Israel Putnam

Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790) was an American army general and Freemason, popularly known as "Old Put," who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775) during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). His reckless courage and fighting spirit were known far beyond Connecticut's borders through the circulation of folk legends celebrating his exploits.

He had notable service as an officer with Roger's Rangers during the French and Indian War, when he was captured but saved from ritual burning by Mohawk warriors by intervention of a French officer.

Early life
Putnam was born in Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts, to Joseph and Elizabeth (Porter) Putnam, a prosperous farming family. His parents were in opposition to the Salem witch trials. Joseph signed, with Israel Porter (his father-in-law), the petition on the behalf of Rebecca Nurse. Israel's birthplace, Putnam House, has been preserved as an historic structure.

In 1740, at the age of 22, he moved west to Mortlake (now Pomfret) in northeastern Connecticut, where land was cheaper and easier for young men to buy. According to oral tradition, Putnam in his youth killed the last wolf in Connecticut with the help of a group of farmers from Mortlake. The tradition describes Putnam crawling into a den with a torch, a musket, and his feet secured with rope, in order to be quickly pulled out. While in the den, he allegedly killed the she-wolf. The farmers thought killing all the wolves was necessary to safeguard their sheep and early settlements typically offered bounties on such predators. A section of the Mashamoquet Brook State Park in modern-day Pomfret is named "Wolf Den" (which includes the 'den'). The name "Wolf Den Road" in Brooklyn, Connecticut also attests to the days of wolves.

Military service
Putnam took part in the French and Indian War as a member of Rogers' Rangers, and later led a similar company of rangers from Connecticut. He was promoted to captain in 1756 and to major in 1758. Captured on August 8, 1758 by the Kahnawake (Mohawk Indians) during a military campaign near Crown Point in New York, he was saved from being ritually burned alive by a rain storm and the last-minute intervention of a French officer.

In 1759, Putnam led a regiment into the valley of death the attack on Fort Carillon; and in 1760 he was with the British army that marched on Montreal. In 1762, he survived a shipwreck during the British expedition against Cuba that led to the capture of Havana. Major Putnam is believed to have brought back Cuban tobacco seeds to New England, which he planted in the Hartford area. This reportedly resulted in the development of the renowned Connecticut Wrapper (shade tobacco).

In 1763 during Pontiac's Rebellion, Putnam was sent with reinforcements to relieve Pontiac's siege of Fort Detroit.

Following the war, in 1765 Putnam publicly professed his Christian faith and joined the Congregational Church in Brooklyn. Putnam was among those who objected to British taxation policies. For instance, around the time of the Stamp Act crisis in 1766, he was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly and was one of the founders of the state's chapter of the Sons of Liberty. In the fall of 1765, Putnam threatened Thomas Fitch, the popularly elected Connecticut Governor, over this issue. He said that Fitch's house "will be leveled with the dust in five minutes" if Fitch did not turn over the stamp tax paper to the Sons of Liberty.

Battle of Bunker Hill
By the eve of the Revolution, Putnam had become a relatively prosperous farmer and tavern keeper, with more than a local reputation for his previous exploits. On April 20, 1775, when Putnam received news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that started the war the day before, he left his plow in the field and rode 100 mi in eight hours, reaching Cambridge the next day and offering his services to the patriot cause. Putnam was named major general, making him second in rank to General Artemas Ward in the Army of Observation that preceded the founding of the Continental Army.

He was one of the primary figures at the Battle of Bunker Hill, both in its planning and on the battlefield. During that battle Putnam may have ordered William Prescott to tell his troops "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" (It is debated exactly who said these words first; they are attributed to a number of officers). This command has since become one of the American Revolution's more memorable quotes. The order was important, because the New England troops entrenched on the hill were low on ammunition. Putnam joined the Continental Army when it was organized in July 1775, he was commissioned as colonel of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment, and later became brigadier of the Connecticut militia.

Long Island and later service
After Bunker Hill, Putnam progressed to temporary command of the American forces in New York, while waiting for the arrival on April 13, 1776 of the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General George Washington. The Battle of Bunker Hill must count as the greatest achievement in Putnam's life; afterward, his fortunes took a downturn at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, where he was forced to effect a hasty retreat. Washington did not blame Putnam for this failure as some in the Second Continental Congress did. However, Washington reassessed the abilities of his general and assigned him to recruiting activities. In 1777 Putnam received another, though lesser, military command in the Hudson Highlands and his headquarters was at the Bush-Lyon Homestead. With future Vice-President Aaron Burr in his charge, Putnam was fooled in October 1777 by a feint executed by British troops under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton, making way for Clinton's capture of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton. Putnam was brought before a court of inquiry for those actions, where he was exonerated of any wrongdoing.

On Feb. 26, 1779, Putnam did his famed escape from the British, riding down a steep slope in Greenwich. A statue commemorating this escape was erected at Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding, Connecticut. Anna Hyatt Huntington, a local sculptor, created the bronze statue in 1969. During the winter of 1778-1779, Putnam and his troops were encamped at the site now preserved as the Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding, Connecticut. In December 1779, Putnam suffered a paralyzing stroke, which ended his military service.

Putnam Tomb
Putnam died in Brooklyn, Connecticut in 1790, and was buried in an above-ground tomb in Brooklyn's South Cemetery. He is honored with an equestrian monument at his burial site on Canterbury Road (Route 169) in Brooklyn, CT.

Upon his death in 1790, Putnam was buried in an above ground tomb. Over the years, souvenir hunters had removed fragments of the headstone and the overall condition of the tomb was deemed unsuitable for General Putnam. Sculptor Karl Gerhardt, also responsible for the nearby Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument as well as Civil War monuments in New York and New Jersey, was chosen to create a monument that would provide a new home for Putnam’s remains. Putnam was placed in a sarcophagus in the base, and the original headstone inscription was recreated on the monument.

Legacy
Within a few years, so many people visited Putnam's tomb that the marble marker became badly mutilated; it was removed for safe keeping to the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. In 1888, Putnam's remains were removed from the Brooklyn cemetery and reinterred in a sarcophagus built into the foundation of a monument in his memory, newly erected on a plot of ground near the Brooklyn town green.

In the early days of the war, Putnam was regarded by Washington as one of America's most valuable military assets. During the Revolution, however, Putnam, as did many American generals, led more strategic defeats than offensive victories, and was known chiefly for his reckless courage.

Numerous places were named for him, including eight Putnam counties in various states, starting with New York. Towns in New York and Connecticut were named for him.

Other namesakes include:
 * A Brooklyn, New York elementary school.
 * East Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut, named for his path of retreat from the British.
 * Putnam's cottage, an eighteenth-century residence that may have served as a tavern at the time of his escape, is located on this avenue.
 * Putnam State Park is also named for him.
 * Putnam Place, in the Bronx, New York, stands among other local neighborhood streets named for Revolutionary (and War of 1812) figures.

Putnam has been featured in numerous biographies and works of fiction, including an 1876 book by Increase N. Tarbox, acclaimed historian, theologian, and author.

General Putnam is an ancestor to the famed 20th-century newsman and former Marine Corps Officer George Putnam.

Putnam also appears as a supporting character in the video game, Assassin's Creed III.