero of an +exploit which was unique, if not altogether successful and creditable to +all concerned. General Webb, the commander of the forces, considered it +necessary to secure a French prisoner, for the sake of the intelligence +he might gain from him of the enemy's movements, and Captain Putnam was +deputed to accomplish the difficult task. + +Taking with him five men, Putnam concealed himself and them near a trail +which led to Ticonderoga, and they had not lain long in the high grass +before a Frenchman and an Indian came along. The Indian was in advance, +so Putnam allowed him to pass, but when the Frenchman arrived opposite +his place of concealment he sprang out, and after running quite a +distance overtook and seized him by the shoulder. It happened that the +Frenchman was large and muscular, and Captain Putnam, though himself a +marvel of strength and agility, was not quite his equal, in fact, he +soon found he had "caught a Tartar." His men had not supported him, +while the Indian was hastening to his opponent's assistance, so he +loosed his hold and snapped his musket at the man's breast. It missed +fire, as the rude firearms of that time were often liable to do, and so +Putnam turned and ran for his life, hotly pursued by the irate +Frenchman, followed by the Indian. + +There was a grim humor in the situation, for, since his men would not go +to the Frenchman, Captain Putnam was taking the Frenchman to them! They +had to assist him now, whether they wanted to or not, he thought; but as +they sprang up from the grass where they were hidden, the wary Indian +caught sight of them, gave the alarm to his companion, and both darted +off into the forest and escaped. Putnam was mortified as well as +enraged; but after denouncing his men as cowards and unfit for special +service, he sent them back to camp and finally accomplished his object +unassisted. + +In such adventures as these Captain Putnam found vent for his energy and +activity. He was rarely at rest, either by command of his superior +officer or of his own volition, being engaged in scouting in the forest +and along the shores of the lakes. As both regulars and Provincials were +withdrawn from the north country during the severest of the winter +months, it is likely that the soldier-farmer paid a short visit to his +home; but if so, he was soon back again, on active duty employed, as +early in the spring of 1757 he is reported at Fort Edward. + +The author of this biography has seen a most interesting letter, written +in June, 1757, by Lieutenant Samuel Porter, of Captain Putnam's company, +in which there are several references to our hero, as follows: + + "I received your letter May 20, at Fort Edward, from Capt. Putnam's + hand.... I have sent you six letters before this. In the last I + told you that Capt. Putnam had took out a number of his men and + also a number of another company and made up a company of + Rangers.... The next day after I wrote to you there was a number of + our Connecticut men out at work with a guard, but the Enemy came + and fired upon them and captivated four of them.... Capt. Putnam + was then out for several days and when he came in he brought a + Frenchman which he took near the Narrows." + +Always active, alert, and good-humored, Captain Putnam was the idol of +his men, and easily the most noted of the Provincials. Such was his +nature, however, that he paid no attention to what men said of him, but +always marched in the road that led to duty. Much like him in his +devotion to duty and principle was another of his name, who now appears +in this narrative, having come to Fort Edward in a Massachusetts +regiment, in which he was a private. This was Rufus Putnam, who achieved +a reputation in later years hardly second to that of Israel; in many +respects he surpassed him. These two have been called cousins; but, to +state their exact relationship, Israel's father and Rufus's grandfather +were brothers, or half-brothers. Here is what Rufus Putnam says, in his +Memorandum Book of Family Concerns, respecting his American +ancestry:... + + "I am the youngest son of Elisha Putnam, who was the third son of + Edward, grandson of John Putnam, who settled in Salem in 1634.... I + was born the 9th of April, 1738, at Sutton, Massachusetts." + +By this it will be seen that Rufus and Israel Putnam were descended from +the same English ancestor, John Putnam; and further, it may be observed, +they had many high qualities in common. What concerns us especially, in +this connection, is the fact that Rufus Putnam had acquired the habit of +keeping a diary, or journal, and he faithfully recorded all the +happenings at Fort Edward, after his arrival. He could not but make +mention of the most prominent personage there, his distinguished +kinsman; though the latter was too busily engaged in fighting and +marching to concern himself as to diaries and chronicles. + +Soon after arriving at Fort Edward, young Rufus Putnam was sent out +scouting with twenty-two men, and encountering some Indians, thirteen of +his comrades were killed. "This was the first sight I had of Indians +butchering," he writes, "and it was not agreeable to the feelings of a +young Soldier, and I think there are few if any who can view such Scenes +with indifference." + +Few, indeed. But, while realizing to the full the horrors of savage +warfare, Israel Putnam's kinsman stuck to his task and did his duty +gallantly. His first experience must have been a severe trial, for he +says: + + "Capt. Putnam then ordered three of us to follow the trale (of the + Indians) a mile or more further, and there lie close until quite + dark, to observe if any came back; for, said he, 'if they do not + embark in there boats to-night they will send a party back to See + if they are pursued.' We went back according to order but made no + discovery, and here I would remark that Capt. Putnam's precaution + Struck my mind very forceably, as a maxim always to be observed + whether you are pursuing or pursued by an enemy, especially in the + woods. It was the first Idea of Generalship I recollect to have + treasured up." + +These two remarkable men had a very similar experience in their youth, +for Rufus, like Israel, was deprived of his father by death at an early +age, the former at seven, and the latter at eight, and each went to live +with his stepfather after his mother had married a second time. + +Israel Putnam had been given a major's commission by the Connecticut +Legislature, in 1757, and almost every year succeeding he was promoted, +until finally he was at the head of the forces of the State. In common +with his fellow Provincials, he suffered from the incompetency of the +British commanders sent over from England. Crown Point was the objective +for assault during several years, and still was not reached until the +hearts of all concerned grew heavy with hope deferred. One of the most +glaringly inefficient of Britain's generals in America was Lord +Loudoun, at this time commander-in-chief of all the forces. Against him +was pitted the acute and discerning Montcalm, in command of the French, +who, by the destruction of important forts, and checkmating Loudoun at +Louisburg, soon put the latter on the defensive. Instead, then, of +carrying the war into Canada, the British Colonials were compelled to +rest on their arms while Montcalm himself, taking advantage of the +depletion of the forces caused by Loudoun's futile expedition against +Louisburg, marched down from Montreal and made a demonstration against +the forts to the south of Lake Champlain. + +Equally inefficient with Loudoun, the commander-in-chief, and in +addition cowardly as well (it would appear from the records of the +time), was General Webb, who commanded in the northern department, and +who, though he probably had intimation of the French army's approach, +allowed himself to be caught in a trap and lost thousands of his men. He +was warned by Putnam, who scouted to some purpose in the forest along +the lake shore, discovering the approaching hostiles; but he heeded not +the warning, and the result was a massacre. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +FIGHTING ON THE FRONTIER + + +Up to midsummer of 1757, the British had accomplished nothing of +account; the French, also, had little to show for all the marching and +counter-marching, fortifying, and skirmishing with their foes. But a +decisive blow was to be struck, and by Montcalm, who, having been +informed by his spies of the condition of affairs at the lakes, sent an +overwhelming force against Fort William Henry, at the south end of Lake +George. It happened that a few days before the French army arrived at +the lake, Major Putnam, with two hundred men, escorted his commander, +General Webb, from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry, his object being +to examine into the efficiency of the latter fortification. The fort +itself was a poor construction, but it was commandingly situated on +ground gently rising from the shore of the lake, and its approaches were +defended by felled forest trees forming an immense abattis deemed +impenetrable. + +With his customary caution, Major Putnam suggested to General Webb that +he should be sent down the lake to ascertain if the enemy were +approaching, certain inexplicable signs having aroused his suspicions. +His commander reluctantly consented, and Putnam took with him eighteen +volunteers and proceeded down the lake, but had not gone far before he +discovered a company of Frenchmen on an island. These men started out in +pursuit of Putnam in his whale-boats, and the latter retreated; but not +before he had, with the aid of a telescope, perceived a "large army in +motion." He reported to General Webb to this effect, and to his +astonishment that cowardly commander ordered him to make no mention of +the approach of the French army, though he agreed with Major Putnam +that it was destined for the reduction of the fort on the lake. He, +moreover, directed him to pledge his men to keep the matter secret from +the devoted garrison at Fort William Henry, and to make ready, without +loss of time, to return with him to headquarters at Fort Edward. + +"But, your Excellency," exclaimed the amazed and indignant Putnam, "I +hope you do not intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of giving +battle, should the enemy presume to land!" + +"What do you think we should do here?" replied the pusillanimous +commander; and no other answer would he give to the sub-ordinate who had +rashly ventured to expostulate with him. The next day, accordingly, +Putnam escorted Webb back to Fort Edward, whence the latter sent letters +to the Governor of New York, at Albany, urging him to send the militia +to his aid; and also despatched reenforcements to Fort William Henry +under Colonel Monroe, who was ordered to assume command of the +garrison, until then ignorant of their peril. + +There were then about three thousand men at Fort William Henry, with as +many more held in reserve at Fort Edward, half a day's march only away. +Against the lake fort, however, Montcalm brought an army of eight or +nine thousand men, including not only a corps of Canadians, but a +"larger number of Indians in a body than had ever before been +collected." The French and Indians outnumbered the hapless garrison +three to one; but during the week in which they appeared before the fort +at Lake George (the first week in August, 1757), Sir William Johnson +reached Fort Edward with his Indians and militia from Albany, thus +augmenting the total British force considerably. He demanded to be +allowed to proceed to Fort William Henry, and was permitted to start +out, taking with him, besides his own force, Major Putnam and his +company of Rangers. Three miles from the fort, however, this rescuing +force was ordered to return, and thus such men as Johnson and Putnam +were compelled to remain at Fort Edward and listen to "the report of +cannon from Fort William Henry, two or three shots sometimes within a +minute or two of one another." Those fateful cannon-shots continued all +day long, and day after day, meanwhile, messengers were arriving from +Colonel Monroe asking for assistance in most urgent terms. For six days +the siege continued, with thousands of soldiers lying inactive at Fort +Edward while their brothers-in-arms were in peril of their lives at Fort +William Henry, only fourteen miles away. On the morning of the eighth of +August the cannon firing ceased, just as the last express from Colonel +Monroe arrived stating that he must give up the fort unless at once +relieved. + +The ammunition of the beleaguered garrison was almost exhausted, many of +their cannon were split, some of the soldiers were sick with smallpox, +and their losses in killed and wounded amounted to more than three +hundred men. The end was inevitable, and it came after General Webb had +sent a letter to Colonel Monroe advising him to surrender. This letter +was intercepted by Montcalm, who thus knew the exact situation and acted +accordingly. He sent the letter to Colonel Monroe, with an urgent demand +for surrender, promising him most liberal terms, and the despairing +officer, who had gallantly defended the fort to the last, gave in and +threw himself upon the mercy of his foe. + +The Marquis de Montcalm may have intended to keep his stipulations, +which were that the garrison should be protected by an escort of French +troops to Fort Edward, and their sick and wounded cared for. Relying +upon these terms, they marched out of the fort without arms or baggage, +but were no sooner clear of the gates than they were set upon by more +than two thousand Indians, excited by the liquor they had discovered and +drunk, and frenzied at the prospect of the escape of their foes. Then +ensued a sickening scene of slaughter. Then was committed the massacre, +which, had Major Putnam's advice been followed, might have been +prevented. More than fifteen hundred, men, women, and children, were +indiscriminately butchered, despite the promises of the "noble" Marquis +de Montcalm, and the Indians reveled in a carnival of blood. + +It having been reported that the victorious Montcalm intended to march +against Fort Edward next, Major Putnam was despatched with his Rangers +to "watch the motions of the enemy," and reached the lake shore soon +after their departure. The fort was entirely demolished, he reported to +Webb, next day; "the barracks and all buildings were heaps of ruins, the +fires still burning, the smoke and stench from which were offensive and +suffocating. Innumerable fragments, human skulls, and bones were still +broiling, half consumed, in the smoldering flames. Dead bodies, mangled +with knives and tomahawks, including those of more than one hundred +women, were everywhere to be seen, affording a spectacle too horrible +for description." + +And this awful occurrence might have been obviated, if, in the first +place, Major Putnam's precautions had been adopted and a firm stand made +in the face of the enemy; or if, in the second place, the reenforcements +so often requested by the commander of the garrison had been sent. +Montcalm himself told Major Putnam, when he was a prisoner in Canada, +the next year, that when Sir William Johnson with the militia and +Rangers set out from Fort Edward one of his runners reported as to their +number, "If you can count the leaves on the trees, you can count them." + +Believing, then, that a mighty force was advancing against him, Montcalm +was on the point of abandoning the siege, when General Webb's order to +return saved the situation for the French. Of a truth, the conduct of +General Webb, in command of the forces at Fort Edward and Fort William +Henry, deserves the execration of the world. Fuming inwardly against +their unjustifiable detention, yet so well disciplined as to accept +their commander's orders with impassive faces, the soldiers all, +Provincials as well as regulars, were compelled to inaction, and thus +became in a sense accessories to the blood-thirsty savages who had +murdered their friends. + +We have no record of any oath that Putnam may have taken, but doubtless +one was registered in Heaven, that his comrades should be avenged, for +his acts accord with this assumption. He was even more active than +before in annoying the enemy and in taking prisoners, both French and +Indian; but there is no stain of cruelty affixed to any of his deeds. He +fought honorably, without thought of himself, without regard for what +Fame might say of him, or the future hold in store. His courage was of +the sort that shuts its eyes to the consequences and goes straight +ahead, in the path of duty and rectitude. + +Soon after the massacre at Fort William Henry, General Webb was relieved +of his command and succeeded by General Lyman, an old soldier under +whom Putnam had already served. Even old soldiers make mistakes, as will +now be shown. Having despatched one hundred and fifty men into the +forests adjacent to Fort Edward, to cut timber for strengthening the +fortification, General Lyman sent along a company of regulars to protect +them against possible attacks by Indians. This was a prudent measure; +but the commander had not counted upon the wary nature of the foe. He +should have sent out the Rangers, who knew the Indians and their ways +and would have provided protection, without a doubt. But there chanced +to be a Ranger on duty as a sentinel, and early one morning, before the +sun was up, his attention was attracted to a flight of wonderful birds +silently winging their way across the sky. Suddenly, one of those +"birds" came with great force against the limb of a tree right over his +head, where it stuck, and then the sentry saw that those winged +messengers were Indian arrows! He lost no time in giving the alarm and +the working party began retreating toward the fort. They were promptly +attacked by a large body of Indians, who had hoped to kill the sentry +without any noise, when the workmen would have been cut off, without a +doubt. + +The regulars bravely stood their ground and poured a destructive fire +into the savage ranks; but the foe was persistent and soon obtained the +upper hand. It happened that, as usual, brave Putnam was not far distant +from the sound of battle, which he no sooner heard than he hastened in +its direction. As he and his men were posted on an island, he and they +waded through the water to dry land, and in pressing to the scene of +conflict passed near the fort, on the parapet of which stood General +Lyman, who, imagining the attack came from the main body of the enemy, +had called in his outposts and closed the gates. As Major Putnam and his +men dashed past on the double-quick, intent only upon rescuing their +friends from the savages, the General ordered them to return, believing +that they were needlessly exposing their lives in a vain attempt against +an overwhelming force. + +For the first time in his military career (but not the last) Putnam +refused to obey the orders of his superior officer. Indignant at the +mere thought of abandoning his companions-at-arms at such a juncture, he +muttered something under his breath (which he afterward said was an +apology; but those who knew "Old Put" best thought otherwise) and pushed +on, without turning to right or left. And his obstinacy saved the day, +for, uniting with the regulars, the Rangers "rushed" the savages from +their position and chased them through the forest so long as daylight +lasted. Their victory was complete, and when they returned to the fort +the gates were no longer closed against them, nor was a reprimand +forthcoming from the General, the disobedience of whose orders made +Major Putnam more popular than ever. + +That Major Putnam's bravery was of the sort requiring no artificial +stimulus, and proceeded solely from the promptings of a nature +superlative in every sense, was shown in the winter of 1757, when the +barracks at Fort Edward were consumed by a fire which threatened and +almost reached the powder magazine. Seeing the blaze from his aerie on +the island, Putnam attacked the fire as he always attacked the enemy, +with impetuosity. He at once took the forefront of danger, nearest to +the powder magazine, and, mounted on a ladder, threw upon the raging +flames the buckets of water which the soldiers brought him from the +river. Enshrouded in smoke, and so near the sheets of flame that a pair +of thick mittens was burned from his hands, Putnam heroically toiled to +subdue the fire, which was rapidly eating its way toward the magazine, +containing three hundred barrels of powder. + +His commander at first begged him to descend, but as he was obstinate, +he provided him with another pair of mittens which had been dipped in +water, and, charmed at his pertinacity and bravery, exclaimed, "Well, +if we must be blown up we will all go together!" He then gave orders to +the men to redouble their efforts. + +The sequel was that Putnam, though at times enveloped in smoke and +cinders, maintained his position, even when there was but a charred +strip of timber between him and the powder, finally extinguishing the +fire and saving the fort. One hour and a-half he had fought the flames. +"His legs, arms and face were blistered, and when he pulled off his +second pair of mittens, the skin from his hands and fingers followed +them." He was a month in hospital, recovering from his terrible burns; +but before the winter was over he was off scouting with his beloved +Rangers in the vicinity of Ticonderoga. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +STRATEGY AND WOODCRAFT + + +The year 1758 was the most eventful in Putnam's life hitherto, +notwithstanding the numerous adventures in which he had already been +engaged, and which were enough to satisfy the craving of the most +ambitious individual. The great event of that year, in which he took +part, was the attack made by General Abercrombie on Fort Ticonderoga; +and the most dire happening, to him personally, was being made a +prisoner by the Indians. + +Before proceeding to narrate these occurrences, however, let us take +notice of two stirring incidents in his career, which further illustrate +his cool daring and his readiness of resource in the face of danger. In +the first instance, he was sent by his superior officer to a place +known as Wood Creek, in order to make such observations as were +possible, and also to intercept any parties of the enemy that might +chance to pass that way. With the intuition of a born strategist, he +posted his force on the bank of the creek where it jutted boldly into +the water, and there constructed a parapet of stone about thirty feet in +length, and masked it with young pine-trees in such a manner that they +appeared to be a part of the natural forest growth. + +The provisions of the party running short, and a big buck opportunely +appearing, Putnam departed from a rule he himself had always insisted +upon--of never firing a gun when waiting for an enemy or in the enemy's +country, and shot him. The result was as he might have anticipated. He +and his men got the deer and replenished their stores; but the wily +leader of the Indian hostiles, Marin, heard the report, and came with +his men in search of the cause of it. He came at night, so cautiously +and silently that some of the canoes which held his men, about five +hundred in number, were abreast the fort before the sentinels +discovered them. + +The creek at this point was scarcely a hundred feet in width, the banks +about fifteen or twenty feet in height. A full moon was shining in the +heavens, illumining spaces of water here and there, so that the oncoming +Indians were plainly visible to the men behind the parapet, there +awaiting, with fast-beating hearts, the signal to fire. At a critical +moment, one of the nervous soldiers accidentally struck his firelock +against a stone, and the sound being heard by the foe, in an instant +came the watchword for silence and caution--"Owish." The canoes in the +van halted, and the others coming up, they were soon huddled together +right in front of the breastwork. This was the moment awaited by Putnam, +who gave the signal for his men to fire by setting the example with his +own musket. + +The plunging fire, directed into the midst of the canoes, committed +terrible execution. It was returned by the enemy; but being caught at a +disadvantage, and unable to perceive their foes, concealed as they were +behind the breastwork, their fire was ineffective. During the whole +engagement, which is said to have lasted through the greater part of the +night, only two of the Provincials were wounded, none being killed +outright. + +There were but sixty men in Putnam's party, while the Indians were +estimated at not less than five hundred, half of which number were +either killed or wounded, it was thought, before daylight came. +Perceiving, from the intermittent fire, that it was a small party which +had ambuscaded him, Marin, the Indian scout and leader, attempted a +landing below the Americans, in order to cut off their retreat. But +Major Putnam had anticipated that move, and after sending a detachment +to repel the landing party, ordered his men to "swing their packs" and +retire up the creek, which they did in good order, leaving their wounded +men behind. This act was the one inexplicable occurrence of the affair, +for it was not creditable to Major Putnam, nor in accord with his +reputation for humanity and tender regard for his men. But the safety of +the greater number was considered, in preference to the security of the +two wounded men, one of whom, a Provincial of undaunted courage, was set +upon and hacked to pieces, after he had killed three of the approaching +enemy, as he lay on the ground unable to escape. The other, a friendly +Mohawk, was taken prisoner, and Major Putnam afterward saw him in +Canada. + +On the way back to Fort Edward, Putnam and his men were fired upon by a +scouting party of Provincials, who mistook them for Frenchmen; but they +were quickly undeceived when the doughty major ordered his men, "in a +stentorophonick tone," to advance and give a good account of themselves. +Putnam's "stentorophonick" voice--as his original biographer styles +it--was well known to all the army, having been heard many times rising +above the din of battle, and always in the forefront of the fighting. So +the commanding officer of the scouting party recognized it at once and +cried out that those approaching were friends. The volley had killed one +man only, and "Old Wolf Putnam," enraged, indignant, and yet sarcastic, +said to the opposing officer, "Friends or enemies, you all deserve to be +hanged for not killing more, when you had so fair a shot!" He had in +mind, of course, the numbers he and his men had slain, that night +preceding, when six or seven times their own force had fallen before +their unerring aim. + +Having suffered so considerably at Putnam's hands, the French and +Indians, as may be imagined, were constantly on the watch to take their +arch enemy at a disadvantage. Not many weeks after the unsuccessful +attack upon Ticonderoga--to which allusion will presently be made--it +appeared as though the savages were about to accomplish their purpose, +for they surprised him, together with a small body of his men, on the +left bank of the Hudson, with the river between them and the fort. The +party of Indians was too strong to be successfully resisted, it was +impossible to cross the river without being shot, while below lay a +quarter-mile stretch of rapids through which a boat had never been sent +without disaster. But, with his customary promptitude, Putnam ordered +his men into their single boat, himself taking the helm, and pushed off +just as the savages came within sight of the shore. The disappointed and +infuriated Indians sent a shower of balls after the boatmen, but none +took effect; though the fugitives seemed doomed to certain death by +drowning in the foaming rapids of the river. Calmly taking the helm, +Putnam steered the boat through the roaring rapids, avoiding the +half-hidden rocks and protruding ledges, and, while the Indians looked +on in amazement, in a few seconds brought his charge into smooth water +at the foot of the falls. Throughout all this turmoil and danger, he +maintained his self-possession, his customary placidity of countenance +even; and it is said that after that the Indians looked upon him as more +than human and under the special protection of the Great Spirit. + +It was the misfortune of the Provincials to become the sport of fate in +the shape of inefficient commanders from England, who led them, not only +to defeat, but to death by wholesale, in their endeavors to carry out +plans insufficiently matured and schemes which would not have received +the sanction of military experts at all. One of the most disastrous of +defeats was encountered at Ticonderoga, against which General +Abercrombie led a force of fifteen thousand men, consisting of six +thousand regulars and nine thousand Provincials. Crown Point and +Ticonderoga were still the British objectives, along with other posts of +greater or less strength, such as Louisburg, Frontenac, and Fort +Duquesne. All these last were taken before Crown Point and Ticonderoga +yielded; but it was fated that Ticonderoga, which had been seized and +fortified by the French in 1755, and which, together with Crown Point, +commanded the direct route from the St. Lawrence to the Hudson, should +first cost the lives of many men. + +On the morning of July 5, 1758, a magnificent flotilla set forth from +the southern end of Lake George, consisting of 135 whale-boats and 900 +bateaux, laden with soldiers, cannon, and military stores of every +description. As it sailed through the Narrows it made a line six miles +in length, and was indeed a most imposing spectacle. Sabbath-Day Point +was reached about five in the afternoon, and here the soldiers debarked +for rest and refreshment, but sailed on again about midnight, reaching +the northern end of the lake next morning at dawn. Soon after landing, +late in the day, a portion of the army became lost in the forest and +while entangled in the wilderness of trees encountered a French force of +observation which had been sent to watch their movements at Lake +George. This force, likewise lost in the woods, was cut to pieces by the +Rangers, only fifty escaping, while nearly three hundred were either +killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. + +This was the sole success of the expedition, and this cost the lives of +many men, including young Lord Howe, who was a great favorite in the +army with both regulars and Colonials. He had insisted on forging ahead +with Putnam, who, as usual, was in front with his Rangers, and against +his urgent remonstrances went with him into the vortex of the fire, +where he was killed. The soldiers considered their success on the first +day as a foretaste of victory to follow on the morrow; but while +Abercrombie delayed his advance for various reasons, Montcalm and his +men did herculean work by felling a forest of trees and constructing an +impenetrable abatis in front of the fort. + +It was this terrible entanglement, composed of thousands of trees with +pointed and jagged limbs turned outward, that really prevented the +British and Provincials from gaining even the outer works of +Ticonderoga, behind which lay not more than thirty-six hundred men under +Montcalm. Abercrombie's engineer having reported that the works were +unfinished, and might be easily captured if promptly attacked, the +British general gave the order for assault, though his cannon had not +arrived, and indeed were not used at all. + +Not satisfied with one futile assault, in which his men were cut down by +hundreds, torn by grape-shot and mangled by cross-fires of musketry, +Abercrombie ordered another and another, until the heroic and desperate +fighting men were entirely exhausted. Never was there a greater display +of courage and senseless devotion to a mistaken sense of duty, than on +that day when the fifteen thousand British and Provincial soldiers tried +vainly to dislodge one-third their number of Frenchmen from their +position at Ticonderoga. And it was all on account of the incapacity of +a British commander, whom the home Government had sent out with +authority, not only over his own regulars, but Colonial officers whose +abilities were vastly in excess of his own. But it was not for these +Colonials to question; only to "do and die," and they did all in their +power, and died by hundreds, merely that an incompetent commander's +whims should be gratified. + +When at last the inept Abercrombie had sacrificed the lives under his +command to the number of two thousand or more, and became convinced that +he could not take Ticonderoga that way, he was seized with panic and +ordered a retreat. As the Rangers under Putnam were the first in the +assault, so they were the last to retire, being obliged to protect the +retreat of the main army, and remained till dusk on the edge of the +forest, where they maintained a continuous fire, to prevent pursuit. +With but one-third as many soldiers as Abercrombie brought to the +attack, Montcalm did not feel like pursuing the retreating foe, but +contented himself with the great victory--a victory won not so much by +the valor of his men as by the incompetency of his chief opponent. + +Had the advice of Putnam, Rogers, and others of the Provincials been +sought and accepted, much of this loss of life might have been averted, +for though themselves fighting with great courage, doggedly and against +all hope, they were averse to a direct assault without the cannon, with +which a breach might have been opened into the fort. But the cannon +reposed at the lake-side, whither retreated the defeated soldiers, with +such haste that they were enabled to embark that very night, leaving +their dead and many of their wounded in the forest where they lay. A few +days before, after the first engagement, Major Rogers, of the Rangers, +having been sent to bring off the dead and wounded of the enemy, had +cruelly despatched the latter, to the horror not only of his confrere, +Major Putnam, but of the British officers who became cognizant of the +fact. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A PRISONER AND IN PERIL + + +The good fortune with which Major Putnam had been favored during three +years of fighting a wily and treacherous foe, suddenly deserted him +when, in the month of August, 1758, he found himself confronted by an +Indian warrior of herculean frame, during a skirmish near Fort St. Anne. +He and Major Rogers had been sent out by Abercrombie to ascertain the +whereabouts of a war party which was committing depredations between +Fort Edward and the lakes. The timid general was very much afraid of an +attack in force by the victorious Montcalm, and constantly on the watch. + +One morning, as the Rangers were proceeding through a dense thicket, +with Putnam's Provincials in front, they ran into an ambush which the +wary Marin, the French partizan fighter, had prepared, by posting his +men in a semicircular position across the trail. Suddenly the air was +rent with yells and reports of firearms, and several Provincials fell in +their tracks. Putnam, taken unawares, yet as always cool and collected, +gave orders to return the fire, and sent word back for support, which in +the confusion incident to the sudden attack was not promptly +forthcoming. Forging ahead, he was confronted by an Indian chieftain, a +giant in size, against whose breast he at once placed the muzzle of his +fusee, which--as those primitive flintlocks were likely to do in an +emergency--missed fire. The savage then had him at his mercy, and +brandishing his tomahawk above his head compelled him to surrender, when +he tied him to a tree, and then left him to mingle in the fight again. +As the Rangers rallied to battle it happened that the tree to which +Putnam was bound came directly between the fires of both parties, and as +the bullets flew thickly around our hero's position was not by any +means an enviable one. Some of the balls passed through the sleeves and +skirt of his coat, and in this perilous position he remained for more +than an hour, unable either to move a limb or even his head. + +No attention was paid to him, except that now and then a savage would +approach, and seeing him there helpless and a conspicuous mark would +throw a tomahawk at his head, to see how near he could come to this +living target without inflicting a fatal wound. An equally savage +Frenchman also approached, and aiming his fusee at his breast, would +have put him out of his misery had it not missed fire. This enraged the +scoundrel so that he gave Putnam a blow on the jaw with the butt-end of +his musket which nearly finished him, and then left him alone. + +The battle waged unevenly for a while, but was finally decided in favor +of the Provincials, and the French and Indians hastily gathered their +prisoners together and fled northward toward Ticonderoga. Putnam's +captor stripped him of his coat and waistcoat, socks and shoes, then +after binding his wrists together he loaded him with as many packs as he +could pile upon his shoulders, and giving him in charge of another +Indian, left him to attend to the wounded. + +Poor Putnam was soon in a deplorable condition, with hands swollen +terribly from the tightness of the ligature, and his feet gashed and +bleeding, as he trudged along the trail beneath his enormous burden. He +begged the savages to knock him on the head and end his sufferings; but +he was soon to experience even more horrible sensations, for, arriving +in advance of the main party at the place where they were to camp for +the night, the small body of Indians that had him in charge concluded to +burn him at the stake! He was suffering terribly from the blow on his +jaw, from his swollen hands and mutilated feet, and also from a tomahawk +gash in his cheek, so that he cared little what became of him, provided +the end came quickly. To be burned alive, however, was a fate that +brought a shudder to the frame of even stout-hearted Israel Putnam, and +he looked on in horror while his captors stripped him naked, bound him +to a tree and piled the dry brush they had gathered for fuel around him +in a circle. All the while, as they labored at their fiendish task, they +chanted a funeral dirge, which was almost as depressing to their captive +as their sinister preparations for his immediate immolation. + +"Major Putnam soon began to feel the scorching heat," says his +biographer, Colonel Humphreys, who had these details from the chief +actor's own lips. "His hands were so tied that he could move his body, +and he often shifted sides as the fire approached. This sight, at the +very idea of which all but savages must shudder, afforded the highest +diversion to his inhuman tormentors, who demonstrated the delirium of +their joy by yells, dances, and gesticulations. He saw clearly that his +final hour was inevitably come. He summoned all his resolution, and +composed his mind, as far as the circumstances would admit, to bid an +eternal farewell to all he held most dear.... His thought was ultimately +fixed on a happier state of existence, ... the bitterness of death, even +of that death which is accompanied with the keenest agonies, was in a +manner past, ... when a French officer rushed through the crowd, opened +a way by scattering the burning brands, and unbound the victim." + +The officer was no other than the redoubtable partizan, Marin, who +exerted a wonderful influence over his savage company. He at once sent +for the Indian who had captured Major Putnam, who did what he could to +make amends for the dreadful treatment the latter had received; but that +night, in order to prevent his prisoner from escaping, he stretched his +limbs out in the shape of a cross and bound them to four saplings, then +placed poles and bushes across his body as it lay on the ground with +several Indians at either side, who kept watch the night through. + +Arrived at Fort Ticonderoga, Major Putnam had an interview with the +Marquis de Montcalm, who ordered him sent to Montreal, whither he was +taken without delay, and where he met a brother American, Colonel Peter +Schuyler, of New Jersey, who, possessing considerable influence, +compelled the Frenchman to treat their prisoner more humanely. The +capture of Louisburg, Frontenac and other posts, by the English that +year gave them numerous prisoners, which they were not slow to exchange +for those in the hands of the French. Thus it came about that the period +of Major Putnam's captivity was quite short, for he was in Montreal and +Quebec in the last days of August, his exchange was accomplished in +October, and in November he was on his way to his home in Connecticut. + +If the French had known who it was they held a prisoner in the person of +Major Putnam, doubtless they would have been slow to permit his +exchange; but Colonel Schuyler kept this information to himself, and +when told by the governor that he might select whatever officer he liked +to be included in the cartel, he chose his friend. + +"There is an _old man_ here," he said, "who is a Provincial Major, and +who wishes to be at home with his wife and children; he can do no good +here or anywhere else; I believe your Excellency had better keep some of +the young men, who have no wife or children to care for, and let the old +fellow go home with me." + +This subterfuge availed, and Putnam went along with his friend; but +whether the latter was justified in alluding to him as an "old man" is +doubtful, as he was then only forty years of age. He had, however, won +the sobriquets of "Old Wolf Putnam" and of "Old Put," long before, and +doubtless was accustomed to be regarded as elderly, despite his jolly +countenance and ever-cheerful disposition. + +His kind and affectionate nature was displayed at its best on the +journey home, which was long and wearisome, when he took charge of a +lady, Mrs. Howe, whose husband had been killed and scalped three years +previously. She had been in captivity ever since, and had endured untold +outrages from her captors. Her seven children were dispersed, but five +of them were recovered, and accompanied her back to her home in New +Hampshire. Colonel Schuyler had rescued her from captivity, and Major +Putnam constituted himself her protector during the long and toilsome +journey, leading her little ones, assisting the sorrowful mother over +the rough places, and sharing his meals with the unfortunate family. + +What a welcome the hero received on his home-coming, from his loving, +constant wife and children! They had heard of his vicissitudes, had +almost given him up for dead; but at last he was with them again, and +the dismal past was buried. The joy of the family at meeting again was +clouded by sorrow, however, for death had entered the family circle +since the father and husband's departure. Israel, the eldest son, was +there, and the daughters; but the second son was absent, never to +return. + +On an old tombstone in the graveyard at Brooklyn, Connecticut, is this +inscription: + + "In Memory of Mr. Daniel Putnam, son of Col^o. Israel Putnam & Mrs. + Hannah his wife, who died Aug. 8th, 1758, Aged 17 Years." + + Also of David Putnam, Son of y^e above Col^o. Israel & Mrs. Hannah + Putnam, who died Nov. 21, 1761, aged 1 month." + +The first death, of Daniel, his pet and pride, occurred, it is said, on +the very day (August 8, 1758), at the close of which Major Putnam was in +direst peril, tied to a tree in the forest, environed by fire and within +a circle of whooping, yelling savages. The demise of David, whom he +never saw, took place while the father was away on the Amherst +expedition, or just before his return from that campaign. Sturdy Israel, +the first-born son, had taken charge of the farm while his father was +off on his various campaigns--or at least had done his best to do so, +and the family had not wanted for provisions during the enforced +absences of the head of the family. As he was now a robust young man of +nearly twenty, and possessed all the home-loving traits of his father, +Israel was considered perfectly competent to carry on the farm at least +another season, and in the spring of 1759 his father, now advanced to +the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, went away again to the wars. + +Israel Putnam seemed never to know when he had enough of fighting; or +else his sense of duty to the king and his country was paramount to all +other considerations else. At all events, one of his bravery and force +could not be omitted from the great expedition that General Amherst (who +had been sent by Pitt to supersede Abercrombie) was then organizing. In +July, 1759, we find him with his command at Lake George, where the +second expedition against Ticonderoga set forth, following the route +taken by Abercrombie, over the lake to Ticonderoga, which was reached on +the 22d. On the 23d, the French officer in command of the fortress +suddenly departed down Lake Champlain with nearly all his men; but +Amherst did not know it, and kept on with his preparations for +bombardment, having his batteries in position before he was made aware, +by French deserters, that the place had been abandoned. Soon the powder +magazine blew up, having been left by the French with a lighted +slow-match attached for the purpose, the barracks caught fire, and +Ticonderoga, which had held out so well against British and Provincial +assaults, was at last laid low. It was reconstructed, as we know, and +served both British and Patriots in the Revolutionary War; but is now in +ruins, picturesque and imposing in their decay. + +Crown Point was also evacuated by the French, and thus at last the main +object of so many months' toil in the wilderness with such woful waste +of life and vast expenditure of treasure, was accomplished. While Putnam +and his comrades were engaged in restoring the fortifications of Crown +Point, they heard the news of British victories on every hand: of the +fall of Fort Niagara; and of the storming and capture of Quebec, when, +on that fateful thirteenth of September, 1759, Wolfe and Montcalm found +death and fame, the former at the hour of victory, the latter in defeat. + +Israel Putnam met nearly all the great British commanders, with the +possible exception of Wolfe, and had assisted with all his might at the +upbuilding of English power in America, so it was not strange that when, +later, the Revolution opened, he was looked upon by them more as a +friend than an enemy. The next year, when Amherst moved upon Montreal, +then the chief, almost sole possession of the French in Canada, Colonel +Putnam went along, as a matter of course, and, it is gravely related by +his first biographer, he assisted the general at a critical moment and +in a very novel way. Two armed vessels of the enemy were likely to cause +trouble to the British on the St. Lawrence, and Amherst was anxious to +put them out of the way before they could sink his boats. Putnam +proffered his services, declaring he could take the vessels in short +order. + +"How?" asked the General, somewhat amused as well as surprised. + +"With beetles and wedges, and a boat-load of men," answered "Put." And, +the story goes, he rowed out to the vessels, in the dead of night, drove +wooden wedges in behind their rudders, and left them helpless, for when +the wind came up they would not answer the helm and were driven ashore, +where their crews were easily taken by the English. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A CAMPAIGN IN CUBA + + +It can not be denied that Israel Putnam was already quite a traveler; +but it must be added that he had so far traveled mainly within a +circumscribed area. Over and over again this faithful soldier had +plodded the trails and military roads, and pushed his way through the +swamps, morasses, forests, of the wilderness region of New York, which +by the end of 1761 he should have known almost as well as the woodland +pastures of his own farm. But he was destined to extend his travels and +make a foreign voyage, still in the service of the King of England, whom +he had served so long and so well. + +He was present at the capitulation of Montreal, one September day, 1760, +and had the pleasure of meeting the Indian chief who had taken him +prisoner two years previously. He lived near Montreal, at the Indian +village of Caughnawaga, where he received his former captive with pride, +and was highly delighted to see his old acquaintance, "whom he +entertained in his own well-built stone house with great friendship and +hospitality; while his guest did not discover less satisfaction in an +opportunity of shaking the brave savage by the hand and proffering him +protection in this reverse of his military fortunes." + +Returning home at the end of the 1760 campaign, Putnam remained on his +farm all winter, and the next spring set out again for what proved an +uneventful season, with much hard work on fortifications and +entrenchments, but no fighting of account. For, so far as the mainland +of North America was concerned, the long struggle between France and +England was nearly at an end. France had been shorn of her possessions +in Canada, and she was losing her islands in the West Indies, where, +early in 1762, beautiful Martinique (to become famous as the birthplace +of the Empress Josephine, and a rich land of sugar and spices) was +captured by the British. + +In fact, the theater of war was transferred to the more southern regions +of the Caribbean Sea, and the New Englanders took a long breath and +congratulated themselves that at last they were at liberty to pursue +their callings unmolested. But in this they were somewhat premature, as +England was still engaged in fighting, and, no matter where her battles +were fought, she seemed to expect the loyal American colonists to +furnish soldiers for her wars. Connecticut, Putnam's home State, was +again called upon for the same number of able-bodied men she had +furnished year by year, and promptly proffered her bone and sinew to +fight the wars of King George the Third. + +A thousand men, besides fifteen hundred from New York and New Jersey, +embarked at the port of New York, in the month of June, 1762, bound for +Havana in Cuba, where British regulars were dying by hundreds of +pestilence, and sorely needed those colonial reenforcements. On this, +his first sea voyage, Colonel Putnam had a rough experience all the way +down, and off the north coast of Cuba the transport containing himself +and five hundred of his men was wrecked on a coral ledge. "Old Put" was +calm and collected, never more so, though unused to life at sea, and +preserved strict discipline among his men, thus aiding the mariners in +their endeavors to get out rafts and boats, on and in which the entire +company finally reached the shore. To his perils by fire, twice +incurred, brave Putnam could now add that by flood, thus giving the +spice of variety to his various adventures. + +"As soon as all were landed," wrote the biographer who knew him best, +"Putnam fortified his camp, that he might not be exposed to insult from +inhabitants of the neighboring districts.... Here the party remained +unmolested several days, until the storm had so much abated as to +permit the convoy to take them off. They soon joined the troops before +Havana, who, having been several weeks in that unhealthy climate, had +already begun to grow extremely sickly. The opportune arrival of the +Provincial reenforcement, in perfect health, contributed not a little to +forward the works and hasten the reduction of that important place. But +the Provincials suffered so miserably by sickness afterward, that very +few ever returned to their native land again." + +This is all that Colonel Putnam's contemporary, Humphreys, has to say of +the most eventful episode of his hero's career, but it seems to the +present writer (who has personally investigated the British and Colonial +invasion of Cuba "on the spot") that the subject is worthy of more +extended notice. The English expedition against Havana was occasioned by +the King of Spain, Charles III, having entered into what was known as +the "family compact" with Louis XV of France, by which the Bourbons were +to support each other against British rapacity and aggrandizement, as +they styled it. + +England had long looked covetously upon Havana, which the Spaniards +themselves called the "Key of the New World," situated at the mouth of +the Gulf of Mexico and (in the hands of a strong power) then controlling +the seaboard of territory at present comprised in the South Atlantic +States of our Union. So she hastened to seize the capital of Cuba, the +"Pearl of the Antilles," and early in June, 1762, the surprised and +frightened inhabitants were informed that a fleet of sixty ships-of-war +had landed more than 20,000 men at the little port of Cogimar, a few +miles to the east of picturesque and formidable Morro Castle. + +Quickly, then, the Captain-General assembled the "Junta of Defense," +composed of men most eminent in military affairs in Havana, and placed +before them the situation.[1] They resolved upon a spirited defense, +even though their soldiers were insufficiently armed and they had no +defensive works save the Morro, then about a hundred years old, and its +companion fortress called the Punta, between which two forts lay the +deep and narrow entrance to the harbor. This harbor was blocked by some +big war-ships, and a chain was stretched across the mouth, but the +English did not even essay an entrance, having landed their troops to +the east, and first marching upon the Morro from Cogimar and the town of +Guanabacao, which they took quite easily, and then sweeping over the +Cabanas hills, where the Spaniards later built the vast fortifications +which they should have constructed sooner for the defense of their +capital city. + +[Footnote 1: From _Nociones de Historia de Cuba_, by Dr. Vidal Morales; +Havana, 1904.] + +The Provincials arrived the last of July, and landed to the west of +Havana, where stands a small fort known as the Torreon of Chorrera, +which was defended with much valor, but compelled to surrender. +Afterward, however, they were transported to the Cabanas hills, and +there, on the site of the fortifications (above which, in 1904, the +American flag last waved in token of possession in Cuba), Israel Putnam +and his Provincials joined the British troops. And they were welcome, +beyond a doubt, for nearly half the British army was incapacitated +through fevers, and many men had died. + +[Illustration: Fort near Havana where the Colonials landed.] + +The arrival of the sturdy Colonials gave the besiegers of the Morro new +strength, and fresh courage, and within a few days they were called upon +to assist at carrying the castle by storm. The English had been a long +time sapping toward the fortress walls, and a breach having been opened +near the bastion, the combined assailants poured through in an +invincible flood. The Duke of Albermarle, who commanded the British +forces, had informed the comandante of the castle that he had mined the +bastion and demanded a capitulation. But the heroic commander, Don Luis +de Velasco, spurned the proffer, and as a consequence the castle was +stormed, and he was included among the five hundred slain on that +occasion. A tablet to his memory may be seen affixed against the +seaward wall of the Morro, and from the parapet may be traced the +British and Provincial line of approach. + +The bastion they breached was afterward repaired; but nothing could +repair the terrible losses sustained by both armies through sickness +caused by exposure and bad water. More than one-third of the Colonials +died of disease; but nothing seemed to trouble sturdy Old Put, who was +everywhere among his men, with comfort and consolation, carrying water +to the wounded, supporting the dying. The chaplain of the Connecticut +troops one day recorded in his diary: "Col. Putman and Lt. Parks went +off into ye country to buy fresh provisions." Two days later he noted +the death of Putnam's companion in this trip into the country; and that +was in October, only a few days before orders were given for the +Colonials to embark for New York. + +Havana capitulated soon after its only real defense, Morro Castle, was +taken, and the English entered into possession. But imagine the +feelings of the surviving soldiers who had gone so far and been exposed +to so great peril, when they learned, less than a year later, that the +city and fortress that had cost so dear had been given up, in exchange +for Florida and other Spanish territory east of the Mississippi. + +In Havana, where he was one day roaming about unarmed, Colonel Putnam +met with an adventure which nearly cost him his life and made him the +involuntary owner of a negro slave. Seeing a Spaniard beating a black +man with a bamboo cane, he darted in with his old time impetuosity, and +seizing the stick, wrenched it away from its owner, who, joined by other +exasperated Cubans, turned upon the American and compelled him to flee +to a vessel for safety. Here he was followed by the negro, who so +successfully appealed to the soldier's tender sensibilities that he +allowed him to accompany him home to Connecticut. There he served him +faithfully, and when his master died he bequeathed to "Old Dick"--as he +was called--the "Havana cane," of which the colored Cuban exile was +inordinately proud. + +Israel Putnam was now a man of substance, more than ever looked up to by +his neighbors and honored by the community in which he dwelt. Taking up +his duties of citizenship where he had left them on being summoned to +war, he threw off the military habit as he might an old garment now no +longer of service, and became again the contented, humble farmer. In +1763, about the time the treaty of peace between England and France was +signed, he was elected "selectman" of the town in which he lived, and +the ensuing spring appointed to receive the heads of such crows as +should be killed in the township, for which a bounty was offered of +sixpence each! Such humble offices as these he by no means despised, +always lending a hand to whatever appeared in the guise of duty. + +It became his duty, he thought, to go to war again, in the year 1764, +when the Indians, neglected by both French and English, who had now no +further need of their services, found themselves in danger of being +ground between the upper and the nether millstones. They looked with +apprehension upon the forts the English were erecting on every hand, and +finally rose in rebellion, under the leadership of Pontiac, chief of the +Ottawas. He organized a widespread conspiracy among the Indian tribes, +believing he could eventually exterminate "those dogs dressed in red," +as he called the English. The rising was appointed for the 7th of May, +1763, and no less than eight English garrisons were massacred, a +five-months' siege ensuing at Detroit, where Pontiac himself commanded +the Indians. The attacks were intermitted in the winter, but as they +were sure to be renewed in the spring, a call was sent out for colonial +troops. Appointed to command the Connecticut troops raised for this +service, Putnam took a prominent part in suppressing the uprising, going +out in the Bradstreet expedition. At Fort Ontario he met many old +friends, including Sir William Johnson and his band, also the Indian +chief who had captured him at Fort Ann in 1758, and who was now fighting +on the side of the English with as much zeal as he had previously served +the French. + +On his return from this wearisome campaign, Colonel Putnam again settled +down to the chosen occupation of his youth and the solace of his latter +years, on the farm. Having given ten of the best years of his life to +soldiering, he felt that he was entitled now to the rewards of peace. +But alas! within five months of his arrival home he lost two of his dear +ones by death: his daughter Elizabeth, only seventeen years of age, who +died in the winter of 1764-'65, and his beloved wife, Hannah, who passed +away in the April following. Of the ten children born to Israel and +Hannah Putnam in the twenty-six years of their happy married life, seven +were living at the time of the mother's death, the youngest only three +months old, and bearing the name of Peter Schuyler, in honor of the New +Jersey colonel who had befriended his father when a captive in Canada. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +TAVERN-KEEPER AND ORACLE + + +No one could call in question Israel Putnam's loyalty, yet the year +following his last campaign in behalf of King George, he might have been +found opposing the Government and riding from town to town, for the +purpose of inciting men to make armed resistance to the iniquitous +"Stamp Act," which had been passed and made a law early in 1765. While +James Otis, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry were eloquently declaiming +against it, Putnam was for putting words into action, and as one of the +"Sons of Liberty" was active in urging his countrymen to make a stand +for freedom. + +Though prevented by an accident from taking part in the proceedings by +which the "stamp-master" for Connecticut was compelled to resign his +position and disavow the office to which he was appointed, yet Putnam +was foremost in bringing this condition of affairs about. It seems that +one Mr. Ingersoll was appointed stamp-master by the Crown, and, on being +requested to resign from such an obnoxious office by the Sons of +Liberty, he returned an evasive answer. Consequently, a body of them +mounted their horses and went out to meet him, as he was on his way to +Hartford. Finding him on the road, they caused him to dismount and, in +the presence of the company, now swelled to several hundred, to read his +resignation as a royal appointee, and to shout for "liberty and +property," three times, as loud as he could. + +The spirit of the people, now thoroughly aroused, was very accurately +expressed by Colonel Putnam, who, deputed by the Sons of Liberty to wait +on the Governor of his State and inform him of the public sentiment +respecting the Stamp Act, made him understand that there would be no +temporizing whatever in the matter. + +"But what should I do," asked the perplexed Governor, "if the stamped +paper should be sent me by the King's command?" + +"Lock it up until we shall visit you again," replied Putnam, boldly. + +"And what will you do then?" + +"We shall expect you to give us the key of the room in which it is +deposited, and if you think fit, in order to screen yourself, you may +forewarn us not to enter that room upon our peril." + +"And then what will you do?" + +"Send the paper safely back again." + +"But if I should refuse you admission?" + +"In that case, your house will be leveled to the ground in five +minutes!" + +The Governor, who desired to be loyal, and was inclined to receive the +paper, was not called upon to act, the determined attitude of the Sons +of Liberty, preventing any from being sent into the State. Elected a +representative in 1766, Putnam was prepared to do all in his power to +frustrate the intent of the Act; but, in common with his fellow +citizens, was made happy by the news of its repeal. As this was then +the only bone of contention between the Colonials and the King, the +former hastened to send the latter a loyal address of thanks, assuring +him of their continued devotion, etc., etc. + +It would seem that farming, in colonial days, was almost as hazardous an +employment as fighting in the wilds, for Putnam was the victim of two +different accidents, by one of which he lost the first joint of his +right thumb, and by the other he received a compound fracture of his +right thigh. The latter being imperfectly attended to, rendered that leg +an inch shorter than the other, "which occasioned him ever after to limp +in his walk." Notwithstanding these injuries, he faithfully attended to +his duties as representative at Hartford. In June, 1767, two years and +two months after the death of his wife, Hannah, he was married to Mrs. +Deborah Lothrop, widow of John Gardiner, of Gardiner's Island, New York. + +As his second wife had a fine property on Brooklyn Green, in the center +of the town, and as the entertainment of his numerous admirers (who +came from all over the country to see him) was becoming burdensome, +Farmer Putnam concluded to convert the newly acquired mansion into an +inn. So he moved himself and most of his belongings (including his stock +of war relics and anecdotes) from the farmhouse to the "Green," nearly +two miles distant, and there set up as "mine host" Putnam, putting out a +sign of the Wolfe--not of the beast he had slain in early life, but the +gallant general of that name who fell at Quebec. This veritable sign may +now be seen in Hartford, at the rooms of the Connecticut Historical +Society, where also are several other precious relics of Putnam and his +time, including some autograph letters by the hero himself. + +Some one, long ago, wrote of this sign, which was affixed to one of the +great trees that stood in front of the tavern on the Green, "It +represents General Wolfe in full uniform, his eye fixed in an expression +of fiery earnestness upon some distant object, and his right arm +extended in emphatic gesture, as if charging on the foe or directing +some important movement of his army. The sign seems to have fared hardly +in one respect, being plentifully sprinkled with shot-holes!" + +A contemporary wrote of him, about this time: "Col. Putnam served with +the Connecticut troops under Amherst in the last war. By his courage and +conduct he secured to himself a good share of reputation. When peace +commenced he returned to the civil line of life. Of late he has occupied +a tavern with a farm annexed to it." + +As the landlord of a country tavern, the genial and loquacious colonel +with a past peculiarly his own, possessing the rotund figure, the frame +and habit of the traditional Boniface, seemed at last to have fallen +into his proper groove, where he fitted exactly. Now nearly fifty years +of age, with a record of ten years' fighting any one might well be proud +of, a reputation not confined within the boundaries of his own country, +and with some of his children already married and settled around him, +he had good reason to consider himself a fixture at Brooklyn Green. + +He had joined the Congregational Church, soon after the death of his +first wife, in 1765, and took a leading part in building the structure +that stands to-day near the site of the first meeting-house, which was +erected in 1734. It was in the year 1771 that the new church was +erected, opposite the house that Putnam turned into a tavern, and the +old tree that bore the sign of Wolfe. Church and trees remain to-day, +separated only by the public road; but the tavern itself no longer +exists, the building having been torn down some time ago. + +In 1772, it was voted by the parish that "Colonel Putnam take care of ye +new meeting-house and ring ye bell," for which service he was to receive +three pounds a year. Thus the duties of sexton and bell-ringer were +assumed by this many-sided man; but he had not performed them long +before he was called to go on a strange voyage in quest of lands in +West Florida, which were reported to have been granted to the survivors +of the French-and-Indian wars. The claims of the survivors were just +enough; but their quest was fruitless, for they were not given the +lands. However, a band of "military adventurers" set out, under the +leadership of General Phineas Lyman, who had been in command of +Connecticut's troops all through the wars, and Landlord Putnam was one +of them. + +Urged, perhaps, by his admirers to preserve some chronicle of his doings +this time (having been so neglectful in this respect in the past) our +hero actually began a journal, writing on the blank leaves of the +"orderly book" which he used in his Havana campaign. This book, doubly +interesting to the present generation, is still preserved by a lineal +descendant of Putnam, and attests to the fact that the soldier of many +wars was not equal to the intellectual effort of writing even a legible +diary of his doings. He soon gave it up, in fact; but the few entries +he made are exceedingly quaint and simple, as for example: + + "friday ye forst of jenauary, 1773--this Day no work don--went to + Church.... satorday ye 2--this day taking in goods for ye + voige--good weathor. thorsday ye 7--this was a varey good Day and + had almost all completed. Satorday ye 9 of Jenauary--had all things + on bord and ready for sailing But the wind was so much to ye south + it would not Do." + +At last the "military adventurers" got away. On the 30th of January they +touched in at Mole San Nicolas, island of Haiti, and a week later made +port at Montego Bay, Jamaica, where, according to the veracious diarist, +"we waited on ye mannegor of the plantation who treted us very +hamseley--walked with ous--shewed ous all ye Works and the mills to +grind ye _Cain_ and as we went thare was a dog atacked ye manegor and in +ye fight I tumbelled into won of the vats that was full of Liquer to +make rum of--shifted all my Cloths and went on borde." + +They finally arrived at Pensacola, where, learning to their sorrow that +no lands had been granted them, they set out on a short exploring trip +of the Mississippi, by the way of New Orleans, which ended north of +Natchez, to which spot General Lyman later returned and founded a +settlement, where he passed his last days. The gallant adventurers +returned to Pensacola, thence sailed to New York, where they arrived the +first week in August, 1773. + +It was Colonel Putnam's intention to invest in lands on the Mississippi, +it is believed, but the events that shaped toward and brought about the +Revolution were yearly getting more exciting, intense, and his soldier +instinct was aroused. He keenly watched the trend of events, he +discussed in his tavern the exciting news of the day with visitors from +all parts of the country, and his convictions were becoming stronger and +stronger that something dire and dreadful was to happen. + +The Boston massacre of the 5th of March, 1770, fired our hero almost to +a frenzy, and while there may have been men more eloquent in their +denunciations of the British soldiery, like Otis and Adams, there was +none more emphatic and in earnest. Between the massacre and the Boston +"Tea Party" in 1773, Putnam made his journey to the Mississippi; but he +was home, and as usual alert and anxious, when the latter event +occurred. + +From that moment he was most attentive to what was going on in Boston, +which was then the "danger spot" of the Colonies. He gave his time +freely to the anticipatory work of organizing his fellow citizens into +military companies and drilling them into proficiency, and he was made +chairman of the "Committee of Correspondence" for Brooklyn. As such he +bore to Boston, when the infamous "Port Bill" was passed, the +condolences and sympathy of his fellow citizens, in a letter eloquently +phrased, and--what was more satisfactory and substantial--the gift of a +flock of sheep. + +"We send you," the committee wrote, "one hundred and twenty-five sheep +as a present from the inhabitants of Brooklyn, hoping thereby you will +stand more firm (if possible) in the glorious cause in which you are +embarked." And Israel Putnam, always the man for the emergency, always +ready to mount and away at a moment's notice, rode all the way to +Boston, driving that flock of sheep before him! When arrived there he +was not received as the farmer, the tavern-keeper, the drover, but as +the famous military man, hero of many battles, an American of renown. He +was the guest of Dr. Joseph Warren, the patriot who was killed at Bunker +Hill; but people of all classes and conditions united to do honor to +"the celebrated Colonel Putnam," one of the "greatest military +characters of the age," and "so well known throughout North America that +no words are necessary to inform the public any further concerning him +than that his generosity led him to Boston, to cherish his oppressed +brethren and support them by every means in his power." The newspapers +alluded to him as "the old hero, Putnam"; and yet he was only +fifty-four at the time, at the period of life in which a man should be +able to do his best work. "He looks fresh and hearty," wrote one of his +friends to another, "and on an emergency would be as likely to do good +business as ever." + +And why not? Putnam himself might have asked this question, for he had +by no means reached his "grand climacteric," and was still ready, +willing--and able, as well--to fight the enemies of his country. He was +zealous in behalf of his fellow patriots, but during this visit to +Boston he found almost as many friends on the British side as on the +Colonial, including Governor Gage, with whom he had fought their common +enemies, the Indians. When one of them banteringly asked them whether he +was going to stand by the flag or the country he answered seriously, but +with perfect good nature: "I shall always be found on the side of my +country!" + +"Now, Putnam," another asked him, "don't you seriously believe that a +well appointed British army of say five thousand veterans could march +through the whole continent of America?" + +"No doubt," he promptly replied, "if they behaved civilly, and paid well +for what they wanted; but," he added, after a moment's pause, "if they +should attempt it in a hostile manner (though the men of America were +out of the question) the women would knock them all on the head with +their ladles and broomsticks!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +ON THE SIDE OF HIS COUNTRY + + +Ready and willing was Putnam--of that there is no doubt. Too willing, +some of his enemies declared, when in September, 1774, news coming from +Boston that American blood had been shed, without waiting to verify the +report, he started out to alarm the country. This proved a false alarm, +and he was strongly censured by those who had not kept a close watch on +happenings in Boston; but he defended himself so sturdily that his +critics were silenced. Two things were proved by this false alarm: that +the people were ready to be aroused on the slightest provocation, for +they filled the highways and flocked by thousands in the direction of +Boston; again, that the British intended to stay where they were, for +they extended their fortifications. Both sides were warned, and the +lines of demarcation began to be visible where before they had seemed +hardly to be distinguished, between loyalists and patriots. It was now +either for England or for America, even the common people felt, while +the leaders, like Israel Putnam, saw in the closer approach of warlike +preparations only the fulfilment of their predictions. + +The very next month, October, 1774, the militia of Putnam's State were +ordered to provide themselves with an increased supply of powder, +bullets and flints for their muskets. More vigorously than ever now he +applied himself to the training of the sturdy militia; hoping for +continued peace, perhaps, but preparing for nothing less than war. When +war broke finally, with the first blood shed at Lexington, it found the +minutemen of New England better prepared than their enemies believed, +and when the news of this epoch-making event reached Israel Putnam, this +great exemplar of the minutemen proved a model worthy their emulation. + +The messenger with the doleful tidings found him plowing in the field +back of his house at Brooklyn Green. His son Daniel was with him +driving the oxen, and when the patriot had gathered the full meaning of +the news he left the boy to unyoke the team, and himself hastened to his +barn, where he saddled and mounted his best horse and started out to +arouse the country again, as he had done seven months before. He had no +doubts this time as to the truth of the rumor, for it had come direct +and contained its own confirmation on its face. + +The British, eight hundred strong, had left Boston for Concord, where +they hoped to find some military stores. Encountering a small body of +militia at Lexington, Major Pitcairn, in command of the British +soldiers, called out to them to throw down their arms and disperse; but +as they did not do so he ordered his men to fire, killing eight of the +sturdy Americans, who even then did not run away, but joined themselves +to other minutemen now assembling, and again came in contact with their +foes at Concord Bridge. Just how many were slain the first message did +not accurately report; but it was enough that blood had been shed, and +it mattered not whether that blood was from ten men or a thousand. + +The die was cast, the moment for armed resistance had arrived, and +Israel Putnam tarried not for details, but sped straight for the home of +Governor Trumbull, at Lebanon (the same who was afterward known as +"Brother Jonathan"), and receiving from him mandatory permission to +proceed to the scene of strife, hastened back to Brooklyn, arriving at +his tavern home late in the afternoon. He had already been in the saddle +for hours, as the news reached him between eight and nine in the +morning, but before sunset the tireless warrior was again on horseback +and galloping for Cambridge and Concord. He probably had received +refreshment, food and drink at intervals, but he had not stopped to +change his working clothes for better, and went off on both long rides +in the farmer's frock which he wore when plowing in the field behind his +house. + +Though the Putnam mansion at Brooklyn Green is no longer in existence, +the great trees that stood in front of it in his time still cast their +grateful shade upon its site, and the walled field, sloping toward a +verdant meadow, may be seen by the visitor, much as it lay to the sun on +that lovely morning in April, 1775, when the farmer-patriot was +peacefully running his furrows. + +The distance to Cambridge was nearly ninety miles, yet Putnam covered it +in an all-night's ride, going pretty much over the same ground he had +traversed when, a young man of twenty-two, he had taken his wife and +child to their new home in Connecticut. Thirty-five years had elapsed +since the young pioneer had made his first venture in the world, ten of +which he had passed in fighting for the King against whose soldiers he +was soon to lead his fellow countrymen in war. Trained to fight the +battles of Britain, yet those ten years of experience in warfare with +the Indians were to prepare him for a wider, vaster field. He must now +have felt this, his patriot friends must have believed it, for their +eyes were turned expectantly toward Israel Putnam, as soon as the first +blood was shed at Lexington and Concord. + +See that sturdy figure, hurrying on horseback over the rough roads, +through the darkness of the night, toward the goal of duty! The British +had marched out of Boston at night, on the eighteenth of April, their +purpose and their route foretold by Paul Revere (who, by the way, was in +the campaign at Lake George, if not a comrade of Israel Putnam at that +time). At or near daybreak of the nineteenth, at Lexington, the shots +were fired "heard round the world"; at noon the British were in retreat +from Concord, where they had been routed by the minutemen, and by night, +exhausted, disgraced, defeated, they had reached Charlestown, under the +escort of Lord Percy and his 1,200 reenforcements, where they were +protected from the enraged militia by the guns of the fleet. + +With such celerity traveled the news, that Putnam heard it on the +morning of the twentieth; and with such celerity traveled Putnam, that +he was at Cambridge _on the morning of the twenty-first_, and that same +day at Concord, wonderful as may seem the feat performed by gallant +horse and rider. + +In the custody of the Connecticut Historical Society, at Hartford, the +original of the following letter may be found, which attests to Putnam's +arrival at Concord on the twenty-first, and to the use he made of his +time: + + Concord, April 21, 1775. + + Col. Williams, Sir + + I have waited on the com'tee of the Provisional Congress and it is + there Determination to have a standing Armey of twenty-two thousand + Men from the New England colonys of wh'h it is soposed the coloney + of Conecticut must raise Six Thousand and beg they would be on + Parade at Cambridge as Speedy as may be with conveniency together + with Provisions and Sufficiency of amonition for there own use, the + Battle hear is much as represented at Pomfrett--Except that there + is more killed and a Number taken Prisoners--The accounts are at + Present so confused that it is Impossible to assertain the number + exact. Shall inform you of the Prossedings from Time to Time as we + have New occurencys. + + mean Time I am Sir yr very Humble Servt + + Israel Putnam. + + N.B. The Throop of Horse is not Expected to come on till further + notice. + + Sir. Being in hast and cannot write Disire a copy of this to be + transmitted to Governor Trumble. + + A true copy, Ebenezer Williams. + + Pomfret, April 22, 1775. + +In the Lexington-Concord fight, the first engagement between British and +native Americans, the former lost two hundred and seventy-three, and the +latter about one hundred, in killed and wounded, twenty-three towns +being represented among the wounded and slain. "It was not a great fight +in itself, but it was great, and even grand, in its consequences. On +that day a nation was born. Then the American learned for the first time +how to stand and fight for their own liberties." + +The rallying minutemen flocked to the scene of the encounter, springing +to arms without a thought of consequences, rising to the defense of +their homes as one man, and within a week there were sixteen thousand +men investing the demoralized enemy at Boston. Their alacrity in +assembling at the common rendezvous has been a matter of wonder ever +since, for nearly all marched on foot, without the assistance of horses +or steam. The writer of these lines had an ancestor who was foremost +among those minutemen hurrying to the defense of liberty, and who, it is +a tradition in his family, ran nearly all the way from Beverly, twenty +miles distant, with his flint-lock on his shoulder. Hence, as all were +equally prompt in leaping at the enemy's throat, Putnam's remarkable +feat was not at the time considered extraordinary. + +In a few days our hero was at home again, having been called to Hartford +by the legislators, who were desirous of consulting with their most +experienced warrior, and bestowed upon him the rank and title of +brigadier-general. All these events took place within the space of a +week's time, and before another week had passed Brigadier-General Putnam +was in headquarters at Cambridge, occupying a house which stood within +the present grounds of Harvard University. General Artemus Ward, of +Massachusetts, was commander-in-chief of the forces, having been +commissioned by the Provincial Congress; but Putnam was the greater +favorite with the soldiers, in whose vocabulary (to paraphrase a saying +common at the time) "the British were the Philistines, and Putnam, the +American Samson, a chosen instrument to defeat the foe." + +It is a matter of record that General Ward relied upon the advice of his +old friend, with whom he had fought, under Abercrombie, at Ticonderoga, +and kept him always within call at headquarters. Had he followed his +advice more closely, however, it would have been better for their sacred +cause, as was shown in the crucial test at the battle of Bunker Hill, +when Putnam's repeated requests for reenforcements were at first denied, +then so hesitatingly granted that they proved of small avail. + +To Putnam, then, and not to Ward, the officers and men of the assembled +militia looked for advice and encouragement. They were quite naturally +doubtful as to the result of their hasty action, and as most of them had +never been under fire they were timid and even down-hearted. But Putnam +was continually engaged in arousing both their patriotism and their +hopes. When General Warren asked him (wrote Putnam's son Daniel, many +years later) "if 10,000 British troops should march out of Boston, what +number, in his opinion, would be competent to meet them, the answer was, +'Let me pick my officers, and I would not fear to meet them with half +that number--not in a pitched battle, to stop them at once, for no +troops are better than the British--but I would fight on the retreat, +and every wall we passed should be lined with the dead!'" + +"Our men," the General said on another occasion, "would always follow +wherever their officers led--I know this to have been the case with +mine, and have also seen it in other instances." And as Putnam's record +had long since proved that he always led, and asked no man to approach +nearer the foe than he himself was willing to go, the soldiers were +enthusiastic for "Old Wolf Put," the fighter, though lukewarm in their +feelings toward the commander. + +They did not admire the methods Putnam employed to keep them out of +mischief--these raw and undisciplined militia, accustomed to do as they +liked and to take orders from no man--for he kept them actively employed +all the time. "It is better to dig a ditch every morning, and fill it up +at evening, than to have the men idle," said Old Put, and though the men +grumbled the results soon showed that he was right. + +What they also needed more than anything else was confidence, and, in +order to inspire that, he paraded some two thousand of them through +Charlestown over the hills soon to become world-famous, and right in +sight of the enemy. He did this several times, and on one occasion took +with him his son Daniel, who wrote of it afterward: "I felt proud to be +numbered among what I then thought to be a mighty host destined for some +great enterprise." + +Daniel was then only fifteen years of age, yet he performed a man's +work, proving himself worthy of his parentage, and was his father's +aide-de-camp and companion. During the progress of the battle at Bunker +Hill he acted as the guard and defender of a British refugee's wife and +family, and stoutly did his duty, boy that he was. + +Perhaps the highest tribute paid to Putnam's prowess was the offer of +his old-time friend and comrade, General Gage, the British +commander-in-chief, to pay him a large sum of money, and secure him a +major-generalcy in the British army, if he would desert the "rebel" +cause and come over to that of the King. Putnam spurned this offer, of +course, as did sturdy Colonel Stark, another comrade of the Indian wars, +and several others. He was all the more active, if possible, in seeking +out the enemy's weak points and in attempts to reduce his supplies. + +An opportunity offered, some time in the last week of May, both to annoy +the enemy and gain substantial recompense for a somewhat hazardous +adventure. Several hundred sheep and cattle were in pasture on Hog and +Noddles islands (the latter now East Boston), and as it was feared that +the British might secure them before the Colonials did, a small force +was sent to drive them to the mainland. It was sent by Putnam, whose +great and burning desire for a "brush" with the enemy was now about to +be gratified, and as a party of marines on guard over the live-stock +fired on the Americans, Putnam hastened to their rescue with a larger +force. + +A British sloop and schooner then joined in the fight; but the Colonials +turned their single cannon upon the craft, and soon disabled the larger +vessel, which drifted ashore and, after the crew had been either shot or +driven away, was set on fire. In this engagement ten or fifteen British +were killed and wounded, but no Provincial lost his life, though two or +three of Putnam's men were wounded. They fought with great spirit, +wading in water from knee to waist deep, and not only brought off all +the live-stock in safety, but also took away the guns, rigging and sails +of the schooner, as well as some clothes and money left by the sailors +in their flight. This brisk engagement gave the raw soldiers just the +confidence they needed, and they returned in high spirits to their camp. + +"I wish we could have something of this kind to do every day," remarked +Putnam to Ward and Warren, as he reached his headquarters, where they +were waiting for him to appear. "It would teach our men how little +danger there is from cannon-balls; for though they have sent a great +many at us, nobody has been much hurt by them." He was wet from head to +foot, and covered with mud to his waist; but he did not mind that at +all, and was as hilarious as a boy just let out from school. + +The British were greatly chagrined at this second defeat, the first +engagement after the Concord-Lexington fight, but at an exchange of +prisoners, conducted, on the one hand, under Putnam and Warren, and on +the other under Majors Small and Moncrief, the sixth of June, no ill +feeling was shown. Putnam and Small (whose life the former was +instrumental in saving at Bunker Hill, and who were old +companions-at-arms), embraced, and one eye-witness said, kissed each +other, in the excess of their joy at meeting; yet less than two weeks +later they were opposed in a fight to the death. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL + + +General Putnam was greatly elated over the exchange of prisoners, +recognizing, with the prescience of a statesman, that General Gage had +conceded a point of importance as to the status of his opponents. "He +may _call_ us rebels now, if he will," he said to his son, "but why then +doesn't he hang his prisoners instead of exchanging them? By this act he +has virtually placed us on an equality, and acknowledged our _right_ of +resistance." That was one point gained by the general; another was, the +consent of the Committee of Safety to his plan of operations against the +British in Boston. + +General Ward and Dr. Warren were in favor of moderation, and opposed to +the scheme advanced by Putnam, of forcing the enemy to either fight or +retire. They urged that they had no battering cannon and but little +powder, there being but sixty-seven barrels in the whole army, and no +mills to make any more when that was gone. And again, they feared for +the steadiness of the men, once they found themselves opposed by the +best of Britain's soldiers. But Putnam was persistent, not in advocating +the bombarding of Boston, or of a large expenditure of powder and ball +in trying to force the British from their position; but in fortifying +the heights of Dorchester and Charlestown, which completely commanded +the city. + +He knew the British mode of attack and defense, knew their tactics +through long observation in the ranks; and yet for him and his +compatriots those same British professed to feel naught but contempt. +They had always ignored the Provincials' claims to advancement on equal +terms with their own officers; they thought their soldiers in the Indian +wars were boorish and uncouth, merely because they paid little attention +to dress or discipline; yet here was one of those least regardful of +appearances (though an advocate of discipline) who knew them and their +tactics through and through. And he also knew the men of his command +better than any officers of inferior rank knew them. His one cry was, +"fight, fight; bring our men into contact with the enemy, in order that +they shall gain confidence and learn that they are really their equals, +and more than that. Fight and entrench, entrench and fight; run away +when it comes to a pinch, fight while you run; but fight!" + +"But will our men stand before an enemy?" queried the timid ones. "Yes, +they will," declared Putnam with a laugh. "Our troops are not all afraid +of their heads, though very much concerned for their _legs_, and if you +cover these they'll fight forever!" In other words, put them behind +entrenchments, and he would pit them against the finest fighters that +could be brought against them. The result at Bunker Hill was a +vindication of his belief. + +As Putnam had all along declared, it was in the nature of an +impossibility for sixteen thousand armed men to besiege ten thousand +other armed men without something happening partaking of violence. The +war was "on," there was no doubt of that, why then hesitate at warlike +measures? Still the commander-in-chief hesitated and paltered, while +Putnam fumed, but labored hard. + +What Putnam had advocated as the highest strategy, the seizing of some +height commanding the British position, was forced upon the irresolute +commander-in-chief by the British themselves. Shortly after General +Gage's four thousand soldiers had been reenforced by six thousand more, +under Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, the Americans learned that the enemy +intended to take and fortify the heights of Charlestown or Dorchester +themselves. As it was then the sixteenth of June, and their move was to +be made on the eighteenth, there was no time to lose if they were to be +forestalled; so orders were issued by the Committee of Safety, +sanctioned by a council of war, for taking possession of Bunker Hill in +Charlestown. + +A detail of a thousand men was made from three Massachusetts regiments, +to which, in order to placate General Putnam, two hundred Connecticut +soldiers were added under his friend, Captain Knowlton. This small body +of militia, with a few field pieces as artillery, was to sally forth to +rouse the British lion in his lair. The detachment was placed under +Colonel William Prescott, of Massachusetts, General Putnam "having the +general superintendence of the expedition," and about nine o'clock at +night, after having been paraded on Cambridge Common, and listened to +prayer by the president of Harvard College, this devoted band set forth +on its mysterious mission. + +Striding ahead of his men, all of whom had perfect confidence in their +beloved officer, Colonel Prescott led the way, accompanied by two +sergeants carrying lanterns. Not until they had reached the foot of +Bunker Hill, where they found entrenching tools awaiting them which had +been sent ahead in wagons, did the rank and file know the object of +their march in the night; yet they faltered not, nor displayed a +disposition to retreat. Their leaders knew, of course; but even they +were in doubt, when once arrived at Charlestown, which of its eminences +to select. Their orders explicitly indicated Bunker Hill as the one to +fortify, but, "though this was the most commanding and most defensible +position, it was too far from the enemy to annoy their army and +shipping." Situated nearer the British general position was another +elevation, Breed's Hill; but this was only sixty-two feet in height, as +compared with Bunker Hill's one hundred and ten. This was finally +selected, but only after a long consultation, which lasted until near +midnight, when the veteran military engineer, Colonel Gridley (who had +been awaiting the decision in great anxiety, owing to the loss of +valuable time), at once proceeded to lay out the works. + +On the summit of Breed's Hill the skilled engineer quickly ran the lines +of that world-famous redoubt in which our immortal freemen inflicted a +technical defeat upon Britain's bravest soldiers. It was planned and +constructed with a redan facing Charlestown which protected the south +side of the hill, and was only about eight rods square, continued by a +breastwork on its eastern side, from which it was separated by a +sallyport protected in front by a "blind," with a passage-way opening +rearward as a provision for retreat. The men were given picks and +shovels, and at once bent to their task with feverish energy. Scant four +hours they had before them, when daylight would reveal them and their +position to the enemy, for June's longest days and shortest nights were +near, with daylight at four in the morning. They all labored for their +lives, both officers and men, and toiled without cessation to the end. +The night was dark, but the stars shone bright, and by their light +Colonel Prescott and another officer, Major Brooks, stole down to the +shore to observe the enemy, where they were reassured by the "All's +well" from the British sentries on board the ships off shore. + +All was not well--for them--most assuredly; but it was not until the +morning mists rolled away from the rounded summits of the hills in front +that they found it out. Then they might well gaze in wrath and wonder, +beholding that work as if of enchantment going on before them, on that +hill-top within short cannon-shot of their shipping. But they did not +spend much time in rubbing their eyes and in vain speculation, being +well assured at a glance that the "rascally American militia" had stolen +a march upon them in the night and brought all their plans to naught. + +A brisk cannonade was opened from the war-ships upon the weary, toiling +men in the entrenchment; but they still worked on, incited to their +utmost by the gallant Prescott, who himself is said to have lent a hand +with pick and shovel. General Putnam's predictions as to their coolness +under fire were more than verified, and had he been there then he would +have been surprised at their indifference to the cannonading now going +on so furiously. One man only was killed in this preliminary firing, and +he had strayed outside the breastwork. + +"Man killed, what shall we do with him?" asked a subaltern of Prescott. + +"Bury him," was the laconic answer; and buried he was, in the ditch, +while the work on the redoubt went on. + +General Putnam was not on the hill when the cannon-fire began, having +gone back to camp to change his tired horse for a fresher one; for his +gait, says the historian, was always fast and furious. At the first +report, however, he pricked up his ears and sent to Commander Ward for +another horse; but before his orderly returned, he had procured still +another and was already on his way to Charlestown. He had tried to +procure for his men not only reenforcements but refreshments, for they +had taken with them only one day's rations. In this he was disappointed, +General Ward refusing to send over any more men, at that time, +believing the British would take advantage of his weakened force to make +a direct attack upon the main army at Cambridge. But when, having +arrived at the hill, Putnam conversed with Prescott and noted the +necessitous condition of the men, he again mounted and in hot haste rode +back to Cambridge, with an urgent plea to the commander for assistance. +This time it was not refused, and again gallant Putnam rode across +Charlestown Neck, at the risk of his life, to take part in the coming +conflict. + +Meanwhile, there was a great commotion in the British camps, and from +their place of vantage on Breed's Hill the patriots could see the +gathering soldiers marching for the shore. General Gage had quickly +called a council, which instantly decided that the patriots must be +dislodged at whatever cost. As the prescient Putnam had foretold, the +occupation of a hill so near their lines made their position untenable. +They must move out or fight, and not even Putnam believed they would +retreat from their snug quarters in Boston town. He knew well what was +coming, and was not at all surprised to see, gathering beneath the +blazing morning sun of the torrid day that had succeeded to a sultry +night, the thousands of redcoats, armed and equipped for battle. + +After informing the anxious soldiers on the hill of the promised succor +to arrive, Putnam rode along the lines and, casting his eye over the +situation, perceived that it would be a grave strategic omission to +neglect to entrench the hill in the rear, which was the original object +of their advance. As the main redoubt was then practically completed, +and the men were resting from their toil, he ordered the entrenching +tools to be taken to Bunker Hill, and another work begun which might +serve as a "rallying place" in case they were compelled to retreat--as +undoubtedly they would be. This entrenchment was begun but never +finished, owing to the lack of time. Had it been completed, and had the +men been able to avail of its defenses, there might have been a +different tale to tell of the final finish at Bunker Hill. But noon had +now arrived, the British frigates and floating batteries were by this +time not only raining shot like hail upon and around the redoubt, but +sending a scathing fire across the Neck, under cover of which +barge-loads of soldiers were landing on the peninsula preparatory to an +advance. + +Noon came, but not the reenforcements which had been promised by General +Ward, so General Putnam "seized the opportunity of hastening to +Cambridge, whence he returned without delay. He had to pass a galling +enfilading fire of round, bar, and chain shot, which thundered across +the Neck from a frigate in the Charles River, and two floating batteries +hauled close to the shore," wrote one who had conversed with +eye-witnesses of this scene. The neck, or narrow passage-way between the +Charles and Mystic Rivers, was only about one hundred and thirty yards +across and exposed to that terrible cannonade; yet over it flew the +reckless rider, coat off, in shirt-sleeves, an old white hat on his +head; back and forth he rode, fearless and unscathed. The great painter +Trumbull, who produced the celebrated picture of the Battle of Bunker +Hill, which has excited the admiration of thousands, represented General +Putnam conspicuously placed in that scene, but arrayed in an immaculate +uniform, with ruffles and frills, and such like accessories which "Old +Put" would have spurned. + +Still, the _man_ was there, if not the uniform. His appointment as +major-general was dated two days after that memorable 17th of June; but +he was then, as brigadier-general, the ranking officer present, until +brave Warren appeared upon the scene. The latter was discovered by +Putnam just as he was wheeling about after meeting and posting the +gallant Colonel Stark and his New Hampshire reenforcements behind the +rail fence and grass breastwork, where they gave such a good account of +themselves that day. Turning about, he saw the slender figure of the +newly-made major-general before him, a sword at his side, but a musket +on his shoulder. + +"What, Warren, you here?" he is said to have exclaimed. "I am sorry to +see you ... but I'm ready to submit myself to your orders." + +"No, no, I came only as a volunteer," replied Warren. "Tell me where I +can be most useful." + +Pointing to the redoubt, Putnam said, "You will be protected there." + +"I am not seeking a place of safety," rejoined Warren with warmth; "tell +me where the onset will be most furious." + +"There," answered Putnam. "That will be the enemy's object. Prescott is +there and will do his duty; if that can be defended, the day will be +ours." + +The shouts of the soldiers announced to Putnam the arrival of Warren in +their midst, and not long after another cheer proclaimed the arrival of +an old friend and comrade of his, Colonel Seth Pomeroy, a veteran of the +Indian wars, who, twenty years before, had succeeded to the command of +Colonel Ephraim Williams's regiment at the battle of Lake George. He had +been aroused by the tidings from the seat of war, and though, like +Putnam, he lived nearly or quite a hundred miles away, he had hastened +to be in the thick of the fight. He had borrowed a horse from General +Ward, but, with characteristic Yankee caution, had left it the other +side of the Neck, in charge of a sentry, and had walked over, amid the +hail of shot from the frigates and batteries. + +Pomeroy and Putnam would have made a good pair to represent Valor and +Intrepidity, were statues desired for those noble qualities. When Putnam +saw him he cried out: "You here, Pomeroy? By God! a cannon-shot would +waken you out of your grave!" He was in his seventieth year, having been +born in 1706, and twelve years Putnam's senior. + +So they gathered, the young and the old, the learned doctor and the +practical mechanic, for the defense of Freedom--a magnet that drew both +Pomeroy and Warren to that since-famous redoubt on the summit of Breed's +Hill. They offered their services to Colonel Prescott, and he gladly +accepted them, demurring as to Warren, and tendering him the command, +which was his by right of rank. But the patriot simply said, as before, +that he had come to fight as a volunteer, and at once mingled with the +men within the redoubt. + +The movements of the British were slow, and mid-afternoon had arrived +before the agonizing suspense was over and they began their advance up +the hill. The eager Americans were hardly to be kept behind their +earthworks, much less restrained from firing at the advancing foe, as +the solid ranks came marching up the acclivity, ominously silent, with +deadly intent. But Putnam was with them, riding slowly up and down the +lines. + +"Don't waste your powder, boys," he shouted. "Wait for orders, then fire +low, take aim at their waistbands. Aim at the handsome coats, pick off +the commanders!" They did as commanded, only a few anticipating orders, +and at the fatal command, "Fire!" the ranks in front of them melted away +like snow before the sun. + +It was the same at the breastwork as at the redoubt, and at the second +or third volley the remaining redcoats broke and fled promiscuously down +the hill. It was not in the nature of even the bravest men to march to +certain destruction, and General Howe had difficulty in re-forming his +defeated troops for a second assault; but on they came, the intrepid +Howe in advance and on foot, until within even a shorter distance of +redoubt, breastwork, and rail fence, when a sheet of flame burst forth +that carried all before it to destruction. + +The scene outspread from the hill was perfectly appalling, and, to add +to the terrors of thunderous artillery, from frigates, floating +batteries and field-pieces, clouds of smoke came pouring out from +Charlestown, which had been set on fire, enveloping the contestants, at +first, in semi-obscurity. It was the intention of the British, in +setting fire to Charlestown, to veil their movements as they marched up +the hill; but this was frustrated by the rising wind, which carried the +smoke aloft and away. + +In the second advance, as in the first, the soldiers were led by General +Howe, who seemed, like Putnam, to bear a charmed life, at this time +having all his staff officers killed or wounded but one. For the +Provincials had strictly obeyed Putnam's orders, to pick off the men in +handsome coats. He himself was touched to the heart. + +"Oh, my God, what carnage!" he cried, as he saw his former friends and +comrades fall before the withering blast. Seeing several of his men +aiming their pieces at the only officer remaining unhurt, he darted +forward and struck up their muskets, exclaiming: "For God's sake, lads, +don't fire at that man! I love him as I do my brother." It was Major +Small, a former companion of the Indian wars, who owed his life to +Putnam's intervention, and who afterward tried to requite the +favor--though vainly--when brave Warren fell, by entreating him to +surrender. + +The sword with which Old Put struck up the muskets of his men was always +visible in the thickest of the fight, waving in air, descending with +resounding whacks--the flat of it--upon recreant soldiers' shoulders; +held threateningly against the breast of cowardly artillerymen, when, +their cartridges proving inadequate, they were about abandoning their +guns. + +The little field-pieces were too puny to do much harm, but they counted +for something, Putnam said, as he tore a cartridge in pieces and, +ladling the powder and canister into the gun, aimed and discharged it +into the advancing ranks of the foe, with effect. But all was of no +avail. The Americans had good cause to believe the enemy had had enough; +but Putnam knew the foe and cautioned them against overconfidence. True +to his predictions, they reformed for a third charge upon the hill, led, +as before, by the gallant Howe, and this time, as the Provincials had +nearly exhausted their supply of ammunition, they were forced to +extremities. + +Yet nearer than before, the British were allowed to approach, and, with +their artillery enfilading the redoubt and the breastwork with deadly +effect, the brave Provincials waited till they were within twenty yards +before they fired their last rounds into the foe. Then they clubbed +their muskets, dashed stones into the faces of the foe, fighting hand to +hand, as the British poured over the earthworks in a stream. Seeing his +forlorn position, Prescott ordered a retreat, and his men sullenly +obeyed, fighting to the last, stubbornly contesting every foot. + +Down below, on the slope near the Neck, was the infuriated Putnam, doing +his utmost to urge forward the belated reenforcements. When he saw the +onpouring mass of men in retreat he was wild with rage. "Halt, you +infernal cowards!" he yelled. "Halt here and make a stand. We can stop +them yet!" But he was overborne by the resistless stream, and with an +impious imprecation on his lips he dismounted, near a field-piece, "and +seemed resolved to brave the foe alone." One man only, a sergeant, took +his stand beside him, but he was soon shot down, and brave Old Put was +left without support. "The enemy's bayonets were just upon him when he +retired," probably the last unwounded warrior to retreat from Bunker +Hill! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +HOLDING THE ENEMY AT BAY + + +The battle had been fought, and had resulted even better than the then +enraged Putnam himself could have anticipated, for although technically +defeated, the Provincials had achieved a real victory, the fruits of +which were to be enjoyed by generations then unborn. For they had +conquered themselves as well as the enemy, whom they had met with calm +confidence; and had they been better supplied with ammunition, that +enemy would never have seen the inside of the redoubt and the +breastworks. + +British bayonets defeated them finally, as opposed to clubbed muskets +and stones cast by despairing men, whose very last thought was of +retreat. Many and many a man besides Prescott and Putnam, Stark and +Pomeroy, Knowlton and McClary, raged like wolves that day at its ending, +to find themselves compelled to accept a retreat as the alternative of +capture or death. Like lions making for their lairs in the hills, +Prescott and Putnam gave way at last before the overwhelming forces of +the enemy; and, after passing through the storm of cannon-balls still +hurtling across the Neck, they had leisure to count up their losses; for +the British were too exhausted, too much in awe of their prowess, even, +to pursue. + +It was a very good showing for green troops, that which told the +respective losses of British and Americans: more than a thousand of the +former, as against less than five hundred of the latter. Each side lost, +in killed and wounded, about one-third the total number of its men, for +the British brought about four thousand five hundred troops into the +field; while the Americans in active conflict, including such +reenforcements as reached the hill, scarcely exceeded fifteen hundred. + +A very good showing, a "great victory"--yet purchased at fearful cost +to both sides. A host of British officers, many of them bearing names +distinguished for valor and honorable lineage, went down before the +volleys of the Provincials, while the latter had also a sorrowful tale +to tell. Warren had fallen, one of the last to leave the redoubt; old +Pomeroy had his musket shattered, but drew off in good order, taking it +along with him for repairs; McClary was killed by a cannon-ball, while +boasting that the shot was not cast that would end his life; and so the +story went. + +One of the strangest happenings was the end of Major Pitcairn, who had +ordered the first shots fired at Lexington, and who, one of the first +over the redoubt, was killed by a negro soldier named Salem, falling +into the arms of his son. It came about, some time after, that the +pistols he had carried at Lexington (which were taken from his holsters +when his horse was shot under him, and he lay on the ground feigning +himself dead) were presented to General Putnam. He carried them through +all his subsequent campaigns, and at present they may be found in the +custody of the Library at Lexington. + +One field-piece only was saved out of six guns taken by the Provincials +into battle, and it was near the last one left in the field that the +enraged Putnam took his stand, between his retreating men and the +advancing foe, until "his countrymen were in momentary expectation of +seeing this compeer of the immortal Warren fall." + +That was Putnam: one of the first in the field, the last to leave it. We +have seen (as all his biographers and many historians have agreed in +stating) that he took a most active part throughout, exposing himself +continually to the shots of the enemy, guiding, directing, leading; and +that no man's commands were so eagerly received and so promptly obeyed +as his. And yet there are cavilers who have raised the question as to +whether he or Prescott commanded at the battle of Bunker Hill--as though +it mattered much. Both were sons of Massachusetts, and Putnam an +adoptive son of Connecticut, fighting on Massachusetts soil. + +It is certain that neither he nor Prescott gave a thought to this +matter, especially at the time the balls flew thickest.[2] They may have +had differences of opinion, as, for instance, when Putnam attempted to +take away some of Prescott's men from the redoubt to throw up earthworks +on Bunker Hill. Subsequent events proved that Putnam's scheme of defense +was the right one, and only lack of time and men prevented its being +carried out. + +[Footnote 2: "Putnam," says Irving, in his Life of Washington, "also was +a leading spirit throughout the affair; one of the first to prompt and +the last to maintain it. He appears to have been active and efficient at +every point, sometimes fortifying, sometimes hurrying up reenforcements; +inspiriting the men by his presence while they were able to maintain +their ground, and fighting gallantly at the outpost to cover their +retreat."] + +As soon as once assured that the defeat of the Provincials was +overwhelming, Putnam lost no time in entrenching at Prospect Hill, the +first spot at which he could halt his fleeing troops. Here he stayed, +working like a beaver and digging like a badger, and this strategic +position, which he had seized and selected almost intuitively, he +continued to occupy until appointed to the command of the center +division of the army at Cambridge, where, on July 2, 1775, he for the +first time met General Washington, who had come with his appointment as +Commander-in-Chief recently received from the Continental Congress. + +Not long after formally taking command of the army, beneath the historic +elm at Cambridge, Washington made a tour of the fortifications and was +astonished at the progress Putnam had made at Prospect Hill, as well as +at the military skill he had shown in taking and fortifying it. Two days +later he presented him with his commission as a _Major-General_ in the +Continental Army, which had been unanimously bestowed by Congress on the +19th of June, two days after the battle of Bunker Hill, and which he +received on the 4th of July. Putnam's commission was the only one then +presented in person by Washington, though three others had been +appointed major-generals under him: Lee, Ward, and Schuyler. A great +deal of jealousy and heart-burning resulted from the appointments, one +of the brigadiers, General Spencer, over whom Putnam had been advanced, +threatening to resign. + +In these days began the friendship which existed between the +Commander-in-Chief and Major-General Putnam during the remainder of +their lives. Putnam's honesty, industry, frankness, and integrity +interested General Washington, who was delighted with this bluff old +soldier who wore his laurels so modestly. "You'll find," wrote a +contemporary to a friend, "that Generals Washington and Lee are vastly +fonder and think higher of Putnam than any man in the army; and he truly +is the hero of the day!" + +On the 6th of July, 1775, the Continental Congress sent out its formal +Statement, which was read at headquarters in Cambridge on the 15th, and +to Putnam's division, then at Prospect Hill, on the 18th. At the same +time the new standard recently sent from Connecticut was unfurled, to +the acclaim of a mighty "_Amen!_" and the thunder of cannon from the +fort. The commotion aroused the British in their dearly-bought +stronghold over at Charlestown. In the language of the Essex Gazette, +proclaiming this event: "The Philistines on Bunker Hill heard the shouts +of the _Israelites_, and being very fearful, paraded themselves in +battle array." + +Putnam's bold stand at Prospect Hill, so promptly taken and so stoutly +maintained, kept the enemy within the territory they had purchased with +the blood of their best soldiers, and they never advanced any farther +into the country they coveted. The lines of investment around Boston +were drawn closer and made more nearly impregnable, yet weeks and months +went by without any material change in the relative positions of British +and Provincials, save that Putnam still kept on digging, and creeping +nearer and nearer to the foe. By fortifying Cobble Hill, an elevation +that more completely commanded the Charles than his main fortress at +Prospect Hill, Putnam was enabled to open fire upon the British +men-of-war and floating batteries, and soon silenced and drove them +away. Not satisfied with this achievement, a few days later his men were +at work upon an entrenchment within half a mile and under the fire of a +British man-of-war, a squad of these intrepid soldiers being commanded +by his eldest son, Israel. + +The British were now alarmed, and doubtless believed, in the language of +a writer commenting on these events, that "every fort which was defended +by General Putnam might be considered as impregnable, if daring courage +and intrepidity could always resist superior force." + +Still, while the British feared to advance upon the Americans, the +latter, though eager to drive them out of their stronghold, were unable +to do so from lack of artillery and ammunition. This lack was to some +extent supplied by the capture of some ordnance ships by our gallant +privateers, though as late as January, 1776, one of the Provincial +colonels wrote to another: "The bay is open; everything thaws here +except Old Put. He is still as hard as ever, crying out for +_powder--powder_--ye gods, give us powder!" + +Cannon-balls, several hundred of them, he had secured (if we may credit +a story told at the time) by conspicuously posting some of his men on an +elevation in front of a sandy hill in sight of a British war-ship, from +which by this ingenious ruse he drew a rain of shot, which supplied his +needs for the time being, as they were afterward easily dug out of the +sand! + +Among the captures by the privateers was a 13-inch brass mortar weighing +nearly three thousand pounds, which was taken to Cambridge, where +(according to the same veracious narrator of the "powder cry," the witty +Provincial colonel), it was the occasion of a great jubilation. "To +crown the glorious scene," he says, "there intervened one truly +ludicrous, which was Old Put mounted on the large mortar, which was +fixed in its bed for the occasion, with a bottle of rum in his hand, +standing parson to christen, while godfather Mifflin, the +quartermaster-general, gave it the name of Congress!" + +Old Put never lost a chance for fun and frolic, though he was as stern a +disciplinarian as Washington himself, who, however, must have been +greatly shocked at this horse-play in which his favorite General took +part. But the rank and file were delighted; and it was the possession of +just such qualities, of hilarious good-humor combined with sturdy +common-sense, that made Old Put a universal favorite. For dignity he +cared nothing at all; for discipline he was a "stickler"; and, as the +men hated the one as much as they disliked the other, yet loved and +admired their rough-and-ready General intensely, Putnam proved the +coherent factor in the combination that held the army together. At +another "truly ludicrous" scene, somewhat later, in which Putnam was one +of the participants, the dignified Commander-in-Chief is said to have +laughed until his sides ached. Looking from a window of his chamber in +the Craigie mansion, one morning, Washington perceived Putnam +approaching on horseback, with a very stout lady mounted behind his +saddle, and riding as if for dear life. The woman was an accessory of a +British spy, whom Putnam had arrested, and had brought to his commander +to be disciplined. It was a long while before Washington could recover +his countenance sufficiently to proceed with the business. + +At last, after months of waiting, the arrival of General Knox with +fifty-five cannon and a quantity of ammunition, which, with magnificent +daring, he had collected and brought from the forts on the frontier, put +the Provincials in possession of the means they needed for compelling +the British to retire. Following a council of war, Dorchester Heights +were occupied on the 4th of March, the attention of the enemy being +first diverted from the real object by a two-days' cannon-fire upon the +other side of the city, and after a futile attempt by General Howe to +assault the works erected by the Americans, on the 17th the British +hastily took to their ships. + +Had this intended assault by the British taken place, Washington was +ready to make a direct attack upon Boston with the troops in two +divisions, under the command of General Putnam. At the last council of +war, it is narrated, when General Washington had requested Putnam to +give more attention to the matter in hand, he replied: "Oh, my dear +General, plan the battle to suit yourself, and I will fight it!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN COMMAND AT NEW YORK + + +The British had been forced out of Boston; they had embarked aboard +their fleet; but for more than a week they lingered in the outer harbor, +as if uncertain whither to go. While Washington was in doubt as to their +next movement, he shrewdly guessed that the city of New York, being so +advantageously situated, especially commanding communication with Canada +by the valley of the Hudson River, would be their ultimate, if not +immediate objective. He had already despatched thither General Lee, who +was planning defenses for the harbor; but as he desired Lee to command +in the South, he looked around for another man to take his place. Troops +were on the way, also, under Generals Heath and Sullivan, to be followed +by many more, and there was every indication that soon a large army +would be concentrated in and around New York. + +Who to trust with this important command was a serious question for the +Commander-in-Chief, but he finally pitched upon Putnam, in whom he +seemed to have confidence, though with some misgivings which +foreshadowed the accuracy of his final estimate of the man. In a letter +treating of a similar situation, two months previously, Washington had +written to Congress: "General Putnam is a most valuable man and a fine +executive officer; but I do not know how he would conduct in a separate +department." + +But he resolved to entrust him with the command, and on the 29th of +March, only twelve days after the British had left, gave him his orders, +which concluded with this expression of confidence: "Your long service +and experience will, better than my particular directions at this +distance, point out to you the works most proper to be raised; and your +perseverance, activity, and zeal will lead you, without my recommending +it, to exert every nerve to disappoint the enemy's designs." + +With his customary expedition, General Putnam lost no time in getting to +New York, arriving there on the 4th of April, whither he was followed by +Washington nine days later. The Commander-in-Chief found, when he +arrived, little to criticize and much to commend in what Putnam had +done, for he had already stopped the Tories from furnishing supplies to +the British fleet, had commenced to fortify Governor's Island and Red +Hook, increased the efficiency of the works on Brooklyn Heights, +barricaded the streets of New York with mahogany logs from the West +Indies, and organized a "navy" of schooners and whale-boats, to cruise +in the North and East rivers. + +As Washington was absent much of the time in consultation with Congress +at Philadelphia, Putnam was practically in supreme command; yet his +arduous and important duties did not prevent him from attending a dinner +on the first anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. In a letter +written by an American officer describing this event, it is more than +intimated that he was ever ready to accommodate when called upon for a +song or a speech on such an occasion, for he says: "Our good General +Putnam got sick and went to his quarters before dinner was over, and we +missed him a marvel, as there is not a chap in the camp who can lead him +in the 'Maggie Lauder's song.'" + +When in New York, Putnam's headquarters were on Bowling Green, where he +later had with him members of his family, including his wife, who had +also visited him at Cambridge, and had dispensed a generous hospitality +at the Inman mansion; while Mrs. Washington (with whom both Putnam and +his wife were in high favor) was at the Craigie house. His son Israel +was a member of his military family, which also included Major Humphreys +(who afterward wrote his biography) and Major Aaron Burr, his military +secretary. His justifiable severity in proclaiming martial law, and in +punishing Tories found guilty of harboring or assisting the enemy, +incurred the ill-will of New York's inhabitants, and militated against +his fortunes when later he fell into disrepute. + +Plots against his life were formed, among them most conspicuous for its +scheme of wholesale assassinations being that in which one of +Washington's own guards was concerned, and for complicity in which this +same man, Thomas Hickey, paid the penalty with his life, being executed +on the 27th of June. Two days later a large British fleet was reported +off Sandy Hook, and by the 1st of July there were more than a hundred of +the enemy's war-ships and transports in the bay. The presence of this +immense fleet did not prevent the proper reception of the immortal +_Declaration of Independence_, proclaimed by the Continental Congress at +Philadelphia on the 4th of July, 1776, and which was read to the troops, +amid loud acclaim from officers and common soldiers, on the 9th. + +[Illustration: Israel Putnam. + +From a painting by Trumbull.] + +The arrival of the vast fleet, the subsequent landing of an army of +nearly twenty-five thousand men, and the warlike preparations which the +British were feverishly making looking to the capture of the city, did +not alarm Old Put, with his total force of scarcely seventeen thousand. +He went on as calmly and as determinedly as though himself commander of +the larger army, for the hero of Bunker Hill never anticipated defeat. +He always fought to the last, after making every needful preparation for +whatever event, and at New York, although the chances were all against +him, he did his utmost to bring about success. He had fortified +Governor's Island and Red Hook in order to prevent the enemy's ships of +war from ascending the Hudson; he now sank several old hulks in the +channel for the same purpose; but, notwithstanding, two war-vessels +succeeded in getting up the North River, which they afterward descended, +without injury to themselves. + +It having been recommended by Congress that "fire-rafts be prepared and +sent among the enemy's shipping," Putnam acted in accordance with the +suggestion by fitting out fourteen fire-ships for the purpose, though +nothing was accomplished with them. Still persistent in his endeavors to +drive off the enemy, he adopted the invention of David Bushnell, a +native of his own State, which the inventor called the "great American +Turtle," and which, in fact, was a submarine torpedo, probably the first +one thus used in warfare. It was to be guided by one man, and that man +was to have been Bushnell himself; but, unfortunately, he fell sick, and +the "turtle" boat with its infernal machine was entrusted to a +Connecticut sergeant named "Bije" Shipman, who promised to row the +"submarine"--diminutive prototype of all those which have committed such +destruction since--down the bay and attach the torpedo to the bottom of +the British admiral's ship. He reached the ship without being +observed--strange to say--and attempted to attach the torpedo; but the +attaching screw struck against an iron plate and caused great delay. +Coming up to get a breath of fresh air, "Bije" was seen and fired upon +by a sentinel, and at once rowed away as fast as his oars could carry +him. The torpedo, the explosion of which was regulated by clockwork +operating on a gun-lock, actually exploded about half an hour after, +sending up a great geyser of water, which frightened the British admiral +so that he gave orders to up anchor and seek another mooring-place. + +The Yankee navigator of the submarine declared that when he struck the +iron plate he got "narvous," and couldn't affix the screw properly; but +that if he had had a fresh "cud of terbacker," he would have been all +right and the admiral's ship would have gone "a-kiting" into the air. +The attempt was not repeated, for some reason or other, probably because +the British got wary and kept farther away from shore. The next year, +however, inventor Bushnell succeeded in blowing up a British schooner +with his torpedo; but neither he nor quaint "Bije" Shipman ever +received the credit that was their due, the latter being one of the +forgotten heroes of the Revolution. + +About this time the Putnam family entertained as guest the pretty +daughter of a British officer, Major James Moncrieffe, the same one to +whom, at the siege of Boston, "Old Put" had sent a present of +provisions, even though they were opposed as enemies. This young lady +was received by the family with affection, presented to General and Mrs. +Washington, and afterward provided with a pass through the lines and +sent to her father, accompanied by a letter of which (as she wittily +said to a friend) "the bad orthography was amply compensated for by the +magnanimity of the man who wrote it." Here is the letter: "Ginrale +Putnam's compliments to Major Moncrieffe, has made him a present of a +fine daughter, if he don't lick [like] her he must send her back again, +and he will provide her with a good twig [Whig] husband." + +General Putnam's humor, like his generosity, was never-failing; but, as +"Josh Billings" once remarked of himself, "he was a bad speller" to the +end of his life. But he could spell _f-i-g-h-t_ as well as anybody; and +what is more, he could forgive his enemies, not only after the fight was +over, but while it was going on--as witness his generous actions on many +occasions. + +Though kept busy as a bee from morning to night, yet General Putnam +found life in New York irksome, and was glad enough when ordered by +Washington over to Long Island, to command at Brooklyn Heights and to +supersede Sullivan, who had superseded Greene, then sick with fever, who +had planned and erected the fortifications on the island. It was perhaps +this "lightning change" of commanders that was responsible for the +bitter defeat of the Americans in that encounter known as the "Battle of +Long Island." By the third week of August, when this battle took place, +the British were near New York with more than three hundred ships and +thirty thousand troops, including those of Clinton, Cornwallis, and +Howe. The last named was in command, and on the 22d of August he landed +twenty thousand troops, including five thousand hireling Hessians, at +Gravesend Bay, with the intention of flanking the Americans out of their +positions at Flatbush and the Heights and then advancing across the +island to East River and New York. + +It was not until two days later that (in the words of a soldier writing +to his wife at that time) "General Putnam was made happy by obtaining +leave to go over--the brave old man was quite miserable at being kept +here," in New York. Only three days after his arrival the battle was +fought, which (in brief) was brought about by the British surprising an +outpost at one of the three passes to the American rear, on the night of +the 26th of August and thus turning the patriots' position. With more +than three times the numerical strength of the Americans, the British +were successful, and the former lost more than a thousand men, most of +them made prisoners, including Generals Sullivan and Stirling. + +Washington hurried over reenforcements, until there were nearly ten +thousand men at the Heights; but Putnam soon found it impossible to +conduct its defense against twenty thousand of the enemy, with ten +thousand more in reserve, and, with Washington's sanction and +cooperation, he withdrew his men from their perilous position by a night +retreat across the river, which was a triumph of military sagacity and +achievement. The more than nine thousand men, with their ammunition, +arms, provisions, etc., were safely over the river before the British +became aware of what was going on. Then it was too late, and +notwithstanding that the Americans had been outflanked and defeated by +the most skilful strategy, the British lost the chief fruits of their +victory by procrastination. + +The loss of Long Island meant, of course, the evacuation of New York, +since the city could now be commanded by the enemy's guns on the +Heights. This movement was decided upon by Washington and his generals +at a council of war; the garrison was withdrawn from Governor's Island, +and after the surplus ammunition and military stores had been forwarded +to a point of safety, the troops leisurely followed after toward the +north. Putnam, Heath, and Spencer were placed in command of the three +grand divisions into which the army was divided preparatory for retreat +and stationed along the East River, Putnam, as usual, having the most +perilous situation, at the lower end of the city. To him was committed +the removal of the troops and military stores, so that he had no more +time at command than formerly. + +Yet the British did not move upon the city with precipitation. +Commander-in-Chief Howe had learned his lesson by heart at Bunker Hill, +and was no longer in haste to attack his brave opponents unless with +overwhelming numbers, whether entrenched or otherwise. He had resolved +upon a series of flank movements, for the purpose of cutting off the +American retreat northward, and on the 15th of September put the first +in execution. Washington was at his new headquarters, the Jumel mansion, +at Harlem Heights, and Old Put was busy hurrying off the last of the +detachments down in the city, when both heard the booming of cannon at +Kip's Bay. They met at Murray Hill, and together galloped toward the +sound of firing, but before they reached East River were met by their +own troops fleeing before the British advance. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +WASHINGTON'S CHIEF RELIANCE + + +It was at the retreat of the Americans before the British, who had +landed at Kip's Bay, that the unique spectacle was afforded of both +Washington and Putnam acting in unison, both in a towering rage, and +both attempting with all their might to turn their cowardly soldiers +face-about to stand against the foe. But all their efforts were in vain, +though Washington, in his endeavors to stem the tide of retreat, came +near being made prisoner, and would have been, probably, if one of the +soldiers had not taken his horse by the bridle and turned him in another +direction. + +In the actual retreat to Harlem Heights that then followed, brave Putnam +took the post of danger again, and, while nearly everybody else was +heading northward, he himself went the other way in search of his +detachment, which, fortunately, his aide-de-camp, Major Burr, had taken +the liberty of setting on the move. He and his men were the last to gain +the Heights, barely escaping the British as they tried to hem them in, +and reaching the rendezvous long after dark. + +It was a current rumor in camp, later, that his escape was not +altogether due to celerity of movement, nimble as he was, but to the +clever ruse of a fair Quakeress, Mrs. Murray (mother of Lindley Murray, +the renowned grammarian), who, being known to the British officers, +invited them in, as they filed past her door, to refresh themselves with +cake and wine. Being fatigued with their labors, and considering the +Americans as good as captured by their clever flanking movement, they +accepted the invitation gladly and remained enjoying her hospitality +about two hours, or just long enough for Putnam and his men to slip out +of the trap and scamper along the North River roads to the rendezvous. + +Their joy at their escape when (as Major Humphreys, who was with them, +said) they had been given up for lost by their friends, was tempered +next day by the death of Colonel Knowlton, who had been sent out with +his rangers to reconnoiter the enemy. In the ensuing engagement, known +as the Battle of Harlem Heights, the gallant Knowlton was killed, +besides about one hundred and seventy of his men. Knowlton, who had +taken a prominent part in the battle of Bunker Hill, was an old friend +and comrade of Putnam in the Indian wars, as well as at Havana, and the +latter felt his loss most keenly. + +There was no time for vain regrets, since the enemy were pushing after +the Americans, giving them no pause for a while. When at last there was +a cessation in their endeavors at direct assault, Washington was more +uneasy than before, and did not rest until he had discovered what it +meant. In short, General Howe was about trying the second in his +remarkable series of flanking movements, by which he hoped to get in +the rear of the Americans, and, with his overwhelming force, "bottle +them up" and compel a general engagement. But, with a force far inferior +to the British, Washington not only succeeded in avoiding a pitched +battle (for which he was wholly unprepared), but finally extricated his +army from the net which his enemy had spread on two sides and was now +attempting to sweep around to cut off his retreat. + +Sending several war-vessels up the North River, or Hudson (which had no +trouble in breaking through the barrier stretched across it), General +Howe embarked the main body of his troops in flatboats for Westchester, +landing at a point about nine miles above the Heights of Harlem. The +enemy's object was then apparent, and Washington set about defeating it +by one of the most complicated and ingenious military movements on +record. + +Leaving General Greene in command of Fort Washington, on the Hudson, not +far from Kingsbridge and the Heights, Washington hastened northward +toward White Plains, seizing upon every naturally strong position by the +way, and establishing a chain of entrenchments on the hill-crests that +commanded all the roads leading from the North River to the Sound. The +last week in October the opposing forces came in collision at Chatterton +Hill, where was fought the so-called Battle of White Plains, at which, +wrote Rufus Putnam, who had planned the defensive works, "the wall and +stone fence behind which our troops were posted proved as fatal to the +British as the rail-fence with grass hung on it did at Charlestown, June +17, 1775." + +General Putnam was ordered to reenforce General McDougall, who was in +command at the hill; but before he arrived the British had flanked the +Americans and driven them from their position. Putnam's men covered +their retreat by firing at the British and Hessians from behind fences +and trees, Indian and Ranger fashion, and that night Washington +practically began his famous retrograde movement to Fort Washington and +Manhattan Island. "By folding one brigade behind another," in rear of +those ridges he had fortified, he "brought off all his artillery, +stores, and sick, in the face of a superior foe." He took position, +first, at North Castle Heights, which he deemed impregnable; but after a +few days the British left for the Hudson, with the purpose (as was +afterward ascertained, and at the time divined by Washington) of +attacking forts Washington and Lee and invading New Jersey. In +anticipation of this move Putnam was detached with about four thousand +men and ordered into New Jersey. Crossing the Hudson, he penetrated +inland as far as Hackensack, near which place he encamped and awaited +developments. + +General Lee was left at North Castle Heights with seven thousand men to +watch the movements of the foe, while Washington followed after Putnam +to Hackensack. He was shortly recalled to the Hudson by a despatch +informing him that the British were before Fort Washington in +overwhelming force, and had demanded a surrender. Brave Colonel Magaw, +in command of the garrison, refused a reply until he had consulted his +superior officers, and as General Greene, in charge of both forts, was +of the opinion that they could be held, the result was the storming of +the fort and the loss of more than two thousand men. + +The assault of the British, who had threatened to put the garrison to +the sword, was witnessed by Washington, Greene, and Putnam from the west +bank of the Hudson. Their distress may be imagined at beholding the +slaughter that ensued, and there must have been some searching +self-questioning by the Commander-in-Chief as to the wisdom of his +policy, by which his divided forces became such an easy prey to the foe. + +Lee could hardly be induced to leave his secure retreat, from which he +departed only after repeated requests from Washington, whose great +reliance at this time was sturdy Israel Putnam. He assisted at the +evacuation of Fort Lee (now rendered useless by the loss of its sister +fort across the river), and piloted the commander and his friends to his +camp at Hackensack. + +British troops under Lord Cornwallis had landed above Fort Lee at the +base of the Palisades, and were now coming down to attempt to cut off +the Americans before they could extricate themselves from the marshes +lying between the Hudson and the Hackensack rivers. The latter left so +precipitately that their fires were burning, with camp kettles over +them, and tents still standing, when the British reached Fort Lee. + +Parallel with the Hackensack River runs the Passaic, and across country +between the two Washington was compelled to hasten, lest he be hemmed in +again by the pursuing enemy. It was now late in November, the weather +was cold, and gloomy were these "dark days of the Revolution," when the +militia left the army by hundreds, their terms of enlistment having +expired, and no others took their places. While the little army of less +than four thousand men was constantly depleted, it seemed as if its foes +increased, in that country of loyalists and British sympathizers. It was +with only the "skeleton of an army" that Washington, on the eighth of +December, crossed the Delaware at Trenton, less than three thousand +troops remaining by him then. Cornwallis and his soldiers were not far +behind, during a portion of that gloomy retreat, a few days measuring +the distance between the rival armies; but they did not catch up with +the Americans that time. + +The very day after his arrival at Trenton Washington ordered Putnam to +Philadelphia, where he was placed in absolute command, and where he +displayed the same energy and integrity of purpose that had always +animated him hitherto. He had been a sustaining force to the +Commander-in-Chief on that march across New Jersey, and of the few +generals who had stood by him, no one had endured with less complaint or +performed with more alacrity than Old Put. He was one upon whom to rely +in the proposed scheme of fortifying the city, and his long experience +at entrenching made him peculiarly fit for the work. + +His sturdy nature, good sense, and ready wit made him at once a favorite +with the Continental Congress and the Committee of Safety; though the +former, acting on his advice, soon left the city for the greater +security of Baltimore. Putnam soon placed the city under martial law, +drafted all the citizens, except the Quakers, into the military service, +and put the place in the best posture for defense of which it was +capable. "There were foes within the city as well as foes without," for +the Tory element was strong in Philadelphia, and it was because of it +that Putnam was unable to cooperate with Washington when he dealt the +enemy the first of those telling blows at Trenton and Princeton. He +dared not withdraw his men from the city, even for a short absence, in +order to create a diversion while his Commander-in-Chief made the direct +attack. Had he done so, and also the other generals to whom were +entrusted the details of this affair, the Hessians might have been +entirely cut off in their retreat from Trenton and practically +destroyed. As it was, Putnam held to his command in Philadelphia, and +soon had the pleasure of entertaining some of the Hessian captives, for +whom he was obliged to provide quarters while passing through the city. + +It must have fretted him vastly to be kept in Philadelphia while +Washington was pursuing the very tactics he himself would have used +against the enemy. After his first success Washington ordered Putnam out +to Crosswicks, a small place southeast of Trenton, "a very advantageous +post" for him to hold while his superior was planning his descent upon +Princeton. On the 5th of January, after Washington had launched his +thunderbolt at Princeton (of his intention to do which Putnam had been +informed by a letter from his adjutant, written at midnight preceding +that eventful third of January, 1777), he wrote at length to his trusty +friend and General: "It is thought advisable for you to march the troops +under your command to Crosswicks, and keep a strict watch upon the enemy +in that quarter. If the enemy continue at Brunswick you must act with +great circumspection, lest you meet with a surprise. As we have made two +successful attacks upon the enemy by the way of surprise, they will be +pointed with resentment, and if there is any possibility of retaliating +they will attempt it. _You will give out your strength to be twice as +great as it is._ Forward on all the baggage and scattered troops +belonging to this division of the army as soon as may be." + +In accordance with Washington's suggestion as to the augmenting of the +number of his men, Putnam availed himself of the request of a wounded +British officer, who was his prisoner, that a friend in Cornwallis's +army might be sent for to make his will, to practise a ruse. It was in +Princeton, whither he had been ordered from Crosswicks. As he had but a +few hundred men, in order to prevent his weakness from being known to +the military visitor he was brought in after dark, all the windows in +the college buildings and private houses were lighted up, "and the +handful of troops paraded about to such effect during the night that the +visitor, on his return to the British camp, reported the force under the +old general to be at least five thousand strong!" In this manner the +shrewd but kind-hearted Putnam complied with his prisoner's request, and +at the same time turned it to his own and his soldiers' advantage. + +Having failed in his attempt to "bag that old fox" (Washington), Lord +Cornwallis had scurried back to protect his baggage and communications +at New Brunswick, while Washington ensconced himself in the rugged +country about Morristown, and Putnam was left to protect the lowlands +and harass the enemy. So effectually did he perform the latter that his +aggregate of prisoners taken during the winter exceeded the number +captured by Washington at Trenton, and his captures of wagons laden +with provisions for the enemy were highly important. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +DEFENDING THE HUDSON HIGHLANDS + + +Snugly and safely entrenched in the Morristown hill-country, Washington +left to Putnam the post he so dearly loved, that of real danger, within +fifteen miles of New Brunswick, where the enemy lay in strength. At +Princeton, thirty miles from headquarters, Putnam remained until May, +when he was detached and sent into the Hudson Highlands. The British had +lost fewer men at Trenton and Princeton than the Americans had lost at +Fort Washington, yet the former were singularly dispirited. With the +Commander-in-Chief withdrawn to the hills, the road to Philadelphia lay +open to the enemy, and only Old Put opposing them, like a lion in the +path; but for some reason they did not avail themselves of the +situation. + +Putnam's division formed the right wing of the American army in +cantonment that winter, with the center at Morristown and the left wing +on the Hudson. At the opening of the spring campaign of 1777 Washington +was uncertain whether the British would leave their winter quarters in +New York for New England, the Hudson Highlands, or for Philadelphia. He +was inclined to believe that Philadelphia would be the first and chief +objective, and wished to hold himself in readiness for marching thither +at a moment's warning; but again there were rumors of an invasion from +Canada by way of the lakes and the Hudson, so this region must be +protected. + +Existing forts must be strengthened, others erected, a boom stretched +across the Hudson to impede the passage of British ships, and obstacles +of all kinds placed in the path of the British, should they advance +northward. Needing a reliable man in this emergency, Washington sent +Putnam to Peekskill, on the Hudson, preceded by a letter to General +McDougall, then in command there, which was, to say the least, not very +flattering to the gallant soldier who had been his right-hand man in +the various retreats through the Jerseys. "You are acquainted with the +old gentleman's temper," he wrote; "he is active, disinterested, and +open to conviction," etc. + +Washington would have been more fortunate if all his officers had been +as "active, disinterested, and open to conviction" as Old Put--for +instance, Lee, Arnold, Gates, and others--but he had allowed his +prejudices to warp his former opinion of Putnam's sterling qualities. + +Hardly had Putnam begun his work on the Hudson before there was a mighty +movement in the port of New York, and, fearing there might be an attempt +upon Philadelphia, Washington drew upon the old soldier's command until +he had scarcely a thousand men at call. Then followed the commander's +magnificent strategy at Middlebrook, whereby he finally defeated the +British plans and brought about the complete evacuation of New Jersey, +after which Putnam was strengthened in his position; only to be weakened +again, the process being repeated until he felt called upon to protest. + +Putnam was later accused by Hamilton, Washington's aide-de-camp, of +making a "hobby-horse" out of his desire to march upon New York, and of +riding it on all occasions; but it was no less a hobby-horse with him +than the defense of Philadelphia was with his Commander-in-Chief, who +many times imperiled the safety of other sections by withdrawing troops +in hot haste and flying to the succor of a city which was captured and +occupied by the British notwithstanding. + +Washington rode his hobby-horse full-tilt at the unfortunate Putnam and +threw him to the ground. With one hand, as it were, he wrote him to keep +an eye on the movements of the enemy and be fully prepared to meet them; +but with the other he signed an order for the weakening of his force. +The consequences came when Burgoyne, having descended from Canada and +invaded northern New York, Putnam found himself between two fires, that +of the former and that of Sir Henry Clinton, who finally set out on the +long-meditated trip up the Hudson in order to cooperate with the +southward-marching army. + +Putnam had learned of the successive moves on the military chess-board +as Burgoyne progressed in his triumphal march. First, of the fall of +Ticonderoga, in June; then of Fort Edward; finally, of the glorious +victory achieved by his former comrade in the Indian wars and at Bunker +Hill, the redoubtable General Stark, at Bennington. He was called upon +to furnish reenforcements not only to Washington, unfortunate in his +defense of Philadelphia, but to Schuyler and Gates in the north. + +The post of danger, as usual, Old Put occupied in the Highlands, and he +was delighted; only repining that whenever he was nearly ready to do +something, away went his troops on some wild-goose mission, of which he +knew neither the end or aim. + +Washington surmised that Howe's scheme of sailing southward with an +army aboard his ships was for the purpose of luring him away from the +real point of attack, which was to be in the Highlands, so he wrote +Putnam to be on the alert and to send spies down to New York to +ascertain Clinton's plans. "If he has the number of men with him that is +reported, it is probably with the intention to attack you from below, +while Burgoyne comes down upon you from above." Thus wrote Washington in +August, but still the depletion of the perplexed Putnam's command went +steadily on. When he protested he was recommended to hurry up the +militia from Connecticut, or some other New England State, and thus +supply the place of the seasoned troops he had trained, with raw +recruits. + +"The old general, whose boast it was that he never slept but with one +eye, was already on the alert. A circumstance had given him proof +positive that Sir Henry was in New York, and had aroused his military +ire," writes Washington Irving. This paragraph refers to one of +Clinton's spies, who was captured while gathering information in +Putnam's camp at Peekskill. When Clinton heard of it he sent a +war-vessel up the Hudson with a flag of truce, claiming the man as one +of his officers. This was Old Put's reply: + + Headquarters, _7th August, 1777_. + + Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken as a + spy lurking within our lines. He has been tried as a spy, condemned + as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy; and the flag is ordered + to depart immediately. + + I have the honor to be, etc., etc., + Israel Putnam. + + P.S.--Afternoon. He is hanged! + +The last week in September, Washington drew upon the patient commander +in the Highlands for more soldiers, so that he had only eleven hundred +men left with which to meet and withstand the British invasion of his +territory, which began on the 5th of October. Putnam was fully cognizant +of the situation, for he wrote to Governor Clinton, his coadjutor in +the defense of the Highlands, on the 29th of September: "I have received +intelligence on which I can fully depend that the enemy received a +reenforcement at New York last Thursday of about 3,000 British and +foreign troops; that General Clinton has called in guides who belong +about Croton River; has ordered hard bread to be baked; that the troops +are called from Paulus Hook to Kingsbridge; and the whole are now under +marching orders. I think it highly probable that the designs of the +enemy are against the posts of the Highlands, or of some parts of the +counties of Westchester or Duchess. P.S.--The ships are drawn up in the +river, and I believe nothing prevents them paying us an immediate visit +but a contrary wind!" + +Within a week the enemy were in force on the river near Putnam's +position, and within ten days they had completely outmaneuvered both +Putnam and Clinton, and had taken forts Montgomery and Clinton, their +chief defenses, with great loss to the Americans. Clinton had made a +feint on Tarrytown and Peekskill, and after this diversion, under cover +of the river mist, landed troops on the west shore of the Hudson, and +marched rapidly through ravines and dense woods to the rear of the two +forts, which were carried by the bayonet, the defenders being taken by +surprise. + +The British had twice the number of men that Putnam commanded in this +attack, and also the advantage of ships of war in the river, but it is +thought that results would have been different from what they were had a +despatch for reenforcements from Governor Clinton reached him. It was +sent by a messenger who proved a traitor and carried it within the +enemy's lines. As it was, however, the British have the credit of +consummate strategy on this occasion, and poorly as he was equipped, Old +Put was greatly mortified over the defeat. He had good occasion for +writing to Washington, as he wrote on the 8th of October: "I have +repeatedly informed your Excellency of the enemy's design against this +post, but from some motive or other you always differed from me in +opinion. As this conjecture of mine has for once proved right, I can not +omit informing you that my real and sincere opinion is that they mean to +join General Burgoyne with the utmost despatch." + +Further proof of British intentions was afforded by the capture of a +spy, who, on being arrested, was seen to swallow a silver bullet which, +being recovered, was found to contain a message written on very thin +paper and dated October 8th--the day before. This message read: "Here we +are, and nothing between us and Gates. I sincerely hope this little +success of ours will facilitate your operations." It was from Sir Henry +Clinton to General Burgoyne, and showed conclusively that the former had +set out to join with the latter. But events had so shaped in the north +that poor Burgoyne was then past all aid, General Gates then having him +at bay. Within a few days was fought the decisive battle that brought +about Burgoyne's surrender, and when the news reached Sir Henry Clinton +he immediately set about returning to New York, there being no longer +any incentive for action in the Highlands. Putnam and Clinton, after +blowing up their two vessels in the river, had effected their retreat to +Fishkill, where they entrenched; but on learning of the British retreat +they moved down to their former positions. + +The saying that "troubles never come singly" proved true for General +Putnam that month of October, 1777, for on the 14th he lost by death his +faithful wife, who had been with him at headquarters. Washington wrote +him, on being informed of the bereavement: "I am extremely sorry for the +death of Mrs. Putnam, and sympathize with you upon the occasion. +Remembering that all must die, and that she had lived to an honorable +age, I hope you will bear the misfortune with that fortitude and +complacency of mind that become a man and a Christian." + +The surrender of Burgoyne left the north free from foes, and +consequently with no use for great numbers of soldiers, so that Putnam +was soon in command of more than nine thousand men, mainly drafts from +Gates's army. He was then determined to carry out his twice-frustrated +scheme of marching upon New York, and was pushing forward his plans with +great confidence, when there appeared a marplot on the scene in the +person of Colonel Alexander Hamilton, at that time aide-de-camp to +General Washington, who peremptorily ordered Putnam to forward all the +new arrivals to the Commander-in-Chief and fill their places with +militia. + +The order was a verbal one and delivered by a slender "snip of a boy" +scarcely out of his teens, so it received scant attention from Old Put, +who went on with his plans, while Colonel Hamilton mounted a fresh horse +and posted off to Albany, where he had also great difficulty in +impressing General Gates with the need of Washington for the best men in +his command. But he succeeded in detaching a few regiments, and then +hastened back to Peekskill, there to find, to his surprise and +indignation, that Putnam still had all his men--and what was more, +seemed inclined to keep them with him. + + "I am pained beyond expression," wrote this precocious youth to + Washington on the 10th of November, "to inform your Excellency + that, on my arrival here, I find everything has been neglected and + deranged by General Putnam.... Not the least attention has been + paid to my order, in your name, for a detachment of one thousand + men from the troops hitherto stationed at that post. Everything is + sacrificed to the whim of taking New York.... By Governor Clinton's + advice, I have sent an order, in the most emphatical terms, to + General Putnam, immediately to despatch all the Continental troops + under him to your assistance, and to detain the militia instead of + them." + +This order "in the most emphatical terms" finally moved the general to +compliance; but it quite naturally excited his just resentment, and he +sent it to the Commander-in-Chief, with his comments. It would have been +a serious matter--detaching such a large body of troops on a mere verbal +order from a hot-headed stripling; yet Washington in effect reprimanded +the honest veteran by writing: + + I can not but say, there has been more delay in the march of the + troops than I think necessary; and I could wish that in future my + orders may be immediately complied with, without arguing upon the + propriety of them. If any accident ensues from obeying them, the + fault will be upon me, not upon you. + +Death, defeat, a reprimand--all within one short month--might have +affected a stouter heart than Old Put's. But was there ever a stouter +one? + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +LAST YEARS IN THE SERVICE + + +Care sat lightly on Israel Putnam, who never went about looking for +trouble, nor gave it more than a scant welcome as a guest. Possessed of +sturdy common sense, an unblemished character, and a conscience "void of +offence," Old Put did not long harbor the hasty words of Hamilton, nor +dwell upon the tacit reprimand of his chief. He still sat astride his +"hobby-horse," as Hamilton had contemptuously termed his desire for +descending upon New York, and as soon as the latter had departed with +the reenforcements for Washington, he resolved to take a look at the +city, anyway. Taking some of his men down the east bank of the Hudson, +he himself reconnoitered to a point within three miles of the enemy's +outpost, and went to New Rochelle with the intention of invading Long +Island. The British got wind of his intent, and hastily left their +forts, having no relish for a brush with their dreaded enemy. + +Although accused to Washington of being very lenient to Tories and other +disaffected persons, Putnam knew how to be severe on occasion, and in +reprisal for the repeated outrages committed by Governor Tryon's +murderous marauders, he destroyed by fire several residences of noted +loyalists, and fell upon Colonel DeLancey's infamous "Cowboys," taking +seventy-five prisoners, including the Tory officer himself, who was +drawn out from beneath a bed, where he had taken refuge at the approach +of Putnam's scouts. + +Washington himself had given Putnam the idea of descending upon New +York, some time before; but circumstances had changed, and along with +them the need for this diversion. Having satisfied himself with this +reconnoitering expedition, however, Old Put went back very amiably to +his post in the Highlands, and proceeded to carry out his commander's +instructions respecting the selection of a new fort for the defense of +the Hudson. In January, 1778, we find him at West Point, directing the +men of Parson's brigade where to break ground--frozen ground, at that, +with snow two feet deep above it--for the first fort at the picturesque +post on the Hudson since become historic. It was subsequently named Fort +Putnam, either after Old Put himself, or his cousin Rufus Putnam, whose +great natural talents as an engineer were subsequently availed of here, +as they had been before Boston, at Dorchester Heights. + +About mid-February, Putnam wrote to Washington, who had been constantly +and urgently pressing him to complete the work without delay, that "the +batteries near the water, and the fort to cover them, are laid out. The +latter is, within walls, 600 yards around, 21 feet base, 14 feet high, +the talus two inches to the foot. This I fear is too large to be +completed by the time expected." Even his placid disposition was by this +time slightly ruffled at the scarcely veiled distrust of his +capabilities by his chief, who had veered about with the wind blowing +from New York, and seemed to trust him no longer. His letter begins +stiffly: "The state of affairs now at this post, you will please to +observe, is as follows," and after this business has been stated, he +goes on to give some of the reasons for delay. One of his regiments was +at White Plains, "under inoculation with the smallpox. Dubois's regiment +is unfit to be ordered on duty, there being not one blanket in the +regiment. Very few have either a shoe or a shirt, and most of them have +neither stockings, breeches, or overalls.... Several hundred men are +rendered useless, merely for want of necessary apparel, as no clothing +is permitted to be stopped at this post." + +No complaint was made, but merely a statement of facts; for Putnam must +have known that many of the soldiers under his commander were at that +very time half starved and half naked at Valley Forge. The day after +writing this letter to Washington, having secured permission for a +brief furlough, General Putnam went home to attend to private affairs +which demanded his attention. He had applied for this leave of absence +two months previously, but before receiving it had attended to the +exigent matter of fortifying West Point, like the good soldier that he +was. + +Since he last left home much had happened to distract and break him +down, including the loss of his wife by death, and the loss of +Washington's friendly support, through no fault of his own. He was +deeply grieved over the change in the commander's attitude toward him, +as well as puzzled to account for it, knowing full well that he had done +nothing to incur his displeasure, now so plainly manifested, not alone +to General Putnam but to others. + +The change was probably due to their radical differences of temperament, +habits of life and education. While Washington the soldier recognized +the sterling qualities of Old Put, the veteran fighter, yet Washington +the aristocratic planter shrank from contact with Putnam the blunt, and +at times perhaps uncouth-appearing, farmer. Writing about that time, a +surgeon in the American army said: "This is my first interview with this +celebrated hero, Putnam. In his person he is corpulent and clumsy, but +carries a bold, undaunted front. He exhibits little of the refinements +of a well-educated gentleman, but much of the character of the veteran +soldier." + +This was not the style of soldier that the Commander-in-Chief liked to +have about him, and he allowed his personal prejudices to pervert his +judgment. + +"What shall I do with Putnam?" he breaks out in a letter to Gouverneur +Morris. "If Congress mean to lay him aside _decently_, I wish they would +devise the mode." + +"It has not been an easy matter to find a just pretense for removing an +officer from his command" (he writes to Chancellor Livingston on the +12th of March, 1778) "where his misconduct rather appears to result from +want of _capacity_ than from any real intention of doing wrong...." +Livingston had written complaining of Putnam's "imprudent lenity to the +disaffected, and too great intercourse with the enemy"--or, in other +words, that he had not persecuted the people Livingston disliked, and +had shown generosity to the foe when in distress. Yet he felt compelled +to add: "For my own part, I respect his bravery and former services, and +sincerely lament that his patriotism will not suffer him to take that +repose, to which his advanced age and past services justly entitle him." + +But Congress did not, fortunately, share the views of these +white-fingered, thin-skinned gentlemen, to whom a man's personal +appearance was vastly more than his distinguished services. They held, +with the doughty hero of many battles himself, that, as a soldier's duty +in war was to fight, it mattered not so much how he fought, nor in what +garb, so long as he won the victories. As to lack of capacity, and being +responsible for the loss of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, the court of +inquiry, which sat in the spring of 1778, entirely vindicated him, +holding that they fell, "not from any fault, misconduct, or negligence +of the commanding officers, but solely through the want of an adequate +force under their command to maintain and defend them." + +Who was responsible for the lack of that "adequate force" none knew +better than the Commander-in-Chief, who had withdrawn Old Put's veterans +on six different occasions and compelled him to clothe the skeleton +ranks with raw militia, so that it ill became him to write (in his +letter to Livingston): "Proper measures are taking to carry on the +inquiry into the loss of Fort Montgomery, agreeable to the direction of +Congress, and it is more than probable, from what I have heard, that the +issue of that inquiry will afford just grounds for the removal of +General Putnam." + +But the "issue of that inquiry" was in favor of Putnam, who demanded not +only a court of inquiry, but a trial by court-martial, "so that my +character might stand in a clearer light in the world." For, as he +justly observed in a letter to Congress, "to be posted here as a publick +spectator for every ill-minded person to make remarks upon, I think is +very poor encouragement for any persons to venture their lives and +fortunes in the service." + +General Putnam received notice of this court of inquiry and of his +suspension from command pending its proceedings, as he was returning +from Connecticut, in March; but the month of July had arrived, the +battle of Monmouth fought, and General Lee's court-martial had been +ordered, before he was reinstated. Then Washington rather grudgingly +gave him command of the right wing of the grand army, at White Plains, +near or on Chatterton Hill, where he had vainly tried to reenforce +McDougall, in the fierce fight that took place there not quite two years +before. The three armies were then collectively of "greater strength +than any force that had been brought together during the war," +consisting, says Major Humphreys, of sixty regular regiments of foot, +four battalions of artillery, four regiments of horse, and several corps +of State troops. "But, as the enemy kept close within their lines on +York Island, nothing could be attempted." + +Putnam was afterward sent across the Hudson, where, notwithstanding the +prejudices alleged against him in that region, where he had formerly +commanded, he was retained until the army was ordered into winter +quarters. These quarters were finally located in his own State, and were +admirably chosen for the purpose at that time, which was to hold the +troops together until the spring campaign should open. "The site for the +winter cantonment became an important question," writes Charles B. Todd, +a talented son of Connecticut, and an authority on her history, "and was +long and anxiously debated. Many of the general officers were for +staying where they were in the Highlands. Putnam pronounced in favor of +some central location in western Connecticut, where they could protect +both the Sound and the Hudson, and especially Danbury, which was a +supply station, and which had been taken and burned by the enemy the +year previous. General Heath's brigade had been on guard in Danbury +during this summer of 1778, and while visiting him Putnam had no doubt +discovered the three sheltered valleys formed by the Saugatuck and its +tributaries which lie along the border line of what was then Danbury +(now Bethel) and Redding. These valleys, open to the south, are warm, +sunny, well watered, and in that day were well wooded, and so defended +by dominating hills and crags, that a handful could hold them against an +army. They were but three days' march from the Highlands." + +Putnam himself superintended the laying out of the three camps, one for +each valley, where, in log huts similar to those erected at Valley Forge +the winter previous, the soldiers were quartered. Here the Army of the +North, consisting of two brigades of Continental troops, two of +Connecticut, one brigade from New Hampshire, with artillery and +cavalry, wore away the long and weary winter of 1778-'79. There were two +major-generals, including Putnam as commander-in-chief, and five +brigadiers, so it will be seen that the cantonment was one of great +importance. + +"Putnam pilgrims" should by all means refresh their patriotism by a +visit to the site of that winter camp in western Connecticut, for it has +been carefully preserved by the State, which has laid out a magnificent +park, erected a monument, restored some of the huts, and collected every +relic available of that noble Army of the North. The house which Old Put +occupied that winter, as headquarters, was on Umpawaug Hill and is still +pointed out, while at a little distance stands the one-time residence of +Joel Barlow, the Revolutionary poet, who, with Major Humphreys, Putnam's +aide-de-camp and later his biographer, enlivened the camp that winter. +From the summit of Gallows Hill, where General Putnam hung a spy, and +had a deserter shot to death, one may see the sites of the original +camps, the only visible remains of which are rude piles of stones, the +ruins of the "chimney-backs." + +In or near the camp preserved within the park, General Israel Putnam +once performed a deed which some have called his greatest act. "Greatest +if measured by results, and most typical of him. Who is not thrilled +with the poem of Sheridan's ride--turning a panic-stricken army, and +snatching victory from defeat; and here, near a century before, Putnam +rode after a deserting army and brought them back to victory ... a +victory over themselves." + +These remarks refer to the defection of the Connecticut troops, that +winter, who, half starved and half frozen in their narrow quarters, +"badly fed, badly clothed, and worse paid," resolved to march to +Hartford, lay their grievances before the General Assembly, and demand +redress at the point of the bayonet. + + "Word having been brought to General Putnam," says Major Humphreys, + who was present, "that the second brigade was under arms for this + purpose, he mounted his horse, galloped to the cantonment, and thus + addressed them: 'My brave lads, whither are you going? Do you + intend to desert your officers, and to invite the enemy to follow + you into the country? Whose cause have you been fighting and + suffering so long in--is it not your own? Have you no property, no + parents, wives or children? You have behaved like men so far--all + the world is full of your praise--and posterity will stand + astonished at your deeds; but not if you spoil all at last. Don't + you consider how much the country is distressed by the war, and + that your officers have not been any better paid than yourselves? + But we all expect better times, and that the country will do us + ample justice. Let us all stand together, then, and fight it out + like brave soldiers. Think what a shame it would be for Connecticut + men to run away from their officers!'" + +The gallant general's rude eloquence prevailed, the men saw their error, +were indeed ashamed of it; they listened with attention, presented arms, +as their beloved commander rode along the line to the din of the drums, +and about-faced for camp, which they did not desert again during the +winter. "Thus was a great and mighty battle fought and won. A battle +fought with the British far away. A battle fought with hunger, want, +cold, and banishment from home. A battle fought in the wilderness, where +most of the world's greatest battles are fought."[3] + +[Footnote 3: From an historical address by Prof. George A. Parker, of +Hartford, Conn., on the occasion of the visit of the famous Putnam +Phalanx to Putnam Park and Camp, June 17, 1903.] + +This episode of the winter camp of 1778-'79 forms a fitting prelude to +another feat performed by Old Put, this time a physical one, which, +while not so worthy of renown, perhaps, as the great moral victory he +achieved over his men, has brought him greater fame. Both taken together +absolutely refute the insinuations of his enemies, to the effect that he +had suffered a decline of mental, moral, or physical force. Washington +wrote, commending him for his action in suppressing the mutiny; and as +for the feat now to be mentioned, it may be said to speak for itself. In +fact, it has been speaking, now, for a century and a quarter, since it +is that famous ride down the stone steps of Horseneck Height to which +reference is made. + +It took place one morning in the last week of February, toward the close +of the long winter's vigil at Redding. Putnam and his men were out as +soon as the sap in the trees was flowing, and long before, in fact, +keeping watch upon and trying to check the operations of the notorious +Tryon and his crew. It chanced that he met the British, fifteen hundred +strong, when on a visit to his outpost at Horseneck, now "Putnam's +Hill," in Greenwich, Conn. Having but one hundred and fifty men and two +old iron guns, which latter he had posted "on the high ground by the +meeting-house," he was obliged to retreat. Ordering his men to seek +shelter in a near swamp, Old Put waited till the British dragoons were +almost within sword's length of him, when he put spurs to his horse and +dashed over the brow of the hill, zigzagging down a rude flight of +seventy stone steps set into the precipitous declivity. + +The dragoons dared not follow after this intrepid horseman, but they +sent a flight of bullets, one of which passed through his hat. Arrived +on level ground he made no halt until he had reached Stamford, where he +collected a force of militia in short order, with which he turned upon +Tryon, compelling him to retreat, and chasing him to his lair, capturing +forty prisoners and retaking a large amount of plunder. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE DISABLED VETERAN + + +General Putnam was sixty-one years old at the time of his famous exploit +at Horseneck, and apparently in the full possession of his powers; but, +as it eventuated, this was the beginning of his last campaign, which +actually opened with the removal of the soldiers from Redding to the +Hudson, about the last of May, where Putnam was appointed to the command +of the right wing of the army, with headquarters on the west bank of the +river. Previous to removal, he wrote the following interesting letter to +a friend, Colonel Wadsworth, of Hartford, which the author of this +memoir copied from the original in possession of the Connecticut +Historical Society: + + Redding, _ye 11 of May, 1779_. + + Dear Sir: On my arrivol to this plas I could hear nothing + of my hard mony and so must conclud it is gon to the dogs we have + no nus hear from head Quarters not a lin senc I cam hear and what + my destination is to be this summer cant even so much as geuss but + shuld be much obbliged to you if you would be so good as to send me + by the teems the Lym juice you was so good as to offer me and a par + of Shoes I left under the chamber tabel. I begin to think the nues + from the sutherd is tru of ginrol Lintons having a batel and + comming of the leator it is said he killed 200 hundred and took 500 + hundred what makes me creudit it is becaus the acounts in the New + york papers peartly agree with ours + + my beast Respeacts to your Lady and sistors and Litel soon. + + I am dear sir with the greatest respects your most obed and humbel + Sarvant + + Israel Putnam. + +Old Put's anxiety as to his destination having been allayed, he +established his military family at or near Buttermilk Falls, about two +miles below West Point, where, says Major Humphreys, "he was happy in +possessing the friendship of the officers of the line, and in living on +terms of hospitality with them. Indeed, there was no family in the army +that lived better than his own. The General, his second son, Major +Daniel Putnam, and the author of these memoirs, composed that family." + +Putnam was probably at this point when, on that dark and stormy night of +the fifteenth of July, "Mad Anthony" Wayne stormed and captured Stony +Point, on the river not far below. This remarkable exploit was not only +the most important event of the year, but, like the battle of Monmouth +of the year previous, almost the only action worthy of note. It had the +effect, probably, of causing the British to withdraw their troops from +along the Sound, where they were engaged in ravaging the seaboard places +of Connecticut; but the post was again taken by the enemy, who, like the +Americans, did not find it worth the while to hold it. + +The most important members of Putnam's military family, his son Daniel +and Major Humphreys, accompanied him home on leave of absence, in +November, whence, early in December, the General set out on his return +to the army, which was to winter at Morristown. Soon after leaving +Brooklyn, and while on the road to Hartford, he "felt an unusual torpor +slowly pervading his right hand and foot. This heaviness crept gradually +on until it had deprived him of the use of his limbs on that side, in a +considerable degree, before he reached the house of his friend Colonel +Wadsworth"--the gentleman to whom he had written the letter of the +eleventh of May previous. + +Having tried, though vainly, to shake off the terrible torpor and regain +the use of his limbs by exercise, the stricken soldier was at last +compelled to admit defeat and resign himself to the inevitable. He +returned home after a short tarry with his friend, and passed the +remainder of that winter at the farmhouse he had built in his younger +days, surrounded with loving care and affection by his children. At +first disposed to rebel against this stroke that had rendered him +useless while his country still stood in need of his services, +eventually he regained his cheerfulness and gave himself up to the +enjoyment of the home comforts of which for so many years he had been +deprived. + +The partial paralysis from which he suffered was premonitory of the +final stroke; but it was eleven years before it came and removed from +earth this stout-hearted man who had given his best years and his best +efforts to battling for his native land. There is no doubt that his +mighty struggles in the several wars--his daylight marches and nighttime +vigils; his tremendous exertions in emergencies like the fire at Fort +Edward, the running of the rapids at Fort Miller; long hours without +rest in the saddle, and in the trenches, with wet and frozen clothing +sometimes unchanged for days--all conduced toward the weakening of that +mighty frame prematurely stricken with paralysis. + +But he had regrets only for what he was prevented from doing; not for +what he had done. Having recovered somewhat, he entertained hopes--vain +hopes--of rejoining the army; but was finally convinced that his active +career was ended. Major Humphreys having visited him in May, 1780, by +his hand he sent a missive to Washington, informing him of his +condition, and ending with this pathetic postscript: "I am making a +great effort to use my hand to make the initials of my name for the +first time. "I.P."--Israel Putnam." + +Washington replied in July, congratulating him on his improved state of +health, and four years later, after peace was declared between Great +Britain and the United States, he wrote a long and cordial letter, which +the old General regarded as one of his most precious treasures. The +opening paragraph shows Washington's real and lasting estimate of his +former comrade in adversity, and is as follows: + + Your favor of the 20th of May I received with much pleasure. For I + can assure you that among the many worthy and meritorious officers + with whom I have had the happiness to be connected in service + throughout this war, and from whom I have had cheerful assistance + in the various and trying vicissitudes of a complicated contest, + the name of a Putnam is not forgotten; nor will it be but with + that stroke of time which shall obliterate from my mind the + remembrance of all those toils and fatigues through which we have + struggled for the preservation and establishment of the Rights, + Liberties, and Independence of our Country. + +It was not like Old Put to give up the fight so long as life held out, +and by the exercise of his iron will he kept up and about for years. +Within less than a twelvemonth from having been disqualified from +service on account of his affliction, he paid a visit to his former +command on the lower Hudson, where one of his old friends, General +Greene, complains, in a letter, that he is "talking as usual, and +telling his old stories." + +It can not be denied that he was somewhat loquacious, especially in his +later years, and those "old stories" were not alone his solace, but the +delight of numerous audiences of admiring friends and neighbors. At +Major Humphreys's request he retold them, two or three years before he +died (1788) and they form the basis of his first biographical memoir. +But they were doubtless very stale to those of his hearers who had +listened to them again and again, as plainly intimated by General +Greene. + +As they were mainly about himself and his exploits, and as many of them +were of events that happened in the distant past, it is not unlikely +that some of them were slightly exaggerated, to say the least. Some +others told of Old Put and his doings are perhaps not entitled to +credence. Among these latter may be the tales of his dueling days, as, +for instance, the story of his challenge by an English officer on +parole, who, when he came to the place appointed, found Old Put seated +near what appeared to be a keg of powder, serenely smoking his pipe. As +the officer reached the rendezvous, Putnam lighted a slow-match from his +pipe and thrust it into a hole bored in the head of the keg, upon which +were scattered a few grains of gunpowder. Viewing these sinister +preparations for the "duel," the Englishman concluded that the best +thing he could do was to run away, which he did very promptly. "O ho!" +shouted Putnam after him, taking his pipe from his mouth. "You are just +about as brave a man as I thought, to run away from a keg of onions! Ha, +ha, ha!" + +No date is given to this occurrence, nor to another account of the +"duel" he didn't fight with a brother officer whom he drove from the +field at the muzzle of a loaded musket. In fact, the "field of honor" +was not much frequented by Putnam, who preferred the field of battle, +where he always gave a good account of himself. + +During his declining years he was cheered by the companionship of his +children, most of whom were married and settled near him, and being in +the enjoyment of a competence, he was vastly better off than the +majority of the soldiers who had fought with and under him during the +Revolution, for many of them were impoverished. + +He preserved his strong will-power and great physical strength to the +end of his days, notwithstanding the ravages of disease, and in 1786, +four years before he died, performed a journey to his birthplace in +Danvers, riding all the way on horseback, though with frequent stops by +the way not only for rest, but on account of the people who flocked out +to see him and desired to entertain the famous fighter in so many wars. + +This was the last of his ventures afield, and henceforth he confined his +excursions to visiting the homes of his sons and daughters, and to trips +around his farm, though on Sundays and "prayer-meeting nights" he would +always be found in the meeting-house at the Green, where he was a +regular attendant. It is related that at one of the evening meetings one +of his fellow worshipers aroused him, by expressing his own conviction +that any person who had ever used profane language could hardly be +considered a model Christian. Old Put at once accepted the reproof as +intended, for it was well known that in moments of excitement, when +carried away by the furore of battle, he had often used words which he +would not care to review in print. He detested a coward, and when he met +one in retreat he did not hesitate to employ strong language in +expressing his opinion. At Horseneck, declared the only witness of his +reckless ride down the hill, "Old Put was cursing the British terribly." +There was no evading his friend's pointed remarks, so the honest old man +rose from his seat and "confessed the failing which he had finally +overcome"; but he added, with a twinkle in his eye, "it was enough to +make an angel swear at Bunker Hill to see the rascals run away from the +British!"[4] + +[Footnote 4: Livingston's Life of Israel Putnam. An exhaustive work, by +a conscientious and painstaking author.] + +In this respect he was no worse than his former Commander-in-Chief, +though he may have been oftener culpable, being so much more excitable +than the phlegmatic Washington. + +The final summons came on Saturday, the twenty-ninth of May, 1790, when, +in a lower room of the house he had built nearly fifty years before, the +battle-scarred warrior, life's fitful fever ended, passed peacefully +away to his rest. + +Israel Putnam was well prepared to die, declared his pastor in his +funeral sermon, and perfectly resigned to the will of God. + +"He had been for years," says Major Humphreys, "in patient yet fearless +expectation of the approach of the King of Terrors, whom he had full +often faced on the field of blood." + +On the first day of June the earthly remains of Israel Putnam, attended +by a distinguished company of former comrades and sorrowing friends, +were taken to the Brooklyn burying-ground, and placed in a brick tomb. + +Upon the slab of the tomb was carved the lengthy epitaph, printed on the +next page, as composed by Dr. Timothy Dwight, Putnam's former friend and +chaplain in the army, who subsequently became President of Yale College. + +[Illustration: Statue to General Putnam at Brooklyn, Connecticut.] + + + To the memory + of + Israel Putnam, Esquire, + Senior Major-General in the Armies + of + The United States of America + Who + Was born at Salem + In the Province of Massachusetts + On the seventh day of January + AD. 1718, + And died + On the twenty-ninth day of May + AD. 1790. + + PASSENGER + If thou art a Soldier + Drop a Tear over the dust of a Hero + Who + Ever attentive + To the lives and happiness of his Men + Dared to lead + Where any Dared to follow; + If a Patriot, + Remember the distinguished and gallant services + Rendered thy Country + By the Patriot who sleeps beneath this Monument; + If thou art Honest, generous & worthy + Render a cheerful tribute of respect + To a Man + Whose generosity was singular + Whose honesty was proverbial + Who + Raised himself to universal esteem + And offices of Eminent distinction + By personal worth + And a + Usefull life. + +With the passing of the years, Putnam's tomb in the pleasant little +cemetery in Brooklyn became defaced through the ravages of time and +heartless relic hunters, so the State resolved to erect a more enduring +monument to "Connecticut's hero of the Revolution." This monument was +dedicated June 14th, 1888, nearly a century after the death of the one +it is intended to commemorate, and is in the shape of a beautiful bronze +statue, representing Putnam on his war-horse, beneath the pedestal +supporting which, embedded in the foundation, is a sarcophagus +containing his ashes. It stands near the old church which Putnam helped +to build, and not far distant from the field in which he was plowing +when the call came from Lexington and Concord. Dr. Dwight's original +epitaph is inscribed on the tablets, and a wolf's head in bronze +ornaments the pedestal on each side. + +Little now remains to be added, except to call attention to Putnam's +character, eulogies upon which have been delivered by the ablest men of +his time and of the generations after him. This sterling character has +shone resplendent in his deeds, which we have noted; and we may almost +say of him, as of Washington, his great commander, "Whatever good may +at any time be said, it can never be an exaggeration!" + +General Putnam, remarked his first biographer, "is universally +acknowledged to have been as brave and honest a man as ever America +produced.... He seems to have been formed on purpose for the age in +which he lived. His native courage, unshaken integrity, and established +reputation as a soldier, were necessary in the early stages of our +opposition to Great Britain, and gave unbounded confidence to our troops +in their first conflicts on the field of battle." + +Over his open grave, on that day in June so long ago, were pronounced +the following words, as true now as yesterday, as they will be +henceforth, forever: "Born a hero, whom nature taught and cherished in +the lap of innumerable toils and dangers, he was terrible in battle.... +But from the amiableness of his heart, when carnage ceased, his humanity +spread over the field like the refreshing zephyrs of a summer's evening. +... He pitied littleness, loved goodness, admired greatness, and ever +aspired to its glorious summit." + +The name of Putnam, as Washington declared, is not forgotten--nor will +be, until time shall be no more. + + "He dared to lead + Where any dared to follow. In their need + Men looked to him. + A tower of strength was Israel Putnam's name, + A rally-word for patriot acclaim; + It meant resolve, and hope, and bravery, + And steady cheerfulness and constancy. + And if, in years to come, men should forget + That only freedom makes a nation great; + If men grow less as wealth accumulates, + Till gold becomes the life-blood of our States; + Should all these heavy ills weigh down our heart, + We'll turn to him who acted well his part + In those old days, draw lessons from his fame, + And hope and strength from Israel Putnam's name." + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's "Old Put" The Patriot, by Frederick A. 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