iiy 11. ij EAR i>Oll.V, 
 
 HAJOR-GENCRAL OP THE DNITED STATEs' ARMY. 
 WITH 
 
 A LETT^i 
 
 m^j^^j^ ^^s?o 5Da^iaiB®]B]?f 
 
 9 
 
 <tEPEIXING HIS UNPROVOKED ATTACK OJT THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 THK LATE JilAJ. GEN, ISRAEL PUTNAM. 
 
 DANIEL PUTNAM, Esc^, / 
 
 /^ 
 
 BOSTOIV : 
 
 Pt BUSHED BT MVNROe & FRANCIS, NO- 4. CORyHIlt,. 
 1818. 
 
BATTLE OF BUNKER'S-HILL. 
 
 \JN the 16th of June, 1775, it was determined that a fortified post 
 should be established at or near Bunker's Hill. 
 
 A detachment of the army was ordered to advance early in the even- 
 ing of that day, and commence the erection of a strong work on 
 the heights in the rear of Charlestown, at that time called Breed's 
 Hill, but from its proximity to Bunker Hill, the battle has taken its 
 Jiatnc Irom the i;.<ter eminence, which overlooks it. 
 
 I'iiL^ ork Wiij. commenped and carried on under the dir<'! cicv im 
 such engin("ers as Ave wer<; able to procure at that time. It was a 
 square redoubt, the curtains of which were about 60 or 70 feet in ex- 
 tent, with an intrenchment, or breast work, extending 50 or 60 feet 
 from the northern angle, towards Mystic river. 
 
 In the course of the night the ramparts had been raised to the height 
 of 6 or 7 feet, v. ith a small ditch attheir base, but it was in yet a rude 
 and imperfect state. Being in full view from the northern heights of 
 Boston, it was discovered l>y the enemy, as soon as day-light appear- 
 ed, and a determination was immediately formed by General Gage, 
 for dislodging our troops from ti.v< „eAV and alarming position. Ar- 
 rangements were promptly inade for ..frecting this important object. 
 The movements of the British troops indji voting an attack, were soon 
 discovered; in consequence of which, orders w.j-tj immediately issued 
 for the march of a considerable part of our arni > tofeiuforce the detach- 
 ment at the redoubts on Breed's Hill ; but such Vtjj^ the imperfect 
 state of discipline, the want of knowledge in military scitnrc, and tire 
 deficiency of the materials of war, that the movement of tnv troops 
 was extremely irregular and devoid of every thing like concert — ?-.v h 
 regiment advancing according to the opinions, feelings or caprice of 
 its conmmnder. 
 
 Colonel Stark's* regiment was quartered in Medford, distant about 
 foiif nii!v-; i^rom the point of anticipated attack. It then consisted o, 
 (IjiittYn ^panics, and was , probably the ? rsi»st rcgimerrt in >'■ 
 a»suj>'. '^><Vho »tten o'clocii in tiie morning he ro« ived o.'Mors (,; m; ;. 
 The regimvljit lioing destitute of ammunition, it .«^as formed in front of 
 a house occu{>ied , - nn arsenal, where each man received a gill cap full 
 of powder, fifttH'n :; r nnd one flint. 
 
 The several nipiaios u ore then ordered to march their companies 
 to their respective\ qua. in - . and make u]) their powder and ball into 
 cartridges, with Vne greatest }»" sible dis|)atch. As there were scarce- 
 ly two muskets i ji a company ' ^ual caliber, it was necessary to re- 
 duce the size of *he balls for ma. y of them ; and as but a small pro- 
 portion of ti\e Jen had cartridge boxes, the remainder made use of 
 powdei' horns a id ball pouches. 
 
 After complclpig the necessary prejjarations for action, the regi- 
 ment formed, aifc marched about 1 o'clock. ^Vhen it reached Charles- 
 
 * This distin^uishad volwBn is still alive, in the ninety-first ycarof hii age, and resides in the state of New- 
 Hampshire. He is one oft' Monly t/iree survivin? general officers of the revolutionary war. The other two avi" 
 Majoi Gen. St, Clair, who Jes in the iiiterier ofreniisylvania, aad Brig. Gen. Huntington, of Connecticut. 
 
town Neck we found two regiments, halted, in consequence of alieaty 
 enfilading fire thrown across it, of round, bar, and chain shot, from 
 the Lively frigate, and floating batteries anchored in Charles river, 
 and a floating battery lying in the river Mystic. — Major M' Clary 
 went forward, and observed to the commanders, if they did not intend 
 to move on, lie wished them to open and let our regiment pass ; the 
 latter was immediately done. My company being in iVont, I marched 
 by the side of Col. Stark, who, moving with a very deliberate pace, 
 I suggested the propriety of quickening the march of the regiment, 
 tliat it might sooner be relieved from the galling cross fire of the ene- 
 my — With a look peculiar to himself, he fixed his eyes upon me, and 
 observed with great composure, '< Dearborn, one fresh man in action, 
 is worth ten fatigued ones,'' and continued to advance in the same cool 
 and collected manner. When we reached the top of Bunker's Hill, 
 where Gen. Putnam had taken his station, the regiment halted for a 
 -'^M,',- moments for the rear to coiar^ up. 
 
 Soon after, the enemy were discovered to hane iatulcvi on the shore, 
 of Morton's point in front of Breed's Hill, under cover of a tremen- 
 dous fire of shot and shells from a battery on Copp's Hill, in Boston, 
 which had opened on the redoubt at day break. 
 
 jNhijor General Jlorve, and Brigadier Geiieral Pigot, were the com- 
 manders of the British forces which first landed, consisting of four bat- 
 talions of infantry, ten com])anies of grenadiers, and ten of light in- 
 fantry, -with a train of field artillery. They formed as they disembark- 
 ed, but remained in that position, until they were reinforced by anotiier 
 detachment. 
 
 At this moment the veteran and gallant Colonel Stark harangued 
 his regiment in a short but animated address ; then directed them to 
 give three cheers, and make a rapid movement to the rail fence which 
 ran from the left, and about 40 yards in the rear of the redoubt to- 
 wards Mystic river. Part of the grass having been recently cut, lay 
 in winnows and cocks on the field. Another fence was taken up — the 
 rails run througli the one in front, and the hay, mown in the vicinity, 
 suspended upon'them, from the bottom to the top, which had the appear- 
 ance of a breast work, but was in fact, no real cover to the men j it 
 however, served as a deception on the enemy. This was done by the 
 direction of the ** committee of sufetif," of which James Winthrop,Esq, 
 who then, and now lives in Cambridge, was one, as he has within a 
 low yea.»'S informed me. Mr.Winthrop himself acted as a volunteer on 
 that da^, and was w-tf.nded in the battle. 
 
 At the moment our regiment was formed in the rear of the rail feme, 
 with one other small regiment from New-Hampshire, under the com- 
 mand of Colonel Reed, the fire commenced between the left wing of the 
 British armv, commanded by General Howe, and the troops in the 
 redoubt under Col. Prcscott, while a column of the enemy was advan- 
 cing on our left, on the shore of Mystic river, with an evident intention 
 of turning our left wing, and that veteran and most excellent regiment 
 of Welsh fusilecrs, so distinguished for its gallant conduct in the bat- 
 tle of Mindcn, advanced in column directly on the rail fence ; when 
 within 80 or an 100 yards, displayed into line, with the precision and 
 firmness of troops on parade, and opened a brisk but regular fire by 
 platoons, which was returned by a well directed, rapid, and fatal dis- 
 charge from our whole Une. 
 
The action soon became .sjeneral, and very heavy from right to 
 left. In the course often or fifteen minutes the enemy gave way at all 
 points, and retreated in great disorder, leaving a large number of 
 dead and wounded on the fiekl. 
 
 The tiring ceased for a short time, until the enemy again formed, ad- 
 vanced and recommenced a spirited fire from his whole line. Several 
 attempts were again made to turn our left, butthetroops having thrown 
 up a slight stone wall on the bank of the river andlaj'ing down behind 
 it, gave such a deadly fire, as cut down almost every nian of the party 
 opposed to them ,• while the fire from the redoubt and the rail fence 
 was so well directed and so fatal, especially to the British officers, 
 that the whole army was compelled a second time to retreat with pre- 
 cipitation and great confusion. At this time the ground occupied by 
 the enemy was covered with his dead and wounded. Only a few small 
 detached parties again advanced, which kept up a distant ineffectual ^^ 
 scattering fire, until a stion? reinfcrcemcnt arrived from Bn ♦^jf^/"^ 
 which advanced on the southern declivity of the hill, in tlie reav of 
 Charlestown. When this column arrived opposite that angle of the 
 redoubt which faced Charlestown, it wheeled by platoons to the right 
 and advanced directly upon the redoubt without firing a gun. By this 
 time our ammunition was exhausted. A few men only had a charge left. 
 
 The advancing column made an attempt to carry the redoubt by 
 assault, but at the first onset every man that mounted the parapet was 
 cut down, by the troops within, who had formed on the opposite side, 
 not being prepared with bayonets to meet a charge. 
 
 The column wavered for a moment, but soon formed again ; when a 
 forward movement was made with such spirit and intrepidity as to 
 render the feeble efforts of a handfid of men, without the means of 
 defence, unavailing, and they fled through an open space in the rear 
 of the redoubt, which had been left for a gate-way. At this moment 
 the rear of the British column advanced round the angle of the redoubt 
 and threw in a galling flank fire upon our troops, as they ruslied from 
 it, which killed and wounded a greater number than ]>ad fallen before 
 during the action. — The whole of our line immediately after gave 
 way and retreated with rapidity and disorder towards Bunker Hill ; 
 carrying off as many of the woinided as possible, so that' only tliirty 
 six or seven fell into the hands of the enemy, among whom were Lt. 
 Colonel Parker and two or three other oilicers who fell in or near the 
 redoubt. 
 
 When the troops arrived at the summit of Bunker Hill, we found 
 Gen. Putnam with nea;'ly as many men as had been engaged in the 
 battle ; notwithstanding which no measure had been taken far reinfor- 
 cing us, nor was tliere a shot fired to cover our retreat, or any move- 
 ment made to check the advance of the enemy to this height, but on 
 the contrary, Gen. Putnam rode off, with a number of spades and 
 pick axes in his hands, and the troops that had remained with him 
 inactive during tlie whole of the action, although within a few hundred 
 yards of the battle ground and no obstacle to impede their movement 
 but musket balls. 
 
 The whole of the troops now descended the northwestern declivity 
 of Bunker Hill, and recrossed tiie neck. Those of the Ncw-Ham])s!iire 
 line retired towards Winter Hill, and the otiiers on to Prospect Hill. 
 
 Some sligiit works were thrown up in the coui'se of the evening— r- 
 
strong advance pickets were posted on the roads leading to Charles- 
 town, and the troops anticipating an attack, rested on tlieir arms. 
 
 It is a most extraordinary (act that the British did not make a 
 single charge during the hattle, which, if attempted, would have been 
 decisive and fatal to the Americans, as thoy did not carry into the 
 field fifty bayonets. In my company there was but one. 
 
 Soon after the ctmnnencement of the action, a detachment from the 
 British force in Boston was landed in Ciiarlestown, and within a few 
 moments the wh(de town a])pcared in a blaze. A dense column of 
 smoke rose to a great height, and there being a gentle breeze from 
 the southwest, it hu!ig like a thunder cloud over the contending ar- 
 mies. A very fev/ houses escaped the dreadful conflagration of this 
 devoied town. 
 
 From similar mistakes, the fixed ammunition furnished for the field 
 pieces was calculated for guns of a larger calibre, which prevented 
 the use of fit Id artillery, on both sides. There was no cavalry in 
 eituer army* Fiom the sliips of war anfi a large battery on Copp's 
 Hill, a heavy cannonade was kept up upon our line and redoubt, from 
 the commencement to the close of the action, and during the retreat ; 
 hut with very little effect, except that of killing the brave Major An- 
 drew M'Clary of Col. Stark's regiment soon after we retired from 
 Bunker Hill. He was among the first officers of the army. — Posses- 
 sing a sound judgment, of undaunted bravery, enterprising, ardent 
 and zealous, both as a patriot and soldier. His loss was severely felt 
 by his comjjatiiots in arms, wiiile his country was deprived of the 
 services of one of her most promising and distinguished champions 
 of liberty. 
 
 After leaving the field of battle I met him and drank some spirit and 
 water with him. He was animated and sanguine in the result of the 
 cunfiict for independence, from the glorious display of valor which had 
 distinguished his countrymen on that memorable day. 
 
 He soon observed tiiat the British troops on Bunker Hill appeared 
 in motion, and said he would go and reconnoitre them, to see wheth- 
 er they were coming out over the neck, at tlie same time dij-ecting 
 me to march my company down t!ic road towards Charlestown. 
 We were tlien at Tufts' house near Ploughed Mill. I immediately 
 made a forward nmvement to the position he dii-ected me to take, and 
 hali.c<l while he priicecded to tl»e old pound, which stood on the site 
 iu)W occupied as a tavern-house not far from the entrance to thf n'^ck. 
 Aftt^r no'.had SatisilciWMimself that the enemy did not intend to leu\e 
 their strong posts on the heights, he was i-eturning towards me, and 
 when within twelve or fifteen rods of wh^'re I stood, with my compa- 
 ny, a random cannon shot, from one of the frigates lying near whei*e 
 the centre of Craigie's bridge now is, passed directly througli ];is 
 body and put to flight one of the most heroic souls that ever anima- 
 ted man. 
 
 He leaped two or three feet from the ground, pitched forward, and 
 fell dead upon his iface. I had him carried to Medford, where he 
 was interied, with all the respect and lionors we could exhibit to the 
 manes of a great and good man. He was my bosom friend ; we had 
 gr(iwn up together on terms of the greatest intimacy, and I loved 
 him as a hwother. 
 
 My position in the battle, more the result of accident t.lian any rcgu- 
 
6 
 
 Jarity of Ibrmation, was on t'ne r'x^ht of the Hne ai the rail fence, 
 whirh afforded me a fair view of the whole scene of action. 
 
 Our men were intent on cutting- down every officer whom they couhl 
 distinguish in the British line. When any of them discovered one 
 he would instantly exclaim <• fA^re," " see that officer.,'''' " let us have 
 ii shot at Aim," when two or three would fire at the same moment ; 
 and as our soldiers were excellent marksmen and rested their mus- 
 kets over the fence, they were sure of their object. An officer was dis- 
 covered to mount near the position of Gen. Howe, on the left of the 
 British line, and ride towards cmr left ; which a column was endeav- 
 ouring to turn. This was the only officer on horseback during the 
 day, and as he approached the rail fence, I heard a number of 
 our men observe, *' there," " tliere," — " see that officer on horse- 
 back" — '* let us fire," " no, not yet." — " wait until he gets to that 
 little knoll," — " now" — wlien they fired and he instantly fell dead 
 from his horse. It proved to be Mapr Pitcairn, a distinguished v>^- 
 ccr. — I'he fire of the enemy Avas so badly directed, I should presume 
 that forty-nine balls out of^fifty passed from one to six feet over our 
 head, for I noticed an apple tree, some paces in the rear, which had 
 scarcely a ball in it from the ground as high as a man's head, while 
 the trunk and branches above were literally cut to pieces. 
 
 I commanded a full company in action and had only one man killed 
 and five wounded, which was a full avei-age of the loss we sustained, 
 excepting those who fell while sallying from the redoubt, when it was 
 stormed by the British column. 
 
 Our total loss in killed was eighty-eight, and as well as I can re- 
 collect ui)wards of two hundred wounded. Our platoon officers car- 
 ried fusees. 
 
 In the course of the action, after firing away what ammunition I 
 had, I walked to the iiigher ground to the right, in rear of the redoubt, 
 with an expectation of procuring froni some of the dead er wounded 
 men who lay there, a supply. While in that situation I saw at some dis- 
 tance a dead man lying near a small locust tree. As he ajipcared to be 
 much better dressed than our men generally w ere, I asked a man who was 
 passing me, if he knew who it was. He replied '* it is Dr. Ifarren.** 
 
 I did not peisonally know Doctor "Warren, but was well ac juaint- 
 ed with his j)ublic character. He had been recently appointed a Gen- 
 eral in our service, but had not taken command. He was President 
 of the Provincial Congress then sitting in \^ atertowM, and having 
 her.rd that there would pi-obaldy be an action, had come to share in 
 whatever might happen, in the character f;f a volunteer, and was 
 imfortuenately killed early in the action. His death was a sevei-e 
 misfortune to his friends and country. Posterity will a])preciate 
 his worth and do honour to his memory. He is immortalized as a 
 patriot, who gloriously fell in the defence of freedom. 
 
 The number of our troops in action as near as I was able to ascer- 
 tain did not exceed fifteen hundred. The force of the British, althe 
 commencement of the action, a^ as estimated at about the same iiumber, 
 but they Avere frerpicntly reinforced. 
 
 Had our ammunition held out, or had we been supplied with only 
 fifteen or twenty rounds, I have no doubt but that Ave should have kil- 
 led and wounded the greatest part of their army, and compelled the 
 remainder to have laid down their arms ; for it was with the greatest 
 difficulty that they were brought up the last time. Our fire was so 
 
Jpiwlly, pfirticularly to the officers, that it would have hcen impos- 
 ailiJe to have resisted it, hut for a short time h)na;er, 
 
 1 did not see a man quit liis post during the action, and do not be- 
 lieve a single soldier, who was brou.a;ht into the field, fled, until the 
 whole army was ()bli,2;ed to retreat, for want of powder and ball. 
 
 The total loss of ilie Ri-itisli was about twelve bundled ; upwards 
 of five hundred killed and between six and seven hundred wounded. 
 The AVelsh ftisileers suffered most severely ; they rame into action 
 five hundred strong, and all were killed or wounded but eighty -three. 
 
 I will mention an extraordinary cirnnnstance to show bow far 
 tbe temporai-y reputation of a man may effect the minds of all classes 
 of society. 
 
 Gcnei'al Putnam had entered our army at the commencement of the 
 revolutionary war, with such an universal popularity as can scarcely 
 now be conceived, even by those who then fcH the whole force of it. 
 and no'one can at this time offer any satisfactory reasons why he wa< 
 held in such high estimation. 
 
 In the battle of Bunker Hill he took post on the decllvUif towards 
 Charlestotvn JVeck^ where I saw him on horseback as we passed on 
 to Breed's Hill, with Col. Gerrish by his side. I heard the gallant 
 Col. Prescott (who commanded in the i-edoubt) observe, after the war, 
 at the table of his Excellency James Bowdoin, tlieia Governor of this 
 Commonwealth, " that he sent three messengers diiring the battle to 
 Gen. Putnam, requesting him to come forward and take the command, 
 there being no general officer present, and the relative rank of the 
 Colonel not having been settled ; but that he received no answer, and 
 his whole conduct was su( h, both during the action and the retreat, 
 tliat he ought to have been shot." He remained at or near the top of 
 Bunker Hill until the retreat, with Col. Gerrish by his side ; I saw 
 them together when we retreated. He not only continued at that dis- 
 tance himself during the whole of the action, but had a force with 
 him nearly as large as that engaged. No reinforcement of men or 
 ammunition was sent to our assistance ; and, instead ol attem])ting to 
 cover the retreat of those wlio had expended their last shot in the 
 face of the enemy, he I'etj-eated in company with Col. Gerrish, and 
 his whole force, without discharging a single musket ; but what is still 
 more astonishing, Col. Gerrish was arrested for cownniice, tried, 
 cashiered, and nniversallij execrated ; while nf)t a word was said 
 against the conduct of Gen. Putnam, whose extruordivary vrrpidarity 
 ah)ne saved him, not only from trial, but even trom censure. 0<d^ 
 Gerrish commanded a regiment, and shrudd have been at its head.' 
 His regitnent was nat in a-tion although ordered — but as he was iu 
 the suit of tlie Gejieral, a?id ai)peared t ) be in tiie sit'ihti-jn of adiuta"t 
 general, why was he not directed by Putnam to jou it, or the regi- 
 ment sent into action u'lder tjje senior officer present with it. 
 
 When Gen. Putnam's ephemeral and unaccountable i)0{)ularity sub- 
 sided or faded away, and the minds of the people were released from 
 tbe shackles of a delusive trance, the circumstances relating t'> Bun- 
 ker Hill v^iivt viewed and talked of in a vvry aifer'-nt light, and the se- 
 lection of the unfoi'tunate Col. Gerrish as a scapc-gjut considered as a 
 7mjsterious and inexplicable event. 
 
 I have no private feeling to gratify by making this statement in 
 relation to Gen. Putnam, as I never had any intercourse with him, 
 and was only iil the army where he was present, for a few mouths j; 
 
but at this late period, I conceive it a duty to give a fair and impar- 
 tial account of one of the most important battles durin.^ the war of 
 independence, and all the circumstances connected with it so far as 
 I had the means of heins; correctly informed. 
 
 It is a duty I owe to posterity, and the character of those brave ofli- 
 Gers who bore a share in the hardships of the revolution. 
 
 Nothing like discipline had entered our army at that time. Gen. 
 TFardf then commander in chief, remained at his quarters in Cam- 
 hridge, and apparently took no interest or part in the transactions of 
 the day. 
 
 No general officer, except Putnam^ appeared in sight, nor did any 
 officer assume the command, undertake to form the troops, or give any 
 order's, in the course of the action, that I heard, except Col. Stark, 
 who directed his regiment to reserve their fire on the retreat of the 
 enemy, until they advanced again. 
 
 Every platoon officer was engaged in discharging his own musket, 
 and left his men to fire as they pleased, but never without a sure 
 aim at some particular object, which was more destructive than 
 any mode which could have been adopted with troops who were not 
 inured to discipline, and never had been in battle, but were still famil- 
 iar with the use of arms, from boyhood, and each having his peculiar 
 manner of loading and firing, which had been practised upon for years, 
 with the same gun, any attempt to control them by uniformity and 
 system, would have rendered their fires infinitely less fatal to the ene- 
 my. Not an officer or soldier of the continental troops engaged was in 
 uniform, but were in the plain and ordinary dress of citizens ; nor 
 was there an officer on horseback. (Signed) H. DEARBORN. 
 
 I 
 
iLJi^^'iEia 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL DEARBORN, 
 
 REPELLING 
 
 HIS UNPROVOKED ATTACK ON THE CHARACTER 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL PUTNAM ; 
 
 AND CONTAINING 
 
 SOME ANECDOTES RELATING TO 
 
 l^^lTTliEi 0¥ T&\yXl^E.lBlAlllAli, 
 
 NOT GENERALLT KNOWN. 
 
 DANIEL PUTNAM, Ksa- 
 
 -...- -." Nothing extenuate, 
 
 Nor set down aught in malice." 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 mBI.ISHED BY MCNROB & FRANCIS, NO. 4, CORNRILt, 
 1818. 
 
TO 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL DEARBORN, 
 
 Sir, 
 TT was not until the 29th of April, that I saw a publication, entitled, 
 ■* " An Account of the Battle of Bunker-Hill ; written for thePoi-t- 
 Folio, at the request of the Editor, by H. Dearborn, Major- General 
 U. S. Army." 
 
 This production, as unworthy of the rank you bear, as it is void of 
 truth in some of its most prominent parts, I have read with mingled 
 emotions of indignation and contempt. 
 
 What, Sir, could tempt you at this distant period to disturb the 
 ashes of the dead, and thus, in the face of truth, to impose on the pub- 
 lic such a miserable libel on the fair fame of a man who " exhausted 
 his bodily strength, and expended the vigor of a youthful constitu- 
 tion in the service of lus country" ? What, above all things, could 
 induce you to assail the character of General Putnam^ in a point most 
 of all others, perhaps, unassailable ; and to impeach with cowardice, 
 a man always foremost in danger ? a man, of whom it was proverbi- 
 ally said, as well by British as Provincial officers, that, in a service 
 of great peril and hardship, from 1755 to 1763, " He dared to lead 
 where any dared to follow ?" 
 
 It was from a full conviction of this truth in the public mind, and 
 from a confidence in his experience, patriotism, and fidelity to his coun- 
 try, that " General Putnam entered our army at the commencement of 
 ** the revolutionary war with such an universal pnpidarity as can scarcely 
 ** now be conceived, even by those who then felt the whole force of it." 
 But, however ^* universal.'^ however ** extraordinary ," however *' wn- 
 accountahlc'^ may have been this *' popularity" to a mind jaundiced by 
 envy, and smarting under the sting of popular odium, even while loaded 
 with Executive favor, it was not quite so " ephemeral" nor did it so 
 soon ^'fade away," as you would now fain make the public believe. On 
 the contrary, it was his lot, while in service, generally to have the 
 post of danger and importance assigned him. 
 
 When the British army left Boston, in the spring of 1776, he 
 was ordered to New- York, for the defence of that city ; Major Gen- 
 eral Lee, who had been sent there the January preceding, having gone 
 on to South -Carol in a. I am unwilling to swell this letter by introducing 
 any thing not directly in point ; but, since it can hardly be supposed 
 that the *' extraordinary popularity" of General Putnam should have 
 so entirely imposed on the discriminating mind of Washington, after 
 a daily and most familiar intercourse from July to March, as to have 
 led him to commit the defence of that important post to the Coward 
 of Bunker-Hill, I take the liberty of inserting the following 
 
*< Orders and Instructions for Major-General Putnam. 
 
 " As there are the best reasons to believe that the Enemy's fleet and 
 army, which left Nantasket road last Wednesday evening-, are bound 
 to New-York, to endeavour to possess that important post, and, if possi- 
 ble, to secure the communication by Hudson's river to Canada ; it must 
 be our care to prevent tliem from accomplishing their designs. To 
 that end, I have detached Brigadier-General Heath, with the whole 
 body of Riflemen, and five battalions of the Continental army, by 
 way of Norwich in Connecticut, to New-York. These, by an express 
 arrived yesterday from General Heath, I have reason to believe are 
 in New-York. Six more battalions, under General Sullivan, march 
 this morning by the same route, and will, I hope, arrive tliere in 
 eight or ten days at the farthest. The rest of the army will immediately 
 follow in divisions, leaving only a convenient space between each di- 
 vision to prevent confusion and want of accommodation upon theirmarch. 
 
 « You will, no doubt, make the best dispatch in getting to N«^w- 
 York. Upon your an-ival there, you will assume the command, and 
 immediately proceed in continuing to execute the plan, proposed by 
 Major-General Lee, for fortifying "that city, and securing the passes 
 of the East and North rivers. If, upon consultation with the I5riga- 
 dier-Generals and Engineers, any alteration in that plan is thought 
 necessary, you are at liberty to make it, cautiously avoiding to break in 
 too much upon his main design, unless where it may be apparently 
 necessary so to do, and that, by the general voice and opinion of 
 the gentlemen abovementioned. 
 
 "You will meet the Quarter-Mastcr-Gcneral, Colonel Mifflin, 
 and Commissary-General, [Colonel Trumbull,] at New- York. As 
 these are both men of excellent talents in their different departments, 
 you will do well to give them all the authority and assistance they 
 require: and should a Council of War be necessary, it is my direction 
 they assist at it. 
 
 *• Your long service and experience, will, better than my particular 
 directions at this distance, point out to you the works most proper 
 to be first raised, and your perseverance^ activity, and am^ will lead 
 you (without my recommending it,) to exert every nerve to disappoint 
 the enemy's designs. 
 
 " Devoutly praying that the Power whicli has hitherto sustained 
 the American arms, may continue to bless them with the Divine 
 protectioii, I bid you. Farewell. 
 
 " Given at Head-quarters, in Cambridge, this 29tb of March, 1776. 
 
 " GEO. WASHINGTON." 
 
 The faithful execution of the duties here enjoined were acknowl- 
 edged by the Commander in Chief after his arrival in New-York, 
 and his thanks were publicly expressed in general orders. 
 
 Two days before the Battle of Flat-Bush, in consequence of the 
 sickness of that excellent officer, Major-General Greene, who had 
 commanded on Long-Island, General Putnam was ordered to the 
 command of that post, and assisted in the arduous and complicated 
 difficulties of that masterly retreat. 
 
 In the memorable and distressing ^ig-Zif of the American army 
 through New-Jersey in 1776, General Putnam was always near — 
 always the friend, the supporter, and confidant of his beloved Chief ; 
 and the moment after reaching the western bank of the Delaware 
 
vith the rear of the army, he was ordered to Philadelphia, to fortify 
 and defend that city, a.^ainst a meditated attack ; concerning: which. 
 Genera] Washington thus expresses himself in a letter to Genei'al 
 Putnam, dated 23d Decemher, 1776. « If I had not heen well con- 
 vinced before of the Enemy's intention to possess themselves of 
 Philadelphia, as soon as the frost should form ice strong enough to 
 support them and theii- artillery across the Delaware, I have now 
 obtained an intercepted letter, which places the matter beyond a doubt." 
 
 On the evening preceding the surprize of the Hessians at Trenton 
 and while the army was paraded for that object, the ivriter was dis- 
 patched by the Commander-in-Chief, with a confidential message to 
 General Putnam, apprizing him of the pending event, and i'e(iuiring 
 him to be in perfect readiness to move at a moment's warning wherever 
 directed ; and immediately after the action at Princeton, he was oi'der- 
 ed to pass the Delaware with what force he had, to Croswix, and, 
 soon after, to repair to Princeton, where he continued thro' tlie winter, 
 within sixteen miles of the head-quarters of Lord Cornwallis, and 
 cov^ering a large extent of country with but a handful of men ; and« 
 those almost entirely composed of New-Jersey militia, who had but 
 a short time previcnis, in despair at the aspect of public affairs, receiv- 
 ed written protections from the enemy, which they were now required 
 by proclamation of Washington to give up, and subscribe allegiance 
 to the United States. It is a fact, that during one whole week of this 
 time. General Putnam had no military force with him at Princeton, 
 but a fine independent company from Baltimore, under Captain Yates. 
 
 In the spring of 1777 the important post of tlie Highlands on the 
 Hudson was committed to the defence of General Putnam ; and though 
 the loss of Fort Montgomery was among the disasters of that campaign, 
 yet a court of enquiry, upon mature deliberation, and with a lull 
 knowledge of the facts, reported " the loss to have been occasioned by 
 want of men, and not by any fault in the commander." It evidently 
 was not productive of any diminution of confidence in Washington ; 
 for the correspondence between him and General Putnam had been dif- 
 fuse on the subject, in which it was expressly declared by the latter, 
 *' that he would not hold himself responsible for the j)ost connnitted to 
 Ills care, with the small number of men left for its defence ;" and when 
 he had determined to erect another fortification for the defence of the 
 river, he left it Avholly to the judgment of General Putnam to fix the 
 spot, Mho decided in favor of JVest-Foiut : and, as his Bingi-apher 
 has remarked, " It is no vulgar praise to say, that to him belongs the 
 glory of having chosen this rock of our military salvation." 
 
 \V hen the three armies, which had the pi'eceding year acted sepa- 
 rately, united at AYhite Plains under Washington, Gen. Putnam was 
 called to the command of the right wing. 
 
 But why need instances be multiplied to sliew, tliat he, who now held 
 the second rank in the American army, retained the confidence of him 
 who in all points was deservedly acknowledged the Jirst ? I forbear 
 to draw a comparison between his standing in the estimation of the 
 American Chief, and that of your^s in the War department, through a 
 succession of Secretaries, who directed the military operations of the 
 late war. If a retrospect of facts and events, bring not a blush 
 to your cheek, it must be that you are below shame. 
 
 It has been reserved for you, Sir, after a lapse o£forty-thrce years. 
 
and when you probably supposed the grave bad closer! on alhvbo would 
 contradict your bold assertions, that you have thus, like an assassin in 
 the dark, cowardly meditated this insidious bloAv, ajrainst a chaiacter 
 as much above your level, as your base calumny is beneath a Gentle 
 man and an Officer. 
 
 There yet lives one, who not only feels indij^nant at such unmerited 
 abuse of his lather's name, but who has, also, a personal knowledj^e 
 of most of the military concerns of General Putnam tlirougb tlie revo- 
 lutionacy war, having been the , greater ])art of tb.attime attached t'j 
 liis family, and in possession of his confidence. Ilegardless of con- 
 sequences, he will not shun to declare the truth, though it may bear 
 hard on the licentious assertions of Major-General Dearborn. 
 
 You commence your work by saying that " On the i6th of Jane, 
 1773, it was determined that afortijied post should be established at. or 
 near Bnnker-HrU.'^ This detenuination was made in a Council of 
 War at whicli Gencrnl Putnam assisted ; and (without asserting what 
 cannot now be proved, that the proposition tor occupying that post ori- 
 ginated with him) — he it was, wlio went on with tbe first detachment, 
 and commenced the work — he Mas the principal agent or'< Engineer," 
 who traced the lines of the redoubt, and he continued most, if not all 
 the night with tlic workmen : at any rate he was on the spot before 
 sun-rising in the morning, and had " taken his station," as you say, 
 *' on the top of TJunker-Ilill, where the regiment of Cohmcl Stark 
 halted a few moments for the rear to come up." Here, you roundly 
 assert, he *' remained dnrins; the whole action, with nearly as many men 
 *' as had been engaged in the battle ; notwithstanding which, no meas- 
 «* ures had been taken for reinforcing us, nor was there a shot fred to 
 »< cover our retreat, nor any movement made to check the advance of 
 « the enemy ; but on the contrary. General Putnam rode of' WITH A 
 "NUMBi.R OF SPADES AND PICK- AXES IN UlS HANDS, 
 "AND THE TROOPS THAT HAD REMAINED WITH HIM 
 « INACTIVE." 
 
 When a nian undertakes to deviate from truth, he should endeavour 
 to veil falsehood with at least some appearance of probability. ^^ as it. 
 then, cowardice, or treachery, that kept General Putnam in this dis- 
 graceful situation during the battle ? If the former, can it be conceiv- 
 ed, that under the galling fire of a pursuing enemy, he would thus er.- 
 funi>?r hiiiiseir with siicli a load? « A NUMBER of spades and 
 lick ixe--* wo'tld be ".o wry conveitirut appendage ^m' a Uving 
 coward, who had to ])ass the same ♦* ^ftWi??^ cmss^rt; of the enemy,"! 
 winch caused the dauntless Captain Dearborn, but a few iiouj's before 
 to ins;Q Colonel Stark *' to quicken his march.'" If ti-eaciiery were the 
 cause, is it not surprizing, that he should have retained tbe confident e 
 of his Country and Commander to the close of the war. 
 
 My object, Sir, is to elicit truth, and to correct misrepresentation : 
 and if in the course of this investigation it shall be found, that General 
 Putnam was not »< inactive during the whole of the action" at Bunker- 
 Hill, bi:t tliat he pai-ticipated in the danger as well as the glory of that 
 (lay — I hope it will detract nothing from your courage, whatever it 
 may do Irom youi* veracity. 
 
 it would seeui Iroin your statement, that little was done in that ac- 
 tion, but by tbe regiments of Stark and Reed ; — that it was these alone 
 whicii lined the '• rail fence,''' and repelled the repeated assaults of Bri- 
 tish veterans. 
 
But where was the brave Captain Knowlton, with a detachment 
 under his comiTiaiid, vho iirst took possession of the ground — who 
 worked all night in raising the redoubt, and to whom as large a share 
 of glory as to any other force of equal number is justly due ? The 
 Honorable Judge Grosvenor, who was a wounded officer of that detach- 
 ment — who entered the service one grade below you — who left it at 
 the Peace of 1783, your semor in rank — and whose character as a cit- 
 izen or an Officer will never suffer in comparison with your's shall be 
 heard on this subject. 
 
 " Fomfret, April 30<A, 1818. 
 " Mt Dear Sir, 
 
 ** IN conformity to your request, I now state what came under 
 my. observation at the battle of Bunker-Hill, at the commencement 
 of the revolutionary war, and with as much precision as possible, at 
 the distance of time that has intervened. 
 
 *< Being under the command of General Putnam, part of our regi- 
 ment, and a much laiger number of Massachusetts troops under 
 Col. Prescott, were ordered to march on the evening of the 16th of 
 June, 1775, to Breed's-Hill, where, under the immediate superintend- 
 ance of General Putnam, ground was broken and a redoubt formed. 
 On the following daj', the 17tli, dispositions w^re made to deter the 
 advance of the enemy, as there was reason to believe an immediate 
 attack was intended. General Putnam during the period was ex- 
 tremely active, and directed principally the operations. All were 
 animated, and their general inspired confidence by his example. The 
 British army, having made dispositions for landing at Morton's- 
 Point, were covered by the fire of shot and shells from Copp's Hill 
 in Boston, which it had opened on our redoubt early in the morning, 
 and continued the greatest part of the day. At this moment a detach- 
 ment of four lieutenants (of which I was one) and one hundred and 
 twenty men, selected the preceding day from General Putnam's 
 regiment * under Caiil. Knoivlton, were, by the genei-al ordered to 
 take post at a rail-fence on the left of the breast-work, that ran north 
 from the redoubt to the bottom of Breed's-Hill. This order was 
 promptly executed, and our detachment in adAancing to the post, took 
 u]) one rail-fence and placed it against another, (as a partial cover) 
 nearly parallel w itli the line of the breast-work, and extended our left 
 nearly to Mystic river. Each man was furni ;hed with one pound of 
 gun-powder and forty-eight balls. This amuiunition was received, 
 however, prior to marching to Breed's Hill. 
 
 « In this position our detachment remained until a second division 
 of British troops landed, when they commenced a fire oi' their Jicid ar- 
 tillery of several rounds, and particularly against the rail-fence ; then 
 formed in columns, advanced to the attack, displayed in line at about 
 the distance of musket shot, and commeuced firing. At this instant our 
 whole lined opened upon the enemy, and so precise and fatal was our 
 fire, that in the course of a short time they gave way and retired in 
 disorder out of musket shot, leaving before us many killed and wounded. 
 
 * The General Offiorrs from Connecticut, in the campaign of 1775, had each a regiment, 
 with licuteoant-coloiiels under tbem. 
 
*< There was but a short respite on the part of the British, as their 
 lines were soon filled up and led aj^ainst us ; when they were met as 
 before, and forced back with ,^reat loss. 
 
 " On reinforcements Joining the enemy, they made a direct advance 
 on the redoubt, and being successful, which our brave Capt. Knowltou 
 perceiving, ordered a retreat of his men, in ivhich he was sustained by 
 two companies under the command of Captains Clark and Chester. 
 
 *♦ The loss in our detachment I presume was nearly equal. Of my 
 own immediate command of thirty men and one subaltern, there were 
 eleven killed and wounded ; among the latter was myself, though not so 
 severely as to prevent my retiring. 
 
 " A( the " rail-fence"' there was not posted any corps save our own- 
 under Knowlton, at the time the firing commenced ; nor did I hear of any 
 other being there, till long after the action. Otiier troops, it was said, were 
 ordered to join us, but refused doing so. 
 
 " Of the officers on the ground, the most active 5;irithin my observa- 
 tion were Gen. Putnam, Col. Prescott, and Capt. Knowlton ; but rn> 
 doubt there were many more equally brave and meritorious, who musi 
 naturally have escaped the eye of one attending to his own immediate 
 command. 
 
 " Thus you have a brief statement of my knowledge of the action, 
 without descending to minute particulars. To conclude, it is matter of 
 surprize, even of astonishment to me, my dear Sir, that I am called on 
 to state my opinion of the character of your honored father, Gen. Put- 
 ram ; who was ever the first in public life, at the post of honor, and 
 danger; and who, in his private conduct was excelled by none. Look 
 but at his services in the French and Indian wars from 1755 to 63, and 
 finally at those of the revolution, and you will need no proof to refute 
 the calumny of common defamers. 
 
 " With respect, I am, yours truly, 
 
 •• THOS : GROSVENOR. 
 « Colonel Daniel Putnam.*'' 
 
 This statement from a gentleman of truth and honor, differs essen- 
 tially in many points from that made by you. It contradicts your asser- 
 tion that there was no field artillery^ used by the British army. It con- 
 tradicts the assertion, which to military men would hardly weed con- 
 tradiction, that the position at the ^^ rail fence was tak£n by ^i-.e direct-on 
 of the committee of safety.'* It makes void the insinuation that Stark's 
 and Reed's regiments were the only troops posted at the '* rail-fence ;*' 
 and it even makes it doubtful if they were there at all. That they were 
 not, when the firing commenced, Col. Gi'osvenor states clearly, and 
 those who know the modest unassuming deportment of this respef table 
 man, and his cautious character, will be sure that he says nothing po- 
 sitively, but what he knows fully and recollects distinctly. Jt shews too, 
 and that pretty clearly, that either Captain Dearborn with his *'//// 
 comjmny** (consisting at that time of ninety-six) were very fortunate in 
 escaping the British fire, or that they were less exposed to it tlian 
 Knowlton's detachment, which had about ime third of their number kil- 
 led and wounded, wliile of Ca]>tain Uearborn's only six were hurt. It 
 shews, if you were on the ground, and had tlie knowledge of fads which 
 you claim to have, that you have done injustice, not oidy to Gen. Fut- 
 
nam, but to the companies of Clark and Chester^ both of whom were 
 known to suffer loss in covering the retreat from the « rail-fence." It 
 shews, that orders were given, and dispositions for defence made* by 
 other officers than Col. Stark and Capt. Dearborn. It shews, in fine, 
 that nearly your whole statement of the transactions of that memorable 
 day must have resulted either from ignorance or misrepresentation. 
 
 Let nothin.!^, which is here or elsewhere said, be construed into a 
 wish of tlie writer, to detract, in any w ay whatever, from the merits of 
 the veteran Gen. Stark. He honors his name, his patriotism, and his 
 important services to liis country, in that war which gave it Freedom 
 AwA Independence ; and istliankful to that Being who has given him a 
 heart to rejoice in the honest fame of others, without coveting one jot 
 or tittle of their merited applause. He hopes this aged and long de- 
 voted servant of the public may be permitted to descend to his grave 
 in peace and honor ; and that no ruthless hand may be found, after a 
 rest of more than forty years, to drag before the tribunal of a succeed- 
 ing generation, and to couple with infamy and dishonor, a Name so 
 long renoAvned for valour* ! 
 
 I beg pardon, sir, for this digression — it was an apostrophe not to be 
 resisted, and I now proceed to lay before you further evidence on the 
 subject — for I had scarce gone through the reading of your ridicnlons 
 tale, before a letter was put into my hand, by Charles* H. Hall, Esq. 
 from Col. John Trumbull, of New- York, — an officer of distinction in 
 the revolutionary war, and now a celebrated historical painter, em- 
 ployed in his profession by the government of the United States. 
 
 As this letter affords some evidence of the " station" of Gen. Put- 
 nam, during the action ; and does notfully coincide with your account 
 of the death of the immortal WarrExV, I shall, by his permission, make 
 use of it in this place. 
 
 « JVew-York, SOth March, 1818. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Mr. Hall has just shewn me tlic Port-Folio of last month, contain- 
 ing an account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, which appeai-s to haA'e 
 been written for the mere purpose of introducing a most unjustifiable 
 attack upon tlie memory of your excellent father. 
 
 " It is strange that men cannot be contented v.'ith their own 
 ho.iest share of fame, without attempting to detract from that of others : 
 - — ^but, after tlie attempts wliich have been made to diminish the 
 immortal reputation of Washington, who shall be surprized, or wlio 
 repine at tliis enviable attendant on human greatness. 
 
 *' In all cases like this, peihaps, the most unquestionable testimony 
 is that which is given by an enemy. 
 
 " In the summer of 1786 I became acquainted in London, with Col. 
 Johi Small, of the British army, who had served in America many 
 years, and liad known General Putnam intimately during the war 
 of Canada fi-om 1756 to 1763. From him, I had the two following 
 anecdotes respecting the battle of Bunker Hill ; — I shall nearly repeat 
 his words : — Looking at the Picture which I had then almost com- 
 pl^^ted, he said : « / don't like the situation in which you have placed 
 my old friend Putnam ; you have not done him justice. I wish you 
 
woiild alter that part of your Picture, and Introihice a circumstance 
 which actually happened^, and vMch I can never fors^et. When the 
 British troops advanced the second tivte to the ultack of the redoubt, I, 
 "with the other oncers, was in front of the line to encourage the men : we 
 had advanced very near the works undisturbed, when an irregular fire, 
 like afeu-de-joie 7C as poured in upon us ; itxvas cruelly fatal. The 
 troops fell back, and when I looked to the right and hft, J saw not one 
 officer standing; — I glanced my eye to the enemy, and saw several 
 young men levelling their pieces at me; I knew their excellence as 
 marksmen, and considered myself gone. M that moment my old friend 
 Putnam rushed forward, and'strikivg up thcmn%'dc,s of (heir pieces 
 with his sword,cried out, " For God's sake, my lads,douH fire at that 
 man — I love him as I do my hrother.'* If'e were so near each other 
 that I heard his words distinctly. He was obeyed ; I bowed, thanked 
 him, and walked away unmolested.'* 
 
 **• Tb.f. Qfhr.T aviecik'te v«'lat,es to the drath of General Warren. 
 
 ** * At the moment wlien the troops succeeded m carry in,^ the redoubt, 
 and the Americans were in full retreat. Gen. Howe (who had been 
 hurt by a spent ball which bruised his ancle,) was leaning on my arm. 
 He called suddenly to me : " Do you see that elegant young man 
 who has just fallen ? Do you know him ?" I looked to the spot towards 
 which he pointed — « Good God, Sir, I believe it is my friend Warrkn^.* 
 ** Leave me then instantly — run — keep off the troops, save him if 
 possible." — I flew to the spot, " My dear friend," I said to him, " I 
 hope you are not badly hurt :" — he looked up, seemed to recollect me, 
 smiled and died ! A musket-ball had passed through the upper 
 part of his head.' 
 
 " Col. Small had the character of an honorable upright man, and 
 could have no conceivable motive for deviating from truth in relating 
 these circumstances to me ; I therefore believe them to be true. 
 
 *< You remember, my dear Sir, the viper biting the file. The char- 
 acter of your father for courage, humanity, generosity, and integrity 
 is too firmly established, by the testimoi\y of those who did know 
 him, to be tarnished by the breath of one who confesses that he 
 did not. 
 
 ** Accept, my dear Sir, this feeble tribute to your father's memory, 
 from one who knew him, respected him, loved him — and who wishes 
 health and prosnerity to ,vou and all the jjood man's poster«tv. 
 
 •'.TOIIN TRU>f3ULL. 
 '^Daniel Putnam, Esq." 
 
 I shall make no comment on the first anecdote by Col. Small, except 
 that the circumstances were related by General Putnam without any 
 essential alteration, soon after the Battle ; and that there was an in- 
 terview of the parties on the lines between Prospect and Btmker-HiJI, 
 at the request of Col. Small, not long afterwards. 
 
 Respecting the death of Warren, there is a trijlijig disagreement. 
 In the one case, we are to understand, that, after having expended 
 your ammunition — during the height of conflict, and while the redoubt 
 was still possessed by the Americans, you left your post, and delibe- 
 rately traversed the field of slaughter, to rifle the dying and the dead 
 
10 
 
 of such portion ol" their " gill-ciif ofpowder, as they liad not been spar- 
 ed to use, when you saw Warren dead by a small locust tree ! 
 
 In the other case, it is asserted, (with somethin.ejlike the appearance 
 of truth indeed,) that he fell at the moment the redoubt was gained by 
 the British— that he was seen by Gen. Howe to fall, and was yet alive 
 when spoken to by Col. Small, iif^er the retreat of the Americans. 
 
 Both statements cannot be true. You, perhaps, better than I, know 
 to which the truth belongs. 
 
 You have undertaken, sir, to inform many who never saw Gen. Put- 
 nam, and some probably, who never before heard his name, of the pub- 
 lic estimation in which he was held at the *•' commencement of the re- 
 volutionary ivar'* ; and it is no trivial consolation to the writer, after 
 the unworthy means you have used to defame his character, that he is 
 able to shew from an authentic source, in what light he was viewed at 
 the close of that war, by him who Iiad tlie best means of knorvin^, and, 
 of till other men, the best talents forjudging of the merits and scr\ices 
 of officers under his command. 
 
 Let the <» Father or his Country'* be heard — for tho* dead, he 
 yet speaketh, and his testimony will be respected wh^n the name and 
 character of the subject of this address, shall be no longer remembered. 
 
 <•' Ikad-(liiartcrSy Qd June, 1783. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 « Your favor of the 20th of May, I received v. ith much pleasure. 
 For I can assure you, that, am<mg the many worthy and mei-itorious 
 officers with whom I have had the happiness to be connected in service 
 through the course of this war, and from Vviiose 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 sliall obliterate from my mind the remembra!ice of all those 
 toils and fatigues through which we have struggled*, for the preserva- 
 tion and establishment of the rights, liberties, and independence of our 
 countiy. 
 
 *' Your congratulations on the happy prospect of peace and inde- 
 pendent security, with their attendant blessings to tlie United States, I 
 receive with great satisfaction ; and beg you will accept a return of my 
 gratulatios:!« to you, on this auspicious evciv*; — -an event, in which, 
 great as it is in itself, and glorious as it will ])robahly be in its conse- 
 quences, you have a right to participate largely, fr ova the distinguished 
 part you have contributed towards its attainment. 
 
 " But, while I contemplate the greatness of the object for which we 
 have contended, and felicitate you on the happy issue of our toils and 
 Iabours,whicii have terminated with such general satisfaction ; I lament 
 that you should feel the ungrateful returns of a cou)itry * in whose ser- 
 vice you have exhausted your bodily strength, and expended the vigor 
 of a youthful constitution. I wish, howevei', that your expectations of 
 returning liberality may be verified. I have a hope they may ; but 
 should they not, your case will not be a singular one. Ingratitude has 
 been experienced in all ages, iim\ republics in particular have ever been 
 famed for the exercise of that unnatural and sordid vice. 
 
 * Allutling to the public dissatisfaction in Connecticut, .and the clamor about half pa" ai ! 
 osnsna'jtation. 
 
*< The secretary at ^^ ar, who is now here, intorrns me ihat you liiivi; 
 evbr been considered as entitled to full pay since your absence from the 
 field, f and that you will be considered in that lij^ht till the close of iAit 
 war; at which period you mil be equally entitled to the same emolu- 
 ments of half pay or commutation as other officers of your rank. Tlie 
 same opinion is also j^iven by the paymaster-general, who is now with 
 the army, empowered by Mr. Morris for the settlement of all their ac- 
 counts, and who will attend to your's whenever you sliall think proper 
 to send on for that purpose ; which it will pi-obably be best for you to do 
 in a short time. 
 
 <• I anticipate with pleasure the day, (and I trust not far off,) when 
 I shall quit the busy scenes of military employment, and retire to the 
 more tranquil walks of domestic life. In that, or whatever other situ- 
 ation Providence may dis])ose of my future days, the remembra.nce 
 
 OF THE MANY FRIENDSHIPS AND CONNECTIONS I HAVE HAD THE 
 HAPPINESS aO CONTHA^^T WITH THE GE-iTTIEJlEN OF TTi& nAffMY i 
 WILL BE ONE OF MY MOST GRATEFUL REFLECTIONS. 
 
 " Under this contemplation, and impressed with the sentiments of 
 benevolence and repjard, I commend you, my dear Sir, my other friends, 
 and, with them, the interests and happiness of our dear country, to the 
 
 KEEPING AND PROTECTION OF ALMIGHTY GOD, 
 
 ** I have the honour to be, <fcc. &c. 
 
 •' GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 " To the Hon. Major-General Putnam." 
 
 Here, Sir, is unequivocal evidence, either that Washington was 
 a man of guile,\\ho said what he believed not, and commended whom he 
 approved not ; or that, penetrating as his mind was, it still remained 
 fettered with " the shnckles of a delusive trance,^* which *♦ v/(t\ people 
 were released Jrom, when General Putnam's ephemeral and nnaccounta- 
 hie popularity subsided, or faded away** J ! 
 
 Bat\vhen did this happen ? Wlien were *< the minds of the People 
 released from the shackles of this delusive trance*' ? When were 
 *« the circumstances relatino; to Bunker-Hill viewed and talked of in 
 a very different light** ? When wits " the unfortunate Colonel Gerrisli" 
 considered *» as the scape-goat** on whose head was laid the cowar- 
 dice of Gjf neral .Putnaiivj' His name has- rc.stijd ;:i peace and hcnour 
 B -thirty years, undisturbed by the sacrilegious pen of calumny ; and 
 , till your *♦ mysterious and inexplicahle account of the Battle of 
 ker-Wll** found its way into ihc Port-folio^ was the public sentiment 
 changed concerning him. Why else, was this publication so inij[>e*'ious- 
 ly called for, that it became a " duty you owed to posterity and 
 
 THE character OF THE BRAVE OF^ICEIiS WHO BORE A SHARE IN 
 THE HARDSHIPS OF THE REVOLUTION," tO publish SUCh a disgiaccful 
 
 libel, and tliat too, *< wilhont any private feelings to gratify**? 
 
 Sir — this veil is too tliin to hide the malignity of your heart, or tlie 
 selfishness of your viev/s. The ^r?t///, liowever yon may strive to dis- 
 guise U, is this : — ^AlS " Commander in Chief," your " bed** of milita- 
 ry honor •« is shorter ^ than that a man can stretch himself on it** — and 
 
 + General Putnam- bad a paralytic stroke in the year 1780, (occasioned by long expos«re tr» 
 *xtreme cold w(-,irhpr.~> which disabled him from <;<»Vvi<-,- ev^r aftpr 
 
Liic " covering'* for disgrace, *» narrower than that you can wraj) your- 
 self in if." — Henre, resort has 1>oon liad to a fictitious tale of the Bat- 
 tle of Bunker Hill, coupled with which, it is questionable if Captain 
 Dearborn's name was ever found, till you made yourself the hero of 
 your own romance. 
 
 You might have soundod the trumpet of your own fame undisturbed 
 by me, till you had wearied yourself with the blast. — But 'tis the com- 
 mand of God that we honor our Father^ and « while I live, I'll speak,'f 
 when any shall wantonly, and maliciously, endeavour to cast dishonor 
 on his name. 
 
 That youihave done so, is the sole cause of drawing this letter from 
 one, wljo lities in retirement, Avithout any immediate concern in public 
 affairs, nor any wish regarding them, but that the country of his birth 
 and best aflTectlons may long continue to enjoy the blessing of Heaven 
 m such wi^e and' virtuous councils, as will, by a Just dispensation r,: 
 r j T v-u ei tffi tS of a fi-ee goTciiifneiii, ultimately unite all hearts in its s.r]. 
 port :— -from one, who has no personal knowledge of you j and who. 
 though constantly with the army of the rcvfdution from 177 5 to '80. 
 hardly recollects to have heard your name, till announced at the head 
 of the war department. His impressions of your character from that 
 time^to the present, have been drawn from public opinion, and not from 
 pai'ty prejudice or private nnimosity. It was not necessary in this letter, 
 to sta'te these impressions fully ; nor has it in any case been done, but 
 by comparison with the character you have unjustly assailed, and in 
 seeking a motive for the cruel assault. 
 
 If, in doing this, any thing has escaped his pen bordering on sever- 
 ity, the, provocation must be his excuse ; — and where that is impar- 
 tially weighed, the blame, if any, will rest, not on him, but on 
 yourself. , ,. 
 
 ThercAs yet one more passage to notice, and I have done. I allude 
 to ihe declaration which you ascribe to Col. Prescott, as having been 
 made «,at tlie tabic of the late Governor Bowdoin." 
 
 It is not possible for me to prove that Colonel Prescott did not make 
 such a (Vclaration. But I have proved, that what you allege to have 
 been said by him could not he true. It is well known that Colonel Pres- 
 cott sustained a high and honourable reputation ; and that he was wel« 
 acquainted with General Putnam, and must have known the opinions 
 Wrti.'i u>j 'X-tingiashcd uiCii v,r the revolution ■«p*;Grtaiviod of ':-is Jnd^_ 
 vidual ana military character. It must, therefore, be left to the pu^y- 
 to decide, whether it is most probable that Col. Prescott made the */^ 
 sertion v, hich you have imputed to him ; or whether, like many othCi, 
 representations you have made, it has no foundation in fact. 
 
 Ivlany other mis-statements in your hook might be noticed and refu- 
 ted ; but I am weary and disgusted with the pollution of its pages, and, 
 as my sole object has been to vindicate a slandered character, I hasten 
 to give you the name of DANIEL PUTNAM. 
 
 firooklifn^ Connecticut, 4th May, 1818. ; 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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m:i?!^°^o.,s^ 
 
 
LIBRARY OF 
 
 CONGRESS 
 
 011 800 446 2