Israel Putnam visits: ‘It’s the way of things’
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PRE-PUTNAM — Ole Put - Israel Putnam’s voice: “My wife says I might be talking so much I could talk the hide off a mule — but I don’t see any mules today so …
“I was born Jan. 7, 1718, in Salem Village (Danvers, Mass.) and I was born on a farm.
“As a child I was relatively large young child and could carry my own weight. I frequently would find people I thought were being put down or such and — what you call an underdog — I would stand up for that.”
After learning that there was land being sold in the Connecticut County and “I bought (a little over 500 acres of) land in Mortlake (later Brooklyn), planted crops, had sheep and ox and cattle and fruit trees.” “I planted apple trees along the road so poorer people in the area could go and pick them – at least have some food.”
Workarounds/Fighting for Underdogs
Getting an obstinate bull into the barn, “I learned how to get my way with otherwise obstinate creatures which I think served me well when I became a commander in the Army.”
That trait served him well when he killed the she wolf that had been killing sheep and goats. Smoking the wolf out, sending sulfur smoke in next didn’t work. Workaround. He scooted into the wolf den, twice, and succeeded in killing the wolf. “I became quite famous for that.”
French (and Indian) War
“I joined and I was made a second lieutenant because I was famous and people respected me.” As a Ranger (like Special Forces) fighting the French, “We were doing non-conventional sorts of things. Captured in one battle and tied to a tree, “a French fellow came up and put a musket to my head and pulled the trigger. It misfired.” “On the move, as a prisoner, I was stripped down naked and they tied me to a tree and put brush all around it and lit it on fire. It started to rain. They put new brush and started the fire up again.” It was stopped. “It’s the way of things.” Captive for quite a while and a rich man, Peter Schuyler, collected enough money to pay off the French and some 200 to 300 of us were released.” The war ended.
Battle of Havana
“After the battle was over I came across a man who was beating his young slave with a bamboo stick. I always was for the underdog and I worked my way around to the front of the crowd, grabbed the bamboo stick. Faced with an unruly crowd, I headed back to the ship and on the way there was the young man who had been beaten and he asked if I would take him back. I did. I called him Dick. He worked for me my entire life and the bamboo stick was turned into my cane.” He also traveled to Detroit and Mississippi.
The American Revolution
“After the battle of Lexington and Concord, I led about 125 sheep from this area up to Boston for them to eat because they didn’t have food supplies. British friends there were trying to convince me to join them and I said no.” Instead he joined the rebel Americans. In the battle of Breeds and Bunker hills his experience with the French war came in handy was he could build forts and redoubts. I said “Shoot for the fancy coats’. Later Washington was named commander in chief and I was one of four major generals appointed.” Then came stints in New York and Philadelphia.
“Experience in the French War helped me retreat. I knew how to retreat. And keeping spirits up. It’s the way of things.” Times were hard and recruitments were going to expire. Thankfully there were a few well-timed successes. A stroke kept him out of the end of the war for a bit and he kept his commission after the war ended. He also served in government in Brooklyn.
“So we had some very good times, however, in May 1790 I fell ill and passed away.”
(Kenneth Knoll transformed himself into Israel Putnam in a program presented by the Putnam Public Library, the Aspinock Historical society of Putnam and under a grant by PBS “The American Revolution” by Ken Burns.
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Israel Putnam. Expanded photo array Wed. night on our FB page. More photos on page 4. Linda Lemmon photo.
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More photos Wed. night on our FB page. Linda Lemmon photos.