'^-./^ -^ %<<^ ' aC> 0^^. O^ . >- , z: o4 Q ,^' cf' '^ %o^ o.^C'^ *"oot-- THE LIFE ISRAEL PUTNAM, MAJOR-GENERAL IN THE ARMY / > ^■- ^^ OP THE '^J'-^^^ AMERICAN REyOLUTIOI^,^v COMPILED FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES. BY WILLIAM CUTTEK, WITH ILLUSTRATION'S. KEW VORK: DERBY & JACKSON, 498 BROADWAY 18G1. E ton Entered according to Act 0( Congress, in tl)e year lF^t3, by GEOUGi-: F. COO LEDGE. ia the Clerk's OIT; -o I'm the Southern District of New Yo^fe i?9 PREFACE. There are three sources to which the writer of bio- graphy may repair, for materials to accomplish his work. The first is an intimate personal acquaintance Nvith hla subject, derived frbm long intercourse, and a daily participation in the scenes which it is his purpose to describe. The next is, a detailed narrative of inci- dents and events, taken down from the lips of his subject, giving to his delineations the spirit and au- thenticity of an autobiography. The third is found in the testimony of neighbors and acquaintances, corrobo- rated by contemporaneous history, correspondence, &c. When the veracity and honesty of the party are unimpeachable, there is no source so reliable as that which is here placed second in the list. No person can possibly be so well acquainted with the acts of another as himself. And when, to the proper appre- ciation of these acts, it is necessary to know some- thing of the motives and purposes from which they sprung, and the feelings with which they were accom- panied, this is the only source to which we can look* And when to this is added an intimate personal Tio- quaintance of a compiler of approved inteoritj'' and faithfulness, it affords the highest species of -vidence Iti favor of his narrative, which can possiKV be desired. ^^ '^is nature is the evidence in TiVor of the prin iV PREFACE. cipal incidents in the life of General Putnam. His original biographer, Colonel David Humphreys, was intimately associated with him, having served as Aide- dc-camj) in his staff, during a portion of the Revolu- tionary War. He had many parts of the narrative direct from the lips of the General. That he was competent to discharge w^ell the duties of a biographer — that he was entitled to the confidence of his readers — will not be questioned by any who have honestly consulted the history of the times, and weighed the opinions of those who knew him best. When Ooncial Putnam's health failed, in 1779, and he was compelled to retire from the service, Colonel Humphreys served, for a short time, as Aid to General Greene ; after which he became a member of General Washington's family, and served him as Aide-de-camp y during the remainder of his military career. That he occupied a very high place in the esteem of '' the Father of his country," and of others eminent in the councils of the nation, is abundantly manifest in the correspondence of Washington. Among a multitude of letters wdiich might be refer- red to, an extract from one only will be given. It was addressed to Colonel Humphreys in Europe, un- der date of the 25th of July, 1785. General Wash- ington, apparently in reply to a suggestion from Hum- phreys, that he (Washington) should apply himself to preparing commentaries upon the Revolutionaiy '^''ar, says : '^ In a former letter, I informed you, my dear Humphreys, that if I had talents for it, I had no leisure uH^^rn my thoughts to commentaries. * *^ • I should be }")V;^osed indeed to see you undertake ihip PREFACE Dusiness. Your abilities as a vjriter^ your discernment respecting the 'principles v:hich led to the decision by arms, your personal knovdedge of many facts as they occurred in the progress of the v:ar^ your disposition to justice, candor y and impartiality , and your diligence in investigating truth, all combining, ft you, when joined vnth the vigor of life, for this task. I should, with great pleasure, not only give you the perusal of all my papers, but any oral information of circum- stances, which cannot be obtained from these, that my memory will furnish ; and I can with great truth add, that my house would not only be at your service, dur- ing the period of your preparing this work, but ( I say it without an unmeaning compliment) I should be exceedingly happy if you would make it your home. You might have an apartment to yourself, in which you could command your own time. You would be considered and treated as one of the family, and meet with that cordial reception and entertainment, which are characteristic of the sincerest friendship." Colonel Humphreys returned home in May, 1786 ; after which he was often at Mount Vernon, a member of Washington's family. It vjas there that he wrote the Life of General Putnam, in 1788, under the eye of Washington, and with the best possible means of knowing that great man's opinion of the subject of his work. The work was written for the Society of Cincinnati, of Connecticut, and by them, and under their sanction, presented to the world. This Society was composed of surviving officers of the Revolution, the compeers of Putnam, and the sharers and eye- witnesses of his heroic and daring achievements. n PREFACE. In addition to the testihion}^ of Colonel Humphreys, we have that of a large number of the cotemporaries of General Putnam. Numerous letters, written at the time when, and on the spot where, the several promi- nent events occurred, as well as the verbal testimony of the few aged witnesses who yet remain among us, confirm, and m.ore than confirm, the narrative of his original biographer. It would appear that Putnam had not been disposed to estimate his own services very highly, or to present in any very strong colors his own acts of heroism ; since Colonel Humphreys, who gathered much of his m.aterial from personal con- versations with his subject, is far more modest and unpretending, in many of his statements, than authen- tic documents, furnished both by friends and by foes of that period, would warrant. In bestowing the above high commendation on Colonel Humphreys, it is not intended to hold him up as infallible ; but only to say, that, with respect to the general truthfulness and fidelity of his sketches, and the degree of reliance to be placed upon his narra- tive, though there may be some slight errors and mis- conceptions, the testimony is unquestionable, and the character of the witness above suspicion. The present compilation is, of course, indebted to the original memoir, for its main outline, and princi pal incidents. It will be seen, however, to have de- viated from it, in some points, upon a careful compa- rison of authorities ; while large additions have been, made from other authentic sources. Brooklyn, L. /., Oct., 1846. In tlie preparation of this work, the following authorities have been consulted. There are some discrepancies among them, in relation to several points of considerable importance. Without attempting to account for these discrepancies, I have endeavored as far as pos- sible to reconcile them, by a rigid and laborious comparison of each with all the rest, and by an impartial consideration of the amount of responsibility attached to each. How far I have succeed- ed in doing justice to all, and to my subject, it must be for others to decide. The Life of General Putnam. By Colonel David Humphreys. With Notes and Additions. Boston. 1818. The Life of Israel Putnam. By Oliver "W. B. Peabody. Sparks' American Biography, Vol. vii. Memoirs of the American Revolution, &c. By William Moultrie. New York. 1802. History of the American Revolution. By Bernard Hubley. North- umberland, Penn. 1805. History of the Origin, Progress and Termination of the American War. By C. Stedman. London. 1799. Annals of Ihe American Revolution, &c. By Jedediah Morse, D.D. Hartford. 1824. History of the American Revolution. By Paul Allen. Botta's American Independence. History of the Rise, Progress and Establishment of the Independence of the U. S. A. By William Gordon, D. D. New York.' 1789. Pemberton's Historical Journal of the American War. Thatcher's do. Holmes' Annals of America. Second edition. Cambridge. 1829 Sandford's United States and Aborigines, Phil. 1819. Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War in America. By Alexandei Gordon. First and Second Series. 1822 and 1828, Marshall's Life of Washington. Second Edition. 2 vols. Phil 1832. Ramsay's Life of Washington. Sparks' do. do. Boston. 1839. Writings of Washington. 12 vols. Edited by Dr. Sparl«'o. 1823 Rogers' Biographical Dictionary. Phil. 1829. Gorton's do. do. London, Till Library of American Biography. By J. Sparks. American Portrait Gallery. History of Massachusetts. Ay Alden Bradford. Boston. 1829. History of Connecticut. By J. Trumbull. History of the Battle of Bunker Hill. With a plan. By S. Swetr. Third Edition, With Notes. Lite of Aaron Burr. By Matthew L. Davis. American Archives — consisting of a collection of authentic records, state papers, debates, letters, and other notices of public affairs; Ace, &c. Prepared and published under the authority of an Act of Congress. Fourth Series, in six quarto vols. Almon's Impartial Remembrancer. London. 1775, et seq. Mante's History of the French War. London. 1772. Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America, for 1757 1758, 1759 and 1760. By John Knox. London. 1769, Journals of Major Robert Rogers, &c. London. 1765. Alyo numerous pamphlets, MS. Orderly Book, &c. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. EARLY LIFE AND YOUTHFUL ADVENTURES OF PUTNAM. His ancestry — His birth— The old homestead — His early life — Deficiency of the means of education — Early develop- ment of character — The bird's nest — Hazardous exploit — Coolness and intrepidity in danger — Singular escape — Per- severance in pursuit of an object — The prize secured — His activity, industry, and wit — His first visit to Boston — In- sulted in the street — His able defence— Slavery — Anecdote ofCudge — The sequel. - - - - - -.- SI CHAPTER II. Putnam's marriage and settlement in Connecticut His marriage — Removes to Pom fret — His prosperity as a far- mer — His operations as a wool-grower — Ravages in his sheep-folds — The veteran she-wolf — Her annual visits to Pomfret — Her extensive operations there — Combination against her — The pursuit — Tracked home to her den — At- tempts to smoke her out — Putnam descends into tho cave — Description of the passage — His sudden exit — Returns with his gun — Despatches his enemy — Returns the third time and drags her out — Triumphant procession — Reception in the village — Exaggerated versions of the story. - - - 33 CHAPTER III. the FRENCH WAR. PUTNAM'S FIRST CAMPAIGN. Mr. Putnam's general popularity — Receives a Captain's com- mission under General Lyman — His company — Generally 1* - X TABLE OP^ CO NT EN "IS employed as rangers and scouts — Nature a:id difficulty of that service — Inauspicious commencement of the war — Sir William Johnson's successful expedition — Its object and plan — Fortifications — Position of the French at Tinconderoga- They attempt to arrest the English works — Dieskau marches upon Fort Edward — Changes his course towards Lake George- Encounters Colonel Williams — The battle- Hen- dricks, the Mohawk chief — Williams and Hendricks slain —The retreat — The assault upon Johnson's camp — Re- pelled — Dieskau a prisoner — The pursuit — Captain McGin- nes— Joseph Brant — Fort William Henry built — Captain Rogers — His Journal — Its omissions — His character and subsequent history — Goes on a scout with Putnam — Rogers in imminent danger — Rescued by Putnam — Army in win- ter quarters — Putnam returns to his family. - - - 43 CHAPTER IV. THE CAMPAIGN OF 1756. PUTNAM's SERVICES AS A RANGER Putnam re-appointed — Plan of the campaign — Montcalm's success at Oswego and Fort George — The English put upon the defensive — The active services of the Rangers — Adven- ture of Putnam and Durkee at " The Ovens " — Arrange- ment of the French camp — The scouts within the lines — Fired upon — Their narrow escape — Their lodgings — Can- teen sprung a leak — Baggage train plundered at Half- Way Brook — Putnam and Rogers sent in pursuit of the plunder- ers — Successful encounter with the boats — Pursued in their turn — Rencontre with a superior force at Sabbath-day Point — The enemy defeated and dispersed — Another adventure — Putnam sent out to take a prisoner — Cowardly conduct of his men — Defeated in his object — His escape — His ultimate success — Importance of this kind of service — Putnam's pe- culiar fitness for it, - - - - - - - - 55 CHAPTER V. THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757. Putnam promoted to be a Major — Inefficiency of the British Generals — Hopes of the colonies — Lord Loudoun suddenly disconcerted — General Webb visits Fort William Henry — TABLE OF C O iN T t N T S . XI Putnam reconnoitres the enemy — An attack on the lort threat- ened — Webb returns to Fort Edward — Sends a reinforce- ment to Fort William Henry — Summons from Montcalm to surrender — Timid policy of Webb — The fortress capitu- lates — Shameful massacre by the Indians — Putnam visits the scene of carnage — Unexpected assault upon Captain Little and his fatigue party — Relieved by Major Putnam- Disobedience — Fire in the barracks — Putnam's heroic and successful exertions in subduing the flames — Narrow escape of the garrison. ----.--.-6* CHAPTER VI. CAMPAIGN OF 1758. ABERCROMBIE'S ASSAULT UPON TICOJl DEROGA. Mr. Pitt Prime Minister of England — Lord Loudoun super- seded by General Abercrombie — Putnam on a reconnoiter- ing expedition — Constructs a small parapet at South Bay — Shoots a buck — Starts an enemy — Mokng and his party — Their stealthy advance — Suddenly arrested — A sharp con- flict in the dark — The enemy defeated in an attempt to turn Putnam's flank — Immense loss of the French — Putnam or- ders a retreat — Unexpected meeting with a party of friends — A reinforcement — Ticonderoga — An expedition under General Abercrombie against the French — Skirmish with ad- vanced guard — Death of Lord Howe — His high reputa- tion—His death speedily avenged — Putnam's kindness to the wounded — A new encampment — The assault — The retreat— Major Putnam's activity — General Abercrombie responsible for the disastrous issue of the expedition. - - 8) CHAPTER VII. CAMPAIGN OF 1758 CONTINUED. MAJOR PUTNAM A PRISONEIt Putnam's perilous escape down tlie rapids of the Hudson — Superstitious notion of the Indians — Putnam and Rogers pursuing a party of French Rangers— Lying in wait at South Bay and Wood Creek— Discovered— Rogers' incau- tious sport— Molang in ambush— Our Rangers threading the fore.sr -Putnam in the van — The ambush springs upon him XH TABLE OF CONTENTS. — He is made a prisoner by an Indian — His perilous po- sition during: the fight — The French retreat, taking Putnam with them— His cruel treatment — Severely wounded in the cheek — About to be burned alive— Rescued by Molang — Comparative humanity of his captor — His ludicrous confine- ment at night — Arrival at Ticonderoga — Carried to Mon- treal — Kindness of Col. Schuyler — He contrives to have Putnam included in a cartel of exchange — The return — Story of Mrs. Howe. 93 CHAPTER VIII. The campaign of 1759 and 1760. expedition against the west india islands. British successes in 1759 — Putnam promoted to a Lieutenant- Colonelcy — Large and vigorous plans of General Amherst — The army in three divisions proceeds to Montreal — Put- nam with the General in-chief on Lake Ontario — Two French vessels captured in the St. Lawrence — Fort Oswe- gatchie capitulates — The three divisions of the army meet before Montreal — Surrender of that Fortress, and of all the French posts in Canada — Conquest of Martinique, and all the Caribbees — Expedition against Havana — Putnam in command of the Connecticut regiment — Wrecked on the coast of Cuba — Putnam's good management and discipline —Opportune arrival at Havana — The harbor and fortifica- tions — The Moio carried by storm — The capitulation — Peace in Europe — Improving prospects of the Colonies. - 109 CHAPTER IX. THE PONTIAC WAR. Results of the laW? contest between England and France — Con- dition, character, and hopes of the Indians — Pontiac, the* Otoway chief— His first successes and plan of Union — Movements of General Amherst— Captain Dalyell ordered to Detroit — His bold sortie from the fort — His glorious death — Putnam, now a Colonel, accompanies Col. Bradstreet to Detroit — Supplies thrown into the fortress — Pontiac, over- awed by the supt ior numbers of hi» enemy, proposes con- TABLE OF CONTENTS. Xlll ditions of peace — Colonel Putnam's letter from the :amp— • Enlarged views and bravery of Pontiac — Review of Colonel Putnam's military career— His high reputation as an offi- cer — Retires to his farm — Honorable testimonials of public confidence — Domestic affliction. - - - - - 115 CHAPTER X. CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION. The Navigation Acts— Writs of Assistance — Stamp Act — Re- sistance in the colonies — Activity and zeal of Colonel Put- nam — Stamp officers compelled to resign — Case of Mr. In- gersol — His public resignation at Weathersfield — Putnam's interview with the Governor — Prevalence of the same spirit — Results — Stamp Act repealed — A season of tranquil- lity — Putnam opens a public house — General Lyman's mis- sion to ^England — Obtains a grant of land on the Mississippi — Proceeds with Putnam and othens to locate it — Forms an establishment at Natchez — Putnam returns to take part in the agitations of the country. ------ i21 CHAPTER XI. AGITATIONS PRECEDING THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE Duties on glass, paper, tea, &c.— Board of trade— Resistance — Associations to suspend commercial intercourse with Eng- gland — Other measures — Brief view of the difficult position of the colonies — Resolution of leading men — The part taken by Colonel Putnam — His conferences with British officers — His opinion of the result of a war — His confidence in American women — Committees of correspondence — An alarm — Putnam's letter— Defence of his course. - - 131 CHAPTER XII. FIRST ACT IN THE DRAMA OF THE REVOLUTION. u.ondition of the colonies — Preparations . for war — Pitcairn's and Smith's secret expedition to Concord — Skirmish at Lex- ington — Stores destroyed at Concord — American yeomanry roused — Difficult rotreal of the BriLijsh— In danger of being XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS. cut off— Reinforced by Lora Perey— Closely pursued, and severely handled by the Americans — Narrow escape of Ma- jor Pitcairn — His pistols — The alarm — Putnam at his plough —Flies to Cambridge — Boston invested — Organization of the army — Putnam's position — General Ward — American officers tempted with bribes — General Gage's treatment of the Boston ians — Fortifications round Boston— Hazardous exploit — Skirmish at Noddle Island— Exchange of priso- ners. ---.....---14* CHAPTER XIII. THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. All intrenchment ordered on Bunker Hill — Divisions in the Council respecting this measure — The detachment — The Peninsula of Charlestown — Detachment pauses at the foot of the Hill — A discussion — Breed's Hill selected for a re- doubt — Colonel Gridley— Description of the redoubt — Indus- try and spirit of the men — Surprise of the British — Severe cannonade — Preparations for a battle — Putnam goes to Cam- bridge for reinforcements — General Ward's opinion — Put- nam's position — His desire to fortify on Bunker Hill — Land- ing of the British — " The Breastwork"— The rail fence — Accessions to the American force — Warren, Pomeroy, Stark, Reed, &c. — Putnam's activity — Terrible slaughter among the British — They retreat — Captain Callender — Bri- tish compelled to retreat again and again — Burning of Char- lestown — Putnam's reception of the incendiaries — Arrival of Captain Foster with a wagon-load of powder — Heavy- loss of the British — Storming the redoubt — The retreat- Putnam bringing up the rear — Intrenchment on Prospect and Winter Hills. 16! ^ CHAPTER XIV. ARRIVAL OF WASHINGTON AT CAMBRIDGE. ORGANIZATION OF THE ARM v. FORTIFICATIONS. Position of the colonies — Congress assumes command of the army — Washington appointed commander-in-chief — Arrives at Cambridge— Subordinate appointments — Putnam aMajor- TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV General — Jealousies — How reconciled — Putnam's hign. re- putation — Courts of inquiry — The British fortifying Bun- ker Hill — Organization of the American camp — Washing- ton's regard for Putnam — His opinion of him — New for- tifications — Putnam's activity — Rev. Mr. Harvey — Anec- dotes — " Declaration" of Congress, how received by the army — Incidents at Cobble-Hill — Major Knowlton's sortie upon Charlestown neck — Scene in the Boston theatre — Peculiar character of the continental army — Influence and arduous duties of the officers. -------- 185 CHAPTER XV. BOSTON EVACUATED BY THE BRITISH. General Lee ordered to New York — Volunteers raised in Connecticut — Washington's desire for an attack on Bos- ton—General Thomas takes possession of the Heights of Dorchester — Lord Percy attempts to dislodge him — A severe storm interrupts his movements — Intended attack on Boston by General Putnam — The council of Avar — Nook's Hill fortified —General Gage suddenly evacuates Boston — Put- nam takes possession — Wooden sentries on Bunker Hill. - 201 CHAPTER XVI. PUTNAM IN COMMAND AT NEW YORK. General Putnam ordered to Nev/ York — His instructions — His Head Gluarters — His family — Loyalists, or Tories in New York — Martial law — Police of the city — Intercourse with the enemy forbidden — Fortified posts in the vicinity — Washmgton's arrival at New York — Goes to meet Congress at Philadelphia — Instructions to General Putnam — Letter from Philadelphia— Fire sliips ordered to be built — General Howe's arrival at Staten Island — His plans and hopes — His army — Arrival of the British fleet — Declaration of In- dependence — Its reception by the American army. - - :207 CHAPTER XVIL THE ERliTISH FLEET AND ARMY AT STATEN ISLAND. PUTKAM'i CONTRIVANCES TO ANNOY THEM. Comparative force of the English anr Americans — Two fri^ X7l TABLE OF CONTENTS. gates pass up the North River— Confined to Tappan Sea- Conflict with the American galleys — Chevaux-de-frise-~ Described by General Putnam — Its ill success — The fire- ships alike unsuccessful— Bushnell's American Turtle — The expedilion of AbijahShipman. 223 CHAPTER XVIII. THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN, AND RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. Fortifications on Long Island — General Sullivan in command, in consequence of the illness of General Greene — Land- ing of the British at the Narrows — Sullivan reinforced — Putnam sent to take the command — His orders — Relative position of the armies — General Clinton seizes one of the passes through the hills — General Grant makes a feint in the opposite direction — General Stirling detached to meet him — De Heister advances towards Bedford — Clinton gains the rear of Sullivan, while De Heister attacks him in front —Sullivan, in an attempt to retreat, is taken prisoner — Stirling, attempting to regain the lines, is met by Corn- wallis — Engages him, to cover the retreat of his division — Is made prisoner — The greater part of his division escapes — Loss of the Americans — Washington in the camp, a witness of the battle — The difficulty of his position — Comments upon the Battle— Masterly reti'eat. 231 CHAPTER XIX. RETREAT OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY FROM NEW YORK. Extension of the British lines on Long Island — Preparations to attack New York — Washington prepares to abandon the city — Overruled by his council — Division of the army — Put- nam commanding the rear division in the city — A second council advises its abandonment — Sir Henry Clinton lands at Kip's Bay — Dastardly conduct of the American soldiers — Iimninent exposure of Washington — He establishes his Head-Cluarters on the Heights of Haerlem — Putnam, with his division, commences liis retreat — His extraordinary exertions — Stratagem to detain the enemy — Mrs. Murray — Narrow escape of the division— General Howe's positioa TABLE OF CONTENTS. XVii — The American posts — Successful skirmish with the ene- my — Colonel Knowlton slain — Major Leitch mortally wounded — Character of Knowlron — Happy effect of this little success. -- 249 CHAPTER XX. LOSS OF FORT WASHINGTON, AND RETREAT THROUGH NEW JERSEY. An attack expected— Annoying the enemy — Plunderers — Howe attempts to gain the rear of the American army — Lands at Frog's Point— Advances towards New Rochelle — The American lines— Skirmishes of Colonels Haslet and Hand- General McDougall's post at Chatterton's Hill — As- saulted and carried— Putnam marches to reinforce him, but arrives too late — Washington retires to North Castle — Howe turns towards New York — Fort Independence evacuat- ed — Putnam ordered into New Jersey — Loss of Fort Wash- ington — Cornwallis crosses the North River — Retreat of the American army, step by step, to the Delaware — Discou- raging prospects — Firmness of Washington, and good con- duct of Putnam. .--- ...,2$ CHAPTER XXI. PUTNAM'S COMMAND AT PHILADELPHIA AND PRINCETON Designs of General Howe upon Philadelphia — Putnam or- dered to defend it — Washington's views of the importance of that place — Putnam's general orders — Conference with Congress — His arduous labors — Battles of Trenton and Princeton — Part intended to be assigned to Putnam— Wash- ington's correspondence — Ordered to Crosswicks — Stationed at Princeton — Smallness of his force — Captain McPherson — Severity and unwise policy of the British — Humanity of Putnam — His success in protecting the country from law- less plunderers — General Dickinson's successful skirmish with a foraging party — Success of Colonel Gurney and Ma- jor Davis — Major Stockton surprised and taken by Col- onel Nelson—Severe treatment of Major Stockton- -The Skinners, Cow-boys, and Yagers — Gallant conduct of Major B XVlll TABLE OF CONTENTS. Smith at Bound Brook— Reinforcement of the British army — Putnam ordered to keep a good look out towards Phi- ladelphia — Little vexations — Results of his winter opera- tions in New Jersey — Aaron Burr. ----- 271 CHAPTER XXII. PUTNAM'S COMMAND IN THE HIGHLANDS. Importance of the Highlands — Destruction of American stores at Peekskill and Dan bury — Good conduct of McDougall, Ar- nold and Wooster — Generals Greene and Knox examine the posts in the Highlands, and advise a mode of defence — Ge- neral Putnam put in command at Peekskill, with directions to *:arry out that plan — Obstructions in the river — Arduous labjrs and exposures of Putnam — Washington's opinion of his character — Desires him to surprise the enemy's post at King's Bridge — Abandons the project, and removes his camp to Middlebrook — Putnam's force greatly reduced to rein- force the main army — Reduced still further, to support Ge- neral Schuyler, on the north — Doubtful movements of tlie enemy — Marches and countermarches of the Americans — First anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — Eva- cuation of Ticonderoga, and advance of Burgoyne — Ame- rican force concentrated in the Highlands — Howe's clumsy attempt to deceive Washington — T'he latter withdraws his force again into New Jersey — Orders and countermands — Edmund Palmer, the spy, in Putnam's camp. - - 287 CHAPTER XXIII. COMMAND IN THE HIGHLANDS CONTINUED. LOSS OF FOfiTS MONTGOMERY AND CLINTON. Extent of Putnam's command — Relative position of the forts — Plans an attempt on the posts of the enemy — His force greatly reduced — Sir Henry Clinton in New Jersey— De- tachments lor the main army delayed — Peremptory order to hasten their march — Militia of little service — Sir Henry Clinton in Haverstraw Bay — Favored by circumstances — Lands at Tarrytown — at Verplanck's Point— at Stony Point — covered by a dense fog — Diverts General Putnam from TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIX his main object— Gains the rear of Forts Montgomery and Clinton — His advance resisted — Severe action — Gallant assault — Putnam orders a reinforcement — Works carried — Escape of part of the garrison — Putnam retires to Fishkill — Frigates burnt — British advance, burning villages and houses — Hearing of the surrender of Burgoyne, they re- turn again to New York — Death of Mrs. Putnam — Peekskill retaken — Comments upon the late disasters. - . , 303 CHAPTER XIV. DISSATISFACTION WITH PUTNAM'S COMMAND IN NEW YORK. Putnam reinforced from the northern army — Projected en- terprise against New York — Colonel Meigs's successful scout — Movements on the Delaware — Hamilton commis- sioned to obtain reinforcements from Gates — Visits Put- nam at Fishkill — Returns to New Windsor — His Letters — Severe animadversions upon Putnam — Comments upon those letters — Contrasted with those of Washington — Pre- judices of the people of New York — Their origin — Wash- ington's action, language, and feeling with reference to them — Governor Clinton requested to take the command in the Highlands — Explanation of the language of Washing- ton on that occasion — Dickinson's enterprise on Staten Island — Putnam's diversion towards King's Bridge — Takes post at New Rochelle — Successful enterprises against parties ot the enemy — Fires General Delancy's house — Takes Colonel Delancy prisoner — Descent upon Long Island —Success of General Parsons — Colonel Webb a prisoner. - - . 323 CHAPTER XXV. NEW FORTIFICATIONS IN THE HIGHLANDS. PUTNAM DISPLACED FROM THE COMMAND. Condition of the defences in the Highlands — West Point se- lected as the principal post — Radiere prefers Fort Clinton — Putnam consults the Legislature of New York — To whom is the credit of this selection due? — Works commenced in January — Wretched state of the army — Putnam's letter on Ibat point, and the obstructions in the river — He goes ro XX TABLE OF CONTENT**. Connecticut— The Court of Inquiry into the causes of th« loss of Forts Montgomery and Clinton Putnam super- seded by General McDougall— Decision of the Court, exone- rating Putnam from all blame— Ordered to Connecticut, to raise recruits — Takes command of the right wing— Sta- tioned at Danbury — Q,uells a mutiny — Perilous adventure at Horseneck — Operations on the North River — Putnam in command at the Clove— Wayne's success at Stony Point- Putnam's command near West Point — His name given to the principal fort — Results of the campaign. - - - 339 CHAPTER XXVI. RETIREMENT AND LAST DAYS OF THE HERO, Putnam visits his family in Connecticut — Sets out on his re- turn to the army — Is struck with paralysis, and retires — His interest in public affairs- Correspondence with Washing- ton — His efforts to promote temperance — His abhorrence of duelling— His mode of accepting challenges — His peaceful enjoyment of the evening of life — Public and private esti- mation of his character — Testimony of Drs. D wight and Whitney — ^A Christian's death — Funeral honors — Epitaph. 357 APPENDIX. Number I. — Major Rogers. - - - . . , 359 *' II.— The Battle of Bunker Hill. - - . - 375 " III. — Prejudices of the People of New York against eneral Putnam. ---..-.-380 THE LIFE &EIEEAL PUTNAM. CHAPTER I. EARLY LIFE AND YOUTHFUL ADVENTURES OF PUTNAM. His ancestry — His birth — The old homestead — His early life — Deficiency of the means of education — Early development of cha- racter — The bird's nest — Hazardous exploit — Coolness and intre- pidity in danger — Singular escape — Perseverance in pursuit of an object — The prize secured — His activity, industry, and wit — His first visit to Boston — Insulted in the street — His able defcLce — Slavery — Anecdote of Cudge — The sequel. Among the earliest settlers in Salem, in the Province of Massachusetts, was John Putnam ; who, for the free enjoyment of the rights of conscience, and the liberty of worshipping God in the manner which his own judgment, enlightened by a careful study of the Scriptures, approved and required, left the home of his youth, and the sepul- chres of his fathers, and cast in his lot with the heroic, self-denying Pilgrims, under the banner of the venerable Endicot. He was a man of eminent piety, and acknow- ledged moral worth ; having blended in his character those elements of Christian heroism which distinguished our Pilgrim Fathers above every other body of men, that ever effected a great revolution in the world, and emi- nently fitted them, not only to endure the hardships of a pioneer life in a savage wilderness, but to give substance *22 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAT,!. and permanency to the new institutions, which it waj their destiny to found in that wilderness. The original name of the family was Puttenhtim. They resided in Buckinghamshire, one of the southern counties of Fngland, and out a short distance from the metropolis. The emigrant brought with him three sons, Thomas, Na- thaniel, and John, and two brothers, younger than himself. They pitched their tents, in 1634, in that remote part of Salem which, for a century past, has been included within the limits of Danvers, where they soon established them- selves as successful, independent farmers ; and where many of their posterity still reside, in circumstances of respectability and affluence. Israel Putnam was the son of Captain Joseph Putnam, grandson of Thomas, and great grandson of the worthy John, who planted the family tree in this country. He was born on the seventh day of January, 1718, and was the eleventh of a family of twelve children. His mother^ maiden name was Elizabeth Porter. The house in which he first saw the light is still standing, in good order and well-conditioned ; having, like the hardy old settlers who founded it, been built of the best materials which the times afforded. It isjiao old-fashioned, gambrel-roofed house, two stories in height, with dormer windows in the attic, and paintfed-^ellow. It is at present occupied bv Mr. Daniel Putnam, grand nephew of the General, h stands on the main road from " The Plains," in Danvers, to Middle town; being the last house on the right before the intersection of that road with the Newburyport turn- pike. By the turnpike, it is exactly half way between Newbur3q:)ort and Boston. A little above this house, near the angle of a small hill, on the right side of the road, stands a locust tree, in a (gentle hollow. On that spot formerly stood a small, one HISEARLYLIFE. 23 Uory house, which the General once occupied, and where ve kept a sort of bachelor's hall, previous to his marriage. When the house was taken down, some fifty years ago, he locust tree was planted there by one of the family, to Jesignate the spot where it had stood. Of the early life of the General, however it might have been marked by incidents illustrating or foreshadowing those eminent traits of character which were developed oy the stirring scenes of his after years, we have no authen- tic records, and but few reliable traditions. To use the words of a kind correspondent, and a talented antiquarian . of Salem,* — to whom application was made for materials for this part of the memoir — '* Putnam migrated from Massachusetts more than a century ago, while he was young and undistinguished. His neighbors and relatives were employed in rural pursuits, and while he dwelt with them they did not regard him as a future great man — they noticed not ' the lambent flame on the crest of Tullius.'" The few incidents, relating to this period that have been preserved, are in perfect keeping with the character which he exhibited in after years. The same fearless daring, the same insensibility to danger, the same generous, manly disposition, and the same ready good humor, which made him through life the boon companion and the idol of his fri^ nds,as well as the foremost Jeader in all kinds of adven- ture. Unfortunately, we have nothing of his school-boy days. Schools, especially in the scattered settlem.ents of the country, were more rare at that period than now, and the advantages of education difficult to be obtained by those whose circumstances and mode of life, like those of our hero, demanded the unceasing application of their enersries in cultivatinor the soil. The want of those ad van* ♦ Benjamin Merril'i, Esq. 24 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. tages, and of the benefits which he might have derived from them, was sensibly felt in all his subsequent career. And it is probable, had he been permitted, at the close ot his life, to address the youth of the country, or to leave a legacy of caution and instruction to coming generations, he would have dwelt much and strongly upon the duty and privilege of a thorough early education. He would have urged the young to neglect no opportunity for acquir- ing knowledge, and preparing themselves, not only to win an honorable eminence in society, and adorn it when won, but to enjoy it with that conscious ease and self-reliance which, to an ingenuous mind, constitutes its principal attraction. There are few who have the native strength of character to rise above the inauspicious circumstances of early life, and carve out their own fortunes, by the mere dint of theii own irrepressible genius. Putnam was one of the few. The times in which he lived demanded marked and strik- ing peculiarities in the class of men, whose duty it was to go forward and " guide the current of events." And it is one of the most interesting and instructive cases of the history of that exciting period, to notice how wonderfully its leading characters were fitted for the crisis, and how wisely and kindly the various " gifts " required for the service were distributed among them. That the heroic character of Putnam was inborn, a part of his very nature, and not the lesult of temporary excite- ment, or a transient exhiliration of spirits, will appear from the following anecdote, which is related of his boyish days. It exhibits a cool serenity and self-possession in times of great peril, which are of inestimable value to the leader of an enterprise, placing him, in a manner, above the vicissitudes of fortune, and making him the master, rather than the slave, of circumstance. The charge of crueltv, THEBIRD'SNEST. 25 which attaches to it, must be set down to the score of the heedlessness of j^outh ; for his whole subsequent life shows that he had a kind, generous, noble heart, keenly alive to the sufferings of others, and ready, almost to a fault, even to aid his enemies. Friends and foes alike accord him this praise. In common with most boys in the same situation in life, Putnam foun ' great amusement in " bird's-nesting." Like many other boys, too, whose experience has not been written, he found it a very hazardous sport, having nearly lost his life in one of his hair-brained attempts to perpetrate this species of heartless piracy. It was customary, on these occasions, for several boys to go out in company ; but Putnam was always the leader of the band. In the case referred to, they had discovered a fine nest, lodged on a frail branch, near the top of a very high tree. The tree stood apart from others, and was difficult to climb. The nest was so far out of the way that it could not be reached by a pole, or any other contrivance, which they could command. The only possible way, therefore, to secure the prize, was for some one to venture upon one of those frail branches, neither of which, in the opinion of all the party, was sufficient to sustain the weight of any one of their number. Putnam regarded the nest and the limb in silence for some minutes. At length he said : " That bird has some of the qualities of a good soldier ; she has selected her post with excellent judgment, and fortified it with great skill. I'll wager there is not a boy within ten miles that can reach that nest." No one was disposed to accept the implied challenge. They were about quitting the spot in quest of some more practicable sport, when Putnam, deliberately taking off his jacket, and rolling up his pantaloons to his knees, said. 26 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. " There's nothing like trying," and prcxeeded to climb the tree. His companions used their utmost eloquence to dissuade him from the mad attempt ; but all to no purpose. Ke never flinched from any undertaking when he had once made up his mind to it. The tree was ascended, and the limb gained, nearest to that which held the nest. It seemed stouter than the others. The daring boy placed his foot on it by way of trial. It creaked ominous / ; while the mother-bird, with a shrill cry, abandoned her nest, hover- ing anxiously around, and uttering many a touching com- plaint. Stepping boldly out upon the limb, it bent under him. The boys below warned him of his danger, and entreated him not to venture any further. Getting down upon one Knee, he reached toward the nest, but before he could grasp it the limb cracked. His comrades shouted to him to come down, but still he persevered. His fingers touched the wished-for prize. In his eagerness he cried, ^' I've got it — it is mine." At that instant the limb broke quite off, and Putnam fell ; but not to the ground. His fall was arrested by one of the lower branches of the tree, which caught in his pantaloons, and held him suspended in mid air with his head downward. " Put, are you hurt .?" inquired one of the boys. ^' Not hurt," answered the undaunted heart, " but sorely puzzled how to get down." " We cannot cut away the limb for you because we have no knife." " You must contrive some other way to relieve me then, for I cannot stay here till you get one." " We will strike a light, and burn the tree down." " Ay ; and smother me in the smoke. That will not do." -ic^ ^MSW^t''^^ Bird's Nestinjf —Putnam suspended in the Tree. — Page 26 HIS COOLNESS AND INrUEPIDITY. 27 There was a boy named Randall in the group, who was noted for being a crack marksman, and who afterwards fought bravely at Putnam's side. Fortunately, he seldom went out without his rifle, and had it with him on this oc- casion. " Jim Randall," said he, " there's a ball in your rifle.'* "Yes." '' Do you see that small limb that holds me here ?" "I do." "Fire at it." " What ! to cut you down .?" " Of course ; for what else could I ask it." " But I might hit your head, perhaps." " Shoot ; better blow out my brains at ojice, than see me die here by hanging, which I shall certainly do in fifteen minutes. Shoot.^^ "But you will fall." " Jim Randall, will you fire .^" Randall brought his rifle to his shoulder. Its sharp crack rang through the forest — the splinters flew — and Putnam fell to the ground. He was severely bruised by the fall. He laughed it off*, however, and nothing more was thought of it. Not many days after, Putnam, who could never endure the thought of being defeated in an enterprise, returned alone to that tree, and succeeded, though with the greatest difficulty, in securing the nest, which he bore away in triumph to his companions. Though we cannot apologize for the cruel act of rob- bing a harmless bird of her home and her young, nor do otherwise than censure the fool-hardiness of the boy, who could twice put his life at hazard for such a prize, we can- not but see in this incident the germ of that indomitable spirit, which was so often displayed amid the more fearful iS LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. perils of his subsequent career. His conduct, while j>as« pended in the tree, displays the same coolness and self- possession, and the same promptness of action, which cha- racterized his daring leap at Horseneck, and his perilous trip down the rapids of the Hudson. As would naturally be expected from those traits of character which have already been exhibited, Putnam was eager to excel in all the manly athletic exercises, which constitute so large a part of the sports of a country villao-e. In running, leaping, wrestling, pitching the bar, and in feats of horsemanship, he displayed great agility and physical power, and was scarcely ever second among his competi- tors. Even in the labors of the field and the wood, it w^ his early ambition to do the part of a man, and not to be outdone, even by his elders, in anything, which patient, persevering toil could achieve. But with all his restless activity, and his fondness for athletic amusements, he never loved a quarrel. He was not easily provoked. His disposition was frank, generous and confiding, and his uniform good humor often preserved the peace among his more inflammable companions, when, as is too often the case, the heat and excitement of their game began to wear a threatening aspect, and parties at play to assume the tone and bearing of combatants. His wit and humor gave him great influence on such occasions, and he always employed it in allaying excitement, and har- monizing and adjusting difficulties. It seems to have been his principle, that a man should never fight except with his enemy, and with him jnly when he could not manage him in any other way. On his first visit to Boston he was rudely assailed in tha street b}^ one of the young aristocrats of the town, who was considerably his superior both in age and size. The coarse homespun dress and awkward air of the country HIS FIRST FIGHT — STORY (IF C U D G E . 29 bo}'', as he sauntered aiong, gazing into the shop-\^ indows, and wondering at the number, size and magnificence of the buildings, excited the mirth of the well-dressed and self-im.portant city boy, whose superior education did not re- strain him from showing his contempt in the most rude and ungentlemanly manner. His insults were borne in silence for a considerable time. At length, disgusted and exaspe- rated bv this unprovoked and continued abuse, and finding that it was attracting the attention of the people who were passing in the streets, he turned fiercely upon his assailant, and gave him so complete and satisfactory a drubbing, that he was glad to haul down his colors, and beat a retreat, much to the amusement of a large number of spectators, who made a ring to watch the issue of the contest. ^ At that period there were slaves in all the colonies. It is true, they were not very numerous in New England. Still, slavery existed, and African bond-men, and bond- women, and bond-children, were found — tell it not in Gath ! — in all the towns, and scattered over the farming districts of Massachusetts. It fell to the lot of one of Putnam's neighbors to have one of these slaves in his family, who was noted and feared for his fierce, ungoverna- ble temper, and a disposition that would have served a savage or a fiend. There seemed to be no way to subdue him but with the lash ; and that, though often repeated, was far from being as effectual as could have been wished. On one occasion, when Cudge had been particularly unruly, so that his master could do nothing with him, he called upon Putnam to assist him in administering the proper chastisement. ^' Well, neighbor, what do you propose to do ?" he inquired. " I intend to tie him up in the barn, and give him such a flo2;2:!ng as he will be likely to remember." 30 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAit. " Very well," replied Putnam, " you catch him, and 1 will tie him up. You can then do what you please with him." Accordingly, the exasperated master went out into the field, seized Cudge, and brought him into the barn. Put- nam, in the mean time, had fastened his rope to a beam, and prepared a noose. Cudge resisted, and his master was oblio;ed to exert all his streno^th to hold him. In this position, Putnam threw the noose over them both, so as completely to secure their arms, and render it impossible for them to help themselves, or each other, drew them up together, and left them to their reflections. Going coolly into the house, he lighted his pipe, sat down and smoked it out. Then, calling to the mistress of the house, he proposed to her to go out with him and see how the Captain and Cudge M^ere getting along. Arrived at the barn, the good woman was almost thrown into hysterics, on seeing her husband bound up in this manner with that terrible negro, whom she feared scarcely less than she did a certain other character in black, whose name it would not be polite to mention, and of whom she regarded Cudge as the living representative, or counter- part, After a little persuasion, and some words of stronger import, Putnam unbound his prisoners, endeavoring to pacify the now doubly enraged master by assuring him, that, however disagreeable to himself, the effect upon Cudge would be better than a dozen flogsfinors. The event justified the assertion. Cudge was so delio-ht- ed with the joke, that he did not get out of humor > for a long time after. At the same time, with that kind of instinctive regard which the slave naturally feels for his master, he could not help being hurt on his account. His ,heart was softened. He v/as more respectful and more obedient than he had ever been before. THE SLAVE DISPOSED OF. 31 The sequel of Cudge's history is too good a story to be lost ; and, though it has no relation to the subject of this memoir, we take leave to preserve it here, for the special benefit of those peculiar friends of Africa, who claim for New England an entire freedom from the plague-spot of slavery, and from any participation in " the price of blood." By some means, his mistress had grievously offended the negro. He became so enraged, that he swore he would take her life ; and neither soothing words, nor threats, had any effect to pacify him. The family was thrown into the greatest alarm, knowing that his temper was of that ungovernably savage character that nothing Would restrain him from indulging it. In this state of things, his master devised a plan for the permanent relief of his family. Having made his arrangements, he went out into the field with his hoe in his hand, and said — " Cudge, you have had rather hot work getting in the potatoes." " Yes, massa, hot enough." " Well, I am going to give you a play-day. I have sold fifty bushels, to be delivered on board a vessel at the wharf in Salem, and if you would like it, you may go in with the load." " Oh ! yes, massa ; like it very well." " You may have the whole day, Cudge. You can take your fiddle with you, and play a jig for the sailors, and so get a few coppers for yourself." Cudge was highly pleased with the proposal, and started off in great glee. Having unloaded his potatoes, the sailors, who had been let into the secret and received their instructions beforehand, called upon Cudge to bring out his fiddle and 32 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM play them a jig, that they might have one merry dance before iroino* to sea. The negro showed his teeth, and his fiddle too ; and presently the deck of the brig was as merry as a country ball-room at Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, the dancers were not niggardly in "paying the piper." The coppers fell on this side and that, and Cudge was somewhat discon- certed in his measure,by the necessity of breaking off and running after them, to prevent them from going out at the scuppers. Presently, one of the sailors said — " Cudge, your fiddle is getting dry ; you must go be- low and rosin your how."^^ This was another phrase for " wetting his whistle," or taking a dram. Cudge took the hint with alacrity, and adjourned with two or three of the party to the forecastle. Here, with drinking, fiddling, singing and dancing, two or three hours passed away, and Cudge had almost filled his pockets with coppers. At length, starting up, as from a dream, he exclaimed : " Yah * I must go up, and see how the cattle stand." He went up ; but, to his utter amazement, there was neither cattle nor cart to be seen ; no, nor houses, nor wharf. The brig was many miles out at sea, and Cudge was bound to a southern clime, where slaves could be more easily managed than on the hardy soil of New Eng- land. He went to the same market with his potatoes, and was sold for the samp account. CHAPTER 11. Putnam's marriage and settlement in Connecticut His marriage — Removes to Pomfret — His prosperity as a fanner— His operations as a wool-grower — Ravages in his sheep-folds— The veteran she-wolf— Her annual visits to Pomfret— Her exten- sive operations there— Combination against her— The pursuit- Tracked home to her den — Attempts to smoke her out— Putnam descends into the cave — Description of the passage — His sudden exit — Returns with his gun — Despatches his enemy — Returns the third time and drags her out— Triumphant procession— Reception in the village — Exaggerated versions of the story. In 1739, at the age of twenty-one years, Mr. Putnam was nnarried to Miss Hannah Pope, daughter of Mr. John Pope, of Salem, by whom he had ten children, four sons and six daughters. The following year he removed from his na- tive place, and settled upon a tract of land which he had purchased in Pomfret, in Connecticut. This is an inland town in Windham County, thirty-six miles east of Hart- ford, and situated on the Quinnebaug, or Mohegan river, one of the tributaries of the Thames. It is blessed with a good soil, and all the ordinary requisites for a thrifty and successful husbandry. In those days of comparative simplicity, the expenses of living, particularly in the farming districts, were very moderate, and easily acquired. Few of the costly luxu- ries of the present day were known. The hard and bur* deiisome yoke of European foshion, which grinds so many of us into the dust, v/as not then laid UDon the colonies 34 LIFE OF GENERAL P U T N A J\I . It is a singular anomaly in the history of Independeu America, that she wears, without complaint, the fetters of a voluntary slavery, ten times more expensive and burden- some than that which roused the dependent colonies to resistance, and severed for ever the bonds which had so long united them to the mother-country. Our good old fathers and mothers, particularly those who maintained the independent life of cultivators of the soil, would have scorned the servile imitation of the multitude in our day They would have deemed it the extreme of folly to sacri fice one real comfort to the mere outside show of equality to the rich and the great. With these simple, unaffected tastes, and no merely artificial wants to drain off all the fruits of then toil, the industrious and skilful were almost sure of success. This was the issue of Mr. Putnam's labors upon his new farm A very few years found him in the enjoj^ment of a com- fortable and substantial home ; his clearings well fenced and cultivated ; his pastures handsomely stocked ; and his entire establishment, with one exception, in the full tide of prosperous increase. This exception, as it serves to illustrate the heroic and independent character of our sub- ject, and furnishes the explanation of one of the pecu^'ar sohriqiActs^ by which he was often distinguished among his military comrades in after life, deserves particulai notice. Mr. Putnam's pastures were well adapted to the culti vation of sheep. With his usual promptness he availed himself of this facility to carry on quite an extensive busi- ness in wool. His flocks were numerous and thrifty, and he prided himself not a little in having as extensive folds, and as good fleeces, as any in New England. He was, therefore, particularly nettled when this part of his exten- sive establishment was selected as the object of nightlv T H E W O L F . 35 ravages, by some of the farmers' enemies, that were prowling- about in that region. His fields had suffered occasionally from drought in summer, and mildew in har- vest. The severity of the winter had carried off* some of his cattle. But these inroads upon his folds had come to be exacted as an annual tribute, and were quite too severe to be tolerated. His losses were very great, so much so as to threaten the entire destruction of that department of his business. All this havoc appeared to have been com mitted by one she-wolf, and her annual whelps ; though it is not improbable they were sometimes accompanied by a stronger force. The young were usually destroyed in the course of the season by the vigilance of the hunters and their dogs ; but the old one was too sagacious to allow herself to be caught, or even to be seen. She had once unwarily set her foot in a trap that was laid for her, but had escaped by leaving her toes behind. When too closely pursued to carry on her depredations any longer with safety, she would abandon the vicinity altogether for the season. But she invariably returned the ensuing winter, with another family of hungry whelps to feed. Mr. Putnam was not the only sufferer by these annual visits of the wolf. His neighbors, all around, shared in his losses, though none of them were quite as heavily taxed as he. At length, finding the nuisance intolerable, he entered into a combination with five of his neighbors to watch and hunt alternately, and never abandon the pursuit till she was destroyed. Two of them, by turns, were tc keep on her track until she was overtaken, or driven home to her den. Commencing the pursuit immediately after a light fall of snow, in the opening of winter, they were soon on a trail that could not be mistaken. The accident of the steel trap had made one foot much shorter than its mate, so that the fugitive robber made her mark as sh«i 36 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. went. In this manner she was pursued over hill and valley, through forest, and brake, and swamp, to the bank of the Connecticut river. Arrested in her flight here, she turned back in a direct course for Pomfret, with the hunt- ers in close and vigilant chase. Early in the morning, the day after their return, they had driven her into a den, about three miles from the house of Mr. Putnam. Here she was carefully guarded, till a large company of men and boys had assembled, with dogs, guns, straw* and sul- phur, prepared to finish the work which had been so well begun, by inflicting summary vengeance upon the common enemy. It was a scene of general interest and excitement. Raie sport was expected by some of the younger and less expe- rienced. It was soon found, however, that the enemy had chosen her retreat with good judgment ; and was pre- pared, not only to stand an obstinate siege, but to defend herself w'ith a fierceness and bravery that were quite appal- ling. Some of the hounds, who had become heated in the chase, ventured into her fastness, but soon retreated, yelping bitterly and covered with wounds. And no ur- gency could induce them to return to the charge. It was now attempted to smoke her out. The mouth of the cave was filled with straw. The torch was applied. The smoke rolled up in heavy volumes, and filled every crevice of the cave ; but the wolf came not forth. She seemed resolved to die where she was, rather than suffer herself to be taken, or face the weapons of such a company of exasperated foes. The fumes of sulphur produced no better effect. It is probable, indeed, that the imprisoned animal was not so much annoyed by them as her tormen- tors supposed. There may have been some fissure by which they escaped, without finding their way into the inner recess of the cavern vhere the wolf was. k H K K N T E KB THE W O L F ' S DEN. '.M In these fruitless efforts to dislodge her, the time had llown by, till it now wanted only two hours of midnight It was clear that something more effectual must be done, or all their labor would be lost. Another effort was made to induce the dogs to go in, but without success. They had had enough of that sport already, and would not budge an inch. Mr. Putnam then proposed to his servant to take a torch and a gun, and descend into the cavern and shoot the wolf. As his master doubtless expected, he declined the honor of so hazardous an enterprise. Find- ing no one in the company who was willing to attempt the perilous descent, and declaring he was' ashamed to have a coward in his family, he resolved at once to go in himself, and put a certain end to the ravager of his llocks, lest she should escape by some unknown passage, and become once more the scourge of the country. His neighbors remonstrated against so mad an exposure ^f his life, but in vain. He was bent on accomplishing, that very night, the death of his victim. He knew that all wild animals have instinctive dread of fire. He, accord- ingly, provided himself with a quantity of birch-bark, which he tore into strips convenient for use — these being the only torches which he could then command. Thus provided, he stripped off his coat and waistcoat, lighted one of his torches, and crawling on his hands and knees, without any weapon in his hand, commenced the bold descent. " The aperture of the den, on the east side of a very high ledge of rocks, is about two feet square ; from thence it de.scends obliquely fifteen feet ; then, running horizontally about ten feet more, it ascends gradually sixteen feet towards its termination. The sides of this subterranean cavity are composed of smooth and solid rocks, which seem to have been divided from each other by some for- /* 38 LIFE OF G E N E it A L PUTNAM. mer earthquake. The top and bottom are also of stone^ and the entrance, in winter being covered with ice, is ex- ceedingly slippery. It is in no place high enough for a man to raise himself upright, nor in any place more than three feet in width. " Having groped his passage to the horizontal part of the den, the most terrifying darkness appeared in front of the dim circle of light afforded by his torch. It was silent as the house of death. None but monsters of the desert had ever before explored this solitary mansion of horror." It required no slight care and presence of mind, to keep alive the flame by which his course was guided. Though creeping on all fours, he was obliged several times to pause and renew his torch, at the imminent hazard, each time, of being left in utter darkness in the depths of the cave. '^ Cautiously proceeding onward, he came to the ascent, which he slowly mounted on his hands and knees, until he discovered the glaring eye-balls of the wolf, who was sit- ting at the extremity of the cavern. Startled at the sight of fire, she gnashed her teeth, and gave a sullen growl.'' Having fully reconnoitered the position of the enemy, and formed his plan of attack, the bold scout gave a hearty kick upon the rope, which, by way of precaution, had been secured around one of his legs. His friends, who were waiting in breathless suspense and anxiety at the mouth of the den, hearing the fierce growl of the wolf, which showed that she was yet unhurt, and supposing that Mr. Putnam must be in imminent danger, responded vigorously to the concerted signal, dragging him forth with such violence, ^' that his shirt was stripped over his head, and his skin severely lacerated." Having adjusted his clothes, and loaded his gun, he took ancrther handful of torches, and descended a second time into tht' narrow cave. Encumbered with his musket, this RETURNS IN TRIUMPH 39 descent was much more difficult than the first, though, armed as he was, and somewhat familiar with the bearings and distances of his journey, and the position of his foe, it was certainly much more safe and agreeable. As he ap- proached the object of his pursuit somewhat nearer than before, she manifested the most decided symptoms of un- easiness at his presence. Her appearance was exceedingly fierce and terrible ; " howling, rolling her eyes, snapping her teeth, and dropping her head between her legs, she was evidently in the attitude, and on the point, of springing at her assailant. At that critical moment he levelled hii, piece, aiming "directly at her head, and fired! Stunned with the shock, and suffocated with the smoke of the pow- der, he immediately found himself drawn out of the cave," though somewhat more gently than on the former occa- sion. Having refreshed himself a few moments in the open air, and given time for the smoke to clear away from the long passages of the cavern, he went down the third time to secure and bring away his prize. His shot had taken good effect. The animal lay stretched on the floor of her inner chamber, weltering in her blood. Applying his torch to her nose, and finding her perfectly insensible, he seized her by the ears ; and, giving the usual signal to his friends without, by kicking the rope, was drawn heavily, but exuliingly out, dragging his victim after him. On emerging into the air, and bringing out, amid the fit- ful glare of a score or two of torches, that fearful creature, that had so long been the terror and scourge of their fields, he was received with such a shout as made the old woods of Pomfret ring again. Its echoes reverberated along the valley, and reached the wakeful ears of the anxious wives and mothers, whose fears, increasing as the midnight hour approached, had led many of them more than once to ex 40 L I F R O F G E N F K A L P U T N A M . claim, " I wish they would leave the old wclf alone. .1 would father lose every sheep in the fold, than have my husband or child brought home dead or wounded." The nature of that shout could not be mistaken, even by a woman. It hushed all their fears in a moment ; and '.vhen, some half an hour after, the party was seen winding down the valley, with flaming torches, escorting the victor in triumph to his home, with the trophy of his daring valor borne on a sort of htter on the shoulder of the larger boys, who claimed the honor as their perquisite for keeping awake so long — tha tables were all laid, and a generous hot supper provided for all the volunteers in that cold mid- night campaign. Mr. Putnam's frank, open, agreeable manners, his gene- rous spirit and uniform good humor, had already secured hiui the good will of all his neighbors ; wdiile his activity, enterprise, good sense and sterling integrity of character had won for him their entire esteem and regard. He now be- came, as will naturally be supposed, the hero of the village and the surrounding country. The story of his daring ex- ploit with the wolf travelled far and wide, and received many poetical embellishments, in the course of its travels In some cases the dimensions of the cave, and the difliculty of access to it, formidable as it really was, were greatly exaggerated. In some, the den was full of wolves, as that of Daniel was of lions ; while one version repre- sented the hero, like Samson or David, as entering her hold unarmed, seizing the wolf, and strangling her in his arms. Another substituted a bear and two cubs for the wolf, and represented the bear as going off with Putnam's sow in her mouth, while he pursued her with a club, de- scending "yito the den, and destroying the whole family without the assistance of any other person. The story, with all its exaggerations, found its way into the paper.s THE UNRULY BULL. 4i and journals of England and France, so that Putnam came to be familiarly known abroad as ^' the old wolf." This was a common desi2;nation arnons; his fellow-officers during " the seven years' war." The description of the cave, given above, is in every particular accurate and exact, and was no doubt the result of actual measurement on the part of Colonel Humphreys Mr. Putnam was a man of great personal strength, as well as courage. His frame was large and athletic. His motions were rapid, nervous and impulsive. And though he seldom undertook what he did not successfully accom- plish, it often seemed as if he rushed to an act without thought, and achieved it without a purpose. The truth was, that the movements of his mind were as nervous and impulsive as those of his body. His perceptions were quick and accurate, and he jumped to conclusions at which other men would arrive by slow and careful inquiry. This was the true secret of his successful daring. It was not thoughtlessness, but an instantaneous perception of all the bearings of his position, and a consequent calmness and self-possession which made him master of circumstances, over which other and less active minds would have had no control. An incident is related of him at this period, which, though it may seem too trifling of itself to be preserved, will illustrate this peculiar impulsiveness, at the same time that it affords a striking proof ot his uncommon strength. He had among his cattle a very fine bull, whom he valued highly for his noble proportions and great strength, but whose fierce, unruly temper made him the terror of the whole neighborhood. Coming up to him in the pasture one day, when he had been peculiarly savage and ugly, he suddenly seized him by the tail and twisting it round a small tree, held him fast, while he gdministced 42 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. a severe and efFectual chastisement with an ox goad The furious animal bellowed and tore the ground in his rage, but it was of no avail. The rod was laid on with such determined energy and good will, that every stroke had its desired efFect, while the strong arm that held him gave him no chance of escape. From that time he was master of the bull, and had only to show the rod in his hand, to make him comparatively quiet and submissive. The untiring industry and prudent husbandry of Mr. Putnam, during the ten or twelve years that intervened before the breaking out of the French War, placed his affairs on a very sound basis, and secured for him a com- fortable independence for life. And when he was after- wards called to engage in the active service of his country, in the camp and the field, and to undergo the hardships and privations of war, he had the satisfaction of leaving his family well provided for, and having a quiet retreat to fall back upon, whenever the fortunes of war should either compel or permit him to retire. In this respect, he w as more favorably situated than many of his compeers, who, in hazarding their lives for a cause which was too poor to reward them for their services, sacrificed their all, and returned, when their liberties were achieved, to wear away the evening of their days amid the cares and priva- tions of poverty, as broken in fortune as in physical con- stitution. CHAPTER III. THE FRENCH WAR. PUTNAM's FIRST CAMPAIGN. Mr. Putnam's general popularity — Receives a Captain's commission under General Lyman — His company — Generally employed as rangers and scouts — Nature and difficulty of that service — Inaus- picious commencement of the war — Sir William Johnson's success- ful expedition — Its object and plan — Fortifications — Position of the French at Tinconderoga — They attempt to arrest the English works — Dieskau marches upon Fort Edward — Changes his course towards Lake George — Encounters Colonel Williams — The battle — Hendricks, the Mohawk chief— Williams and Hendricks slain — The retreat — The assault upon Johnson's camp — Repelled — — Dieskau a prisoner— The pursuit— Captain McGinnes— Joseph Brant— Fort William Hemy built — Captain Rogers — His Journal — Its omissions — His character and subsequent history — Goes on a scout with Putnam — Rogers in imminent danger — Rescued by Putnam — Army in winter quarters — Putnam returns to his family. xiiE fearless courage, the generous and ready benevolence, and the open, frank, confiding manner of Mr. Putnam, won the admiration and regard of all who knew him. His early popularity was remarkable ; and so enduring was it, that the few individuals who have assumed the ungracious office of detracting from his *vell-earned fame, have been compelled to admit the fact, while they deny him every pretension to that distinguished merit on which it should have been founded. So great was his reputation, however accounted for, that, without any previous military experience, he was appointed to a captaincy, in the regiment of Connecticjl 44 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. provincials, on the breaking out of the French War. He found no difficulty in beating up recruits. His personal friends and admirers flocked to his standard, and his com- pany was soon complete. — A company, not of vagabonds and bar-room adventurers, who follow the beat of a drum for the rations which it promises without the drudgery of daily toil — but of hardy, industrious, respectable young men, the very fxower of the yeomanry of Connecticut. None of them had been educated in the use of arms, or the evolutions of the camp and the battle-field. They had bold hearts and strong arms, and a confidence in their leader that made the service light. The regiment, of which this company composed a part, was commanded by General Lyman. Putnam's command, however, was so often detached on special and peculiar service, that it held, during all the w^ar, rather the position of an independent corps, than that of a limb of the army. Though not specifically drafted as Rangers, nor organized under that distinctive name, the dutjj- assigned to it, and performed by it, was of that hardy, bold, adventurous cha- racter, which is usually rendered by that portion of a well appointed army. It was a service to which the genius of Putnam was peculiarly adapted. He delighted in scenes of daring excitement. He revelled in adventure. The ordinary monotony of camp duty would have been insu])- portably irksome. In the active and perilous duty ot reconnoitering the enemy's posts, surprising their pickets, cutting off or capturing detached parties, waylaying con- voys of provisions, destroying barracks and batteaux, and making prisoners, he found ample employment for his s[)irit of restless enterprise, as w^ell as ample scope for that fruitfulness of invention and stratagem for which he was distinguished. ** Never, perhaps, was there a war between two civilized COMINIENCEIMENT OF THE FRENCH WAR. 45 nations in which this pecuhar khid of service was so indis- pensable, or where it was attended with so great and fear- ful hazards, as this, in which the English and French con- tended for the mastery in the Western Continent. The Indian tribes were nearly all enlisted on the side of the French. The mountains, the forests, the river banks, the shores and inlets of the lakes, were infested with straggling parties of these ruthless marauders, whose stealthy movements and peculiar mode of attack, rendered them far more formidable and annoying than many times their number of ordinary soldiers. Skulking in every thicket, and prowling in the outskirts of every wood, they were ever ready to spring upon the foe ; w ho oftener fell by an unseen hand, than by an open enemy, against whom they might defend themselves, either by skilful manoeuvre or the prowess of their arms. To contend with the diffi- culties of such a service, and render effective aid in its prosecution, the utmost coolness, prudence, sagacity and watchfulness, as well as fertility and readiness of resource, and promptness of action, were demanded. Bold, resolute, unflinching hearts, and hands that could almost anticipate the promptings of the will, were requisite to any degree of silccess. The war commenced in earnest in 1755, with the unfor- tunate expedition of General Braddock against Fort Du- quesne ; the fruitless one of General Shirley against Fort Niagara ; and the brilliant victory of Sir William Johnson over the Baron Dieskau, at Fort Edward, on Lake George. It was in this last and successful expedition, that Captain Putnam entered upon that great theatre of honorable strife and hazardous adventure, wdiere he won those enduring laurels, which link his name with the noblest and worthiest of our country. ^ The object of this expedition was to reduce Crown 46 I^IFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. Point, and drive the French from their strong holds in and about Lake Champlain. It originated in Massachusetts, and was to be executed by the colonial troops of New England and New York, — General William Johnson , a lead- ing member of the council of the latter colony, being placed in command. The troops from the different sections were to rendezvous at Albany. The greater part of them arrived at that place before the end of June ; but the artillery, bateaux^ provisions, and other necessaries for the ex pedi- tion could not be prepared till the 8th of August, at which time the army took up its line of march for the carrying place, between the Hudson and Lake George. General Lyman was already there, and had commenced the erec- tion of a fortification, which was first called Fort Lyman, and afterward changed to Fort Edward. Toward the end of August, the main body moved foi ward, and encamped near the southern extremity of Lake George — to which the French had given the name of Lake St. Sacrament. Here it was ascertained, by means of some Indian scouts, who had been sent out to gather intel- ligence, that a considerable party of French and Indians were stationed at Ticonderoga, on the isthmus between the north end of Lake George, and the southern part of Lake Champlain, about fifteen miles below Crown Point. Their position was admirably selected, as was proved in the subsequent history of the war, when it became a place of great strength and importance. But as yet, no defences were thrown up. Johnson was impatient to bring up his bateaux and artillery, intending to proceed with part of his force and seize that important pass. In the meantime, the French furnished him with sufiicient employment at his own camp. Baron DieskalP^as in command of the French forces. He had just received intelligence of the commencement of BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE. 47 the works at the carrying place by General Lyman, and resolved to give him battle before his entrenchments were completed ; intending, if successful, to desolate the north- ern settlements, lay Albany and Schenectady in ashes, and cut off all communications with Oswego, and the northern lakes. With this design, he embarked at Crown Point with two thousand men ; and, landing at South Bay, pro- ceeded toward Fort Edward. The troops were ignorant of his purpose of attack until they arrived within two miles of the fort. Then, finding the Canadians and Indians unwilling to face the English cannon, he suddenly changed his route, and moved rapidly northward, hoping to sur- prise the camp at St. Sacrament, or Lake George. In the meantime. General Johnson — being apprised by his scouts of the movements of the French Baron— sent messengers to Fort Edward to warn General Lyman of his approach. One of these was intercepted and killed. The others soon returned with the intelligence that they had descried the enemy about four miles northward of the fort. It was now the Sth of September. A council of war was immediately called, in which it was resolved to send out a detachment, to intercept the enemy on his return. Hendricks, the celebrated Mohawk chief, was present at this councih When the number proposed to be sent out was mentioned to him, he replied : " If they are to fight the^y are too few ; if they are to be killed they are too many " It was then suggested to send out a larger de- tachment, in three separate parties. Hendricks took three sticks, and said : " Put these together, and you cannot break them ; take them one by one, and you may do it easily." The Mohawk's advice was takcyi: and victory, though dearly bought, was the result. ^f The detachment was placed under tl o command of 4S LIFE OF (i E N E R A L P U T N A ISI . I'oloncl Ephraim Williams, a brave officer, who, at, the head of one thousand provincials, with about two hundred Indians, met the Baron nearly four miles from the camp. That able commander, apprised of their approach, made an advantageous disposition of his men to receive them. Keeping the main body of the regulars with him in the centj-e, he ordered the Canadians and Indians to advance on the right and left, in the woods, in such a manner as to enclose their enemy. When the American troops were considerably within the ambuscade, the old Mohawk sachem, who, with his Indians, had been sent out as a flank guard to the detachment, was hailed by a hostile Indian. " Whence came you .^" said he. " From the Mohawks. Whence came you P^ " From Montreal." The firing, which commenced immediately after this parley, brought on the action sooner than Dieskau intend- ed, and prevented Williams and his party from being entirely surrounded and cut off. The provincials fought bravely, but finding themselves attacked on every side by superior numbers, were compelled to retreat w^ith con- siderable loss. Colonel Williams was among the slain Hendricks also was killed, with a number of his Indians, who fought with great intrepidity. The loss of the enemy was also considerable. Among their slain was M. St. Pierre, who commanded all the Indians, and on whom great reliance was placed. The retreating troops joined the main body, and waited the approach of their assail- ants, — now rendered more sanguine and formidable b}' their recent success. A little before noon, the advanced guard of the enemy appeared in ^^ht of the American army, which was encamped in a favorable position on the banks of Lake BARON DIE SKA U WOUNDED. 49 G»^orge, covered on each flank by a low, thick wooded swamp. General Johnson had just mounted several pieces of cannon, which he had most opportunely received two days before from Fort Edward ; and trees had been felled to form a sort of breastwork, which '' a'is only cover against an attack. The enemy marched along the road, in very regular order, and in high confidence of victory. When within one hundred and fifty yards of the breastwork they made a momentary halt. A spirited attack was then made by the regulars upon the centre, while the Canadians and Indians fell upon the flanks. The distant platoon fire of the French did but little execution, so that the Americans soon recovered their spirits and determined on a most resolute defence. As soon as their artillery began to play, the Canadian militia and Indians, who were not accustomed to such terrible engines of destruction, fled in confusion and dismay to the swamps. Meeting with a warmer reception than he anticipated, and deserted by his allies, Dieskau was compelled, reluctantly, to order a retreat. His troops retiiing in great disorder, were followed briskly by a party from the camp, who fell furiously on their rear, and precipitated their flight. Baron Dieskau, who had received a wound in his leg, was found leaning against a stump entirely alone. While feeling for his watch, one of the Americans, now supposed to be General Pomeroy, suspecting him to be in search of a pistol, inflicted upon him another wound, which ulti- mately proved mortal, and conducted him a prisoner to the camp. The English not continuing their pursuit, the enemy halted about four miles from the camp, at t)ie very place where the engagement took place in the morning, and opened thoir packs for refreshment. While thus engaged, D 50 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM a detachment of two hundred of the New Hampshire militia, under the brave Captain McGinnes, who had been dispatched from Fort Edward to the assistance of the main body, fell upon them and completely routed them. Captain McGinnes fell in the action. A large number of jDrisoners were taken. For this victory General Johnson was rewarded with a baronetcy, and a gift of five hundred pounds. It was in this battle of Lake George, that Thayendane- gea, the young Mohawk chief, better known as Joseph Brant, made his first appearance on the field of war. He was only thirteen years old. In relating the particyilars of the bloody engagement, some time after, he stated, that " he was seized with such a tremor when the firing com- menced, that he was obliged to take hold of a sapling to steady himself; but, after a few volleys, he recovered the use of his limbs, and the composure of his mind, so as to support the character of a brave man." He was born to be a warrior, as his history abundantly proves. " I like,'' said he, when some one was speaking of music, " I like the harpsichord well, and the organ still better ; but I like the drum and trumpet best of all, for they make my heait beat quick." For the purpose of securing the country from the incur- sions of the enemy. General Johnson erected a fort at the place of his encampment, which he named Fort William Henry. The remainder of the season was occupied in completing the intrenchments, with an occasional skir- mish between reconnoitring and foraging parties, but with- out any attempt, on either side, to give or provoke a general engagement. Soon after Putnam's arrival in the camp, he became intimately acquainted with a famous partizan. Captain, after- wards Major, Rogers, whose eminent services, as com M A. J R K O G E U i; . 51 mander of the corps of New Hampshire Rangers, contribute ed so much to the success of this expedition. Rogers kept a journal of his own achievements, and that of his corps, which was published in London, in 1765. It is full of stirring interest, though manifestly incorrect in some re- spects. There is a studied omission of the services, and even of the name of Putnam, so glaring as to impress the mind of one acquainted with the facts, that it was the result of some private pique, which the author was not willing to acknowledge. In some essential points, which we shall notice as we proceed, the journal differs entirely from the orderly books of the army ; and, in others, from the nar- rative which Mr. Putnam's biographer. Col. David Hum- phreys, had from his own lips. The discrepancies discover ed relate almost exclusively to those matters in which Put- nam shared the hardship and the glory. There can be no more authentic record of such matters than the orderly books of the army ; and as to Putnam's word, it was always regard- ed, by all who knew him, as worthy of entire and implicit credit. The learned Dr. Dwight, afterwards President of Yale College, was his intimate friend. He was not a man to " give flattering titles to any," or sacrifice truth to the mere euphony of a panegyric, It was he who wrote the epitaph upon Putnam's tomb, in which, after commending his patriotism and his martial virtues, as above all praise, he speaks of him as " a man, whose generosity was singu- lar, whose honesty was proverbial^'''' &c. Dr. Dwight al- ludes to him elsewhere in his writings, and always with the same unlimited confidence. " His word," says he, " was regarded as ample security for anything for which it was pledged, and his uprightness commanded absolute con- fidence." The omissions in Rogers' journal are the more remark* able, since it was to Putnam that the writer was once in 52 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. debted for the preservation of his life, at the hazard of his own. Whether it was Putnam's frank, open, repubhcan simplicity of manners, or his bold and successful darings threatening an eclipse to his own fame as a ranger, that rendered him both ungrateful and oblivious in these cases, it is impossible now to decide. It is clear, however, that he had little feehng in common with his countrymen, and that, when he performed the remarkable services ascribed to him in " the Seven Years' war," it was not as an Ameri- can, but as a loyal servant of his majesty. This loyalty he retained to the end ; and, when the war of the Revolution broke out, he was found in the British service, fighting against the liberties of the land of his birth. His journal was published in London the same year with the passage of the stamp act, and after the dispute between the colo • nies and the mother country had begun to wax uncomfort- ably warm.* Sometimes in company with Rogers, and sometimes alone, Putnam was employed in reconnoitering the enemy's lines, gaining intelligence of his movements, and taking straggling prisoners, as well as in beating up the quarters; and surprising the advanced picquets of their army. For these purposes, in addition to the regular corps of Rangers, under Captain Rogers, Putnam and his corps, as we have already stated, though not originally drafted for such a service, were assigned to these difficult and perilous under- takings. The first time the two Captains went out toge- ther, it w^as the fortune of Putnam to preserve the life of Rogers, by striking down with his own hands a French- man, who was about to plunge a dagger into his heart. The object of the expedition, on which they were de- tached, was to obtain an accurate knowledge of the posi- tion of the enemy, and the state of the fortifications &i ♦ See Appendix, No. 1. SAVES THE LIFE OF MAJOU ROGERS. 53 Crown Point. The fort was so situated that it was impos- sible to approach it with their whole party, near enough to effect the purpose of their mission, without being discovered. To go alone, was to expose themselves to a hazard which was hardly justifiable, on account of the swarms of hostile Indians, who infested the woods. Determined, however, not to return without an attempt to accomplish their object, the two leaders left all their men in covert at a convenient distance, with strict orders to rernu^n carefully concealed till their return ; and crept stealthily forward, under cover of the darkness, till they reached the near vicinity of the fortress. Here they laid during the night, without making any satisfactory discoveries. Early in the morning they approached nearer, and spent considerable time in examin- ing the defences from several points of view. Having completed their observations, and obtained all the informa- tion they desired upon the several points to which their attention had been directed, they were about returning to their covert, when Rogers, being separated from his com- rade a short distance, suddenly encountered a stout French- man, who, instantly giving the alarm to a guard near by, seized his fusee with one hand, and with the other made a desperate effort to stab him. x\ severe struggle ensued. The guard answered the call, and there was imminent danger of having the whole garrison upon them at once. Perceiving that no time was to be lost, and that further alarm would be given, and their danger greatly increased, if he should fire, ^ut- nani sprang upon the Frenchman, administered a heavy blovv^ upon his head with the butt end of his musket, and laid him dead at his feet. Thus relieved, and expecting instant pursuit, they flew with the utmost speed to the mountains, joined their party in ambush, and returned^ 54 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. vvilhout further incident, to the camp. This was in the latter part of October. The fortress at Crown Point being found too strong, and too ably garrisoned, to justify an attack, and the season being now far advanced, the greater part of the army was discharged, reserving only six hundred men, under the immediate command of General Johnson, to garrison Forts Edward and William Henry. The French, in the mean time, took possession ' ^e^^iconderoga, at the northern out- let of Lake George, and fortified it strongly. The colonial troops having enlisted only for the cam- paign, Captain Putnam's term of service ended with the season, and he returned home to pass the winter in the quiet enjoyment of domestic life, and to look after the inte- rests of his growing family and his thrifty farm, With a versatility peculiar to a pioneer life, he exchanged 'the sword for the ploughshare, and the gilded military coat for the homespun frock, equally willing and able to till tte soil, as to fight in its defence. CHAPTER IV. THE CAMPAIGN OF 1756. PUTNAm's SERVICES AS A RANGER. Putnam re-appointed — Plan of the campaign — Montcalm's success at Oswego and Fort George — The English put upon the defensive — The active services of the Rangers — Adventure of Putnam and Durkee at "The Ovens" — Arrangement of the French camp— The scouts within the lines — Fired upon — Their narrow escape — Their lodgings— Canteen sprung a leak — Baggage train plundered at Half-Way Brook — Putnam and Rogers sent in pursuit of the plunderers — Successful encounter with the boats — Pursued in their turn — Rencontre with a superior force at Sabbath-day Point — The enemy defeated and dispersed— Another adventure — Patnam sent out to take a prisoner — Cowardly conduct of his men — Defeat- ed in his object — His escape — His ultimate success — Importance of this kind of service — Putnam's peculiar fitness for it. The plan of the campaign of 1756, as agreed upon in a council of the colonial governors, held at Albany in the early part of the season, was similar to that of the preced- ing year — having for its object the reduction of Crown Point, Niagara, and Fort Duquesne. Putnam was re-ap- pointed to his command, under his old leader — Major- General Abercrombie being commander-in-chief until the latter part of July, when he was superseded by the Earl of Loudoun. The expedition against Crown Point was committed to Major-General Winslow, which he was to conduct with the provincial forces alone, without any aid from the British troops, who were reserved to garrison and defend the forts. The astonishing success of Montcalm at Forts Oswf go 56 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. and George, which he razed to the ground, diverted the British General from his offensive movement towards Crown Point. General Winslow was arrested in his pre- parations for this service, and ordered to fortify his own camp, in anticipation of an attack from the enemy, and an attempt to advance into the country, below the Lake Champlain,by way of South Bay or Wood Creek. Gene- ral Webb, with fourteen hundred men, was stationed at the great carrying place, near Wood Creek ; and Sir Wil- liam Johnson, with one thousand, at the German Flats, on the Mohawk, and nearly half way to Oswego. In these precautionary and defensive measures the campaign passed off without another battle. But, though a season of inactivity to the body of the army, and the commanders, it was full of stirring incident to Putnam and others, — whose task it was to watch the movements, and annoy the outposts of the enemy. Adven- tures of this kind are sufficiently hazardous in the day- time ; but, when attempted in the night, they are pecu- liarly liable to accidents. Having been commanded to reconnoitre the enemy's camp, at a place called " The Ovens," near Ticonderoga, Captain' Putnam took as a companion in the enterprise, the brave Lieutenant Robert Durkee. In the prosecution of the duties assigned him, he narrowly escaped being made a prisoner himself, in the first instance, and killing his comrade, in the second. It was the custom, with the British and Provincial troops, to arrange their camp fires along the outer lines of their encampment, which gave a great advantage to the enemy's scouts and patrols, laying open the whole extent of the camp to their view, and frequently exposing the sentinels to be picked off by expert marksmen. A contrary, and much more rational practice, prevailed among the French and Indians. They kindled their fires in the centre, lodged HAZARDOUS R E C O JN x\ O I T R E . 57 their men circularly at a distance, and posted their senti- nels in the surrounding dailiness. Ignorant of this arrange- ment, and supposing that the French sentries were within the circle of the fires, the bold scouts approached the camp, creeping upon their hands and knees with the greatest possible caution, until, to their utter astonishment, they found themselves in the very thickest of the enemy. The sentinels, seeing by the light of the fires beyond that some one had passed stealthily without challenge, gave the alarm and fired. Durkee was slightly wounded in the thigh. There was, of course, no alternative but instant flight. Putnam, being foremost, and scarcely able, on turning away from the glare of the fires, to see his hand before him, soon plunged into a clay-pit. Durkee, limping briskly along, tumbled, with no gentle fall, into the same pit. Putnam, not relishing a companion so near, in such circumstances, and supposing him to be one of the pur- suing enemy, was about striking him down, when Durkee, who had followed so closely as to know what company he was in, inquired whether he had escaped unhurt. Instantly recognizing the voice of his friend, and rejoicing to find him also safe, Putnam dropped his weapon, and both, springing from the pit, made good their retreat to the neio-hborino; ledo-es, amid a shower of random shot. Hav- O 7 ing reached a place of safety, they found shelter under the lee of a large log, which afforded them a comfortable lodg- ing for the remainder of the night O o Before composing themselves to sleep, Putnam recol lected that there was a little rum left in his canteen. Thinking it could never be more acceptable, or useful, than at that time, he generously offered to share it with his comrade, in drinking to the confusion of the sentinel who had given them so unceremonious a salutation On 3* 5S LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. examining the canteen, however, which hung under his arm, it was found perfectly dry, having been pierced by one of the balls that had whistled about him in his flight. The temperance men of the present day, would doubtless regard that ball as having done better service than if it had drawn the blood of an enemy. On inspecting his blanket, the next day, it was found to have been pierced in fourteen places. Whether all this boring was the work of one leaden messenger from the French camp, or of many, it must be regarded as one of those remarkable escapes, which can only be referred to the protecting agency of a special providence, of which so many instances are recorded in the annals of the American wars. During the continuance of the army at this place, an incident occurred which illustrates, in a very striking man- ner, the singular courage and ready wit of Mr. Putnam, The garrison had been exceedingly annoyed by a large, powerful, wily Indian, who prowled about the lines under cover of the night, perpetrating all kinds of mischief, and picking off the sentinels apparently at his pleasure, and always eluding the utmost watchfulness of the guards. There was one of the outposts in particular, Mdiich had shared more largely than any other in his regards. For several nights in succession, the sentinel on that post was taken off in a most mysterious manner. The commanding officer had given directions, in case any noise should be heard in the vicinity of the station, that the sentinel should call out, " Who goes there .?" three times, and then, if no answer were returned, fire in the direction of the noise. Night after night, these orders had been given, as the post was supplied with a new sentinel, but without any avail. The post was always found deserted in the morning, until it came to be looked upon as certain death to venture upoD duty at that place V O L U N I B, a R S AS \ S E iN T 1 N E L . 59 At> is usual, in well appointed armies, the post of danger was sought for by the best men in the garrison ; and already a number of the bravest and most valuable soldiers had fallen in this hazardous service. It began to be diffi- cult to obtain volunteers. At length the post was utterly declined. The commander was making preparations to supply the place by lot, when Mr. Putnam, whose station as a commissioned officer excused him from all such duties as this, stepped forward, and solicited the honor of standing guard for the night. His offer was promptly accepted. Relying upon the rule he had already laid down, the com- mander reiterated the instructions he had given to previous sentinels, saying : " If you hear any sound from without the lines, you will call ' Who goes there V three times, and then, if no answer be given, fire." With these instruc- tions, and a promise to give a good account of himself th** next day, Putnam proceeded to his post. Having examined, with the utmost scrutiny, every tree, and shrub, and rock, in the neighborhood ; measured v;ith accuracy every point in the area around him; fixed their bearings and distances in his mind, and looked well to the condition of his musket, he commenced his monotonous tramp, to and fro, along his portion of the line His plan of operations had been fully digested in his owr. mind, before he volunteered ; and it will be seen, in the sequel, that he perfectly understood the nature of the Indian's artifice, and the manner in which he had taken advantage of the previous sentinels. For several hours, nothing occurred to attract his notice, or disturb his thoughts. At length, about midnight, his quick ear discerned a slight rustling among the grass, as of an animal stealthily approaching, or passing his post. Presently, this rustling was followed by a crackling sound, 'ike that made by a hog munching acorns. Determine<.^ 60 LIFE OF G E N E U A L F U 1 N A M . that not even a hog should trespass with impunity upon his premises, he raised his musket to his shoulder, and adjusting his aim with great care toward the spot from which the sounds proceeded, called out, " Who goes there three times ?" and instantly discharged his piece. It was followed by a deep groan, and a struggle as of one in the agonies of death. On examining the spot, a huge Indian was found, disguised in a bear-skin, and now just breathing his last. He had been shot through the heart. From that time the sentinels paced their rounds unmolested, and the fatal outpost lost its pre-eminence as the post of danger.* In the course of the summer, a body of the enemy, con- sisting of six hundred men, attacked the baggage and provision waggons of the American army, at a place called Half-way Brook — it-being^-€qui-distant4rom Fort Edward and Fort William Henry. Having killed the oxen, and plundered the waggons, they retreated with their booty, experiencing but little interruption from the small body of troops by whom the convoy was escorted. When the tidings of this disaster reached the camp. Captains Put- nam and Rogers were ordered to pursue the plunderers, and recover or destroy their booty. They were directed to embark with one hundred volunteers in boats, with two wall-pieces, and as many blunderbusses, and proceed dowa Lake George to a certain point, there to leave the bat- teaux under a proper guard, and thence to cross by land, so as to harass, and, if possible, intercept the retreating enemy at the narrows. * This incident was furnished by a fjentleman of the first le- spectability^ to whom it was communicated some thirty years ago, by Jared Scarborough, Esq., of Brooklyn, a neighbor and inti« mate friend of Putnam, and a sharer in soire of his military enter prises. A DOUBLE VICTORY. 61 These orJers were executed with so much spirit and punctuahty, that the party arrived at the spot designated for the attack a full half hour before the hostile boats came in view. Waiting under cover of the woods until the enemy, wholly unsuspicious of the ambush, entered the narrows, their boats deeply loaded with plunder, the volunteers commenced a brisk and galling fire. They poured in upon them volley after volley, killed many of the oarsmen, sunk a number of the boats, and would have cut off the whole body, encumbered as they were with baggage, had not a strong wind, favoring their des- perate exertions to escape, swept a few of them through the narrows into the South Bay, and beyond the reach of the guns of their assailants. This shattered remnant of the little fleet, pushing on with desperate speed to Ticon- deroga, reported the disaster, and gave information that Putnam and Rogers were at the narrows, with a large detachment of provincials. A fresh party, of three hundred French and Indians, was instantly despatched to intercept them on their return to Fort Edward, and cut them in pieces. Anticipating the probability of such an attempt, and being fully twenty miles from their boats, they strained every nerve to reach them before night. With incredible exertion they effect- ed their object, and were soon embarked, and moving briskly down the lake. On the following day, having pro- ceeded as far as Sabbath-day Point, they discovered on shore the pursuing party, who must have passed them un- perceived in the night. As soon as the boats came in view, the French embarked with great alacrity, and rowed out into the lake, to give them battle. They advanced in regular line, with a bold and confident air, felicitating themselves upon the certain prospect of an easy victory, from the great superiority of their numbers. Flushed with t>2 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM these expectations, they were permitted to come within pistol shot before a gun was fired. Then, at a signal, the wall pieces and blunderbusses, which had been brought to rake the enemy in their most vulnerable point, were simultaneously discharged. No such broadside reception as this having been anticipated, the assailants were thrown into the utmost disorder. The confusion and dismay was greatly increased by a well-directed and most destructive fire from the small arms. The larger pieces being re- loaded without annoyance, continued, alternately with the musketry, to make such dreadful havoc, that the enemy never recovered from the first surprise and dismay, suffi- ciently to make one vigorous effort to rally. The rout was complete. The loss of the French was very great. In one of the canoes, containing twenty Indians, only five escaped. From other boats great numbers, both of French and Indians, were seen to fall overboard. The remainder, crippled and shattered, and laden with the wounded and the dying, glad of an opportunity to abandon the scene of so mortifying and terrible a defeat, were driven back to Ticonderoga. Of the American party, only one man M'as killed, and two slightly wounded. Having dispersed their enemies, they landed on the Point, refreshed themselves at leisure, and then returned in good order and high spirits to the British camp, having inflicted upon an enemy vastly superior in numbers a most mortifying defeat, and an amount of loss scarcely inferior to that of some pitched battles. The loss of the French, in both engagements, could not have been less than five hundred men — a heavy price to pay for their bold reprisals upon the American baggage train. Another incident occurred soon after, which, though of no great interest in itself, or in its results, will serve to illustrate the nature of the tasks imposed upon a bold and ALMOST A PRISONER. 63 active partisan ; the vigilance, fearlessness, enterprise and prudence they demanded of him, and the imminent peril .to which his life was constantly exposed. The season was far advanced. It was hardly expected that there would be any active hostilities during the present cam- paign, but it was very desirable to obtain, if possible, some definite information of the strength and designs of the enemy. For this purpose Captain Putnam was sent out, with five men, to procure a prisoner from some of the straggling parties of the enemy. Approaching the camp with all the circumspection of an Indian scout, he found a place of concealment exactly adapted to his purpose, in a thicket that skirted the road leading from Ticonderoga to the Ovens. His men, whose valor for the moment got the better of their discretion, ascribing the caution of their leader to cowardice, were verj'' unwilling to confine them- selves within this covert. It was with difficulty that they were prevented from exposing themselves in such a man- ner as to defeat entirely the object of their enterprise, and put the lives of the whole party to unnecessary hazard. The issue proved the truth of the common remark, that they v,'ho are most bold and boisterous when no danger is near, are the first to shrink from it, when it approaches. The party had not been long within their covert, when a Frenchman and an Indian passed ; the Indian being con- siderably in advance. Watching his opportunity, when the Indian was far enough off to render any interference on his part improbable, Putnam sprang from the thicket, ordering his men to follow. After running about thirty rods, he overtook the Frenchman, seized him by the shoulder, and commanded him to surrender. His men, who were lately so bold, now realized the advantage of a place of concealment ; and, disregarding the order of their captain, left him to meet single-handed the danger of a 64 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM, conflict with two of their foes. The Frenchman looking round, and perceiving no other enemy, and knowing that his Indian friend would soon be at hand to assist him, ob- stinately resisted being made a prisoner. Putnam, finding himself betrayed by his men into a perilous dilemma, and knowing that no time was to be lost, let go his hold, stepped a few paces back, and levelled his piece at the Frenchman's breast. It missed fire ; whereupon the Frenchman, seeing his advantage, gave the alarm to his Indian comrade, and sprung furiously upon his assailant. Putnam thought it prudent to retreat, and thus drew his enemy off in the direction of the place where his men were posted, and where, if they had not shown themselves too soon, he would inevitably have fallen into their hands They played their part so ill, however, that he discovered the ambuscade in season to effect his escape. It was now a dangerous neighborhood for the American scouts. The alarm had been given, and a diligent and active pursuit was sure to be the consequence. They, therefore, made a precipitate flight, and arrived without accident at their own camp. Mortified with the result of this adven- ture, Putnam dismissed his men with disgrace, selected another party, on whom he could rely with confidence, and set forth again on the same hazardous errand. Of the incidents of this adventure, we are not informed. It was brief and successful, however, as might have been pre- dicted from the character of its leader, for he never aban- doned an enterprise, while there was a reasonable hope of accomplishing it. To those who are unacquainted with the duties and dan- gers of the camp, and with the peculiar difliculties to be overcome, in a country covered with thick forests, and with but few roads besides the Indian footpaths, such insig* nificaut feats as the capture of a single prisoner, or a visit H/S STANDING IN T HEAR MY. 65 of observation. to the enemy's lines, will hardly appear of sufficient importance to be recorded; and the services of the bold and able adventurers, by whom they are achieved, will, of course, be lightly appreciated. They may be assured, however, that they were viewed in a very differ- ent light by the commanders, for whose benefit they were undertaken. There were few men in the army, who could not have been better spared than these ; and, during the greater part of the campaign, they were the only men who were employed in any active service, or knew any- thing of the perils and hardships of war. In this department, no one was more useful, no one stood higher in the estimation of the commanding generals, than Captain Putnam. He was found to be possessed, in happy combination, of all *he qualities required for this peculiar service. To a total insensibility to danger, he united prudence, circumspection, sagacity, and uncommon fertility of resources, which was equal to any exigency. The employment of a scout and a ranger was admirably adapted to bring out and display these peculiar qualities, though, unfortunately for their possessor, the sphere in which he operated was too limited, and the duties he per- formed of too private and confidential a nature, to secure for him a conspicuous place in the history of those times. Such services rarely receive their due award of fame, un- less the brave men who render them become their own trumpeters. They come not within the range of the ordi- nary records of the army. From their very nature, they are concealed from the public gaze at the time of their achievement. They are planned in secret, and executed in secret — their efficiency and success often depending as much upon the fidelity with which their secret character is maintained, as upon any other circumstance. The movements of an army, the fate of a battle — the whole E 6G LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. matter at issue in a war — have often been decided by the information communicated to the commanders by a single scout. Yet his name is not mentioned, nor his agency acknowledged, either by the general in making up his report of the issue, or by the historian in recording it for pos- terity. The simple phrase — " The general having receiv- ed information," &c., covers it all ; vrhile the hazards at which that information was obtained are lost sight of, and the boldness of manoeuvre, the correctness of observation, the sagacity, and sound judgment, required to render it valuable, are credited to the genius and foresight of the commander. Putnam kept no journal. A few of his adventures were partially preserved in the orderly books, and some found their way into the newspapers of the day ; while some were transmitted from friend to friend, for many years, without appearing in print. He enjoyed an uncommon popularity in the army. " He was endeared to the soldiers, by the cheerfulness with which he shared their perils and privations, and the gallantry which suffered none to go, where he did not himself lead the way ; to his superior officers, by the energy and promptness with which he executed their commands ; and he began to rise, in the estimation of the public generally, as one who was des- tined to become distinguished in a broader field of action " CHAPTER V. THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757 Putnam promoted to be a Major — Inefficiency of the British Generais — Hopes of the colonies — Lord Loudoun suddenly disconcerted — Ge- neral Webb visits Fort William Henry — Putnam reconnoitres the enemy — An attack on the fort threatened — Webb returns to Fort Edward — Sends a reinforcement to Fort William Henry — Sum- mons from Montcalm to surrender — Timid policy of Webb — The fortress capitulates — Shameful massacre by the Indians — Putnam visits the scene of carnage — Unexpected assault upon Captain Little and his fatigue party — Relieved by Major Putnam — Diso- bedience — Fire in the barracks — Putnam's heroic and successful exertions in subduing tlie flames — Narrow escape of the garrison. [n 1757 the Legislature of Connecticut conferred on Put- lam the commission of a Major. Notwithstanding the many reverses of the Anglo-American forces hitherto, great exertions were made for opening this campaign with an army that should make success almost certain. What might have been the result,^had this army been guided by a competent commander, it is impossible to say. But the British government, refusing to learn wisdom from the disasters of past years, persisted in placing the whoie con- trol of the affairs of the colonies in the hands of English officers, who knew nothing of the country, and scorned to take the smallest advice from the provincials with whom they were associated. In the present instance, they were more than usuall}'' unfortunate in their selection. Of all the generals who served at any time in America, Lord Loudoun was the most incompetent to the arduous service 68 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. He nad superseded General Abercrombie about the middle of the previous campaign, and had been frightened, by the success of Montcalm at Oswego, from attempting any other measures than those of mere defence. During the winter his Lordship made large requisitions upon the colonial Legislatures for the increase of the army. The call was responded to with great alacrity. At the same time, a large fleet and army arrived from Europe, and the colonists began to look upon the speedy downfall of the power of France in America as almost certain. Their hopes were doomed to a bitter ^iisappointment. Instead of following up, as they expected, the designs of the previous campaigns, by striking a decisive blow in the direction of Canada, and shielding their northern frontiei from the continual inroads of the enemy, the commander- in-chief, under pretence of concentrating all his force upon one point, and achieving a certain and brilliant victory there, turned his whole attention upon Louisburg, in the island of Cape Breton. It v/as midsummer before his preparations for this expedition were completed. When all things were ready, and his forces, both naval and mili- tary, assembled at Halifax, he learned that a powerful fleet had arrived at Louisburg; from Brest, with a large reinforcement for the garrison. This disconcerted all his plans. The expedition was at once abandoned, and with it all idea of offensive operations. It required but a single demonstration on the part of the enemy to exhaust the valor of the over-discreet Earl, and throw him upon his defence. Leaving the fleet to watch the motions of the French, he returned to New York to refresh himself for the next year's campaign. Meanwhile, the French commander, Montcalm, securo with respect to Louisburg, and encouraged by the dive FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 69 sion in that direction of so large a part of the British forces, determined to make a bold push to secure the entire possession of Lake George. The condition of Fort William Henry, the frontier post of the Americans, was such as to invite assault. It was an ill-constructed and ill-appointed fortification, occupying a small eminence, which rose gradually from the waters of the lake, near its southern extremity. It was garrisoned at that time by about three thousand men, under Colonel Munroe, while General Webb, who commanded in the northern depart- ment, was stationed at Fort Edward, about fifteen miles below, with a considerably larger force. He was an offi- cer of nearly as much courage and capacity as Lord Loudoun, and a fit representative of that nobleman in any situation where he might be placed. About the first of August, this valorous commander — who always took especial care to provide for his own safety— proceeded, under the escort of Major Putnam, with two hundred chosen men, to examine in person the state of the defences at Fort William Henry. While there, Putnam proposed to go down the lake, with a party of five men, and reconnoitre the enemy's position at Ticon- deroga, and the adjacent posts. This proposition was rejected by the prudent com- mander as altogether too hazardous. At length, how- ever, he was permitted to undertake the enterprise with eighteen volunteers. They immediately embarked in three whale-boats, and set forward on their expedition. Before reaching Northwest Bay, the place where they proposed to land, they discovered a large body of the enemy on an island. Satisfied that this indicated a south- ward movement of the French, preparatory to an attack upon our fortresses, and desirous, in case he and his party sliould be cut off or taken, to put his commander upon his 70 L I F E O F GENERAL PUTNAM. guard, he immediately directed two of the boats to lie to, as if for the purpose of fishing, while he with the other returned to report progress. The general, seeing him rowing back with great speed, in a single boat, and sup- posing that the others had fallen into the hands of the enemy, sent out a skiff, with orders for the major alone to come on shore. After making his report to the gene- ral, and explaining what he conceived to be the evident design of the enemy, he proposed returning immediately, to rejoin his companions, and prosecute his discoveries still further. Webb, unwilling to part with his escort in such an alarming emergency, preferred leaving the two boats to their fate, rather than send so brave a man to bring them off. Putnam was urgent, however, and the general yielded a reluctant assent. Pushing vigorously out, he found his men where he had left them, though more intent upon the motions of the men on shore, than upon securing a very large draught of fishes. Passing on a little farther, he presently encountered a large number of boats in motion on the lake — from the foremost of which he was enabled to escape only by the superior lieetness of his own, and the vigorous exertions of his row^ers. Convinced, beyond a doubt, that this formidable arma- ment was destined against Fort William Henry, he hasten- ed his return to that place, and communicated to General Webb all he had seen, and his views of the object of the hostile expedition. That commander, strictly enjoining silence on the subject, directed him to put his men under an oath of secresy, and to prepare, without loss of time, to return to the head-quarters of the army. Major Putnam argued strenuously against such a desertion of the post in the moment of danger, and earnestly pleaded the duty of meeting the enemy on the shore, should he presume ta M l> N R E REFUSES V O CAPITULATE. 71 land. But General Webb was resolute in his decision. He would neither remain himself, nor suffer his escort to remain. Accordingly, the following day, he returned to Fort Edward, and sent up a detachment to reinforce the o-arrison at Fort William Henry. The day following its arrival, Montcalm invested the fortress with a force of seven thousand French and Canadian soldiers, and two thousand Indians. To resist this formidable army, there were only twenty- five hundred men in the garrison. Their commander, Colonel Munroe, was a gallant officer, and worthy of the post of danger. It was the third of August, when Mont- calm commenced the siege with a summons to surrender. In his letter to Colonel Munroe, he urged the capitulation by considerations of humanity ; declaring that he had an engine of such fearful power in his hands, that, when once set in motion, it would be impossible to check or control it. His influence over his Indian allies, to restrain them from the commission of every atrocity, would be utterly lost, as soon as the first drop of blood was shed. No writ- ten answer was given to this summons. A verbal reply was returned by the bearer, that the fort would be defend- ed to the last extremity. With this resolution, the garrison held out until the ninth. In the meantime, Colonel Munroe had found means to send several expresses to Fort Edward, sohciting relief in the most urgent manner, and declaring his inten- tion to hold out till relief should arrive. But, though the force at that place had been considerably increased by the arrival of General Johnson's troops, and the miHtia, Webb resolved that no succor could be afforded to the beleaguer- ed fortress So urgent, however, M^ere the solicitations of Sir William Johnson, that, after several days, that worthy officer, with as many as would volunteer for the 7^ LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM servi(;e, marched for its relief. The privilege was eagerly embraced by the provincials, including Putnam's corps. They had scarcely been gone an hour, however, when the general's heart failed him, and a messenger was dispatch- ed, ordering their instant return. 't was this miserable, shameful pusillanimity, on the pail of the commander of the northern department, that occasioned the loss of Fort William Henry, and the bloody tragedy that followed its surrender. When, some time after this, Putnam was a prisoner in Canada, he was assur- ed by Montcalm himself, that the siege would have been abandoned, if this reinforcement had been suffered to go forward. He was informed of its approach by one of his Indian scouts ; who, on being questioned relative to its numbers, replied, in the figurative style peculiar to that people : " If you can count the leaves on the trees, you can count them.'''' On the receipt of this intelligence, the operations of the siege were actually suspended, and preparations were made for embarking ; while it was manifest that a new spirit was infused into the besieged by the assurance which these preparations gave, that the siege was about to be raised. Meanwhile, another runner came in, and reported that this formidable reinforcement had been recalled. The siege was, consequently, renewed with more vigor than ever. AlU expectations of relief were now at an end. Two af the largest guns of the fort had burst ; their ammunition was almost exhausted ; and further resislance seemed obviously unavailing. At this juncture, a letter was received from General Webb, advising a surrender, and stating, definitively, that no succor could be expected from Fort Edward. Articles of capitulation were, accordingly, agreed upon and signed Honorable terms were granted S H A .\. C F U L MASSACRE BY THE INDIANS / 3 to the garrison, " on account of their honorable defence," as it was expressed in the articles. They were to march out with the honors of war, with their arms and baggage, and retire under an escort to Fort Edward, with a solemn pledge of protection against the Indians. This pledge, however, was shamefully disregarded. The scene which followed is one of the darkest in the bloody annals of war, and, even at this distant day, can hardly be recited with- out a thrill of horror. The troops began their march of evacuation. The last files had scarcely issued from the gates, when the whole body of Indians attached to the French army fell upon them with the fury of hungry tigers, and commenced an indiscriminate slaughter. Great numbers were killed. Many we^e taken prisoners, and dragged off to a captivity worse than death, in the deep forests of the west. A miserable remnant escaped, among whom was the gallant Munroe, and reached Fort Edward m a most forlorn condition. Different writers have taken different views of the con- duct of the French general, in relation to this cruel massa- cre. Some declare, as the testimony of those who were eye-witnesses of the scene, that no efforts were made by the French to arrest these atrocities ; no protection, de- manded alike by honor and humanity, was given to those to whom it had been sacredly pledged. Others say, that the utmost exertions of the French commander were used to restrain his savage allies ; and that he and his officers did everything, except firing upon the Indians, to put a stop to the merciless butchery. For the honor of huma- nity, it is to be hoped that the latter judgment is correct ; and charity inclines us to accept it. There is certainly something to sustain it, in the caution which accompanied the original summons to surrender. The panic-stricken Webb, expecting that this decisive 4 /4 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. victory would be followed up by a similar demonstration against Fort Edward, sent out Captain Putnam with his corps, to watch the motions of the enemy. His previous conduct leaves us little room to doubt, that he would have abandoned his post at once, without firing a gun, if Mont- calm had turned his face in that direction. With such men as these to control the movements of the army, it is no matter of surprise, that the earlier campaigns of the Seven Years' war presented a continual series of disaster, defeat and desolation. Putnam reached the scene of carnage, just as the rear- guard of the enemy were embarking on the lake. The fort was dismantled and demolished. The cannon, stores and water-craft were all carried off. The barracks, outhouses and sutlers' booths had been fired, and were still burning, and hundreds of human bodies lay, half consumed, among the smoking ruins. More than one hundred women were found among them, some with the brains still oozing from their battered heads ; others with their hairless sculls in ghastly baldness, the entire crown having been wrenched away ; many mangled, lacerated, hacked to pieces, and violated with all the wanton mutilations of savao;e ino;e- nuity, lay entirely naked among the heaps of the slain sol- diers, as if the last effort of the wife to cling to her hus- band for protection, and the last wish of the husband to raise his arm in her defence, had brought down a tenfold vengeance upon the heads of both. To the generous, warm-hearted Putnam, whose sympathies were ever alive to the sufferings of his comrades, and whose constant aim it \vas to mitigate, by every means in his powei, the hor- rors of war, the spectacle must have been truly appalling. We feel, as we shudder over the dreadful account, that there was some apology for the exterminating retribution, which our fathers visited upon so merciless a foe F A T I O U E - P A R T Y A T T A C K L D BY INDIANS. 75 Not long after this disaster, General Lyman succeeded lo the command of Fort Edward. He immediately set l)imself to strengthening its defences, which the French commander resolved, if possible, to prevent, intending, at an early day, to visit it in the same manner as he had done Fort William Henry. A part}^ of one hundred and fifty men were sent out into the neiohborino; forest to cut timber for the fort. To protect them in their labors, Captain Jiittle, with fifty British regulars, was posted at the head of a morass, about one hundred rods eastward from the fort. From this station there was a narrow causeway leading to the fort, flanked on one side by the morass, and on the other by a small creek. One morning, at break of day, the attention of one of the sentinels was arrested, by what he conceived to be birds, coming up from the thicket of the morass, and flying with incredible swiftness over his head. While wonder- ing what species of bird it could be, whose flight W'as so rapid as to elude observation, he was suddenly enlight- ened by seeing one of these winged messengers, in the shape of an Indian arrow, quivering in the tree just over his head. A large body of savages had crept stealthily into the morass during the night, and were attempting, in this manner, to pick ofl* the sentinel, without creating an alarm, in order to surprise and cut off* the whole party. The alarm was instantly given. The Indians, finding themselves discovered, rushed from their covert upon the unarmed laborers, shot and tomahawked those who were nearest at hand, and pressed hard on the remainder, as they fled in dismay towards the fort. Captain Little amd his band flew to their arms, and pouring in a well-timed and spirited fire, checked the pursuit, and covered the retreat of the fatigue-men, till those who were not wound- ed in the first onset, were enabled to reach the shelter of 76 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. the fort. His little party, being almost overpowefed by superior numbers, he sent to General Lyman for assistance But that commander, taken by surprise, ignorant of the extent of the danger, and imagining that this assault was only the precursor of a general attack from the main body of the enemy, called in his outposts, and shut the gates, and left the brave band to their fate. Major Putnam, with his corps of Rangers, was stationed at one of the outposts, on a small island adjacent to the fort. Hearing the discharge of the musketry, and learning from his runners that his friend, Capt. Little, was in immi- nent peril of being cut off, he plunged into the river, fol- lowed by his men, and waded through the water to the scene of action. Passing near the fort on his way, Gene- ral Lyman was apprised of his movement. Unwilling that the lives of a few more brave men should be exposed to what he deemed inevitable destruction, he mounted the parapet, and ordered him to proceed no farther. The bold ranger, willing to jeopard not only his life, but, if ne- cessary, his standing, in order to rescue his friend, made a brief apology, and, without waiting to ascertain whether it was satisfactory, hurried on to the scene of conflict. In a few minutes they had opened their way to the little hand- ful of regulars, who maintained their ground with the utmost gallantry. At the suggestion of Putnam, the whole party now rushed impetuously, with shouts and huzzas, into the swamp. The charge was completely successful. The Indians fled in every direction, and were pursued with great slaughter until night-fall. On the part of the chase, only one man was killed during the pursuit ; and his death was immediately revenged by that of the Indian who shot him. This Indian was one of that valuable class, called Runners — a chosen body of active young men, whose principal occupation is to procure intelligence, and CENSIT-RE EXPECTED BUT ESCAPED. 77 convey tidings ; but who are sometimes employed in cov- ering the rear on a retreat. Returning in triumph from the chase, Putnam expected a reprimand, if not something more severe, from his com- mander. It was the only instance, in the course of his military career, in which he failed to render the strictest obedience to orders. His motive in this case was highly commendable, and his apology was strongly fortified by the brilliant -success of his sortie. But neither purity of motive, nor brilliancy of success, can sanction a departure from the rigid rules of discipline, which are absolutely necessary to the maintenance of order and authority in the camp. So seductive is the influence of a brave man's example, particularly when, crowned with new laurels, he returns from some splendid achievement, undertaken in contravention of the positive orders of his superior, that, however elevated the rank of the officer, or however meri- torious the service rendered, it would not be well to pass it by unheeded. According to the ordinary usages of war, Putnam should have been subjected to a court-martial, immediately on his return. Why this usage was departed from in his case we are not informed. It is probable, however, that General Lyman, when he recovered from his alarm, and found that no assault was intended, was more ready to admit the apology of his subaltern, than he would otherwise have been, since it saved him from the painful reflection that a brave band of his own men had been unnecessarily exposed to be cut in pieces b}'- a supe- rior force. He chose to treat his order rather as advisa- tory than peremptory, and commending the good conduct of his men, welcomed them, with a hearty good will, to their quarters. During the ensuing winter, when the army were com fortably sheltered in their quarters at Fort E4ward, a "'la 78 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. broke out in tlie barracks, adjacent to the north-western Dastion. Within twelve feet of these barracks stood the magazine, containing three hundred barrels of powder. The fire was so far advanced, when it was first discovered, that it raged with great violence, almost bidding defiance to every effort to extinguish it. By the orders of Colonel Haviland, who then commanded at this post, several pieces of heavy artillery were brought to bear upon the barracks, with a view of severing their supporters, and thus levelling Ihem to the ground. The eflTort was unsuccessful, and the flames continued to spread with great rapidity. Major Putnam, who still occupied his outpost station on the adja- cent island, hearing the alarm, and seeing the smoke and flames rising in a dense column to the clouds, hastened to the fort to render what assistance he could. When he arrived, the flames were spreading fiercely in the direction of the magazine, which was now in imminent danger. By his suggestion, a hne of soldiers was formed through a postern gate to the river, from which a constant supply of water was conveyed. Putnam, mounting a ladder to the eaves of the building, received the water, and distri- buted it upon the burning rafters, with a perseverance that had well nigh cost him his life. Notwithstanding all their efforts, the flames continued to gain upon him, but he stood to his post undaunted, completely enveloped in smoke, and so near the sheet of flame, that a pair of thick blanket mit- tens was entirely burned from his hands. Calling for ano- ther pair, w^hich he dipped in water and kept thoroughly wet, he persevered in his perilous efforts to subdue the devourino; element. Colonel Haviland, considerina; his iiiluatioa to be too dangerous, urged him to come down and try some other means that Involved less personal expo* sure. He replied that there was no hope but in resisting the enemy inch by inch, and that a moment's suspension FIRE IN T H K GARRISON. 79 of their eflbrts might give it an advantage vi^hich would prove fatal to them all. He therefore entreated to he suf- fered to remain, while there was the smallest chance of accomplishing anything by his endeavors. The gallant Colonel, not less astonished than charmed at the coolness and intrepidity of the Major, was encouraged to renewed exertions. He gave orders to arrest the movements of the men, who were carrying away their valuables from the fort, and animated them to redoubled diligence in their efforts to extinguish the flames, exclaiming, with the heroic enthusiasm of a true soldier, " If we Ji^^st be blown up, we will all go together.'' At length the flames had spread over the whole extent of the barracks, and began to shoot out fearfully toward the magazine. Putnam descended from the tottering build- ing, took his station between it and the magazine, and con- tinued, from an incessant rotation of replenished buckets, to resist their further progress. His efforts were bravely and ably seconded by oflicers and men. So near was the fire, and so intense the heat, that the outside plank sheath- ing of the m.agazine was soon consumed, leaving only a partition of timber between the raging element and a de- posit of fifteen tons of powder. When this partition, aheady charred and smoking, was exposed to view, the consternation became general and extreme. Had a coun- cil of war been convened on the instant, it would undoubt- edly have ordered a precipitate retreat. But the heat and enthusiasm of the contest left no room for consultation or reflection. It was an hour for action, not for debate. Put- nam, still undaunted, covered with a cloud of cinders, singed and scorched on every side, maintained his position, pouring an incessant stream of water upon the mao-azine. vintil the rafters of the barracks falling in, the source of the 80 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. fire was cut off, and the safety of the remaining "works cn sured. For an hour and a half he had contended with that ter- rible element. His face, his hands, his arms, and almost his whole body were blistered with the intensity of the heat, to which he had been exposed ; and when he pulled off his second pair of mittens, the skin from his hands and fingers followed them. Several weeks elapsed, before he recovered from the effects of this exposure. His suffer- ings were great, but he was amply rewarded by the warmly expressed and kind attentions of his commanding officer, to whom his remarkable merits in the service had already greatly endeared him, as well as by the consciousness that he had been instrumental in preserving the fortress, and saving the lives of many, perhaps all of the garrison CHAPTER VI. CAMPAIGN OF 1758. ABERCROMEIE's ASSAULT UPO» TICONDEROGA, iVZr. Pitt Prime Minister of England — Lord Loudoun superseded hy General Abercrombie — Putnam on a reconnoitering expedition — Constructs a small parapet at South Bay — Shoots a buck — Starts an enemy — Molang and his party — Their stealthy advance — Sud- denly arrested— A sharp conflict in the dark — The enemy defeated in an attempt to turn Putnam's flank — Immense loss of the French —Putnam orders a retreat — Unexpected meeting with a party of friends — A reinforcement — Ticonderoga — An expedition under General Abercrombie against the French — Skirmish with advanced guard — Death of Lord Howe — His high reputation — His death speedily avenged — Putnam's kindness to the wounded — A new encampment — The assault — The retreat — Major Putnam's activity — General Abercrombie responsible for the disastrous issue of the expedition. Up to the commencement of the year 1758, little else than disaster attended the arms of the British in America. So humiliatinor was the result, considering the formidable pre- parations that had been made for carrying on the war, and the promptness and efficiency with.which the colonies responded to the requisitions made upon them, that the king was compelled, by the clamorous voice of the people, to change his ministers. K new and powerful administra- tion was formed, at the head of which was Mr. Pitt, after- ward Lord Chatham, a man whose pre-eminent talents and commanding energy of character, made, and kept, the name* of his country respected in every quarter of the globe ' F 62 L/FE OF (;ENERAL PUTNAM. He assumed the helm of state in the summer of 1757, and his attention was at once directed to the conduct of the war in this country. The colonies, justly appreciating his vigor and talents, and feelino; a perfect confidence in his administration, renewed their generous but exhausting efforts to recruit the army for the next campaign. The extent of their exertions can only be understood, w^hen it is considered that Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire supplied fifteen thousand men, at a time when their combined resources could hardly have been equal to those of any one of them at the present moment. The imbecile Lord Loudoun was recalled ; and General Abercrombie resumed the command of the Northern De- partment. Soon after his arrival at Fort Edward, he ordered Major Putnam to proceed, with sixty men, to South Bay, at the low^er end of Lake George, for the pur- pose of w^atching the motions of the enemy, and intercept- ing their straggling parties. In compliance with these orders, the detachment marched to Wood Creek, near the point where it flows into South Bay, and immediately commenced the construction of a parapet for defence, in case of a sudden attack. The position was well chosen, on a bank, which forms a jutting precipice, overhanging the creek ten or twelve feet above the water. The para- pet was of stone, thirty feet in length, and was very inge- niously concealed from the view of any one who might be passing, by a considerable number of young pines, brought from a distance, and artfully disposed so as to imitate the natural growth. The service of a scout requires the utmost caution and silence in all his movements. It is contrary to established rules, and universal practice, to fire a gun, except at au enemy ; or to make any other noise which might expose the party to observation. From this necessary rule of I\l () I. A N G A N D HIS PA R T Y . S3 cautio.i, Pulnam was obliged for once to deviate, on the fourth day after the completion of his little fortress. Al- though he had sent back to the camp fifteen of his men who were disabled by sickness, his stock of provisions was quite. exhausted. A tempting opportunity to eke out his supply for another day, was offered by the appearance of a fine fat buck, that issued from the wood, with intent to swim across the crt?ek in the vicinity of his camp ; and the prudent scout ventured a single shot to bring him in. It proved in the issue an expensive meal, though it was, fortunately, so conducted by this brave little band, as to throw almost the entire cost upon the enemy. A large party of hostile Indians and French soldiers, under the celebrated partizan Molang, was, just at that time, on its way down towards the American encampment in quest of plunder. The report of Major Putnam's mus- ket had reached the ear of one of the advanced guard of this party, and created a suspicion that their motions were watched, by those who might be troublesome to them in their further progress. They, therefore, proceeded with more caution, attempting to steal a passage through the creek under cover of the night— hoping thereby either to come upon their opponents by surprise, or to pass by them unnoticed into the country below. Our liftle fortress was so completely masked, by its artificial cover of fresh pines, as to escape detection even from the practised eye of an Indian. About ten o'clock in the evening, one of the sentinels stationed at the margin of the Bay, gave notice that a considerable fleet of canoes, filled with men, was making its way toward the mouth of the creek. Putnam imme- diately called in all his sentinels, and posted his men to the best advantage, to give the strangers a fitting recep- tion. The creek, into which the enemy soon entered, was S4 LIFE OF GENERAL P U T N A i*x . about thirty yards wide ; and the bank opposite to the? parapet was twenty feet high. The moon was :iy on board the torpedo on the North River side, preparatory to being pulled off into the stream, from whence he was to drop down with the tide, and get under the bottom of the Eagle, which was the flag-ship of Admiral Howe. Putnam, Bushnell, Heath, Knowlton, Burr, and many other officers, accompanied him to the shore. The under^ taking was regarded as extremely hazardous, and no little skill and coolness were required for the successful manage- ment of the machine. If he could once strike the ship, and attach the magazine to any portion of the bottom, her destruction was inevitable. But to do this, great care and judgment were needed, and there were many circum- stances that might interfere with its successful operation. Every thing being ready, Abijah went on board the Tur- tle, and was about to screw himself into the air-tight chamber, when-, suddenly thrusting his head out again, he exclaimed — " Thunder and marlinspikes ! who's got a cud of to- bacco .'' This old cud won't last, any how !" at the same time pulling out an ounce or more of the weed, and throw- ing it away. The officers, not being addicted to this peculiar indul- gence, or having left their boxes at home, the sergeant's odd appeal fexcited only a laugh. Not even a bit of pig- tail could be found, and Abijah was absolutely obliged to do without it — for daylight was near at hand, and it w^as ne- cessary he should move, without a moment's delay. *' Ah ! my brave boy I" said Putnam, "you see how it is — we continental officers are too poor to raise even a tobacco plug. Push off, my line fellow, and to-morrow, when yonder Eagle has taken his last flight, some of the southern officers shall give you an order for a keg of old Virginia." "Too bad !" answered Abijah, despondingly ; "but 230 ■ LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. mind, Gen'ral, if the old Turtle doesn't do her duty, it's all because I go to sea without tobacco." The machine was towed into the stream, and cast off, and Abijah, in his narrow chamber in the Turtle's head, disap- peared under water. For the space of an hour or more, Putnam and his friends w^aited upon the Battery, expect- ing every moment to see the Eagle ascend into the air. When the morning broke, suspense gave way to fear. Nothing was to be seen of the torpedo, and the officers began to mourn for Abijah, as one to be reported among the " missing," at the next call of his regimental muster- roll. Putnam had been intently examining the vicinity of the Eagle with his glass, when he suddenly exclaimed, '' There he is." The top of the machine was just emerging from the water, in a little bay, to the left of the. Eagle. It did not escape the observation of the watchful sentinels on board the ship. A volley of musketry was fired into it, and down popped the Turtle in a twinkling, Abijah not relishing this kind of salutation. Boats were immediately sent from the shore to his assistance, and the Eagle was observed to be getting under weigh in great haste. The sergeant was taken up near Governor's Island. The ma- gazine had been cast off, and being set to run an hour, exploded, at the expiration of that time, with tremendous force, throwing up the water in every direction. The alarm on board the men-of-v/ar was very great. There was an instant heaving at the anchors of the Eagle, the Asia, the Chatham, and all the rest. The har- bor was evacuated without the ceremony of a salute ; and, from that time, till the morning of the battle of Long Island, not an English vessel moved from Staten Island up the bay. NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 23\ On landing, the eccentric sergeant gave the following account of his perilous submarine expedition — *' Just as I said, Gen'ral ! it all failed for want of that cud of tobacoo. You see I am nwro?<5 without tobacco. I got under the Eagle's bottom, but somehow the screw struck the iron bar, that passes from the rudder pinile, and wouldn't hold on, any how I could fix it. Just then I let go the oar to feel for a cud, to steady my narves^ and I hadn't any. The tide swept me under her counter, and away I slipped top o' water. I couldn't manage to get back, so T pulled the lock, and let the thunder-box slide. I say, can't you raise a cud among you, now ?"* The immense advantage, which the British commander possessed over his antagonist, in the well-appointed fleet, under the command of his brother, Admiral Howe, con- stituted one of the many inequalities in this contest, which the Americans found it most difficult to overcome. They had neither navy, nor seamen, nor the means of raising and equipping them ; while the enemy, being amply pro- vided with both, had every facility for moving in any direction, transporting forces and provisions from place to place, and protecting their movements, and flanking their batteries, by the heavy guns of their ships, as well as cut- ting off the communication of their adversary with his dif- ferent posts. It was, therefore, of the highest importance, that some* efficient means should be devised, to resist, and, if possible, destroy this powerful engine of offence ; or, at least to protect from its approaches some of the most vul- nerable and important points in the line of their defences The best mode of doing this became a subject of intense Interest, and deep study, with all those who were actively engaged in the good cause. From the Commander-in- chief to the humblest artisan in his service, every ino;^" ♦ Nogh's Weekly Mcsseng^er. 232 LIFE OF G E. N E R A L PUTNAM nious mind was bent upon devising schemes of annoyance^ which should, in some degree, supply the deficiency of a naval force. Necessity, as in all similar cases, became the mother of invention. A variety of experiments were made, and a very considerable expense incurred, in the prosecution of these inventions. Putnam, who was apt and ingenious in such contrivances, devoted a great deal of attention to them, and was encouraged ui doing so, by the approval of Washington, and of Congress. From this source sprung not only torpedos and turtles, but chevaux- de-frise, both in the Hudson and Delaware, with booms, chains, and sunken hulks, row-galleys, fire-rafts, and other devices. It is true, they were not, in many instances, successful. They answered but little purpose, in check- ing the movements of the enemy, and only in a few cases, disabled any of their vessels. The ships passed over tht; chevaux-de-frise without damage. The row-galleys were too feeble to compete with their heavy guns. The fire- ships failed for want of skill in their management ; and the torpedo was lost by an unfortunate sweep of the tide, or, if we may credit the story of Abijah Shipman, for lack of a quid of tobacco. This torpedo was the most promis- ing of all the inventions of the day, and would, if success- ful in one instance, have done more than any or all the rest, to intimidate the enemy and take away the strength from this right arm of his power. Not knowing when or where to expect it, he would always have approached the shore with fear and trembling, and Putnam and Bushnell would have been regarded as the ablest and most favored of the defenders of thier country. Whether it w^as owing to want of confidence in the scheme, or the feeble state of Bushnell's health, does not appear ; but the experiment was never tried afiain. CHAPTER XVIII. THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN, AND RETREAT FROM LONO ISLAND. Fortifications on Long Island — General Sullivan in command, in consequence of the illness of General Greene — Landing of the British at the Narrows — Sullivan reinforced — Putnam sent to take the command — His orders — Relative position of the armies — Gene- ral Clinton seizes one of the passes through the hills — General Grant makes a feint in the opposite direction — General Stirling detached to meet him — De Heister advances towards Bedford — Clinton gains the rear of Sullivan, while De Heister attacks him in front — Sullivan, in an attempt to retreat, is taken prisoner — Stirling, attempting to regain the lines, is met by Cornwallis — Engages him, to cover the retreat of his division — Is made prisoner — The greater part of his division escapes — Loss of the Americans — Washington in the camp, a witness of the battle — The difficulty of his position — Comments upon the Battle— Masterly retreat. A PORTION of the American army was stationed at BrooK- lyn, on Long Island, under the command of Major-General Greene. It was an important position, and "its defence was deemed absolutely necessary, to secure the possession of the city of New York. It was strongly fortified against an attack from within the island, by a line of defences, extending along the high grounds, from Wall about to Go- wanus Bay, at a distance of about a mile and a half from " The Heights." The remains of its northern redoubt, aalled Fort Greene, are still to be seen, between Myrtle and Fulton Avenues, abo\ e Navy Street. A portion of the line of intrenchments from that point towards Ih^d 234 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM Hook, may also be easily traced, on the south side of Ful- ton Stieet, just below its junction with the Avenue. These will soon disappear before the rapid advances of a popu- lous and thriving city, but Fort Greene is to be preserved, in perpetuo, and ornamented as a public park. These fortifications commanded, from the various points of their extended line, all the approaches from the inte- rior, and from the northern and southern shores of the Island. The rear was covered and defended against an attack from the ships, by strong batteries on Red Hook and Governor's Island, which, in a great measure, com- manded that part of the bay, and by other batteries on the East River, which kept open the communication with the main army in the city of New York. In front of these defences, was a range of hills covered with thick woods, extending eastw^ardly nearly the whole length of the Island. They were everywhere passable by infantry, and were traversed, at three different points, by roads leading to- the Brooklyn Ferry. These were the only points, or passes, through which artillery or cavalry could approach. On the eve of an expected attack from the enemy, General Greene was seized with a raging fever, and the command of this important post devolved upon General Sullivan. On the 22d of August, a large body of the British, under the command of General Clinton, landed near the Ferry at the Narro-ws, and marched through Utrecht and Gravesend, across the low grounds at Flat- bush, approaching within three or four miles of the Ame- rican lines. Their principal encampment was near the village of Flatland, under Clinton, Earl Percy and Lord Cornwallis. The centre, at Flatbush, was composed of Hessians, under the command of General De Heister. The left wing, under General Grant, extended to the place of landing, on the coast. The landing was effected with HE TAKES COMJIAND AT BROOKLYN. 235 out opposition, under cover of the ships that lined the coast — Colonel Donop's corps of chasseurs and Hessian grenadiers, with forty pieces of cannon, being in the van. A party of Pennsylvania troops, under Colonel Hand, whose duty it was to guard the coast at this place, retired before them, and took a position on the high grounds, commanding the pass from Flatbush to Brooklyn. Lord Cornwallis was detached to seize this pass, if not in the hands of the Americans ; but was commanded not to en- gage with them, if they were there in any force. Finding the pass guarded, he moved on, and took post with the British rioht wino; at Flatland. Immediately on the landing of this force, Washington detached six battalions from the army in New York, to reinforce General Sullivan, and ordered five battalions more to be in readiness to join them, at a moment's warning. On Sunday, the 25th, Major General Putnam was directed to take command at Brooklyn, carrying with him these additional reinforcements — General Sullivan still holding the immediate command of all the troops not within the lines. In his orders from the Commander-in- chief, Putnam was urgently enjoined to put everj^hing in readiness for a resolute defence ; and, in particular, to guard well the passes between his lines and the enemy's camp. " The wood next to Red Hook should be well attended to. Put some of the most disorderly riflemen mto it. The militia are the most indifferent troops, those I mean who are least tutored, and have seen the least service, and will do for the interior works ; whilst your best men should, at all hazards, prevent the enemy's pass- ing the woods, and approaching your works. The woods should be secured by ahattis when necessar}^, to make the -•nemy's approach as diificult as possible. Traps ani 2I-J6 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. ambuscades should be laid for their parties, if you fia6 they are sent out after cattle." On Tuesday, the 27th, two days after General Putnam took the command, the attack was made. Agreeably to the leading suggestion in his orders, as well as to the natu- ral facilities of the place, he expected the first and prin- cipal offensive demonstration to be made, by way of the passes near the western shore. To these, therefore, he directed his first attention. In order to a perfect understanding of the details of the battle which ensued, it will be necessary to obtain a clear view of the relative position of the two armies, previous to the engagement. The range of hills before-mentioned lay between them. The British centre, at Flatbush, was scarcely four miles distant from the American lines at Fort Greene — a road leading directly across from one to the other. Another road, diverging a little northwardly from this, led through another pass, by way of Bedford village. The right and left wings of the British army^ the former near Flatland, the latter near Utiecht and Gravesend, at the Narrows, were each between five and six miles from the American works. From the position occupied by the right wing, there was another and some- what circuitous route, through a pass on the north, leading into the main road from Jamaica to Bedford. All these several roads met in the plain, between Bedford and Brooklyn, within less than half a mile from the American lines. The road first mentioned, leading direct from Flatbush to Brooklyn, was defended by a strong redoubt, under the immediate command of General Sullivan. To this point Colonel Hand had retired with his detachment, on the landing of the British, burning, as he passed along, several parcels of wheat, and such other valuables as he supposed MOVEMENTS OF CLINTON AND GRANT. 237 would fall into the enemy's hands. The pass on the other road from Flatbush, leading to Bedford, was occu- pied by Colonel Williams on the north, and a regiment of Pennsylvania riflemen, under Colonel Miles, on the south The road from Jamaica, on the north side of the hills, guarded by light parties of volunteers, was less ably pro- tected than either of the others — partly because less danger was apprehended from that quarter, and partly because the change of command, consequent upon the illness of General Greene, who superintended the erection of the works, and was thoroughly acquainted with the lay of the land, left the whole affair to the direction of those, who did not fully understand the ground, and who had not suf- ficient time, before the action, to acquire a thorough knowledge of their position. About nine o'clock on the evening of the 26th, General Clinton, having ascertained the weakness of the party at the pass on the north of his position, silently drew off the van of his army in that direction. Arriving at the pass, unperceived, before day-break, he surprised and secured the whole party stationed there — thus cutting aff from his enemy all knowledge of his approach. On the appearance of day, his whole column passed the heights, and advanced into the level country, betwee-n them and Brooklyn. Before Clinton had secured this movement, on which the fate of the day turned. General Grant, being ordered to make a diversion in the opposite direction, advanced along the coast, at the head of the left wing, with ten pieces of cannon. His main object being to draw the attention of the American commander from his left, now exposed, without knowing it, to the whole force of the British right, he moved slowly, skirmishing, as he advanc- ed, with the light parties stationed along the road. This movement of General Grant was communicated to 2'3'S LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. General Putnam about three o'clock in the morning, who immediately detached Brigadier-General Lord Stirling, with strong reinforcements, to meet and resist it. lie reached the summit of the hill a little before sunrise, and was there joined by the troops which had been already engaged, and were now slowly retiring before the enemy. Their retreat being arrested by this timely reinforcement, the enemy soon appeared in sight. A brisk cannonade was immediately commenced on both sides, which con tinned for several hours ; while some spirited, but not very effective skirmishing took place between the infantry Lord Stirling, being ordered to act only on the defensive, was anxious only to keep possession of the pass. He could not, therefore, descend in force from the heights, to bring on a general engagement ; and General Grant had no desire to drive him back, until that part of the plan^ which was under the direction of Sir Henry Clinton, should be executed. Soon after daylight, General De Heister commenced a distant cannonade upon the American redoubt above Flat- bush, where General Sullivan was stationed. He did not, however, advance from his position at Flatbush, until he had notice that the British right had turned the left, and gained the rear of the American lines. In the meantime, the more effectually to divert attention from the actual point of attack, the fleet w^as put in motion, and a heavy cannonade commenced upon the battery at Red Hook. About half-past eight, the British van having reached Bedford, and thrown forward a detachment to the rear of General Sullivan, General De Heister ordered Coloviel Donop's corps to advance upon the redoubt on the hill, himself following with the whole of his division. At the moment that this movement was attempted, General Sul- livan was made aware of the presence of the main division SULLIVAN DEFEATED AND C A P T U II E D . 239 of the British at Bedford^ and an effort was iiiunediately made to regain the camp at Brooklyn. While retiring from the woods, by regiments, with this view, they en- countered the British front. At the same instant, De Heister came up from Flatbush, to attack them on that side. Such was the confusion and consternation, occa- sioned by this sudden discovery of an unknown and unex- pected danger, that, though General Sullivan commanded the post in person, and exerted all his accustomed energy and skill, with the most determined bravery, he found it difficult to keep his troops together long enough to meet the first onset The. brisk firing from the Bedford quarter had disclosed to his whole detachment the alarming fact, that their left flank was already turned, and their rear completely exposed to the enemy. Apprehending, at once, the full danger of their position, and the utter futility of any attempt to defend themselves in it, they thought only of escaping from the snare, by an instant retreat upon their own camp. The sudden rout of this party enabled De Heister to detach a part of his force upon the upper road to Bedford, to fall upon the rear of Colonels Williams and Miles The American lines, in that quarter, had already been broken, and driven back into the woods ; while the Bri- tish van, led by General Clinton, was moving forward, to intercept and engage those who were endeavoring to secure their retreat along the direct road from Flatbush. Thus attacked both in front and rear, and alternately driven by the British on the Hessians, and by the Hes- sians back again on the British, they were drawn into a succession of skirmishes, in the course of v^'hich, some considerable parties forced their way through the columns of the enemy, and, fighting all the way, as they retreated, regained the lines at Brooklyn. Some individuals also 240 LIFE OF C. E N t; R A I. PUTNAM. saved themselves under cover of the woods, and ultimately etTected their escape. But a large proportion of the whole d*»tachment were either killed or taken prisoners. Gene- ral Sullivan was among the latter. Surrounded and hemmed in as he was, and with greatly inferior numbers, he made a most gallant resistance, and maintained it, with such force as he had, more than two hours ; bravely illus- trating the difference between a retreat and a flight. So silently had Clinton's first grand movement been accomplished, and so rapidly had all the subsequent steps been taken, that the American right received no notice of these events, until the firing in the vicinity of Brooklyn announced that the enemy had gained their rear. Lord Stirling was sensible of his danger, and perceived that the only safety for his division was in an instant retreat. This he hoped to effect by crossing Mill Creek, below the swamp. To this point Lord Cornwallis had advanced, with a view to cut off the retreat of the American right. He took his station under cover of a house near the Up- per Mills. To cover the intended movement of his detach ment, by occupying Lord Cornwallis till it should be achieved. Lord Stirling determined to attack him in per- son. For this purpose, six companies of Smallwood's regiment of Maryland riflemen were drawn out, and the attack was made with great spirit. Several times, suc- cessively, they charged the enemy with great bravery, and with such admirable effect, that they were on the point of dislodging Lord Cornwallis from his post, when, some considerable reinforcements arriving to his aid, at the same time that General Grant, with his division, advanced upon their rear, they were compelled to give way, and follow their comrades in the retreat. They w^ere all, with their General, made prisoners of v/ar. But they had accom- plished the main object of their brave attack, by diverting AMERICAN LDSS AT BROOKLYN. 24 1 the attention of the enemy from the remainder of their detachment — who, while they w re engaged, succeeded, with the loss of one man, in crosi^ing the creek, and gain- ing the American lines. • The loss sustained by the Americans, in this battle, has been variously estimated. It was probably not far from eleven hundred, of whom by far the greater part were taken prisoners. The number, who took part in the action, was about five thousand. About two-thirds of these were with Lord Stirling's division, on the right, most of whom, as is seen above, effected their retreat across the creek. Of Colonel Hand's regiment, and those of Williams and Miles, in the hills between Bedford and Flatbush, a con- siderable number made good their retreat. But the larger proportion of the prisoners taken, were from this division, and their number was afterwards swelled, by the capture, at Jamaica, of two hundred of the Long Island militia, under General Woodhull, whose movements were wholij- 'ndependent of the army. As General Howe, in his report of the battle, stated the number of prisoners, including General Woodhull and his corps, at one thousand and ninety-seven, the number of killed must have been very small. His own loss, killed, wounded and taken, was set down at three hundred and sixty-seven. In the heat of the action. General Washington passed over to the camp at Brooklyn, w^iere he witnessed, with feelings, which can better be imagined than described, the .itter rout of his choicest troops, without the power of relieving them, or of doing anything to change the fate of the day. General Putnam had already detached from his camp every man that could be spared, consistently with the defence of his own position, on which that of New York, and the army there, depended. It was more than probable that the British commander would follow up the P 242 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. successes of the day, by combining all his forces for an attack upon the American camp. The main body of his army was posted a short distance in front of the lines, and it was supposed he intended to force them by regular approaches, while the ships of war, coming round into the East River, and cutting off all communication with New York, should equally prevent General Putnam from effect- ing a retreat, or receiving reinforcements. In this state of things, the numbers of the enemy being greatly superior, and elated with recent success, it would have been mad- ness to offer him further battle. The entire hope of the Americans was in continuing to act on the defensive. This was the judgment of Washington, and his council, as well before the battle as after it. The relative numbers and character of the two armies, and their position during the engagement, fully vindicates the soundness of that judgment. The subsequent retreat, and the events con- nected with, and following it, disclosing the ulterior de- signs of the enemy, confirm and establish, beyond a cavil, the wisdom of that decision, and show clearly that the fate of the whole American army, and with it the American cause, was, at that moment, suspended upon the prudent generalship of a great commander. The unfortunate issue of this battle of Long Island, has made it the subject of many and severe comments, by that class of critics, who estimate actions only by the measure of success which attends them. Some have censured freely the Commander-in-chief, while others have laid the onus of blame upon General Putnam, charging him with unpardonable neglect, in not posting a sufficient force on the Jamaica road, to protect the pass. To every charge of this kind, it ought to be a sufficient answer, that he was unexpectedly assigned to that command on Sunday, the 25th, and that the pass was taken by General Clinton COMMENTS ON THE BATTLE. 243 Defore break of day, on Tuesday, the 27th. Without any previous knowledge of the posts which had been fortified beyond the lines, or the passes by which the enemy could make their approach, and with scarcely two days* to make himself acquainted with his extended lines, the condition of his forces, and the nature of the grounds without, through a circuit of more than twenty miles — there is cer- tainly no show of reason, in attributing the disastrous issue of the day, to any lack of watchfulness or activity on his part. The first duty of the good officer is to execute the orders of his superior. It is manifest from the orders of Wash- ington, that he regarded the pass on the south as the most important, and first to be attended to. To that Putnam, accordingly, devoted his first care, and provided it with an ample defence. It was stoutly defended, as it was, and would have been maintained against all the force of the British left, if it had not been attacked in the rear. At the same time, the other passes w^ere not overlooked. That, by which Clinton came down upon the plain, was provided with a patrolling party, whose duty it w^as to report to the commanding officer, any and every movement of the enemy in that quarter. The misfortune was, that this ♦ General Sullivan, in his letter to the President of Congress, says, "General Putnam had taken the corainand from me four days before the action." Cfolonel Humphreys says it was two daip ; and General Washington, writing to the President of Congress, on the 23d, four days before the battle, says, "I have been obliged to appoint Major- General Sullivan to the command on the Island, owing to General Greene's indisposition." The only " orders" given to General Put- nam, bearing upon this command, are dated of the 25th, to which date Marshall assigns the beginning of Putnam's command. Dr. Sparks, in a note attached to the above-mentioned order of the 25th, says^ "Putnam had just been sent over to take tlie general command on Loner Island." 244 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. party suffered a surprise. They were all taken prisoners, and therefore were not able to give the desired notice of the enemy's approach. Both Marshall and Sparks fully vindicate General Put- nam from any charge of neglect, or oversight, in this mat- ter. The latter* says, " He (Putnam) had not time to acquire this knowledge (of the various posts, passes, &c.) before the action. The consequence was, that, although he was commander on the day of the battle, he never went beyond the lines at Brooklyn, and could give no other orders, than for sending out troops, to meet the enemy at different points." Judge Marshall says,| ^' His (Putnam's) numbers weie not sufficient to famish detachments for all the defiles through the mountains ; and^ if a corps, capable of making an effec- tual resistance, had been posted on this road, and a feint had been made upon it, while the principal attack was by the direct road from Flatbush, or by that along the coast, the events of the day would probably have been not less disas- trous. The columns, marching directly from Flatbush, must, on every reasonable calculation, have been in pos- session of the plains, in the rear of the detachment posted on the road from Jamaica, so as to intercept its retreat to the camp. So great is the advantage of those who attack, in being able to choose the point against which to direct their grand effort. " The most advisable plan, then, appears to have been, to watch the motions of the enemy, so as to be master of his designs ; to oppose, with a competent force, every attempt to seize the heights ; and to guard all the passes in such a manner, as to receive notice of his approach ♦ Writings of Washington, vol. iv., page 513. t Life of Washington. Second Edition. Philadelphia, 1832. Vol. i., page 93, Marshall's opinion, 245 through any of them, in suiTicient time, to recall the troops maintaining the others. " This plan was adopted — a7id the heavy disasters of the day, are attributable, principally, to thf^. failure of those charged with the execution of that very important part of it, which related to the Jamaica road. The letter of General Howe states, that an American patrolling party was taken on this road ; and General Washington, in a private and confidential communication to a friend, says, ' This mis- fortune happened, in a great measure, by two detachments of our people, who were posted in two roads leading through a wood, to intercept the enemy in their march, (one of them) suffering a surprise, and (the other) mak- ing a precipitate retreat.' " The events of this day, too, exhibited a practical de- monstration of a radical defect in the structure of the army It did not contain a single corps of cavalry. Had the Gene- ral been provided with a few^ troops of light horse, to serve merely as vedettes, it is probable that the movement, so decisive of the fate of the day, could not have been made unnoticed." A more complete and triumphant vindication of General Putnam, from the charge of neglect, inefficiency, or a lack of judgment, decision, or any other martial virtue, in the conduct of this affair, could not be desired. If anything is wanting to relieve him from all responsibility in relation to it, it is found in the fact, that General Washington passed the whole of the 26th, the day previous to the battle, at Brooklyn, and assisted in all the arrangements for the ex pected action. He was in the camp with Putnam, almost up to the very hour when Clinton began his stealthy ad- vance from Flatland, to surprise the fatal pass. With equal clearness of perception, and force of argument, is the generalship, foresisjht and skill of the Commander-in-chief, 246 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. Jefended from all reproach, by the same masterly hand^ than whom, for his commanding genius, his fearless impar- tiality, and his personal acquaintance with the principal actors in these scenes, there can be no better or more satisfactory authority. ■" The truth is, that the greatest error, committed on this occasion, was committed by General Howe, in not follow- ing up his victory by an immediate attack on the Ameri- can lines. With his superior numbers, and flushed with success, he would undoubtedly have carried them, and either killed, or made prisoners of the flower of the Ameri- can army, at the same time laying open to immediate attack, on its most vulnerable side, the main body of the reserve in New York. Had he not been greatly deceived in his estimate of General Putnam's real strength, he would certainly have attempted this move, in which case, the great cause of American liberty would have been staked upon one cast of the die, and that, under circum- stances, in which all the advantage v/as on the side of the enemy. It may be questioned, indeed, if the defeat of this day should not be regarded, rather as a kind, providential inter- position, to save the cause of freedom from a sudden and hopeless overthrow, than as a disaster. It was deemed important and possible, by Congress, by Washington, and by a majority of his advisers, to retain possession of New York. It w'as certainly desirable that they should have been convinced, by the indirect attack upon the outpost on Long Island, that their main position was not tenable,' rather than to have held it undisturbed, as they would have done if the success of this battle had been on theii side, till the enemy had driven his ships up the North and East Rivers — which he had shown himself able, by favor of wind and tide, to do— and landed on the main, above MASTERLV RETREAT. 247 Haerlem River, a sufficient force to confine his antagonist to the Island.* Let any one look at the ground, remembering that the Americans had no ships, and but few heavy can- non, while the British were amply supplied with both, and he will be forced to the conclusion, that, if Washing- ton made a mistake, in attempting to occupy and defend Long Island, in the hope of 'thereby retaining New York as his main position, Howe committed a capital error, in making his first attack upon that quartei' ; and another, of scarcely less importance, in not following up his victory, by a bold assault upon Putnam's defences. In front of those defences, he immediately fixed his camp, and commenced his arrangements to force them, by a series of regular approaches. But his prudent enemy did not leave him opportunity to finish them. On the night of the day succeeding the battle, Clinton broke ground for the erection of a battery, within six hundred yards of a redoubt on the left. On the same night, the entire American force was withdrawn to New York, with such silence, order, and despatch, that all the troops and mili- tary stores, with the greater part of the provisions, and all the artillery, except a few heavy pieces, were carried over in safety, before the movement was revealed to the enemy. At break of day, the British outposts disco- vered the rear-guard crossing the East River, and out of the reach of their guns. This retreat, in its plan, execution and success, was one of those masterly manoeuvres, which distinguish the man of commanding genius, consummate skill, and inexhausti- ble resources, from the mere military chieftain. To con- vey, in boats, during the brief hours of a summer's night, across an arm of the sea, half a mile in width, an army of * See Washin!2:ton'.s Letters of this period, p.irticiilarly those of thrt 8lh and I4:h ofSerteinber, to the President of Con^^'css. 248 LIFE of' GENERAL PUTNAM nine thousand men,* witli all the arms, ammunition, pro* visions, camp equipage and military stores of every de- scription, required for lines as extensive as those at Brooklyn — to accomplish all this in the near vicinity of a watchful and victorious foe, and that without the loss of a single man, is an achievement, worthy of the ablest ge- neral, that ever guided the destinies of war — worthy of a Hannibal or a Cajsar, a Turenne or a Napoleon, a Marl- borough or a Wellington — worthy of a Washington. Governor's Island was abandoned two days after, so that the entire force, then under the immediate command of Washington, with the exception of a few detachments in the garrisons along the Jersey shore, was concentrated on the island of New York. In all these laborious and fatiguing operations, during which there was no rest, for mind or body, to the commander or any of his principal officers, the activity, energy, and unwearied industry of General Putnam, were everywhere seen and felt. And, although as commander of the abandoned post, he was retiring from a lost field, it is certain that he had lost no- thing of the confidence or respect of his superior, who had been present during a part of the engagement, and wit- nessed the difficulties of his position, and the judgment with which he had conducted his arrangements for de- fence. In the subsequent dispositions of the army, as will be seen, he was still assigned to the post of difficulty and danger, which is always the post of honor. * This was the number that joined in the retreat, five battalions having: gone over from New York, on the 27th, ailer the engagement. The whok number on the island, at the time of the battle, was seven thousand seven hundred — the Britisli being considerably more tha»: twice as many. CHAPTER XIX. RETREAT OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY FROM NEW YORK, Extension of the British lines on Long Island — Preparations to attack New York — Washington prepares to abandon the city — Overruled by his council — Division of the army — Putnam commanding the rear division in the city — A second council advises its abandon- ment — Sir Henry Clinton land's at Kip's Bay — Dastardly conduct of the American soldiers — Imminent exposure of Washington — He establishes his Head-Gluarters on the Heights of Haerlem — Putnam, with his division, commences his retreat — His extraor- dinary exertions — Stratagem to detain the enemy — Mrs. Murray — Narrow escape of the division — General Howe's position — The American posts — Successful skirmish with the enemy — Colonel Knowlton slain — Major Leitch mortally wounded — Character of Knowlton — Happy effect of this little success. The British General took immediate possession of all the fortified posts on Long Island, extended the line north- wardly to Hell Gate, and put the whole in a condition to render him effective service. The two armies were sepa- rated only by the East River, on both sides of which were batteries, which now kept up a continual cannonade upon each other ; the exposed lines extending nearly to the Heights of Haerlem, a distance of about nine miles. Dispositions were immediately made to attack New York on every side. A part of the fleet sailecf round Long Island, and made their appearance in the Sound. Two frigates passed up the East river, receiving but little injury from the batteries, and anchored behind a small island, which protected them from the American gun0R TO THE BRAVE. 259 of liberty. To encourage this sentiment, as well as to do justice to bis able and faithful soldiers, Washington pub- licly commended their conduct in the following "Orders. " Head Quarter s, Haerlem Heights, Sept. 17, 1776. " Parole, Leitch ; countersign, Virginia. " The General most heartily thanks the troops, com- manded yesterday by Major Leitch, who first advanced upon the enemy, and the others who so resolutely sup- ported them. The behavior yesterday was such a con- trast to that of some of the troops the day before, as must show what may be done, where officers and soldiers will exert themselves Once more, therefore, the General calls upon officer's and men, to act up to the noble cause in which they are engaged, and to support the honor and liberties of their country. " The oallant and brave Colonel Knowlton, who would have been an honor to any country, having fallen yester- day, while gloriously fighting. Captain Brown is to take command of the party, lately led by Colonel Knowlton. Officers and men are to obey him accordingly." If the army of the Revolution had been composed, in chief, of such men as these, the contest would have been of shorter duration, and the toils and anxieties of the gene- ral officers infinitely less severe. But, unfortunately, they were mostly of a different class, while the circumstances and terms, under which they engaged in the war, rendered them far less serviceable and trustworthy, than the same men might have been under a different sj'^stem. An ex- tract from one of Washington's letters of this period, ad- dressed to the President of Congress, will show the matter at a glance : " To place any dependence upon militia is 260 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. assuredly rcsling upon a broken staff. Men, just dragged from the tender scenes of domestic life, unaccuslomc>d to the din of arms, totally unacquainted with every kind of military skill (which is followed by a want of confidence in themselves, when opposed to troops regularly traiued, disciplined, and appointed, superior in knowledge, and superior in arms), are timid, and ready to fly from their own shadows. Besides, the sudden change in their man- ner of living brings on an unconquerable desire to return to their homes, and produces the most shameful and scan- dalous desertions. Again, men accustomed to unbounded freedom, cannot brook the restraint, which is indispensably necessary to the good order and government of an army, without which, licentiousness and every kind of disorder trmmphantly reign." Such were the unpromising materials, out of which these able officers were compelled to fashion an army, to resist the best troops of the most powerful nation on the globe. It must be admitted that none but the most able and com- petent officers, with a righteous cause to snstain, could have accomplished the herculean task. CHAPTER XX LOSS OF FORT WASHINGTON, AND RETREAT THROUGH NEW JERSEY. An attack expected— Annoying the enemy — Plunderers — Howe at- tempts to gain the rear of the American army — Lands at Frog's Point — Advances towards New Rochelle — The American lines — Skirmishes of Colonels Haslet and Hand — General McDougall's post at Chatterton's Hill — Assaulted and carried — Putnam marches to reinforce him, but arrives too late — Washington retires to North Castle— Howe turns towards New York — Fort Independence evacuated — Putnam ordered into New Jersey — Loss of Fort Washington — Cornwallis crosses the North River — Retreat of the American army, step by step, to the Delaware — Discouraging prospects — Firmness of Washington, and good conduct of Put- nam. The British commander, aware of the advantages which his enemy would derive from a series of partisan skir- mishes, under cover of his intrenchments, was as desirous to bring on a general engagement, as Washington was to avoid it. The latter, sensible of his great inferiority in numbers, discipline, experience, and equipment, was, at the same time, confident in the strength of his defences, and his ability to repel, with advantage, any assault that might be made upon them. He, therefore, prudently con- tented himself with annoying and weakening his adver- >ary, whenever opportunity offered, rather than by bolder and more brilliant movements, hazarding his whole cause upon on3 cast of the die. In constant readiness for an ^Uack, which, if made anywhere, was to be expected at 202 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. the advanced post, at McGovvan's Pass, where General Putnam was stationed, he gave orders to General Spencer, who commanded at Haerlem, to be prepared to reinforce that Pass, at a moment's warning. But the enemy pru- dently refrained from any attempt upon the defences. Among the multitude of cares which bore upon the mind of General Washington, at this period, was the pro- tection of the property of American citizens — especially that of persons known, or supposed, to be attached to the royal cause. The army was composed, in great part, of men w^ho made no scruple of plundering whatever they could lay their hands upon, and burning, or otherwise destroying, what they could not carry away. Every effort was made, on the part of the General, to punish and sup- press this spirit of rapacity, but the means within his power were hardly adequate to the end. On the 24th of September, he addressed a strong representation to Con- gress on the subject. " Of late," says he, " a practice prevails of the most alarming nature, and which w^ill, if it cannot be checked, prove fatal both to the country and the army — 1 mean the infamous practice of plundering. For, under the idea of Tory property, or property that may fall into the hands of the enemy, no man is secure in his effects, and scarcely in his person. In order to get at them, we have several instances of people being frightened out of their houses, under pretence of those houses being ordered to be burnt ; and this is done with a view of seiz- ing the goods. Nay, in order that the villainy may be more effectually concealed, some houses have actually been burned to cover the theft. I have, with some others, used my utmost endeavors to stop this horrid practice." In these endeavors, he was constantly and zealously aided by General Putnam, who abhorred ever}^ species of rob bery and injustice ; and who, in the discharoje of the com- THE BRITISH LAND AT F R G ' S POINT 263 mon duties of equity and humanity, recognized no differ- 2nce between patriot and tory, or friend and foe. His good offices, in this respect, secured for him the confidence and respect of many among the enemies of his cause •, while some of his own countrymen, whose party prejudices obscured their sense of private right, did not hesitate to condemn a virtue, to which they did not pretend to aspire. General Howe, finding that he could neither force the American defences, nor decoy them into an action where all the advantage would be on his side, resolved to make another effort to gain their rear, cut them off from all sup- plies, and so compel them to an unconditional surrender. With this view, leaving a sufficient force below for the protection of New York, he sent several frigates up the North River, which came to an anchor at some distance above Fort Washington — having passed the batteries at that place and Fort Lee, w^ithout material damage. A few days after, on the 12th of October, he embarked a great part of his army in flat bottomed boats, and, passing throuo;h Hell Gate into the Sound, landed at Frog's Point, near the town of Westchester, about nine miles above the camp on the Heights of Haerlem. Frog's Neck is covered with water, at full tide ; and the Point, on which the British had landed, was connect- ed with the main by bridges. These bridges the Ame- ricans took good care to destroy ; at the same time, throwing up some slight works, to obstruct the enemy in his march. The road from this place to King's Bridge, led through a difficult country, intersected everywhere by stone walls ; rendering the passage of artillery, or even of infantry in compact order, almost impracticable. On the 18th, General Howe, being strongly reinforced, moved forward, with all his force, to New Rochelle. Some skirmishing took place on the march, in which the 264 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. Ainericans fought with great bravery, and gained seme ad- vantages. At New Rochelle, the British army was still fur- ther strengthened, and soon commenced a movement towards White Plains. The main body of the American troops formed a long line of intrenched camps, extending from twelve to thirteen miles, on the different heights from Va- lentine's Hill, near King's Bridge, to White Plains, front- ing the British line of march, and the River Bronx, which divided the two armies. It was while the two armies were watching each other in this position, that Colonel Haslet succeeded in surpris- ing Colonel Rogers,* " the late worthless Major," as he calls him, at Mamaroneck, taking thirty-six prisoners, a pair of colors, sixty stand of arms, and other valuable booty. About the same time. Colonel Hand, wdth a regi- ment of Pennsylvanian riflemen, engaged an equal number of Hessian chasseurs, with considerable advantage. General Washington was encamped on high broken ground, his right flank resting on the Bronx, which, by a bold curve at this place, covered also the front of his right wing, extending along the road towards New Ro- chelle, as far as the brow of the hill on which his centre M'-as posted. His left, forming almost a right angle with his centre, and nearlj' parallel to his right, extended along the hills northward, s6 as to keep possession of the com- manding ground, and secure a retreat, should it be neces- sary, to a still stronger position in his rear. General McDougall, with a detachment of sixteen hundred men, principally militia, occupied Chatterton's Hill, on the west side of the Bronx, about a mile from the camp. The river being fordable at that place, his communication with the main army was open. General Howe having advanced in force, on the 28th, ♦ Appendix, No. 1. ACTION AT CHATTERTON's HILL. 26a to attack General Washington in his camp, determined, as a measure preliminary to a general assault, to dislodge General McDougall from this post. He, therefore, directed Colonel Rahl, with a brigade of Hessians, to make a circuit so as to gain his rear, while Brigadier-General Leslie, with a strong corps of British and Hessian troops, should attack him in front. This being done with great vigor, the militia in the front rank immediately gave way ; but Colo- nel Haslet's Delaware regiment, Colonel Smalhvood's Maryland battalion, and Colonel Reitzimer's New York corps, advanced boldly, and in good order, to meet the foe, and gallantly defended their post, till they were over- powered by numbers ; when they reluctantly retired, keep- ing up, in their retreat, an irregular, but not ineffectual fire, from behind the stone walls that lined the way General Putnam, receiving orders to support General McDougall, hastened to the scene of action, with a con- siderable detachment. But the post was already aban- doned to the enemy, and its late defenders were met in full retreat towards the camp. Notwithstanding this rein- rbrcement, it was deemed unadvisable to attempt to regain the hill, and all moved on, in order, to rejoin the main army. The loss in this action has been variously stated by his- torians. The most probable report makes that of the Americans not much over two hundred, with nearly double that number to the British. A general assault was now momentarily expected, and every arrangement was made for it in the British camp, the whole army reposing on their arms, in order of battle, during the night. But, perceiving in the morning that Washington had improved the night, in adding to the strength of his works, and disposing his forces to better advantage to meet the expected attack, Howe concluded 12 266 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. to postpone further offensive operations, till the arrival of six battalions, which had been ordered up, under com- mand of Lord Percy. A violent rain, which fell imme- diately on the accession of this reinforcement, occasioned a further delay. General Washington, having, in the meantime, removed his provisions and heavy baggage to a stronger position at North Castle, about five miles distant, availed hinnself of the darkness of the night, on the first of November, to withdraw his whole army to that place Deeming this post too strong to be attempted with pru- dence, General Howe changed his plans, and directed his attention to Forts Washington and Lee, which, being still ably garrisoned by the Americans, proved a check upon the contemplated movements of the British commander, by leaving a well-posted enemy in his rear. His first effort was against Fort Independence, at King's Bridge, upon which a descent was made by General Knyphausen. The garrison abandoned it on his approach, and retreated to Fort Washington, followed by Knyphausen, who pitched his camp between the two forts. In the mean- time, General Howe, with his whole force, retired slowly down the North River, towards New York. Apprehending, from these new movements, that an inva- sion into New Jersey was intended, Washington detached all the troops belonging to the States west of the Hudson five thousand in number, under command of General Put nam, to provide against such a design. They crossed the river on the 8th of November, and took post at Hacken sack, which they reached after a circuitous route of sixty miles, to avoid the parties of the enemy. General Greene was in command at Fort Lee, on that side of the river, and was now invested with discretionary powers, in rela- tion to the defence of Fort Washington, on the New York side, towards which the British were concentrating their LOSS OF FORT WASHINGTON. 267 movements. It had been intended and resolved, by the strong recommendations of Congress, to maintain these two posts to the last extremity. The Commander-in- chief believed that this last extremity had already come, and that it was vain to attempt to hold them, in the pre- sent position of affairs. General Greene entertained a dif- ferent opinion, in which he appears to have been sustain- ed by General Putnam, and consequently availed himself of the discretion allowed him, to reinforce Colonel McGaw, with directions to defend the post at every hazard. General Howe, in retiring southward, encamped near Ivinoj's Brido;e on the 13th. On the 15th, he summoned the garrison to surrender, on pain of being put to the sword. Colonel McGaw replied, with becoming manli- ness, that he should defend the place to the last extremity ; and immediately communicated the summons, with his answer, to General Greene, who transmitted them to the Commander-in-chief, then just arrived at Hackensack. Washington proceeded at once to Fort Lee, and, though late in the night, was hastening over to Fort Washington, whither Generals Putnam and Greene had already gone. In crossing the river, however, he met those officers on their return. They reported the garrison in high spirits, ready and able to make a good defence, and General Washington returned with them to Fort Lee. The next day the fort was carried by storm, with a loss of nearly three thousand men, by far the most severe that had yet befallen the American army. The loss of the British was about eight hundred. The evacuation of Fort Lee was a necessary conse- quence upon the loss of Fort Washington, and immediate preparations were made for the removal of the stores. Before this could be completed, however. Lord Cornwal- lis had crossed the North River, with a strong detachment 26S LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. of six thousand men, and made an attempt to enclo&e the garrison, upon the narrow neck of land, between the North and. Hackensack Rivers. By a rapid and well-conducted movement, they were so fortunate as to escape, wuth all their ammunition and small arms ; their heavy cannon, with several hundred tents, a large quantity of baggage and valuable stores, being unavoidably left behind. The retreat across the Hackensack, left the American army in a position but little better than that which they had just left. The Passaic runs nearly parallel with that river for many miles. They were consequently in the same danger, as before, of being enclosed between two barriers, which it would be difficult to pass. There was, therefore, no alternative but to retreat still further across the Passaic. Their forces were daily diminishing, by the withdrawal of great numbers of the militia, who, dispirited by their late reverses, returned to their homes as fast as their terms of enlistment expired, so that, by the last of November, Washington had scarcely three thousand men under his immediate command. These M'ere exposed in an open country, among a part of the people by no means cordially favorable to the cause of Independence, without intrenching tools, without stores, without tents to shelter them from the growing inclemency of the season. A division of three thousand five hundred men, under General Heath, had been stationed among the Highlands, for the defence of the Hudson, and the mountain passes. Another division of four thousand, many of whom were militia, whose term of service was soon to expire, was left in the camp at White Plains, commanded by General Lee, with discretionary instructions, to continue on that side of the Hudson, or to follow the Commander-in-chief into New Jersey, according to the movements of the enemy GLOOMY PROSPECTS. 269 Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton, suc- cessively fell into the hands of the enemy, as they were successively abandoned by the retreating " phantom of au army ;" and, finally, on the eighth of December, Washing- ton crossed the Delaware, then the only barrier which pre- vented the British from taking possession of Philadelphia. So rapidly had the pursuit been urged, that the rear of one army was often within sight and shot of the van of the other ; and before one party had completed the destruction of the bridges, by which they fled, the other had commenced repairing them for the pursuit. It was the darkest period in the history of the Revolu- tion. The campaign, now so darkly closed, had been a continued series of disasters and retreats. The enemy was now in possession of Rhode Island, Long Island, the City of New York, Staten Island, and almost the whole State of New Jersey, and was apparently on the point of extending his conquests into Pennsylvania. The com- mander of the victorious army, in conjunction with his brother, the Admiral, had issued a proclamation, which was widely scattered on every side, offering a full pardon, in the name of his Majesty, to all who should take the oath of allegiance, and come under his protection, within sixty days. Great numbers, and among them men of for- tune and respectability, had accepted the terms, and gone over to the enemy. Others, especially in New Jersey, took the oath, but did not leave their usual places of abode. In short, so great was the panic, and so dark the prospect, that a general despondency pervaded the continent. Many of the strongest spirits quailed before the accumulating difTicultias that encompassed the cause of freedom. Wash- ington stood firm and unmoved as a rock. *' Undismayed by the dangers which surrounded him, he did not for an instant relax his exertions, or omit anything which could ^J . ,jv- 270 1, iTK OF GE NEPAL PUTNAM. objtiuct the progress of the enemy, or improve his own condition. He did not, for a moment, appear to despair of the public safety, but struggled against adverse fortune, with the hope of yet vanquishing the difficulties w^hich encompassed him ; and constantly showed himself to his harassed and enfeebled army with a serene, unembarrassed countenance, betraying no fears in himself, and invigorat- ing and inspiring with confidence the bosoms of others." Among his principal officers, none was more hopeful, more courageous, more determined than General Putnam. Through all this season of peril, disaster and discourage- ment, he was ever at his Commander's side, and was among the last of the fugitive band, that crossed the Dela- ware, and drew up its diminished lines on the other side, not to give over the fight in despair, but, like a hunt- ed wolf at bay, to turn upon its pursuers with redoubled fierceness, and drive them back from the field they had ao lately won CHAPTER XXL Putnam's command at Philadelphia and Princeton. Designs of General Howe upon Philadelphia — Putnam ordered to defend it — Washington's views of the importance of that place — Putnam's general orders — Conference with Congress — His ardu- ous labors — Battles of Trenton and Princeton — Part intended lo be assigned to Putnam— Washington's correspondence — Ordered to Crosswicks — Stationed at Princeton — Smallness of his force — Captain McPherson — Severity and unwise policy of the British- Humanity of Putnam — His success in protecting the country from lawless plunderers— General Dickinson's successful skirmish with a foraging party — Success of Colonel Gurney and Major Davis — Major Stockton surprised and taken by Colonel Nelson — Severe treatment of Major Stockton — The Skinners, Cow-boys, and Ya- gers — Gallant conduct of Major Smith at Bound Brook— Rein- forcement of the British army — Putnam ordered to keep a good look out towards Philadelphia — Little vexations — Results of his winter operations in New Jersey — Aaron Burr. General Howe, having now, as he supposed, broken the spirits, as well as scattered the forces, of the rebel army, promised himself a certain and easy victory. His next immediate object was the possession of Philadelphia ; through which so large a portion of the American supplies were obtained, that, in the earnest language of Washington, " upon the salvation of that place, their cause almost depended." With this view of its importance, and with a determination to leave no effort untried to secure it aojainst the approach of the enemy. General Putnam was sent forward to take the command, and to superintend the works to be erected for its defence 272 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. in a letter from General Washington to the President of Congress, under date of the 9th of December, after remarking " that the security of Philadelphia should be oui next object," he suggests, that " a communication of lines and redoubts might be formed from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, on the north entrance of the city — to begin on the Schuylkill side, and run eastward to the Delaware, upon the most advantageous and commanding grounds. We have ever found," he continues, " that lines, how- ever slight, are very formidable to the enemy ; they would at least give a check, till the people could recover from the fright and consternation, that naturally attend the first appearance of an enemy. " In the meantime, every step should be taken to col- lect a force, not only from Pennsylvania, but from the neighboring States. If we can keep the enemy from enter- ing Philadelphia, and keep the communication by water open for supplies, we may yet make a stand, if the coun- try will come to our assistance till the new levies be col- lected. * * * " P. S. General Mifflin is this moment come up, and tells me, that all the military stores yet remain in Phila- delphia. This makes the immediate fortifying of the city so necessary, that I have desired General Mifflin to return and take charge of the stores ; and have ordered Major- General Putnam immediately down, to superintend the works, and give the necessary directions." The difficulties to be encountered in this new sphere of action, were many and severe. But the hardy old veteran proved himself equal to them all. Here, as well as in New York, there were many persons strongly disal%cted towards the American cause — men, who, from attachment to royalty, or from fear of losing their property, shrunk from the unequal contest, or lent their aid, secretly, to SEVERE LABORS IN PHILADELV'HIA. 273 further the designs of the enemy. Many of them were so decided in their hostiUty, that it was at one time thought unsafe to withdraw the forces from the city, though their aid was much needed to strengthen the army in the field, lest, in their absence, the whole city should declare for the enemy. It was this, as will be seen here- after, that deprived General Putnam of a share in one of the most brilliant and successful enterprises of the army of the Revolution. The danger apprehended from the steady approaches of General Howe was imminent, and the works of defence were required to be constructed with the greatest des- patch. The labor was severe and unintermitting, and General Putnam never spared himself, when there was work to be done, any more than when danger was to be braved. " His personal industry," says Humphreys, who was with him at this time, " was unparalleled, and his health was, for a while, impaired by his unrelaxed exer- tions." The city was placed under martial law, and his authority, during his command in it, was paramount and supreme. But he made no unnecessary display of his power, scrupulously avoiding everything that would need- lessly disturb the usual order, or restrain the usual free- dom of intercourse among the citizens. He made a dili- gent use both of authority and example, to conciliate, as far as possible, the contending factions, — to win over the disaffected to the cause of freedom, — and to excite all the citizens to use their utmost diligence in preparing to repel the expected approach of the enemy. He took good care, as he had done in New York, to regulate and sustain the police of the city, by bringing his own military authcrity to bear upon it, and by encouraging a cheerful obedience to the laws. The following order will illustrate his care and prudence in this respect ; Pv 274 life of general putnam. " General Orders. " Head Qacuiers, Philadelphia , Dec. 14, 1776 " Colonel Griffin is appointed Adjutant-General to the troops in and about this city. All orders from the Gene- ral through him, either written or verbal, are to be strictly attended to, and punctually obeyed. " In case of an alarm by fire, the city guards and pa- Iroles are to suffer the inhabitants to pass, unmolested, at any hour of the night ; and the good people of Philadel- phia are earnestly requested and desired to give every assistance in their power, with engines and buckets, to extinguish the fire. And, as the Congress have ordered the city to be defended to the last extremity, the General hopes that no person will refuse to give every assistance possible, to complete the fortifications that are to be erect- ed in and about the city. "ISRAEL PUTNAM." Soon after his arrival in Philadelphia, General Putnam was called, with General Mifflin, to a special conference with Congress upon the expediency of adjourning their meeting to some place less exposed to interruption from the enemy. By their advice, and urgent counsels, and directly in the face of a vote taken only the day before, the resolution to adjourn was adopted on the 12th of De- cember, to assemble in Baltimore on the 20th. The labor of constructing fortifications was regular and monotonous, and but few incidents of sufficient interest to be recorded, marked the toilsome residence of the General in this capital. Everything was proceeding well and prosperously under his direction, when he was suddenly called off from this position, to take part in other and more important movements of the army. Contrary to all expectation, and to all human proba PFiOPOSED ATTACK ON MOUNT HOLLY. 275 bility, General Washington, with the poor remnant of an army that had escaped with him over the Delaware, had suddenly recrossed that river, in the dead of winter, and struck a hlow upon the victorious and too confident enemy at Trenton, that astonished alike both friend and foe- reviving and inspiriting the one, as much as it discomfited and chagrined the other. Before the enemy had quite recovered from the panic occasioned by this masterly movement, the American general had crossed the Dela vv^are the second time, and, prudently avoiding the prof- ferred encounter with Lord Cornwallis, had struck another blow upon Princeton, killing and capturing almost an entire regiment. It was a part of his original design, in planning these bold movements, to unite the troops employed in fortify- ing Philadelphia, with those of Brigadier-General Cad- wallader at Bristol, and to place the whole under the command of General Putnam, with a view to carrying the post at Mount Holly, about ten miles back of Burlington, where the advanced guard of the British army was posted. But so alarming were the indications, at that time, of an insurrection in the city, in favor of the royal cause, that the execution of this part of the plan was entrusted to General Cadwallader alone ; and General Putnam remain- ed at his post, to prosecute the works of defence which were to guard against an invading enemy from without, and to quell the incipient organization of a more dangerous enemy within. He was, therefore, denied the opportu- nity — which to his active and enterprising spirit would have seemed one of the privileges of the service — of sharing in two of the most brilliant achievements which distin- guished the Revolutionary War. Had the original plan been carried out, and the river been found passable, at the place appointed for crossing, there is no doubt that i/ 276 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. would have been completely successful, and greatly en hanced the advantages of that glorious day. It was ascer- tained, by persons despatched to reconnoitre the post at Mount Holly, that the soldiers were in a state of compara- tive helplessness from intoxication — having indulged freely in spirituous liquors the preceding day, which was Christ- mas-day There was no apprehension of danger, and no precaution to guard against it. On the eve of the execution of the first of these enter- prises, the Commander-in-chief addressed a letter to Gene- ral Putnam, expressing his great satisfaction in learning the improved state of his health — which had been impair- ed by his excessive labors and exposures — and informing him that the design of the enemy to gain early possession of Philadelphia, was fully confirmed, by an intercepted letter from a gentleman of Philadelphia, who had joined the enemy, to his partner in that city, which declared that their plans were laid to enter it within twenty days, or as soon as the ice in the river should be sufficiently strong to enable them to transport their artillery across it. He added, that, if the citizens of Philadelphia had any regard for the town, not a moment's time was to be lost, until it should be put in the best possible posture of defence. Fearing that, through their indifference, or the want of time to accomplish it, this would not be done, he directed all the public stores, except such as were necessary for immediate use, to be removed at once to places of greater security. Ten days after, on the 5th of January, 1777, VVasl.ing- ton wrote to Putnam, from Pluckemin, giving an account of his second successful stroke, and expressing the hope — as the enemy appeared to be quite panic-struck — that he should be able to drive them out of the Jerseys. The new aspect which their late brilliant successes had put TAKES POST AT PRINCETON. 277 upon the American cause, so completely changed the cur- rent of popular opinion, that the defection of Philadelphia was no longer feared, and Putnam could now be spared from that post. He was, accordingly, ordered to take the field, and assist in pushing the advantages so unexpectedly gained. " It is thought advisable for you," continues thf» letter, " to march the troops under your command to Cross- wicks, and keep a strict watch upon the enemy in that quarter. If the enemy continues at Brunswick, you must act with great circumspection, lest you meet with a sur- prise. As we have made two successful attacks upon them by surprise, 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. *^ You will keep as many spies out as you shall see proper. A number of horsemen, in the dress of the coun- try, must be constantly kept going backwards and forwards for this purpose, and if you discover any motion of the enemy, which you can depend upon, and which you think of consequence, let me be informed thereof as soon as possible, by express. " I am, dear General, yours, &c." In obedience to these orders. General Putnam took the field at once, leaving suitable directions for the prosecution of the w^orks of defence in the city. The design of the Americans was to hold the advantages already gained, and to harass the enemy, by all the means in their power — for * So successfully was this species of deception practised upon the enemy, that letters from officers in the army to their fi lends in England, represented the Americans, at this very tirop, as forty 'hou- windstronsr. See Almon's Remembrancer. 27S LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. Aev had neither men nor ammaniiion to attempt a battle They had succeeded in driring them from all their newly acquired posts in the Jerseys, except Brunswick and Am- boy, and had thus opened to ihemseives a large field for supplies, and siren encouragement to multitudes of those, who, while they were at heart friendly to the American caose, had bea^un to despair of ever bringing it to a siuc- cessful issue. Puinam's first movement was to Crosswicks, a few miles southeast of Trenton, on one of the routes by which the enemy mi^ht attempt to regain his lost position at Mount Holly. As no attempt was made to do this, and Bowe's forces seemed to be concentrating for winter quar- ters, Putnam was ordered to advance to Princeton. At this post he continued, during the remainder of the winter, within fifteen miles from the enemy's stronghold at Bruns- wick. His force was exceedingly small, never more than a few hundred. At one period, from a sudden diminution, occasioned bv the withdrawal of those whose terms of enlistment had expired, and who peremptorily refused to remain till their places could be supplied by new recruits, he had fewer men on duty than he had miles of frontier to guard. There was no time, during the winter, when he conld have sustained, for a single hour, the attack of a respectable body of regulars. Yet, so good a front did he maintain, and so successfully did he blind the eyes of his adversary to his real position and strength, that no efibrt was made to dislodge him. Amons the British who were left on the field at the baitle of Princeton, was Captain M'Pherson, of the 17th re• . 279 vvithoat a single accommodation^ and without a firiend tc solace the troubled spirit in the hour of death. He visited him, and immediately caused everv possible comfort to be administered to him. Captain M'Pherson, who, contrary to ail appearances, recoTered, after having demonstrated to General Putnam the dignified sense of obligations which a generous mind wishes not to conceal, one dav, in familiar conversation, demanded — '• Prav, Sir, what countryman are you r" ''An American," answered the latter. " Not a Yankee ?" said the other. " A full blooded one," replied the General. " I am sony for that," rejoined M'Pherson, " I did not think there could be so much goodness and generosity in an American, or, indeed, in anybody but a Scotchman." While the recovery of Captain M-Pherson was doubt ful, he desired that General Putnam would allow a friend in the British army at Brunswick, to come and assist him in making out his will. Putnam had then only fif:y men in his command — the remainder being oat, in detachments, to cover and protect the country. He was, consequently, very much embarrassed by this proposition. He was not content that a British officer should have an opportunity to spy out his weakness, nor was it in his nature to refuse complying v'':h a dictate of humanity. He luckily thought of an expedient, which he hastened to put into practice. A flag of truce was despatched with Captain IM'Pherson's request, but under an injunction not to return until after dark. In the evening, lights were placed in all the rooms of the College, and in every apartment of the vacant houses throughout the town. During the whole night, the fifty men, sometimes all together, and sometimes in small detachments, were marched from different quar- ters, by the house in which 2^1'Pherson lay. It was erwards known, that M'Pherson's friend, on his return 280 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. reported that General Putnam's army, upon the most mo- derate calculation, could not consist of less than four or five thousand men. The harshness and cruelty of the invaders, and particu- larly the German mercenaries, during the period of their temporary occupancy of New Jersey, reacted with a most salutary effect upon the American cause, alienating from the British interest the affections of those who had been hitherto loyal, confirming in their opposition those who had before espoused the cause of liberty, and rousing to instant and spirited revolt such as had been compelled to take sides with the conquerors, or at least to render a seeming submission. The humane and generous treatment they everywhere experienced at the hands of Washington, and his compeers, settled for ever the question of their allegiance ; and, from the time when General Howe eva- cuated his short-lived possessions on and about the Dela- ware, there were no truer or more devoted supporters of the cause of independence in the States, than those of New Jersey. While affording every possible protection to the persons and property of American citizens, the principal officers, in their various stations, seemed constantly to vie with each other, in giving proofs of vigilance, enterprise, and valor, against the common foe. The numbers under the com- mand of each were necessarily very small. But they were always on the alert for opportunities to annoy the enemy, incessantly hovering, in small scouting parlies, about their quarters, interrupting their communications, cutting off their supplies, surprising their foraging parties and pickets, and, in every other way, showing them that, though broken, they were not subdued. They maintained a constant communication with each other, and, by mutual counsel and assistance, and a perfect harmony of opera- SKIRMISHING. 281 tion, contrived, in a great measure, to remeiy the evil ot scanty numbers, and scattered posts. Lord Cornwallis was in command of the British forces at New Brunswick. General Dickinson, of New Jersey, was stationed on the west side of Millstone river, not far from Somerset Court-House, and about ten miles from New Brunswick. On the opposite side of the river was a mill, in which was deposited a large quantity of flour. Tempted by such a booty, of which he was in no small need. Lord Cornwallis sent out a party, about the 25th of January, with wagons and horses, to seize the flour, and collect such forage as fell in their way. While engaged in this enterprise. General Dickinson fell upon them in a most spirited manner, and drove them back, with some loss, taking from them forty wagons, and upwards of a hundred valuable horses, with a considerable number of sheep and cattle, which they had collected on their march. The two parties were nearly equal in number. The bridge over the Millstone was in possession of the British, and defended by their field-pieces ; so that General Dickin- son, to accomplish his purpose, was compelled to break the ice, and cross the river in three feet of water. General Putnam was still more successful in several expeditions, undertaken by his orders, during this trying winter. In the course of January, Colonel Gurney and Major Davis were detached from his command, with such parties of militia as could be spared from the garrisons, to protect the citizens of Monmouth county from the preda- tory incursions of the royalists, to which they were much exposed. Several severe skirmishes took place, in which the British invariably were the -sufferers, losing large num- bers of men, as well as horses and wagons. So well, in- deed, did they cover the countr}'', for a season, as to induce many of the most respectable inhabitants to declare, that :282 LIFE or GENERAL PUTNAM for the security of their persons, as well as the salvation of their property, they were wholly indebted to the s[)irited exertions, and well-conducted rrianceuvres, of these two detachments. Nor was this the only service rendered by such parties. While they rescued the country from the tyranny and depredations of the lories, they enf wagons mi2:ht be ordered to assemble at the landins: on this side, in order to receive your baggage. Or, if it should be thought that moving a body of men so near the enemy would put them too much on their guard, could not the troops be embarked at Peekskill, under pretence of reinforcing the garrison on the river, in order to expe- dite the works, and actually set off as if bound thither ; but, under cover of darkness, turn and push down the river .'' But here, possibly, a dilficulty will arise on account of the impracticability of getting down in the night, and the difficulty of being concealed in any creek or inlet on the western shore in the day. These are all mat- ters worthy of consideration, and I have nothing more in view than to lead you into a train of thinking upon the PROJECTED ENTERPRISE. 293 subject. Let the matter l)e communicated to Generals McDougall and George Clinton for their sentiments, but under strong injunctions of secresy ; for it always happens, that, where more than two or three are apprized of an undertaking of this kind, the knowledge of it gets abroad, which must immediately defeat any measure that depends upon secresy. " The place at which I should propose your landing would be in the hollow between Fort Washino-ton and o Spiten Devil. It is a good landing place, and affords a good passage into the road leading from Fort Washington to the Bridge. It is very obscure, and would enable you to fall in upon the back of the troops at Fort Independence, by which the surprise would be greater, and their retreat cut off. Thence your troops might, or might not, march up by land, and sweep the country before them of the enemy and provisions, as circumstances would justify. After consulting the gentlemen before mentioned on the propriety of this measure, let me know the result, by a careful person, and when the plan could be conveniently carried into execution. " I am, dear Sir, " Your most affectionate, &c., "GEO. WASHINGTON." Three days after the date of this letter, General Wash- ington removed his camp from Morristown to Middlebrook, and the subsequent movements of General Howe requiring his utmost watchfulness and activity, the plan of surprising his outposts was, for the time, abandoned. There was no officer in the army, who would have performed a ser- vice of this kind with more alacrity or effect than General Putnam. His saccesses in the previous campaign in New Jersey fully demonstrated that he had lost none of the 294 t.IFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. energy, promptness and skill, which had distinguished his partizan adventures in the Seven Years' War. It was not until the 10th of Tune that the British army, under the immediate command of Sir William Howe, left its quarters at Brunswick. For a considerable time, the movements of that commander were so uncertain and inex- plicable, as greatly to puzzle and perplex his sagacious antagonist ; for, while it was necessary for him to watch every point, it was still more so, that he should be at hand to meet the blow whenever it should be struck. The pre- servation of Philadelphia and the Highlands were objects of equal importance and interest. The former appearing to be the first aim of the British commander, General Washington prepared to gather all his scattered forces about him, to contest the passage through the Jerseys. To this end. General Putnam was ordered on the 12th of June, to send forward Generals Parsons, McDougall, and Glover, with all the Continental troops, at Peekskill, ex- cept one thousand effective men ; which number, in con- nection with the militia and convalescent at that post, was deemed equal to the number of the enemy then on the east side of the Hudson. The above detachments were ordered to march in three divisions, each to follow one day's march behind the other, and each of the first two divisions to be attended by two pieces of artillery. A few days after this, while these orders were in the course of execution, intelligence was received, through a Canadian spy, of the probable advance of General Bur- goyne from that quarter. To provide against this event. General Putnam was ordered slill further to reduce his etlective force, by holding four regiments of Massachusetts militia in readiness to go up the river at a moment's warn- in"-. He was also directed to order a sulTicient number of sloops from Albany, to serve as transports for the troops DANGER ON THE NORTH. 295 Ever on the watch for any intelligence, which might indicate the real designs of the enemy, General Putnam was enabled, on the 30th of June, to transmit to his Com- mander papers of great importance, in consequence of which a new disposition was made of the American forces, and Putnam, anticipating the wishes of Washington, put a portion of his own command in readiness to meet the exi- gency. In reply 'to this communication, Washington wrote, under date of July 1st, "The intelligence, con- tained in the copies of the letters you transmitted, is truly important. It appears almost certain to me, that General Howe and General Burgoyne design, if possible, to unite their attack, and form a junction of their two armies. I approve much of your conduct, in ordering Nixon's bri- gade to be in readiness, and I desire that it may be em- barked immediately, with baggage, to go for Albany, as soon as General Varnum's and General Parsons' brigades are so near Peekskill, that they can arrive to supply their place, before any troops can come up the river, and effect a landing, or as soon as a number of militia, equal to them, can be got in. It seems absolutely necessary for you to pursue the most speedy and effectual measures, to obtain a respectable reinforcement of the neighboring militia. No time is to be lost. Much may be at stake ; and I am per- suaded, if General Howe is going up the river, he will make a rapid and vigorous push to gain the Highland passes. You will not think of sending Glover's brigade to White Plains in the present situation of affairs." Thus it continued during a considerable part of this per- plexing season. Time was consumed, and strength and patience were tried, in marches and countermarches, which resulted in nothing but weariness. Before one order was fully executed, it was countermanded by ano- ther of an opposite character. Before the last of the thre« 206 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. divisions ordered from Peekskill was ready to leave that post, the demand for its removal was recalled, and one of the others was on its return, in company with a fresh bri- gade, to reinforce the garrison, now regarded as the post of peculiar danger. General Clinton was, at the same time, urgently requested, without loss of time, to call out a con- siderable body of the New York militia, from the neigh- boring counties of Orange and Ulster, to support General Putnam, while the latter called upon those of Connecti- cut, to swell the reinforcement. To meet these rapidly shifting movements, and exe- cute skilfully these continually conflicting orders, in con- nection with the other arduous duties of his station, de- manded a degree of activity, industry and talent, scarcely inferior to that of the Commander-in-chief, and a spirit and energy not always to be found in men of three score years. But though the labors of the season were exceedingly- arduous, and the perils of war imminent and incessant, there was occasional opportunity even with the soldier, for pastime. And Putnam, with his wonted good hunior, seized every opening that would justify a little recreation for himself and his men. A fine opportunity was offered on the first anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and liberal arrangements were made to improve it. It was celebrated with feast and song, and feu de joie — with eloquent speeches and patriotic toasts, in which sue cess to the blessed cause of liberty, and confusion to all its enemies, were pledged as heartily and truly as they have ever been by their successors. The concluding scene of that day's sport was peculiar and emphatic. On the top of one of the rugged eminences that overhang the Hudson, in the vicinity of his post, Putnam had discovered an im- mense rock, of several hundred tons weight, so perfectly Pir»t Celebration of the 4th of July in the Highlands. — Page 997. FOURTH OF JULY. 297 poised in its rest, that a comparatively small power, well applied, would destroy its balance, and send it thundering down into the dark ravine below. Having made his preparations, he drew up a handsome detachment of his force upon the height, accompanied by his principal officers, in full uniform, when, after an ani mated and amusing address, he gave orders for the lever to be manned. The mighty mass trembled and quivered and fell with a tremendous crash, accompanied by a simul- taneous discharge from the whole corps, and immediately followed by the thunder of the artillery and heavy guns in forts, whose echoes bellowed and reverberated a long time from the .heights and cliffs around. As the huge rock toppled from its old resting place, one party of the officers on one side of it, shouted in admirable unison — " So may the thrones of tyrants fall !" And when it settled into its new bed below, the other responded — " So may the ene- mies of freedom sink to rise no more !" The danger from the north becoming more imminent, by the evacuation of Ticonderoga and its dependencies, and the consequent advance of Burgoyne to the vicinity of the Hudson, Putnam was ordered to , furnish General Schuyler with still further aid, mcluding ten pieces of artillery, with the proper officers to direct m their use, and a considerable quantity of powder and ball. The following ordec to his aide-de-camp, Major Burr, appears under date of the 14th July: " Pursuant to orders from his Excellency, General Washington, you are forthwith to repair to Norwalk, Fair- field, and other places, adjacent on the Sound, and to transmit to me intelligence of the movements of the enemy. On your return you will pass through Litchfield, and leave orders for all detachments of any regiments 13* 298 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. of Nixon's brigade, to take tiie most direct route to Al bany. "ISRAEL PUTNAM." In the meantime, General Washington, with the army under his command, was gradually moving up towards the Highlands, on the western side of the Hudson, and, by the middle of July, had advanced, by way of Pompton Plains, as far as the Clove, a narrow passage leading through the mountains, about eighteen miles from the river — near the entrance of which he fixed his camp. From this place. General Sullivan and Lord Stirling, with their divisions, were successively sent across the river, to swell the already formidable force of General Putnam, the main body being held in reserve, to operate on either shore, as the movements of the enemy should require. Having, on the 20th, in consequence of information, which proved to be premature, advanced eleven miles within the Clove, General Washington addressed an ear- nest letter to Putnam, requesting the mos-t accurate and detailed account of the movements and designs of the enemy, both b}^ sea and by land, his present position being in the highest degree embarrassing and perilous. Putnam had, in the meantime, despatched General Sullivan, and other trusty and intelligent persons, to various points of the river, and the coast, to obtain such intelligence as could be safely relied on. Having by this means ascertained, beyond a doubt, that the British fleet, with a large num- ber of troops on board, had passed the Hook, and put out to sea, the army rt^turned into» Nevv Jersey, and prepared to oppose, with all its force, the meditated movement upon Philadelphia. General Sullivan, and Lord Stirling, with their divisions, were immediately detached by General Putnam, in the same direction, accompanied by all the Howe's i l l - m a n a g e d ruse. 299 field-pieces at Peekskill, except two pieces for each bri- gade that remained for the defence of that post. The next day, he received orders to " keep as many of his remaining troops, as could possibly be spared from the defence of the forts and passes of the Highlands, in the most perfect readiness to move, either to the southward or to the eastward, as occasion should require. I do not pre- tend," continued the letter, " to fix upon the number which may be necessary for those defences. You and your officers must determine this point, proportioning your defence to the troops left by General Howe on York Island. If you have not already done it, let the eastern States be mimediately advised of the fleet's sailing from the Hook, that they may be in a posture of defence, as no person can with certainty say where the blow will be struck." At this critical juncture, an attempt was made to blind the eyes of Washington as to the_real movements of the enemy. A young American, who had been a prisoner in New York, was employed to convey a letter from General Howe to General Burgoyne, with the apparent design of notifying the latter of the intended movements of the for- mer. The messenger — whether in obedience to his instruc- tions, or not, does not appear, but certainly in accordance with the wishes of the writer — immediately hastened to Peekskill, and delivered up the letter to General Putnam, by whom, after perusal, it was communicated to the Com- mander-in-chief. It was in the handwriting of General Howe, and read as follows : " New York^ 20 Jiibj, 1777. "Dear Sir, ** I have received your letter of the 14th of May from Quebec, and shall fully observe its contents. The expe- dition to B n [Boston] will take the place of that up 300 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. the North River. If, according to my expectations, we may succeed rapidly in the possession of B., the enemy having no force of consequence there, I shall, without loss of time, proceed to cooperate with you in the defeat of the rebel army opposed to you. Clinton is sufficiently strong to amuse \Vashino;ton and Putnam. I am now makino; de- monstrations to the southward, which I think will have the full effect in carrying our plan into execution. Success attend you. "W. HOWE." It was a Clumsy plan, and clumsily executed ; and pro- duced no other impression on the mind either of Wash- ington or Putnam, than to establish, beyond a doubt, the design upon Philadelphia, and hasten the march of the forces in that direction. Notwithstanding this decisive movement, and the con centrated interest which it created towards the capital of Pennsylvania, the posts in the Highlands were still deemed so important, and the necessity of the possession of them by the British, in order to a junction of their two armies, seemed so manifest and urgent, that Washington, to use his own expression, " could not help casting his eyes con- tinually behind him." That they might not be left too much exposed. General Sullivan's division was ordered to halt at Morristown, and be in readiness to return, at a mo- ment's warning, if necessary. On the arrival of the enemy's fleet at the Cape of Dela- ware, General Putnam was directed to send forward two other brigades, which he had already, in anticipation of the demand, transported across the river, and put in readi- ness for instant departure. The deficiency thus created in his own garrison, now reduced to two thousand Continen- tal troops, he was requested, if possible, to supply by im EDMUND PALMER, THESPV. 301 mediate requisitions upon the iniliLia of Connecticut and New York. The very next day, August 1st, in consequence of a new ruse on the part of the enemy's fleet, all these orders were countermanded, and General Sullivan's division, with the two brigades on the western bank of the Hudson, were directed immediately to return and recross the river, while the main body of the army prepared to follow with all possible expedition. Says Washington, in his letter to General Putnam, on this occasion, " The importance of preventing General Howe's getting possession of the High- lands by a coiip-de-main, is infinite to America ; and, in the present situation of things, every effort that can be thought of, must be used." By this continual marching and countermarching, in the hottest season of the year, the American troops were more harassed, than by all the fatigues and duties of the cam- paign, and many of them became so discouraged and dis- gusted with the service, as to embrace every opportunity to desert. On the third of August, Sir Henry Clinton, who had recently returned from England, and now commanded the British forces in the City of New York, sent up a flag of truce to General Putnam, at Peekskill. Edmund Palmer, a heutenant in a regiment of American Tories, had been detected in the American camp, in disguise as a spy, and the object of the flag was to claim him as an officer in the British service. The message, accompanying it, expati- ated upon the heinous crime of bringing to an ignominious death, by execution, a man bearing his Majesty's commis- sion, and threatened signal vengeance, in case of such a violation of his person. The flag was taken up the river to Verplank's Point, by Captain Montagu, in the ship Mercury, and thence forwarded to the camp. General 3C2 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. Putnam instantly returned the foilowing characteristic reply : " Head Quarters, 7 August, 1777. " Ednnund Pahiner, an officer in the enenny'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 executev^ as a spy, and the flag is ordered to depart immediately. " ISRAEL PUTNAM. " P. S. He has accordingly been executed." In the meantime, Burgoyne was advancing on the north, and the army in that quarter stood greatly in need of rein- forcements. General Putnam's post at Peekskill was the only one from which such aid could be immediately sent Washington, addressing him on the subject, on the 7th of August, remarks, *' I would not wish to weaken you, as the enemy seem to bend their course again towards you. I desire that you, and the general officers, would consider the matter fully, and, if you think that you can spare Cort- landt's and Livingston's regiments, they may be put in readiness to move." He also recommended highly the plan, in which Putnam was engaged, of fortifying, by va- rious works of defence, the entrance to the passes in the vicinity of his post. CHAPTER XXIII. COMMAND I> THE HIGHLANDS CONTINUED. LOSS OF F0RT8 MONTGOMERY AND CLINTON. Extent of Putnam's command— Relativ^e position of the forts — Plans an attempt on the posts of the enemy — EQs force greatly reduced — Sir Henry Clinton in New Jersey — Detachments for the main army delayed— Peremptory order to hasten their march — Militia of little service — Sir Henry Clinton in Haverstraw Bay — Favored by circumstances — Lands at Tarrytown — at Verplank's Point — at Stony Point — covered by a dense fog — Diverts General Putnam from his main object — Gains the rear of Forts Montgomery and Clinton— His advance resisted — Severe action — Gallant assault — Putnam orders a reinforcement — Works carried — Escape of part of the garrison — Putnam retires to Fishkill — Frigates burnt — British advance, burning villages and houses — Hearing of the surrender of Burgoyne, they return again to New York — Death of Mrs. Putnam — Peekskill retaken — Comments upon the late dis- asters. Sir Henry Clinton's object in sending the unfortunate Lieutenant Palmer into Putnam's camp, was to obtain accurate knowledge of the condition of that post, and the force stationed there, with a view to turning his arms against it. This General Washington fully expected, and, accordingly, wrote to General Putnam, on the 11th of August, as follows : " If General Clinton is left upon York Island, with the number of men you mention, it is probably to attack you below, while Burgoyne comes down upon you. It is a matter of great consequence to ascertain that fact. I beg you will use every method to come at the 304 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. knowledge of his force." This duty Putnam faithfully fulfilled, and obtained, by means of his spies, accurate information respecting the strength of the garrison in New York ; which he intended, if Providence should favor his plans, soon to turn to good account. General Putnam's command embraced the fortified posts in the Highlands, on both sides of the river. His head- quarters were at Peekskill, on the eastern side. Forts Montgomery and Clinton were situated on the western side — the former in the township of Cornwall, the latter in Monroe — being separated from each other by Poplopen Kill, a narrow stream, which runs down from the moun- tains in their rear. These forts were placed on very high ground, so that they could not be safely stormed in front ; and, being deemed — as was stated in the report of Generals Knox and Greene — inaccessible in the rear, were con- sidered, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, impregna- ble.* They were garrisoned chiefly by the militia of New York, who, to the number of about six hundred, were then under the immediate command of General George Clinton, Governor of the State ; of whom General Washington remarked, in reference to his command at this post : " There cannot be a more proper man upon every account." Fort Independence was just under Anthony's Nose, about three miles below forts Montgomery and Clinton, and on the opposite side of the river. It was situated on a high point of land, in the town of Cortland, Westchester County. Fort Constitution was rather more than six miles * The mountains which commence five; or six miles below these forts, are so high and rugged, the defjles, through which the roa;Is leading to them pass, so narrow, and so commanded by the heights on both sides, that the approaches to them are exceedingly difficall and danfferous. — Marshalij. DESIGNS UPON THE BRITISH POSTS. 305 above them, on an island, near the eastern shore. Peeks- kill Village, the general Head-Quarters of the officer com- manding at the station, was about two miles below Fort Independence, with a considerable creek, or inlet, between them, into which two respectable streams flowed from the north and east. The latter, being Peeks' Kill, gives it* name to the village, which is included in the town of Cortland. Continental Village, where most of the stores were deposited, was situated on high ground, m the rear of Fort Independence, and about two miles north of Peeks- kill, on the road to Fort Constitution. It was a military settlement only — its population being made up of those artizans, mechanics, and other laborers, who were employ- ed about the various works connected with the army. Having a very respectable force under his command, and being encouraged by Governor Trumbull to expect large reinforcements of militia from Connecticut, for that purpose. General Putnam formed a plan for a very impor- tant blow upon the enemy's posts. He had informed him- self accurately of their force, and the condition of their defences at Staten Island, Paulus Hook (Jersey City), York Island, and Long Island, and was making his arrange- ments for a simultaneous assault upon all these posts. Extensive preparations were making for carrying this plan into execution. In the view of his counsellors, who were able and judicious men, the position of the enemy justified the attempt. Success, which was probable, would be attended with the happiest consequences, by wrenching from the enemy all that he had hitherto gained, and get- ting possession of an immense amount of valuable stores of every description. This plan, which was formed early in September, was in very promising progress, when the demands for reinforcements to the main army became so urgent, that it was necessary to abandon it for a season 306 LTFh: OF GE>ERAL PUTNAM. About a month later, a similar attempt, upon a smaller scale, wiis suggested to Putnam, by the Commander-in- chief, and a movement in that direction was made, the details of which will be given in its appropriate place. General Sullivan's division was held in medio, at Mor- ristown, till the British fleet returned into the Chesapeake. They were then ordered to join the main army on the Delaware. General McDougall was also immediately ordered down from Peekskill, as w^ell as General Dickinson from New Jersey. The State of New Jersey becoming defenceless by the withdrawal of the main army to Pennsylvania, Sir Henry Clinton seized that opportunity for effecting an incursion into the country. His troops landed, in four divisions — at Elizabethtown Point, Schuyler's Landing on the Hacken- sack River, Fort Lee, and Tappan — approaching, at this last point, the vicinity of General Putnam. The object was to drive off the cattle, and to attack any small party of the enemy that might be met with ; as it was known that, in the divided state of the American army, no force of much magnitude could at this time be in Jersey. The number of troops engaged in the enterprise amounted to more than two thousand. Colonel Malcom's regiment, then stationed at Ramapo, just below the entrance of the Clove, watched their mo- tions, but was not in force to offer much resistance. A party of that regiment, under command of Lieutenant- Colonel Burr, who had just been promoted to that rank, and who was eager to be engaged in some active enterprise, was sent down to collect intelligence, and to prevent the ravages of the enemy's small detachments. There was also some skirmishing with the militia of the several places through which they passed. Th.^ enemy lost, in this way, eight killed, and eighteen wounded ; and, accord- WITHDRAWAL OF HIS TROOPS. 307 ;ng to the account of their own commander, seventeen were taken prisoners. As soon as General Putnam received intelligence of this movement, he ordered General McDougall to cross the river, with fifteen hundred men, and advance to meet them. The order was obeyed, but not in time to overtake the enemy, who were already retiring with their booty. This incursion caused great alarm in New Jersey, and rendered it necessary for General Dickinson to leave be- hind him one thousand of the militia, who w^ere intended to reinforce the army of Washington ; while it occasioned some delay, on the part of Putnam, in forwarding the detachments ordered from Peekskill — the necessity of meeting and resisting the hostile movements of the enemy in his own immediate vicinity, being supposed paramount to any order from his superior, issued in ignorance of those movements. The situation of the main army on the Delaware being critical in the extreme, a further order upon General Put- nam was issued, on the 23d of September, requiring from him a further detachment of sixteen hundred men, under General Varnum. This was to include the regiment of Colonel Malcom, which had been posted in the Clove, to guard the passes to the forts on the west bank of the river. In consequence of the previous delay in forwarding the expected reinforcements, Washington concludes his letter thus : " That you may not hesitate about complying with this order, you are to consider it peremptory, and not to be dispensed with." Putnam was, at the same time, required, for the protection of his own post, and ih-e passes in the Highlands, to call in all his outposts, and, if threat- ened with an attack, to get what aid he could from the militia. These orders being obeyed. General Putnam's force 308 L F F K OF GENERAL PUTNAM. was reduciMJ to iifieen hundred — three hundred of whom were miliiia, on v»hom no dependence could he placed. Many of those who had been sent in to reinforce this post, had deserted, and others became so restive and uneasy that the General, who well knew of how little value they w^ould be to the service, if compelled to remain against their will, suffered them to depart. The three hundred who remained, were but little better than men of straw. They would answer to count, when it was necessary to make a fair show of numbers ; but could not be counted upon, in the hour of danger. Knowing what heavy drafts had been made upon the Highland fortresses, and having himself received conside- rable reinforcements from Europe, Sir Henry Clinton resolv^ed to avail himself of the opportunity to attack them with the flower of his force, and thus, if possible, break a way through to the assistance of Burgoyne. He had an eye also, in this expedition, to the extensive and valuable military stores collected in the Highlands. Accordingly, with a force of between three and four thousand men, he sailed up the North River, and made his appearance on the 5th of October, in Tarrytown Bay. Everything combined to favor the movement of the British in this case. The forces of the Americans, which were not more than half those of the enemy, were neces- sarily divided between four points — two on each side of the river, and separated miles from each other. All of these must be guarded alike — the most important, as well as the most exposed, being those on the east side, which covered the miHtary stores and provisions for the army. While, therefore, it was incumbent on Putnam to have his eye upon all these points at once, with a view to adapt his defence to the attack, Clinton fixed his attention upon one only, and concentrated his whole force upon that — THE HIGHLAND POSTS iN DANGER. 309 only making such demonstrations towards tlie opposite side, as to mask his real designs. This is ever the advan- tage of him who takes the offensive attitude ; that, by a well managed feint, he can withdraw the strength of his enemy from the post where he intends to strike his deci- sive blow. By this means, General Clinton succeeded, on this occasion— being remarkably favored in the opera- tion by a heavy fog, which hung over the river, and con- cealed the greater part of his movements from the view of his adversary. After some manoeuvring in the bay, he landed his whole force at Tarrytown, whence he marched about five miles up the country, with no other object but to mislead and divert his enemy, and then returned at night to the landing. Embarking again the next morning, he proceed- ed up the river to King's Ferry, and made another landing at Verplanck's Point, about three miles below Peekskill upon which General Putnam retired to the fortified heightfe in his rear, covering the Continental Village. In the even- ing of the same day, a part of these troops re-embarked, and the fleet moved up to Peekskill Neck, in order to mask their movements at King's Ferry, which was below them. The next morning, at break of day, large detach- ments of more than two thousand men, destined for an enterprise against the fortifications on the western side, landed at Stony Point, just opposite to Verplanck's Point, and commenced their march through the mountains, into the rear of Forts Clinton and Montgomery. This disem- barkation was observed on the other side, but the state of the atmosphere was such that no estimate could be formed of its numbers. A large fire which was soon afterwards perceived at the landing place, led to the belief that it was only a small party, detached for the purpose of destroying the store-houses on that sid(>. The manoeuvres of thf 3i0 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. vessels confirmed this suspicion ; and the troops ro.iiaining at Verplanck's Point, whose numbers, though they could not be correctly ascertained, were nearly if not quite equal to his own, fully satisfied General Putnam that the medi tated attack w^as to be directed against Fort Independence Ilis whole attention was, accordingly, turned that way, and every preparation was immediately made for a resolute defence. The enemy remaining quiet at Verplanck's Point, and Putnam not being able to gain from his pickets and scouts any satisfactory report of their numbers or apparent designs, he went down, in company with Brigadier-General Par- sons, and Adjutant-General Root, to reconnoitre their posi- tion in person. In the meantime, the detachments which had landed at Stony Point in the morning, were pursuing their march towards the rear of the mountain fortresses. Long before the fog had cleared away from the bank, they were lost to the view of those who were eagerly watching for thera on the other side, and who now supposed they had return- ed to the ships, having accomplished their object of burn- ino- the storehouses. Avoiding the Clove, which they supposed too well defended to be forced, they filed off to the west, and passing to the rear of Dunderberg, began to climb the rugged and difficult passes toward Fort Clinton. Leaving a battalion at the pass of Dunderberg, to protect his rear, and keep open the communication with the river, Sir Henry Clinton formed his army into two divisions. One, consisting of nine hundred men, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, made a circuit by the forest of Deane, in the rear of Bear's Hill, in order to fall on the back of Fort Montgomery. The other, consisting of twelve hundred men, commanded by General Vaughan, and ac- companied by Sir Henry Clinton in person, advancod THE WESTERN F O R ]• S ATTACKED 311 slowly towards Fort Clinton, intending so to time theii movements, as to make their attacks simultaneously upon both fortresses. General George Clinton, apprehending from the move- ments below, that an attack on his position was intended, had despatched Major Logan, on the evening of Sunday, the 5th, to gain intelligence. He returned on Monday morning, and reported the landing of a considerable body of troops at the Point, but so dense was the fog, that he was not able to form any judgment of their numbers. Lieutenant Jackson was immediately despatched with a small party, on the Haverstraw road, to watch their mo- tions. He had not proceeded more than two miles, when he was attacked by a party in ambuscade, at a place called Doodletown. Returning their fire with spirit, he fell back toward the fort. As soon as the firing was heard, a hun- dred men were ordered out to sustain him. They were all soon engaged in a brisk retreating skirmish with the superior numbers of the enemy, disputing their advance inch by inch, though too w^eak entirely to repulse them. Their gallant opposition, and the roughness of the ground, checked the progress of the enemy for a considerable time. Meanwhile, the party under Lieutenant-Colonel Camp- bell was advancing, through the forest road, to the rear of Fort Montgomery. A party of one hundred and twenty men, accompanied by a single field-piece, which was all the artillery in the fort, was ordered out to meet them, in the hope of being able to hold them in check, until a rein- forcement, which had been sent for, should arrive from Peekskill. From the advantageous position of this little party, they were enabled to do immense execution upon ihe enemy, who were st veral times driven back in his desperate attempts to gain the pass. At length, filing off 311 LIFE OP GENERAL PUTNAM. through the woods, upon the right and left, they were about to surround the Spartan band, when, perceiving their danger, they made good their retreat to the fort. It was now about two o'clock in the afternoon ; and the enemy, in full force, approached the works, and began a furious assault, which continued about three hours. At five o'clock, a flag was sent up, to demand a surrender, in order to prevent the further effusion of blood. A spirited refusal was returned, and the attack was renewed. The defence was ably sustained until the dusk of the evening, when the enemy, by the superiority of their numbers, forced the works on all sides, the garrison being too small to man the lines in their whole extent. Through the treachery of the messenger, who had been despatched early in the day, to solicit a rf ^inforcement from General Putnam, the message did not reach that oihcer ; and he was wholly unacquainted with the movements of the enemy on the western side of the river, and the peri- lous exposure of his friends there, until it was announced by the report of musketry and cannon in the first onset. He was then on his return from Verplanck's Point, whither he nad gone in person, as before stated, to obtain certain intel- ligence of the numbers and position of the enemy. He hastened back with all speed, to order a suitable detach- ment to their support. In this he was partially anticipated by the promptness and decision of his Aid, Major Hum- phreys, who, being alone at Head Quarters when the firing commenced, hastened to Colonel VVyllys, then the senior officer in camp, and earnestly advised him, without waiting for orders from the General, to despatch all the men not on duty to Fort Montgomery. Five hundred men were instantly Obrdered on this service, under the corn- man J of the gallant Colonel Meigs, and were ready to march whei General Putnam arrived. They were hur- ESCAPE OF THE GARRISON. 313 ried forward with all possible despatch, having five or six miles to march to the place of debarkation. But it was too late. Major Humphreys, in company with Dr. Beards- ley, a surgeon in his brigade, rode at full speed through a by-path to the river, to give notice to the garrison that a reinforcement was on its march. But, notwithstanding all their exertions, they did not reach the fort, till it was so completely invested, that it was impossible to enter ; and they had the misfortune to be idle, though not unconcerned spectators of the storm. The works being carried, General Clinton, with a con- siderable number of his officers and men, who were well acquainted with the ground, were so fortunate as to effect their escape, under cover of the night, ami to reach the other side of the river, where they found the reinforcement in the act of passing over for their relief. The loss sus- tained bj' both the garrisons, in killed, wounded and pri- soners, was about two hundred and fifty, more than one third of their whole number. That of the enemy was about two hundred killed and wounded. Governor Clinton arrived at Peekskill about an hour before midnight. A council was immediately called, in which it was decided to be impossible to maintain the post, against the superior numbers that would undoubtedly be brought down upon it the next day. It was conse- quently determined to retire with the troops to Fishkill, a strong post about twelve miles up the river, and to com- mence immediately the removal of the stores. The Continental frigates, which had been stationed above for the defence of the chain, were ordered down for that purpose, by General Putnam, as soon as the man'"';,. ;r of iho aifair to the Commander-in-chief. 'TTi 318 LIFE OF CENERAL PUTNAM. there was no such text in the Bible, and tli.e good minister had been guilty of a pious fraud, in making up one for the occasion. It was not until the Bible was produced, and I he passage read by his own eyes, that he yielded the point — adding, as he did so, " There is everything in that book, and D wight knows just where to lay his finger on it." General Clinton, in his despatch to General Washington, informing him of the loss of Forts Montgomery and Clin- ton, concluded with the following remarks ; " I have only to add, that, where great losses are sustained, however unavoidable, public censure is generally the consequence to those who are immediately concerned. If in the pre- sent instance this should be the case, I wish, so far as relates to Fort Montgomery and its dependencies, it may fall on me alone ; for I should be guilty of the greatest injustice, were I not to declare, that the officers and men under me, of the different corps, behaved with the greatest spirit and bravery." The censure did not fall on him alone. General Put nam received a large share of it, as well as the whole of that which referred to the loss of the posts and valuables on the east side. The circumstances detailed above, which have been collected with great care from the most reliable sources, would seem to exonerate him from all blame. In his own post, he waited with prudence and firmness an expected attack, and would undoubtedly have resisted it to the last, if it had been made. To have attacked Gene- ral Tryon at Verplanck's Point, whose numbers were fully equal to his own, would have been to expose his defences to the main body of the British, whom he supposed to be still on board their ships in the river, aiming at those de- fences. That he was deceived by their manoeuvres, espe- cially in the then state of the atmosphere, was liis misfcr* VINDIi: ATION FROM CENSURE 31S tune, and not his fault. Other able and judicious officers, who were with him, were equally deceived. That he did not anticipate an attack in the rear of the western forts, and was surprised by it when it was made, indicated no w^ant of that prudent consideration and watch- fulness, which are essential requisites to the character of a great commander. An attack from that quarter had been judged utterly impracticable by the able committee* of officers who had examined the ground, a few months be- fore. " We are very confident," say they, in their report, " that the enemy will not attempt to operate by land, the passes through the Highlands are so exceedingly difficult." This opinion is fully confirmed by the reports of the British officers, who were engaged in this daring and difficult enterprise. A letter from one of them to his friend in London, published in Almon's Remembrancer, speaks feelino-ly of " the very many and extraordinary difficulties of this march over the mountains," and declares that they were obliged to contend with " every natural obstruction, and all that art could add to them." The movements on that side of the river were not seen by General Putnam, nor reported to him. As soon as the detachments had filed off from the landing, they were screened from his view by the mountains. As soon as he was made aware of the real designs of the enemy, he hastened to do all in his power to defeat them ; and but for the distance, and the difficulty of cross- ino- the river, would, in all probability, have been success- ful. General Clinton says, " I can assure your Excel- lency, that I am well convinced, if night had not approach ed rather too fast to correspond with our wishes, the enemy' would have been disappointed in his expectations, as a reinforcement of five hundred men from General Putnam's ♦ See page 29 1. 320 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM, army, were at the east side of the river, ready to pass foi our relief, when the works were forced." Marshall says, " The whole force under General Put- nam did not much exceed two thousand." This includes six hundred in the forts on the west side, and two hun- dred at the Clove, from which Colonel Malcom's regiment had been withdrawn by Washington's orders. " Yet this force," he continues, " though far inferior to that which General Washington had ordered to be retained at the station, was, if properly applied, more than competent to the defence of the forts against any numbers which could be spared from New York. To insure success, it was necessary to draw the attention of Putnam from the real object, and to storm the works before the garrisons could be aided by his army. This Sir Henry Clinton ac- complished." In reference to the above passage in Italics, it will be remembered, that the Commander-in-chief, on withdraw- ing the greater part of the forces from Peekskill, to aid his own operations on the Delaware, had directed General Putnam, " in case he was threatened with an attack, to get what aid he could from the militia." On the arri- val of reinforcements to Sir Henry Clinton from Europe, this aid was immediately called for. But, to use the words of Governor Clinton, who was on the spot, " It being a critical time with the yeomanry, and as they had not yet sown their grain, and there being at that time no appearance of the enemy, they were extremely restless and uneasy. They solicited General Putnam for leave to return, and i7iany of them went home without his permission. Urged by these considerations, he thought proper to dis- miss a part of them." As they were New York militia, brought there by the order of Governor Clinton, who com- manded in person at Fort Montgomery, it is not reasonable VINDICATED BY WASHINGTON. 3^2 1 to suppose that they were discharged without his consent and approval. In speaking of it, he nowhere expresses or implies the slightest censure upon his superior. A subse- quent order was issued by Governor Clinton for a portion of these militia to return ; but, before they could arrive, the post was lost. With regard to the propriety of abandoning the posts on the east side of the river, and retiring to Fishkill, it was determined on in council, and has never been called in question by any respectable authority. Washington never expressed any dissatisfaction with the conduct of Putnam on this occasion. On hearing of the landing of the enemy at Verplanck's Point, he remarked, in a letter to Gover- nor Livingston, of New Jersey, "This circumstance is somewhat alarming, as the situation of our affairs this way, has obliged us to draw off so large a part of our force from Peekskill, that what now remains there may perhaps prove inadequate to the defence of it.'>'> It will be seen hereafter that a Court of Inquiry, ordered by Congress to investi- gate this case, reported, that the loss was occasioned by want of men, and not by any fault in the commanders. This w^ant of men, Putnam had used every means ic his power to supply. " He had repeatedly informed the Com- mander-in-chief," says Humphreys, " that the posts com- mitted to his charge must, in all probability, be lost, in case an attempt should be made upon them ; and that, cir- cumstanced as he was, he could not be responsible for the consequences." General Washington, in replying to Clin ton's despatch, said, " I had the greatest hopes that Ge neral Putnam would draw in as many Connecticut militia, as would replace the Continental troops, and I make no doubt but he did all in his power to obtain them in time." Aid of this kind could not be drawn in at a moment's warninoj, to such an extent as to render essential service. U 322 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. And, at this particular time, the orders had gone out for reinforcements of militia, and some detachments were on the march, but did not reach the post, till it had fallen into the hands of the enemy. CHAPTER XXIV. DISSATISFACTION WITH PUTNAm's COMMAND IN NEW YORK. Putnam reinforced from the northern army— Projected enterprisi against New York— Colonel Meigs's successful scout— Move- ments on the Delaware— Hamilton commissioned to obtain rein- forcements from Gates— Visits Putnam at Fishkill— Returns to New Windsor— His Letters— Severe animadversions upon Putnam —Comments upon those letters— Contrasted with those of Wash- ington—Prejudices of the people of New York— Their origin- Washington's action,language, and feeling with reference to them —Governor Clinton requested to take the command in the High- lands—Explanation of the language of Washington on that occa- sion— Dickinson's enterprise on Staten Island— Putnam's diversion towards King's Bridge— Takes post at New Rochelle-Successful enterprises against parties of the enemy— Fires General Delancy's house— Takes Colonel Delancy prisoner— Descent upon Long Island— Success of General Parsons— Colonel Webb a prisoner. Immediately after the defeat of Burgoyne, large detach- ments, no longer needed at the north, were sent forward to Peekskill, until General Putnam's force, exclusive of the militia from New York and Connecticut, amounted to nearly nine thousand men. Before General Washington had received full advices of the important movements in the north, he suggested to General Putnam, by letter, the propriety of an attempt to cut off the retreat of Sir Henry Clinton to New York, and to get possession of the city , Pxpressing entire confidence in his (Putnam's) judsment 324 LITE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. and ability to pursue the most proper and efficacious means to secure the end. Although the British General had already secured his retreat to New York, General Putnam immediately called a council of his principal officers, in which it was unani- mously determined, agreeably to the suggestions of the Commander-in-chief, that four thousand men should move down the west side of the Hudson, and take post near Haverstraw ; that one thousand should be retained in the Highlands, to guard the country and repair the works ; and that the remainder, under command of General Put- nam, should march down on the east side of the river, towards King's Bridge. The object proposed by this dis- position of the forces was to cause a diversion of the enemy in New York, and prevent a reinforcement being sent to General Howe ; and it was doubtless an ulterior purpose to attack the city, should a favorable opportunity present itself. General Dickinson, at the same time, and with the same object in view, proposed a similar plan, in which he ex- pected the co-operation of Putnam. This plan also Wash ington highly commended, and urged its immediate execu- tion. General Putnam was deeply interested in this movement, and bent all his energies to secure it, but was prevented from even making the attempt — in the same manner as he had been a few months before — by the withdrawal of his force, to strengthen the main army on the Delaware. He was doubtless the more desirous to be the instrument of striking some important blow, at this *!me, as it would not only advance the good cause of his country, but in some degree make amends for the recent »''isasters in his department. While these projects were in contemplation, Putnam ent out some small detachments, to annoy the enemy, COL. HAMILTON'S MISSION. 'S2c and to protect the country from their ravages. In or^e of these, Colonel Meigs, with a division of General Parsons' brigade^ made a forced march to Westchester, where he surprised a band of freebooters, making fifty prisoners, and recovering a large number of horses and cattle, which they had recently stolen. General Howe was now in possession of Philadelphia, and the most vigorous measures were being made to open a communication with the fleet below. These measures it was Washington's principal aim to defeat ; and, suppos- ing that the British had no further designs on the north, he felt that the army in that quarter ought to furnish him with large and effective reinforcements. To this end, agreeably to the decision of a council of war convened for that purpose, he commissioned Colonel Hamilton to pro- ceed to Albany, to confer with General Gates on the sub- ject, and procure all the aid he could. He was, at the same time, directed to call on General Putnam, and desire him to send forward two brigades — Nixon's and Glover's — with all possible despatch. On arriving at Putnam's Head Quarters, Colonel Hamil- ton directed him, in the name of the Commander-in-chief, to forward the two Continental brigades named in his in- structions, and another of Massachusetts militia, consisting of sixteen hundred men, under General Warner, whose term of service would expire in about four weeks. He also procured an order for the instant despatch of the regi- ments previously called for, which had been delayed partly by the hope, on the part of Putnam, of being able im mediately to put in execution his project against New- York. It was understood, also, that, in addition to these, Poor's New Hampshire brigade, then just arrived from Albany, should proceed at once to join the main army. Hamilton then proceeded to Albany, to confer with Ge- S26 LIFE OF GENKRAL PUTNAM neral Gates. On liis return to New Windsor, just a week subsequent to his previous visit, he was greatly disappoint- ed that the expected reinforcements had not gone forward The statement can be best understood from his own letter to Washington, dated New Windsor, November 10th : " I am pained beyond expression to inform your Excellency, that, on my arrival here, I find everything has been ne- glected and deranged by General Putnam, and that the two brigades. Poor's and Learned's, still remain here, and on the other side at Fishkill. Colonel Warner's militia, I am told, have been drawn to Peekskill, to aid in an ex- pedition against New York, which it seems is at this time the hobby-horse with 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 this post. Everything is sacrificed to the whim of taking New York. " The two brigades of Poor and Learned, it appears, would not march for want of money and other necessaries ; several of the regiments having received no pay for six or eight months. There has been a high mutiny among the former on this account, in which a captain killed a man, and was himself shot by his comrade. These difficulties, for want of proper management, have stopped the troops from proceeding. * * * By Governor Clinton's ad- vice, I have sent an order, in the most emphatical terms, to General Putnam, immediately to despatch all the Conti- nental troops under him to your assistance, and to detain the militia instead of them. " My opinion is, that the only present use of troops in this quarter, is to protect the country from the depredations of little plundering parties, and for carrying on the works necessary for the defence of the river. Nothing more ought to be thought of. It is only wasting time, and mis- Hamilton's letters. 327 applying men, to employ them in a suicidal parade against New York. " If your Excellency agrees with me in opinion, it will be well to send instant directions to General Putnam, to pursue the object I have mentioned ; for I doubt whether he will attend to anything I say, notwithstanding it comes in the shape of a positive order. I fear, unless you inter- fere, the works here will go on so feebly, for want of men, that they will not be completed in time. I wish General Putnam was recalled from the command of this post, and Governor Clinton would accept it ; the blunders and ca- prices of the former are endless." In another letter, written two days later, he says, *^ I believe the past delay is wholly chargeable to General Putnam. Indeed, I owe it to the service to say, that every part of this gentleman^ s conduct is marked with blun- ders and negligence^ and gives general disgust.''^ Colonel Hamilton's order to General Putnam, above alluded to, is in the following pointed and authoritative lan- guage : " I cannot forbear confessing, that I am astonish- ed and alarmed beyond measure to find, that all his Excel- lency's views have been hitherto frustrated, and that no sin- gle step of those I mentioned to you has been taken, to afford him the aid he absolutely stands in need of, and by delaying which the cause of America is put to the utmost conceivable hazard. I so fully explained to you the Ge- neral's situation, that I could not entertain a doubt, you would make it the first object of your attention, to rein- force him with that speed the exigency of affairs demand- ed ; but, I am sorry to say, he will have too much reason to think, other objects, in connection with that insignifi- cant, have been uppermost. I speak freely and emphati- cally, because I tremble at the consequences of the delay that has happened. Sir Henry Clinton's reinforcement is 328 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. probably by this time with General Howe. This will give him a decided superiority over our army. What may be the issue of such a state of things, I leave to the feelings of every friend of his country, capable of foreseeing conse- quences. My expressions may perhaps have more warmth, than is altogether proper, but they proceed from the overflowing of my heart, in a matter where I conceive this continent essentially interested. " I wrote to you from Albany, and desired you would send a thousand Continental troops, of those first proposed to be left with you. This I understand has not been done. How the non-compliance can be answered to General Washington, you can best determine. I now, sir, in the most explicit terms, by his Excellency's authority, give it as a positive order from him, that all the Continental troops under your command may be immediately marched to King's Ferry, there to cross the river, and hasten to rein- force the army under him. The Massachusetts militia are to be detained instead of them, until the troops coming from the northward arrive. When they do, they will replace, as far as I am instructed, the troops you shall send away in consequence of this requisition. The General's idea of keeping troops this way, does not extend further than covering the country from any little irruptions of small parties, ^nd carrying on the works necessary for the security of the river. As to attacking New York, that he thinks ought to be out of the question for the present. If men could be spared from other really necessary objects, he would have no objection to attempting a diversion by way of New York." The writer will yield to no man in respect for the talents, and eminent public services, of Alexander Hamilton. But it is obvious to remark that, at the period when these let- ters were written, he was scarcely twenty years old, and COMPLAINTS OF HAMILTON'S LETTER. 329 without any military knowledge or experience^ while the person, of whom he speaks in terms of unsparing censure, and harsh disrespect, was an old soldier, a veteran officer, on whose head the frosts of three score winters had fallen, and whose martial virtues and martial deeds, in two wars, had won the admiration of friend and foe alike, and wreathed his brow with undying laurels. His opinions would certainly have lost no weight in this case, if they had been given in a tone and manner more becoming his relative position. Among the published letters of Washington, there is no reply to these communications, from which his opinion of them may be gathered. In his letters to General Putnam, on the subject, while he makes it sufficiently appear that he was disappointed in not receiving earlier succor from that quarter, his language is uniformly respectful and kind. General Putnam enclosed a copy of Hamilton's letter to General Washington, and added: "It contains some most unjust and ungenerous reflections, for I am conscious of having done everything in my power to succor you as soon as possible. I shall go to New Windsor this day, to see Colonel Hamilton, and, until I have orders from you, I cannot think of continuing at this post, and send all the troops away. If they should go away, I am confident General Howe will be further reinforced from this quar- ter." He then stated, in confirmation of this opinion, what he knew of the strength of the enemy in New York. On the receipt of this letter, Washington replied as fol- lows ; " The urgency of Colonel Hamilton's letter was owing to his knowledge of our wants in this quarter, and to a certainty that there was no danger to be apprehended from New York, if you sent away all the Continental troops that were then with you, and waited to replace them by those expected down the river. I cannot but say 330 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. there has been more delay in the march of tiie 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 en- sues from obeying them, the fault will be upon me, and not upon you." It is not proposed to claim for General Putnam entire exemption from faults, either as a man, or an officer. He was probably somewhat remiss in his duty on this occasion. But he was, by no means, entitled to the severe remarks of Hamilton. It is evident that Washington, though he approv- ed of the zeal and energy of his Aide-de-camp, must have viewed the whole matter, as it related to Putnam, in a totally different light. For it is hard to perceive how a measure proposed by General Putnam, in which General Dickinson was to bear a part, should be regarded worthy to be spoken of only as a " hobby," a " whim," and a " caprice ;" while the same measure, proposed by Gene- ral Dickinson, at the same time, and embracing in its arrangements the co-operation of General Putnam, should meet with entire approbation and respect. " Your idea," says Washington to Dickinson, " I think an exceedingly good one, and I am very desirous that you should improve and mature it for immediate execution. J am in great hopes it will effect the valuable purpose which you ex- pect ;" — which was, to prevent General Howe from receiving any further reinforcements from New York.* This letter was written on the 4th of November, two days after Hamilton's first interview with Putnam, and conse- quently while the former was at Albany. It was only one ♦ General Putnam had just learned from his spies, and commu- nicated to Washington, the fact, that four regiments were immediately to be sent round to the Delaware from New York. Writings, vol. v^ page 127. THE TRUE STATE OF THE CASE. 331 week before that interview, that Patnam himself had received the first suo;2:estion of the Commander-in-chief, that a movement toward New York, if well conducted, might be safe and advantageous. It is impossible, there- fore, to suppose, that Washington could have viewed the designs of Putnam in this contemptuous light, or justified the use of such reproachful terms in relation to it ; unless, for the time, he was wholly divested of that consistency and sense of justice, for which he was eminently distin- guished. It cannot fail to strike the most careless reader as sin- gular, that while, in one paragraph, it is represented, that " everything had been neglected and deranged by General Putnam," and that Poor's and Learned's brigades were detained at Fishkill by his fault alone, the very next para- graph begins with the acknowledgment, that " the two bri- gades of Poor and Learned would not inarch for want oj money and other necessaries — several of the regiments having received no pay for six or eight months. There has been a high mutiny on this account," &c. That this was the only real difficulty in the way, there is no doubt ; and there is ample evidence that Putnam used every means in his power to overcome it. His letters to the Commander- in-chief on the subject were frequent and pressing ; and Washington called the special attention of Congress to the matter, on the 10th of November — the very date of Ham- ilton's second and severe letter — in the following words : " I would beg leave to mention, that we are in great dis- tress for want of money. This will be more urgent every day ; and it is probable there will be a good deal of pay due to the troops coming to reinforce us. General Putnam writes pressingly for a supply , and says he is in the most dis^ agreeable situation for want of it.'''' If the troops " would not inarch " without their arrears 332 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. of pay, resisting even to mutiny and blood ; and if, with the aid of the eloquent Governor Clinton, Hamilton could not himself induce them to march, till he had borrowed six thousand dollars to meet this very difficulty, it would seem that he might have spared the old veteran some por- tion of those severe reflections. The mutiny took place before Hamilton's arrival. Against whom did they mutiny, if not against him who ordered them to march ? And who had issued that order but the commander of the post ? The truth is, there was a prejudice against Putnam, among the people of New York, and the political leaders had determined to have him removed from the command in the Highlands.* The precise grounds of this prejudice do not distinctly appear. If it was an alleged incompe tency to such a command, it is manifest that they differed widely in their judgment from Washington, who had had far better opportunities to know and judge of his qualifica- tions. Colonel Humphreys says : "The indulgence which he showed, whenever it did not militate against his duty, towards the deserted and suffering families of the tories in the State of New York, was the cause of his becoming unpopular with no inconsiderable class of people in that Slate. On the other side, he had conceived an uncon- querable aversion to many of the persons who were en- trusted with the disposal of tory property, because he believed them to have been guilty of peculations, and other infamous practices." Dr. Sparks observes : " It must be remembered, that at this station there were innumerable applications for pass- ports to go into New York, under the pretence of urgent business, and various matters of a private concern ; and it was thought General Putnam's good nature was too pliant on these occasions, and that too many opportunities were •Appendix, No. 3. Washington's opinion. 333 afTorded for an improper intercourse between the disaffect- ed and the enemy. At any rate, the symptoms of uneasi- ness appeared from such high sources, and were so decid- edjy manifested, that General Washington deemed it necessary to take notice of them, and change the com- mand." in recalling General Putnam from this command, Wash- ington, by the clearest implication, disavows any and every ground of censure or disapprobation, on his own part. " My reason for making this change," he says, " is owing to the prejudices of the people, which, whether well or ill grounded, must be indulged ; and I should think myself wanting in justice to the public, and candor towards you, were I to continue you in a command, after I have been in almost direct terms informed, that the people of the State of New York will not render the necessary support and assistance, while you remain at the head of that de- partment." Here is no intimation of incompetency or unfaithfulness, or of any reason, so far as the Commander- in-chief was concerned, why General Putnam should not retain the station he had held. It is clearly implied that, but for " the prejudices of the people," he would not have been removed, and consequently, that neither Washing- ton's wishes, nor Washington's private views of the good of the service, required his removal. And this was WTit- ten in March, five months after Hamilton's mission. On the 2Slh of November, a Court of Inquiry was order- ed by Congress, to investigate the causes of the loss of Forts Monto;omery and Clinton. This order was not exe- cuted by Washington until the 16th of March following, though he had long before decided, that the wishes of New York should be regarded, in relation to the command of the Highlands, as appears by his letter to General Gates, of the 2d of December Four days after the passage of this (5:i4 LIFE OF G F- V F R A L PUTNAM. order, Washington addressed a letter to Governor Clinton^ requesting his acceptance of that post. In urging this point, he makes use of the following argument, which demands, in this connection, a word of explanation. " You may rest assured," says he, " that there are no im- pediments on the score of delicacy, or superior command, that shall not be removed." Governor Clinton was a man of eminent ability, and unbounded influence in New York, and no better selection could have been made, on both these accounts. But his rank in the Continental army was only that of a brigadier - general, of recent appointment. Not only every major- general in the army, therefore, but all the brigadiers, among whom were some of the ablest and most popular men on the list, were implicated in this remark. It could not be tortured into a disrespectful reference to General Putnam, inasmuch as his removal had already been de- cided upon, on entirely different grounds, and an inquiry had been ordered, which rendered necessary a temporary suspension from all command. To return to the narrative, though Putnam's force was now greatly reduced, he was not inactive. The continual changes which were taking place in his command — the removal of his men from place to place — the miserable, broken, half-hearted service rendered by the militia — and the extreme destitution, at times, of money, and of many of the comforts and necessaries of life, made it altogether an unenviable post, and occasioned considerable delay in the prosecution of the repairs on the defences, which had been demolished b}-- the British. Not long after th-e continental troops had been with- drawn, General Putnam moved down, with a part of the forces that remained, and approached the enemy's posts on the east side of the Hudson. On the 27th of Novem PARTIZAN EN TCfi PRISES 335 Der, General Dickinson made a descent upon Staten Island, with about fourteen hundred men. He landed, before daylight, at Halstead's Point, -in three divisions, which ^larched into the island seven miles, by three different routes, and met at the appointed place of rendezvous. The prmcipal object of this expedition was to surprise General Skinner, the celebrated tory refugee, and General Campbell, who were stationed there. The most profound secresy was observed as to the design of the expedition- few even of the officers knowing anything of their destina- tion, till the very moment of starting. And yet General Skinner received intelligence of their approach, in season to effect his escape, with the main body of his force. Some skirmishes ensued, and five or six of the enemy were killed, and twenty-four taken prisoners. General Dickinson returned w^ithout effecting his object, but he received the commendation of Washington on his enter- prise, and the judgment he had shown in arranging his plan. To aid this enterprise, and at the request of General Dickinson, Putnam sent out Parsons and Warner, with their brigades, towards King's Bridge, to make a diversion in that quarter. Putnam reconnoitred in person within three miles of King's Bridge. But, finding no opportunity to operate with effect on that point, he diverged to New Rochelle, where he made a disposition to cross over to Long Island, and attack the forts at Huntington and Satau- ket. But the enemy received warning, in season to evacuate the forts before his preparations for embarkation were completed. Having received intelligence that small parties of the enemy were out, under the orders of Governor Tryon, to lay waste the property oi the unprotected, Putnam imme- diately detached three parties of one hundred iv, u each. 33G L[FE OP GENERAL PUTNAM. to prevent their depredations. Two of them were sue* cessful in their manoeuvres, and returned, one with thirty five, and the other with forty prisoners. The third party of the enemy succeeded in effecting their purpose, so far as to burn the house of a Mr. Van Tassel, a noted whig, dnd a member of the committee of safety, compelling him to accompany them naked and barefooted, over frozen ground and ice, to their quarters. Determined to show the enemy that firing houses was a game which two could play at, and that the loss was not necessarily all on one side, General Putnam directed Captain Buchanan to cross over to York Island in a whale-boat, and fire the house of General Oliver Delancy, one of the leading loyalists of that place. This act of justifiable retaliation had, for a time, the desired eflfect, of arresting this species of unmean- ing and wanton destruction. About the same time, one of Putnam's scouting parties, learning that Colonel James Delancy was at West Farms, a little below Westchester, determined to make him a prisoner. They, accordingly, surrounded the house where he lodged, and proceeded to search it. When the alarm was given, he jumped out of bed, and endeavored to con- ceal himself under it. But he was soon discovered, drag- ged forth, and carried to Head-Quarters. He was a tor}'- of too much value to be spared long, and Sir Henry Clin- ton soon found means to effect an exchange for him. He was afterward leader of a gang of irregulars, or bandits, known by the name of cowboys, and made himself infa- mously immortal, by every species of cruelty and excess. Though the season was far advanced into winter, and ihe weather was very severe, another and more serious enterprise was undertaken by General Putnam, the execu- tion of which was entrusted to General Parsons and Colonel Webb. The object was a descent upon Long DESCENT UPON LONG ISLAND. 337 Island, having four objects in view : to destroy a quantity of lumber, which the enemy was preparing, at the east end of the island, for the erection of new barracks in New York — to set fire to a number of coasting vessels, at the same place, loading with wood for the British forces al Newport — to attack a regiment, then quartered about eight miles east of Jamaica — and to remove, or destroy, whatever public stores they should find on the island. By the plan of operations, General Parsons was to exe- cute the first part, at the east end of the island ; Colonel Meigs was to land at Hempstead Harbor, and attack the regiment near Jamaica ; and Colonel Webb was to land near Huntington, to support Meigs, and to render such aid to the eastern division, under Parsons, as might be required. Meigs was prevented from crossing the Sound, by the unfavorable state of the weather. The other two divisions started with fair prospects ; but, unfortunately for Colonel Webb, he encountered in his passage the British sloop-of-war Falcon. Being only in a common transport, without guns, he could not oft'er battle, or attempt a defence. In endeavoring to escape, he was driven on shore so far from the beach, that he and all his party were taken prisoners. They attempted to reach the land in boats ; but the surf ran so high that the boats were swamped the moment they touched the water, and they had no remedy but to give themselves up to the foe. General Parsons effected his landing in safety, and suc- ceeded in destroying a large quantity of timber, boards, and wood, and one of the enemy's vessels. Captain Hart, ■jf this party, with a detachment of forty men, attacked a number of boats near the shore, killing eight, and wound- ing eleven — among whom was the captain of one of the British sloops-of-war. General Parsons leturned, with V 338 LIFE OF GENERA :. PUTNAM. his whole party unhurt, and twenty of the enemy pri- soners. The loss of the other party, by the Falcon, was sixty-five: viz. Colonel Webb, with four officers, twenty privates of his continental regiment, and forty militia, all picked men. CHAPTER XXV. NEW FORTIFICATIONS IN THE HIGHLANDS. PUTNAM DISPLACED FROM THE COMMAND. Condition of the defences in the Highlands — West Point selected as the principal post — Radiere prefers Fort Clinton — Putnam con- sults the Legislature of New York— To whom is the credit of this selection due 1 — Works commenced in January — Wretched state of the army— Putnam's letter on that point, and the obstructions in the river — He goes to Connecticut — The Court of Inquiry into the causes of the loss of Forts Montgomery and Clinton — Putnam superseded by General McDougall — Decision of the Court, exone- rating Putnam from all blame — Ordered to Connecticut, to raise recruits — Takes command of the right wing — Stationed at Dan- bury — Cluells a mutiny — Perilous adventure at Horseneck — Ope- rations on the North River — Putnam in command at the Clove — Wayne's success at Stony Point — Putnam's command near West Point — His name given to the principal fort — Results of the cam- paign. About the middle of December, General Putnam, by direction of the Commander-in-chief, returned to his post in the Highlands, with instructions to employ his whole force, and all the means in his power, for erecting and completing, as far as possible, such works and obstructions as might be necessary to defend and secure the river against any future attempts of the enemy. With a view to the more diligent prosecution of these works, he was advised to confine his attention exclusively to them, with- out attempting any active measures to annoy the enemy or to protect the country against his incursions. 440 -IFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. All tm forts, and other works of defence in the High- lands, ha 1 been entirely demolished by the British, during their twenty days' occupancy ; and it now became a ques- tion of importance whether these should be restored in their former positions, or new and more eligible places selected for the purpose. There were differences of opi- nion on this subject, among those whose interest and co- operation were essential to its progress. And it was this, together with the pressing want of money, and the poverty and hard fare of the soldiers, which occasioned the delay in the prosecution of the works, so often complained of by Washington in his letters ; and not any want of activity or zeal on the part of General Putnam. With a view to settle this question definitely and for ever, and proceed vigorously with the work, a thorough survey of the whole region was made in the early part of January, by General Putnam, accompanied by Governor Clinton, General James Clinton, and several other distin- guished gentlemen — among whom was Colonel Radiere, a French engineer of some celebrity. All, except Ra- diere, united in the opinion that West Point was the most eligible place to be fortified. Radiere opposed this deci- sion with considerable vehemence, and drew up a memo- rial, designed to show that the site of Fort Clinton pos- sessed advantages much superior to West Point. The British commander, Sir Henry Clinton, and his associates, seem to have entertained the same high o])inion of the advantageous position of Fort Clinton ; for, while the} demolished all the other forts, they commenced repairing and strengthening that, for future operations. It is possi- ble that this circumstance may have had some influence in affecting the decision of Radidre. As the French engineer was a man of science, and pos- sessed the confidence of Congress and the Commander-in- FOHTIFICATIONS AT WtST POINT 341 chief, it was deemed expedient by General Putnam to consult the Council and Assembly of New York, before he came to a final determination. At his suggestion, a committee was appointed by those bodies, who were em- ployed three days in carefully reconnoitring the borders of the river in the Highlands, and attending to all the suggestions of the more experienced military men who accompanied them, in reference to the several points deem- ed most capable of defence. After a patient and careful examination of every position, and every argument, they decided unanimously in favor of West Point— thus agree- ino- with every person authorized to act in the affair, ex- cept the engineer. It was accordingly decided, on the 13th of January, that the fortifications should be erected at West Point. Colonel Radi^re was sorely piqued at this result, and manifested his ill-will on the occasion by a petulant, unaccommodating behavior, and by the over- bearing manner in which he presented his estimates and requisUions,— which were altogether disproportioned to the finances of the government, and only served, as Hum- phreys remarks, " to remind them of their poverty, and satirize their resources." He was not long after replaced by the celebrated Kosciusko ; after which the works went forward w^ith more spirit. Colonel Humphreys, who was on the spot at the time, claims for General Putnam the whole merit of the selec- tion of this post ; and adds—" It is no vulgar praise to say, that to him belongs the glory of having chosen this rock of our military salvation. The position for water- batteries, which might sweep the channel where the liver formed a right angle, made it the most proper of any foi commanding the navigation; while the rocky ridges that rose in awful sublimity behind each other, rendered it impregnable and' even incapable of being invested by less 342 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. than twenty thousand men. The Biitish, who considered this post as a sort of American Gibraltar, never attempted it but by the treachery of an American officer." It is impossible to say to whom the credit of originality, m this case, belongs ; nor is it a matter of much impor- tance with reference to men who had so many other and more substantial titles to fame. The first recorded sug- gestion in reference to this point, of which we have any knowledge, is contained in the letter of Governoi Chnton to General Washington, dated December 20th, about tw^ weeks before the survey above spoken of. After declin- ing, for reasons of state, the proffered command in the Highlands, he freely offers his advice and assistance, wher- ever and by whomsoever they may be needed — gives several important hints respecting the construction of new- works on the river — and especially recommends that a " strong fortress should be erected at West Point, opposite to Fort Constitution." Before the close of January, when the snow was two feet deep, General Parsons, with his brigade, went over to West Point and broke ground. It is difficult, at this day, to conceive of the many impediments which then existed, in the way of completing such necessary works ; or the toil and suffering involved in their prosecution. The better to understand and appreciate it, the reader should remember that it w^as the same memorable season, when Washington, with his wasted, half-clothed, half-fed arm}'-, was freezing in his comfortless winter quarters, at Valley Forge. The marvel is, how such an army was held together at all, under such circumstances ; and how works of any description could go forward by the agency of men so poorly paid, £0 miserably provided for. And yet, such was the energy and zeal displayed by all con- cerned, that the works went forward With unexpected OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE RIVER. 343 rapidity and success. It was in forwarding and encourag- ing these works, observes Colonel Humphreys, " that the patriotism of Governor Clinton shone in full lustre. His exertions to forward supplies can never be too much com- mended. His influence, arising from his popularity, was unlimited ; yet he hesitated not to put all his popularity at risk, whenever the federal interests demanded it. Not- withstanding the impediments that opposed our progress, with his aid, before the opening of the campaign, the works were in great forwardness." Fortifications alone were not regarded as sufficient for the purpose of guarding the river, w^ithout other contri- vances to obstruct the passage of ships. Resort was, therefore, to be had to chains, booms, and chevaux-de-frisCy as before at Fort Montgomery. All these works were in the course of preparation together. On the thirteenth of February, one month after the site had been determined upon, General Putnam wrote to the Commander-in-chief, as follows : " At my request, the Legislature of this State have appointed a committee, to fix the places and manner of securing the river, and to afford some assistance in expediting the work. The state of aflTairs now at this post, you will please to observe, is as follows : The chain and necessary anchors are contracted for, to be completed by the first of April ; and, from the intelligence I have received, there is reason to believe they will be finished by that time. Parts of the boom intended to have been used at Fort Montgomery, sufficient for this purpose, are remaining. Some of the iron is exceed- ingly bad ; this I hope to have replaced with good iron soon. The chevaux-de-frise wiU be completed by the time the river will admit of sinking them. The batteries near the water, and the fort to cover them, are laid out, Tho latter is within the walls six hundred yards around, twoD- Si4 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. ty-one feet base, fourteen feet high, the talus (or slope) two inches to the foot. This, I fear, is too large to be completed by the time expected. Governor Clinton and the committee have agreed to this plan, and nothing on my part shall be wanting, to complete it in the best and most expeditious manner. Barracks and huts for about three hundred men are completed, and barracks for about the same number are nearly covered. A road to the river has been made with great difficulty." He then proceeds to enumerate some of the difficulties with which he had to contend, in the prosecution of his work. ''Meigs's regiment, except those under inoculation with the small-pox, is at White Plains ; and, until the barracks can be fitted for their reception, I have thought best to continue them there, to cover the country from the incursions of the enemy. Duhois''s regiment is vnfit to he 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, nor overalls. Several companies of enlisted artificers are in the same situation, and unable to work in the field. Several hundred men are rendered use- less, merely for want of necessary apparel, as no clothing is permitted to be stopped at this post. General Parsons has returned to camp some time since, and takes upon himself the command to-morrow, when I shall set out for Connecticut." That these statements are in no way exaggerated, there is evidence enough in all the chronicles of the day. For the painful counterpart, in all its hideous nakedness, see Washington's letters to Congress, of the 23d of Decem- ber* — to Governor Livingston of the 31st of the sam.e month — to Governor Clinton of the 16th, and to Congress * Writings, vol. v., pa2:es 197 and 206. COURT OF INQUIRY. 345 of the 27th of February.* The latter, in direct allusion to the above, says : "The enclosed extract of a letter from General Putnam will show how great the distresses are in that quarter for want of money. He has described their necessities so fully, that it is unnecessary for me to add upon the subject. I shall only observe, that his account is more than justified by many other letters, and that I am persuaded the earliest possible supply will be forwarded, and that the very important and interesting works carrying on there may not be the least retarded." As soon as General Putnam could conveniently return from Connecticut, where his private affairs demanded attention at this time, the Court of Inquiry, which had been ordered in November, was organized. It consisted of Major-General McDougall, Brigadier-General Hunting- ton, and Colonel Wigglesworth.| The following is an extract from Washington's letter to General McDougall, apprizing him of this appointment : " You will observe by the words of the resolve (of Congress), that the inquiry is to be made into the loss of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, in the State of New York, and into the conduct of the principal officers commanding those forts. Hence the officer commanding-in-chief in that department will be consequentially involved in the inquiry ; because, if he has been deficient in affording the proper support to those posts, when called upon to do it, the commandant and * Writings, vol. v., pages 238 and 2-^4. t It may be well to remark that such inquiries are almost invaria- bly instituted in relation to military enterprises which are attended with disastrous results. They do not by any means necessarily imply a diminution of confidence in the officers whose conduct is implicated in the inquiry. They are part o-f a great system, as necessary to the reputation of the officers, as to the Uue adjustrDenf of discipline an -I raward In the armv. 15* 346 r. I F R OF G e' N E R A L PUTNAM. principal officers v/ill of course make it appear, by the evidence produced in their own justification." General McDougall was at the same time invested with the command in the Highlands, respecting which it was remarked : " I am sensible this command will not be in itself the most agreeable piece of service, and that you would prefer a post on the principal theatre of action ; but the vast importance of it has determined me to confide it to you, and I am persuaded your object is to be useful to the public." General Putnam had fully realized the truth of these remarks, respecting the character of the post in the Highlands. But it was always a principle with him, never to shrink from any service, or complain of any duty, because it was disagreeable. It was on this occasion, when it became necessary to suspend his command for a season, in order to subject him to this trial, that Washington explained to Putnam the necessity he was under, growing out of the prejudices of the people of New York, of recalling him altogether from that post. The Court of Inquiry, after a patient and careful exami- nation of all the facts in the case, w^ere unanimously of opinion, and made report accordingly, that the disaster of the fifth of October, 1777, in which Forts Montgomery and Clinton were lost, "was occasioned only by the want of men sufficient for their proper defence, and not by any fault of the commanders. This investigation being satisfactorily termmated. Gene- ral Putnam was requested — partly, no doubt, with refer- ence to his own convenience — to return to Connecticut, and hasten with all possible expedition, the march from that quarter of the new levies of militia for the coming campaign, which Washington apprehended would open early, and prove an active and decisive one. This seemed F LI T N A M R L T U R N S TO THE CAMP. 347 ihe more certain, when, about the 1st of May, intelligence was received of the conclusion of a treaty of alliance be- tween France and the United States. It was the first formal recognition, by any of the nations, of American Independence, and was responded to, in all parts of the country, by universal acclamations of joy. It inspired all hearts wnth confidence. Washington, writing to Putnam on the occasion, ever as watchful and prudent as he was firm and hopeful in the goodness and ultimate success of his cause, said : " I hope that the fair, and, I may say, certain prospect of success will not induce us to relax." Except a few ordinary skirmishes, and the able retreat of Lafayette from Barren Hill, nothing of any moment occurred till the last of June, when the successful attack upon the retreating foe at Monmouth, gave fresh eclat to the American cause. Immediately after this felicitous event. General Putnam returned to the camp, and took the command of the right wing of the army, recently com manded by General Lee, w^ho was then under arrest for his conduct in the battle of Monmouth. Without any action of importance, the army was concentrated about the North River, as the enemy retired to New York. The season passed away with little else than marches and countermarches, with the view of being always ready for any decided movement on the part of Sir Henry Clinton. About the first of September, when the preparation? known to be making in New York indicated a combined attack, by sea and land, on the French fleet at Boston, dispositions were made to move in that direction. With this view General Gates, with three brigades, was ordered to proceed to Danbury, in Connecticut. Washington moved as far as Fredericksburg, about thirty miles from the river, on the way to Boston. General Putnam, with two brigades, was left in the neighborhood of West Point 348 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. for the defence of the North River, which, in the language of Washington, was one of the three capital objects at which the enemy would necessarily direct his force, and which it was his first duty to defend. General McDou- gall, with two other brigades, was ordered to join General Gates at Danbury. As no serious demonstrations were made by the enemy in either of these directions, the whole army, after remain- ing in this position more than two months, retired into winter quarters. General McDougall returned to his command in the Highlands, and General Putnam, with three brigades, composed of the New Hampshire and Con- necticut troops, together with Hazen's corps of infantry and Sheldon's of cavalry, was posted in the vicinity of Danbury, for the threefold purpose of protecting the coun- try lying along the Sound — covering the magazines on the Connecticut River — and being ready to reinforce the Highlands, on any serious movement of the enemy in that direction. In the course of the winter, a spirit of insubordination^ arising from the many hardships they had suffered, and the long arrearages of pay now due, manifested itself among a portion of the troops at Danbury ; and, but for the vigor, promptness and address of their veteran com- mander, whom they loved and respected, it might have been attended with the most serious results. The General Assembly of Connecticut was then in session at Hartford ; and a plan was matured by the two brigades belonging to that State, of marching to that place in a body, and de- manding redress, at the point of the bayonet, for the griev- ances under which they labored. The second brigade was already under arms for this purpose, when intelligence of their proceedhigs was brought to General Putnam. He instantly mounted his horse, galloped down to their can MUTINY IN CONNECTICUT. 84P tpnment, and, in his plain, blunt manner, 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 ? In whose cause have you been fighting and suffering so long ? Is it not your own ? Have you no property ? no parents ? no wives ? no chil- dren ? You have thus far behaved like men — the world is full of your praises — and posterity will stand astonished at your deeds ; but not if you spoil it 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 then the country will do us ample justice. Let us all stand by one another, then, and fight it out like brave sol- diers. Think what a shame it would be for Connecticut men to run away from their officers !" The General then rode along the line, and was received by the several regiments in the usual manner, with pre- sented arms and beat of drum. The acting Major of Bri- gade was then ordered to give the word for them to shoul- der arms, march to their regimental parades, and there lodge arms ; all of which was done promptly and with apparent good humor. One soldier only, who had been a ringleader in the mutiny, was confined in the quarter- guard. He attempted to make his escape in the night ; but the sentinel, though he had himself laken part in the mutiny, was so entirely convinced of his error, and won back to his duty, that he shot him dead upon the spot. During this season, the British, as usual, sent out an occasional foraging party, to sweep away from the unpro- tected portion of the country whatever they could find of stock or provisions. Unfortunately for their reputation for humanity, these parties did not confine themselves to this species of justifiable plunder, but burned and laid 350 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. waste the property of the defenceless. A corps of fifteen hundred men, under command of Governor Tryon, was, on one of these occasions, approaching the town of West Greenwich, more familiarly known as Ilorsenecky from a peninsula on the Sound, anciently used as a past-ure for horses, but now the richest and most populous part of the township. This was one of Putnam's outposts, and he chanced to be there, in person, when Tryon advanced.. He had no force to oppose him but a picket of one hundred and fifty men, with two pieces of artillery. With these, he took his station on the brow of a steep declivity, near the Pres- byterian church, resolved to do the enemy what mischief he could and then retire. As they advanced, they receiv- ed several well-directed volleys, that told with good effect on their line ; upon which the dragoons, supported by a corps of infantry, prepared to charge. Putnam immedi- ately ordered his men to provide for their own safety, by retiring to a swamp inaccessible to cavalry, while he secur- ed his, by forcing his well-trained horse, at full speed, down the declivity. The road at that time turned to the north, a little before it came to the brow of the hill, and, after proceeding a considerable distance, bent again with a sharp angle towards the south — having been dug along the steep in such a manner, as to make the passage practica- ble and tolerably safe. General Putnam, under the influ- ence of the same spirit with which he entered the wolf's den, being hard pressed by his pursuers, forced his horse directly down the precipice, — winding his course, how- ever, in such a zig-zag direction, as enabled him to keep his feet. His pursuers, when they came to the top of the precipice, struck with astonishment at his daring attempt, stopped short, and fired upon him as he effected the peril- ous descent ; when, despairing of overtaking him by the >^^^: ' c^.^- Petiloua Descent at Horjeneck. — Page 350. PERILOUS LEAP AT HORSENECK. 35 1 Circuitous course of the road, they gave over the chase He escaped the sharp firing of his pursuers, only one ball taking effect; and that, fortunately, passed through his beaver, without hurting a hair of his head. The road is BO much altered at the present time as to prevent the eye from fully realizing the extent of the hazard. It is now- blown through the rocks above at a great expense ; and continued by a causeway from the foot of the chasm to the valley below, in the very direction where the General descended. The story of the seventy stone steps, by which this hill is ascended, and of the magnificent church on the top, to which that wonderful stairway was designed to lead, is a sheer fabrication, originating in what Dr. Dwight calls, '' that mass of folly and falsehood, Peters'^s' History of Con- necticiit.''^ The truth is, there is a small Episcopal church on the brow of the hill, and the* members of the congrega- tion, who lived below the hill, being unwilling to take the tedious circuit of the road, when walking to the church, and being unable to ascend the hill in its original state, gathered a collection of stones from the road, and the neighboring enclosures, and placed them at convenient distances, to aid them in climbing this steep. The num- ber is commonly reported to b€ seventy, though sometimes magnified to a hundred ; but, instead of being a magnifi- cent flight of steps, the regularity of their arrangement would not distinguish them from the common stones of the .street. Putnam continued his route, unmolested, to Stamford — about ten miles. Calling out a party of militia at this place, he returned with all despatch, formed a junction with the little band he had left behind, and hung upon the rear of Tryon, in his retreat, with such effect, as to take about fifty of his party prisoners. Some of these being wounded, 352 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. were treated with such special humanity and kindness, that Governor Tryon addressed a handsome note to Put- nam in acknowledgment, accompanied with a present of a complete suit of clothes.* * There is an apparent anachronism in the common narratives of this adventure. Colonel Humphreys places it in the winter of 1778-9. A note attached to the Boston edition of his memoirs, print- ed in 1818, says, that the whole party of prisoners, taken from Tryon, on this occasion, was sent, the next day, to the British lines for exchange. This could hardly have happened at the time named by Humphreys ; for Putnam had, a year before, received specific in- structions from Washington on this very point. In a lettei of the *25th of January, 1778, after congratulating Putnam on the success of his two little parties against the enemy, which he hoped would have the effect to prevent their making so extensive excursions in future, he remarks: "One circumstance I cannot avoid taking notice of, that our officers who have been but a very short time in the enemy's hands, reap the advantages of any captures which happen to be made by us. This must not be practised in future, as it is the height of injustice, and will, if continued, draw upon us the censures of the officers who have been for a long time suffering all the rigors of a severe captivity. The proper mode of procedure is, to deliver them into the hands of the commissary of prisoners, who must be best acquainted with the propriety of complying with the claims of our officers in their hands." It is manifest, therefore, either that the whole enterprise is post-dated a whole year by Humphreys, or that the Boston editor is in error, in connecting the summar} exchange of prisoners with this occasion. The former is most probable ; since the incident of the suit of clothes received from Governor Tryon, which is also mentioned by Humphreys, connects the tv/o events together, while Washington's letter, alluding both to the success of Put- nam's two parties, and to the premature exchange of prisoners, estab- lishing the date of the one, necessarily decides that of the other. It will be remembered that, at that period, Putnam sent out three par- ties from New Rochellc, against the parties of Tryon, and that two of them were successful. The number of prisoners taken by both, as represented by Humphreys, was seventy-five. One of those parties might have been the parly at Horsfneck, increased by the picket to one hundred and fifty men. And, as that parly look farty prisoner* STONY POINT LOST ANDRECOTERED. 353 In the latter part of March, 1779, before General Put- nam received orders to move from his winter quarters at Danbury, he was apprized by the Commander-in-chief of the probable designs of the enemy to commit extensive depredations on the towns along the coast, and warned to be on his guard, to prevent their ravages as far as possible. But, having the advantage of vastly superior numbers, and armed ships, by which they w^ere easily and safely trans- ported from place to place, it was not easy to follow or check them in their cruel designs. It was expected, by the short-si 2;hted administration of that day, that this spe- cies of predatory warfare — keeping the country in a state of constant alarm and suffering — would wear out the rebellious provinces, and induce them to return to their allegiance. The effect was just the reverse, exasperating even the timid, and rousing the whole community to an indignant and hearty co-operation in sustaining the war. As the season for active operations approached. Sir Kenry Clinton formed a plan for opening the campaign with a brilliant coup de main up the North River. Wash- ington was immediately informed of the preparations mak- ing for this object, and penetrating, at once, their design, took measures to counteract them. Generals Putnam and McDougall were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to march ; and, on the 26th of May, the army under Washington moved by divisions from Middlebrook towards the Highlands. On the 30th, the British army, command- ed by Sir Henry Clinton in person, proceeded up the river ; and General Vaughan, at the head of the largest it would leave but a slig^ht difference to be adjusted in the two state- ments. This is rendered' more probable from the circumstance, that, in describing the Hoiseneck' expedition, Colonel Humphreys makes no mention of prisoners, whic li, as an honest man, he would not do^ if he had previously accounted for all the prisoners taken. 354 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. division, landed, the next morning, near Verplanck's Point. The other division, under General Patterson, accompanied by Sir Henry, landed on the west side, near Stony Point. The works at this place, which were in an unfinished state, were abandoned at once to the enemy. The garrison at Fort Lafayette, on the opposite side, con- sisting of seventy men, being invested by General Vaughan on the land side, and by the galleys on the water side, was compelled to surrender as prisoners of war. The design of this expedition was evidently to get pos- session of West Point, and the river. But, while these movements were in progress, that post was so strongly reinforced, that it was deemed too hazardous to prosecute the design any farther. The whole army, under the im- mediate command of Washington, was now concentrated in the Highlands. General Putnam, with his division, had crossed the river, and joined the main body in the Clove. On the 23d of June, General Washington remov- ed his head-quarters to New Windsor, leaving the main body at the former place, under the immediate command of Putnam. The two posts on the river, recently taken by the ene- my, were important to both parties. The possession of them by the British was a great inconvenience to the American army, as it cut off one of their best communica- tions, by King's Ferry, between their principal posts on the two sides of the river, besides affording to the enemy convenient vantage ground, from which to advance higher up. They were immediately put into a condition of defence, and ably garrisoned ; while, at the same time, measures were adopted by Washington to recover them. On the 15th of July, Stony Point was gallantly stormed and recovered by General Wayne, and the whole garrison made prisoners — consisting of nearly six hundred men. WORKS AT W K S T P O I iN T . 355 The attempt upon Verplanck's Point was to have been made at the same time. But it failed ; and in consequence of this failure, it became necessary to abandon Stony Point again to the enemy. It was then more strongly fortified and garrisoned than before ; but was again, in a short time, with the opposite post at Verplanck's, finally evacuated, and left to the quiet possession of the Americans. On the 21st of July, Washington established his head- quarters at West Point, and remained there until Decem- ber, when the army went into winter quarters. It was during this period that the strong works at West Point and its vicinity were chiefly constructed. During a con- siderable part of the time, twenty-five hundred men were daily on fatigue duty. The right wing of the army, con- sisting of the Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia troops, was commanded by General Putnam. His post was at Buttermilk Falls, about two miles below West Point. As Jhe fatigue parties were furnished alternately by each livision of the army, and as General Putnam was expe- rienced in this department, he took an active and efficient part in completing the fortifications which had been laid out under his own eye, and the site for which had been selected chiefly through his agency. He had the honor of giving his own name to the principal fort. It is still to be seen, though in ruins, reminding the multitudes who annu- ally visit the spot, of the labors, suflferings and sacrifices, as well as of the virtues and honors of that noble band of heroes, who achieved our Independence. With the exception of Wayne's enterprise at vStony Point, and another of equal merit, under the gallant Major Henry Lee, at Paulus Hook (Jersey City), the campaign of 1779 was productive of no important events, so far as the main body of the army under Washington was con- cerned. That commander, under dale of the 30th of Sep Sbt) LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. ternber, thus characterizes the campaign in a letter tc Lafayette : " The operations of the enemy have been con- fined to the establishment of works of defence, taking a post at King's Ferry, and burning the defenceless towns of New Haven, Fairfield and Norwalk, on the Sound, within reach of their shipping, where little else was, or could be opposed to them, than the cries of distressed women and helpless children ; but these were offered in vain. Since these notable exploits, they have never step- ped out of their works, or beyond their lines. How a con- duct of this kind is to effect the conquest of America, the wisdom of a North, a Germain, or a Sandwich, can best decide. It is too deep and refined for the comprehension of common understandings, and the general run of poli- ticians.'' CHAPTER XXVL RETIREMENT AND LAST DAYS OF THE HERO. Pitnam visits his family in Connecticut— Sets out on his return to the army— Is struck with paralysis, and retires— His interest in public affairs— Correspondence with Washington— His efforts to promote temperance— His abhorrence of duelling— His mode of accepting challenges— His peaceful enjoyment of the evening of life— Public and private estimation of his character— Testimony of Drs. Dwight and Whitney— A Christian's death— Funeral honors — Epitaph. When the army went into winter quarters at Morristown, early in December, General Putnam took leave of absence for a few weeks, and went, with his Aids, to visit his family in Connecticut. Before the end of that month, he set out on his return to the camp. He had proceeded but a few miles, on the way to Hartford, when his progress was arrested by an attack of paralysis, by which the use of his limbs on one side was temporarily lost. He was enabled to reach the house of his friend Colonel Wads- worth ; where, unwilling to admit the real character of his disease, he endeavored, by active exertion, to shake it off. It refused to yield to so simple a remedy, and the old soldier, with a mind wholly unimpaired by his years and labors, and a heart warmly devoted to the cause of his country, was compelled to submit, for the remainder of his days, to a life of comparative inaction. General Putnam survived this attack somewhat more 35S 1.IPE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. than eleven years. He was never so disabled , as to be deprived of the povi^er of enjoying moderate exercise in walking and riding ; and even in the last year >f his life, and but a few weeks before he was called av^ay, he tra- velled, by slow stages, on horseback, to Daavers, the place of his birth, a distance of one hundred mlhs. With his accustomed independence, on arriving at the house of his relative, he refused assistance in dismounting, and jumped to the ground with something of th® agility of youth. His mental faculties, his relish for isocial enjoy- ment, his love of pleasantry, and, more than all, his love of country, he retained, undiminished, to the last. Few men had more or firmer friends, or shared more largely in the confidence and respect of those who knew him. With the liveliest interest he watched the motions of the army, and the progress of public affairs, and maintain- ed a free correspondence with the Commander-in-chief, and his old comrades in the camp. It would appear that, at one time, about six months after his first attack, he entertained strong hopes of being able to rejoin the army. In reply to a letter, expressing such a hope as this. Gene- ral Washington wrote, on the 6th of Juty, 1780, as fol- lows : " Dear Sir : " I am very happy to learn from your letter of the 29th, that the present state of your health is so flattering, and that it promises you the prospect of being in a condi- tion to make a visit to your old associates some time this campaign. I wish it were in my power to congratulate you upon a complete recovery. I should feel a sincere satisfaction in such an event, and I hope for it heartily, with the rest of your friends in this quarter. " I am, dear Sir, &c. *' GEO. WASHINGTON " Washington's letter 259 Three years after, on the conclusion of the treaty of peace, and the final establishment of American Independ- ence, and in response to the hearty congratulations of Putnam on that interesting occasion, the Father of his country addressed him in the following affectionate and respectful terms. The whole letter is in the highest de- gree complimentary to his military standing and "services, and indicates, in terms which cannot be mistaken, the esti- mation in which he was held by the waiter and his asso- ciates. ^^ Head Quarters, 2d June ^ 1783. " Dear Sir : ^ ^ > " 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 through the course of this war, and from whose cheerful assistance and advice I have received much support and confidence, in the various and trying vicissitudes of a complicated con- test, the name of Putnam is not forgotten ; nor will 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 RightSy Liberties^ and Independence of our Country. " Your congratulations on the happy prospects of our peace and independent security, with their attendant bless- ings to the United States, I receive with great satisfac- tion ; and beg that you will accept a return of my gratula- tions to you on this auspicious event — an eveni, in which, great as it is in itself, and glorious as it will probably be in its consequences, you have a right to participate largely, from the distinguished part you have contributed towards its attainment 360 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. *' 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 labors, which have terminated with such general satisfaction, I lament that you should feel the ungrateful returns of a country in whose service you have exhausted your bodily health, and expended the vigor of a youthful constitution. I wish, however, that your expectations of returning sentiments of liberality may be verified. I have a hope that they may — but should they not, your career will not be a singular one. Ingrati- tude has been experienced in all ages ; and Republics, in particular, have ever been famed for the exercise of that unnatural and sordid vice. '' The Secretary at War, who is now here, informs me that you have been considered as entitled to full pay since your absence from the field, and that you will still be considered in that light till the close of the war ; at which period you will be equally entitled to the same emoluments of half-pay, or commutation, as other officers of your rank. The same opinion is also given by the Paymaster-General, who is now with the army, empow- ered by Mr. Morris for the settlement of all their accounts, and who will attend to yours, whenever you shall think proper to send on for that purpose, which it will probably be best for you to do in a short time. " I anticipate, with pleasure, the day — and that I trust not far off — when I shall quit the busy scenes of a military employment, and retire to the more tranquil walks of domestic life. In that, or whatever other situation Provi- dence may dispose of my future days, the remembrance of the many friendships and connections I have had the hap- piness to contract with the gentlemen of the Army, will be one of my most grateful reflections. Under this contem- jjlation^ and impressed with the sentiments of benevolence A FRIEND OF TEMPERANCE. 36 and regard^ I commend you, my dear Sir, my other friendsy and mill them the interest and happiness of our dear coun try, to the keeping and protection of Almighty God " I have the honor to be, &c., "GEORGE WASHINGTON '' To the Honorable Major-General Putnam." That the old veteran was a good citizen, as v^^ell as a brave soldier and an able officer, and, in retiring from the army, did not lose sight of the interests of society around him, will appear from the following letter ; which will commend itself especially to the Washingtonians, Recha- bites, and other temperance reformers of the day. I'hough it does not come up to the standard of this tetotal age, it was certainly in advance of the age in which he lived The original letter is among the papers of the Connecticut Historical Society, at Hartford. " Brooklyn* Feb. 18, 1782. *' Gentlemen : " Being an enemy to Idleness, Dissipation and Intem- perance, I would object against any measures which may be conducive thereto; and, the multiplying of public houses, where the public good does not require it, has a direct tendencv to ruin the morals of youth, and promote idleness and intemperance among all ranks of people, espe- cially as the grand object of the candidates for licenses is money ; and, when that is not the case, men are not over apt to be tender of people's morals or purses. The au thorities of this town, I think, have run into a great error in approbating an additional number of public houses especially in this parish. They have approbated two houses in the centre, where there never was custom ( mean travelling custom) enough for one. The other cus ♦ Brooklyn was set off ^"-om Pomfret, 362 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM torn (the domestic) I have been informed, has, of late years, increased ; and the licensing another house, I fear, would increase it more. As I kept a public house here myself, a number of years before the war, I had an oppor- tunity of knowing, and certainly do know, that the travel- ling custom is too trifling for a man to lay himself out sc as to keep such a house as travellers have a right to ex- pect. Therefore, I hope your Honors will consult the good of this parish, so as to license only one of the two houses. I shall not undertake to say which ought to be licensed. Your Honors will act according to your best information. " I am, with esteem, " Your Honor's humble servant, " ISRAEL PUTNAM. " To the Honorable County Court, to be holden at Windham, on the 19th instant." Though he had passed so great a portion of his life in the camp, amidst the demoralizing influences and false maxims which prevail in that arbitrary and unnatural state of society, General Putnam, with one exception only, maintained a high standard of moral virtue. During most of his military life, he was addicted to the soldier's habit of profaneness ; and most of the anecdotes related of him, are freely interlarded with oaths. This sin he acknow- ledged, lamented, and wholly abjured in his later years. To duelling, that worst and most heartless species of legal- ized murder, he was always and utterly opposed — holding in hearty abhorrence every principle of the so-called code of honor. It was a practice which few men could better a^ord to hold in supreme contempt ; for his courage was aDove suspicion. It once happened that, without inteniling an insult, he HIS VIEWS OF DUELLING. 363 grossly offended a brother officer. The dispute arose at a wine table, and the officer demanded instant reparation. Putnam, being a little excited, expressed his willingness to accommodate the gentleman with a fight ; and it was stipulated that the duel should take place on the following morning, and that they should fight without seconds. At the appointed time, the officer went to the ground, armed with sword and pistols. On entering the field, Putnam, who had taken a stand at the opposite extremity, and at a distance of thirty rods, levelled his musket, and fired at him. The gentleman now ran toward his antago- nist, who deliberately proceeded to reload his gun. " What are you about to do .?" exclaimed he. " Is this the conduct of an American officer, and a man of honor .?" " What am I about to do .^" exclaimed the General, attending only to the first question. " A pretty question to put to a man whom you intended to murder ! Pm about to kill you ; and if you don't beat a retreat in less time than 'twould take old Heath to hang a tory, you are a gone dog ;" at the same time returning his ramrod to its place, and throwing the breach of his gun into the hollow of his shoulder. This intimation was too unequivocal to be misunder- stood ; and the valorous duellist turned and fled for dear life. An English officer, who was a prisoner on his parole, being offended at some remarks of General Putnam, in which he had reflected with some severity upon the cha- racter of the British, demanded satisfaction, as for a per- sonal insult. Putnam accepted the challenge, and having his choice of the weapons, agreed to meet his antagonist the next morning, at a certain place which he named, pre- pared with arms for both parties. On the arrival of the Englishman at the appointed place, he found Putnam seal ?A4 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. ed by the side of what appeared to be a barrel of powder smoking his pipe — a common match being inserted into a small opening in the top of the barrel. Requesting the Englishman to sit down on the other side of the cask, he set fire to the match with his pipe, and coolly remarking that there was an equal chance for both of them, went on with his smoking. The Englishman watched the match, for a moment, as the fire crept slowly down towards the powder, and then starting hastily up, made a precipitate retreat. " You are just as brave a man as I took you to be," said Putnam. " This is nothing but a barrel of onions, with a few grains of powder on the head, to try you by. But you don't like the smell." In following out the tableaux vivants of history, we are so often compelled to leave our chosen hero weltering in his blood on an untimely field, or wearing away the prime of his days in captivity, that we take unusual satisfaction in contemplating the long evening of calm and dignified repose, that closed the active and adventurous career of Putnam. Though incapacitated for further service in the stirring scenes of the camp and the field, he retained, in full vigor, his power to enjoy and promote the tranquil pleasures of social life. Fortunately, the thrift and indus- try of his early years, and the prudent management of his temporal affairs, had secured an ample competency for his declining years, and placed him above that painful and humiliating embarrassment, which embittered the last days of so many of his worthy compeers in that glorious strug- gle. In a pleasant home, which his own industry had procured and adorned ; in the midst of a kind and affec- tionate family, happy in themselves and in him ; and of a free and prosperous people, v^'ho looked np to and veiie- HIS CHARACTER. ^^'* rated l.im, as one of the authors of their freedom and prosperity ; with a wide circle of admiring and confiding friends among the best and worthiest in the land ; and in the cheerful,^ conscientious performance of all the duties of a kind father, a faithful friend, a good neighbor, a wor thy citizen, a high-minded patriot, and a devout Christian, he diligently improved his long furlough from the scenes of earthly strife and toil, in maintaining a spiritual warfare against inward foes, and preparing for a spiritual rest. The narrative of his adventurous life sufficiently illus- trates his martial virtues, his intrepid bravery, and con- summate skill, and his humane and generous regard foi the unfortunate victims of war. '' But," as Mr. Peabody beautifully and justly remarks, " his military reputation, high as it was, concealed no dark traits of personal cha- racter beneath its shadow. In all the domestic relations, the surest test of habitual virtue, he was most exemplary ; and his excellence in this respect deserves the more notice, as the stern discipline and wild adventure, in which so much of his life was spent, were more favorable to the growth of severer qualities. His disposition was frank, generous and kind ; in his intercourse with others, he was open, just, sincere and unsuspecting ; liberal in his hospi- tality, and of ready benevolence, wherever there was occa- sion for his charity. Those who knew him best were the most fo«.vard to express their admiration of his excel- lence." Dr. Dwight, who was personally and intimately ac- quainted with him, in private as well as public life, beaj*** this testimony to his character. " With only the advantages of a domestic education, in a plain farmer's family, and the usual instruction of a common parish school, he raised himself from the man- agement of a farm, to 'the command of a regiment, ia the 3'&Q LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNARI. last Canadian War ; and in the Revolutionary War, to the second command in the armies of the United States. To- these stations he rose solely by his own efforts, directed steadily to the benefit of his country, and with the cheer- ful, as well as united, suffrages of his countrymen. '* Every employment in which he engaged, he filled with reputation. In the private circles of life, as a hus- band, father, friend and companion, he was alike respected and beloved. In his manners, though somewhat more direct and blunt than those of most persons who have received an early, polished education, he was gentlemanly, and very agreeable. In his disposition he was sincere, tender-hearted, generous, and noble. It is not known that the passion of fear ever found a place in his breast. His word was regarded as ample security for anything, for which it was pledged ; and his uprightness commanded absolute confidence. His intellect was vigorous ; and his wit pungent, yet pleasant and sportive. The principal part of his improvements, however, were derived from his own observation, and his correspondence with the affairs of men. During the gayest and most thoughtless period of his life, he still regarded Religion with profound reve- rence, and read the Scriptures with the deepest veneration. On the public worship of God he was a regular and very respectful attendant. In the decline of life, he publicly professed the religion of the Gospel ; and in the opinion of the respectable clergyman of Brooklyn, the Rev. Dr. Whitney, from whose mouth I received the information, died hopefully a Christian.'" Dr. Whitney, in a sermon preached immediately after General Putnam's death, says : " He was eminently a person of public spirit, an unshaken friend of liberty, and was proof against attempts to induce him to betray and desert his country The baits to do so were rejected with HIS DEATH. 307 the utmost abhorrence. He was of a kind, benevolent disposition ; pitiful to the distressed, charitable to the needy, and ready to assist all who wanted his help. In his family he was the tender, aflecfionate husband, the provident father, an exanij^le of industry and close appli- cation to business. He was a constant attendant upon the public worship of God, from his youth up. He brought his family with him, when he came to worship the Lord. He was not ashamed of family religion. His house was a house of prayer. For many years he was a professor of religion. In the last years of his life, he often expressed a great regard for God, and the things of God. There is one, at least, to whom he freely disclosed the workings of his mind — his conviction of sin — his grief for it — his de- pendence on God, through the Redeemer, for pardon — and his hope of a future happy existence, whenever his strength and heart should fail him. This one makes men tion of these things, for the satisfaction and comfort of his children and friends ; and can add, that, being with the General a little before he died, he asked him whether his hope of future happiness, as formerly expressed, now- attended him. His answer was in the affirmative ; with a declaration of his resignation to the will of God, and his willingness even then to die." In this hope, and in the full possession of his faculties to the last, he died, on the 19th of May, 1790, in the seven- ty-third year of his age. He w^as borne to his grave with the martial honors usuall}'' accorded to a brave and patri- otic soldier. His death was noticed, with every mark of respect, in the public prints ; while the people, as they met, said one to another, " Know ye not that there is a Prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel ?" His tomb bears the following inscription, from the per and heart of his friend Dr. Dwight : .i68 LIFE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. SACRED BE THIS MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF ISRAEL PUTNAM, Esquire^ SENIOR MAJOR-GENERAL IN TKE ARMIES OP THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, who was born at Salem, in the Province of Massachusetts, on the 7th day of January, A. D. 1718, and died on the 19th day of May, A. D. 1790. Passenger, it 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 servicer rendered thy country, by the Patriot who sleeps beneath this marble j if thou art honest, generous, and 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 useful life. APPENDIX. NUMBER I. MAJOR ROGERS. The story of Majcjr Rogers, as far as it relates to the War of the Revolution, is furnished in the following extracts from the letters of General Washington, and the notes attached to them in Sparks* edition of his Writings. '* To Major-General Schuyler. " Cambridge, iQlh December, 1775. " In a letter from Rev. Dr. Wheelock, of Dartmouth College, of the 2d instant, I had the following intelligence : ' That the day be- fore, two soldiers returning from Montreal informed him, that our officers were assured by a Frenchman (a captain of the artillery whom they had taken captive), that Major Rogers was second in command under General Carlelon, and that he had been, in an Indian habit, through our encampment at St. John's. You will be pleased to have this report examined into, and acquaint me as to the authen- ticity or probability of the truth of it. If any circumstances can be discovered to induce a belief that he was there, he should be appre- hended. He is now in this government." * * * Note by Dr. Sparks. — " Major Rogers had been celebrated for his adventures and feats of valor in the French War, as the companion of Putnam and Stark. He wrote a journal of those events, which is not without ability and interest. He was one e Governor of Micliili- mackinac. After the peace, he lived in New Hampshire, and con- tinued an officer on half-pay. Dr. Wheelock's letter, from whicli the above is an extract, contains some other curious particulars about him ; whetlier true or fabulous, the reader must judge. X 370 APPENDIX. " On the 13th ultimo," says Dr. Wheelock, " the famous Major Rogers came to my house, from a tavern in the neighborhood where he called for refreshment, I had never seen him before. He was in but an ordinary habit, for one of his character. He treated me with great respect ; said he came from London in July, and had spent twenty days with the Congress in Philadelphia, and I forget how many at New York ; had been offered and urged to take a com- mission in favor of the colonies, but, as he was now on half-pay from the crown, he thought proper not to accept it ; that he had fought two battles in Algiers under the Dey ; that he was now on a design to take care of some large grants of land made to him ; that he v/as going to visit his sister at Moor's Town, and then to return by Mer- rimac River to visit his wife, whom he had not yet seen since his return from England ; that he had got a pass, or license to travel, from the Continental Congress j that he called to offer his services to procure a large interest for this college ; that its reputation was great in England; that Lord Dartmouth, and many other noblemen, had spoken of it in his hearing, with expressions of the highest esteem and respect ; that Captain Holland, surveyor-general, now at New York, was a great friend to me, and the college, and would assist me in the affair ; and that now was the most favorable time to applj for large grants of land for it. " I thanked him for these expressions of his kindness ; but, aftv.r I had shown some coldness in accepting it, he proposed to write to me on his journey, and let me know where I might reply to him ; and he should be ready to perform any friendly office in the affair. He said Hp was in haste to pursue his journey that evening." ** About a month after visiting Dr. Wheelock, the Major appeared at Medford, near the camp, and wrote to General Washington, requesting him to sign a certiiicate, permitting him to travel unmo- lested in the country. Such a certificate, or permit, had first been granted by the Committee of Safety in Philadelphia ; who, from sus- picious circumstances, and because he was actually a British officer, had made him a prisoner, when he arrived in that place from Eng- land. The certificate was furnished to him, in consequence of a parole, wherein he ' solemnly promised and engaged, on the honor of a gentleman and a soldier, that he would not bear arms against the American United Colonics in any manner whatsoever, during the American contest with Great Britain :' and, in his letter to Washing- ton, he says, ' I love America ; it is my native country and that of my familv, and I intend to spend the evening of my days in it..' APPENDIX. 371 "These professions being apparently sincere, "Washington sent General Sullivan to examine him on certain points, and report the result. He owned the accuracy of Dr. Wheelock's letter, except the part relating to Canada, which he denied, though he had been to the west o'f Albany, As no good reason appeared, why he came to camp^ or why he wished to travel through the country, the General did not think it expedient to receive a visit from him, nor to sign his permit ; but, as this had already been signed by the President of the New York Congress, and the Chairman of the New Hampshire Commit- tee of Safety, he suffered the Major to depart at his option, and to enjoy such seciu'ity as his papers, thus authenticated, might procure him. " There was a suspicion, strengthened by his subsequent conduct, that he was at this time a spy, or at least practising a very unworthy artifice for acquiring a confidence, to which his political sentiments did not entitle him. Be this as it may, he soon after joined the ene- my's ranks, and was raised to be a colonel in the British army, not- withstanding his parole of honor, and his love of America. It may be said, perhaps, in extenuation, that he considered his parole ex- torted from him at a time when there were no just grounds for ques- tioning his motives, and by an authority which he did not feel bound to respect."— Vol. Hi., p. 208. The "subsequent conduct" referred to above, as calculated to awaken suspicions, may be illustrated by the following extract from a letter of General Washington to the President of Congress, dated New York, June 27, 1776 : '* Upon information that Major Rogers was travelling through the comitry under suspicious circumstances, I thought it necessary to have him secured. I, therefore, sent after him. He was taken at South Amboy, and brought up to New York. Upon examination, he informed me that he came from New Hampshire, the country of his usual abode, where he had left his family ; and pretended he was destined to Philadelphia on business with Congress. " As, by his own confession, he had crossed Hudson's River at Nev/ Windsor, and was taken so far out of his proper and direct route to Philadelphia, this consideration, added to the length of time he had taken to perform his journey, his being foimd in so suspicious a place as Amboy,* his unnecessary stay there, on pretence of get- ting some baggage from New York, and an expectation of receiving * The most convenient pnir.t of communication with the British on Staten Island. 572 APPENDIX. money from a person here of bad character, and in no circuinstancea to furnish him out of his own stock, the Major's reputation, and his being a half-pay officer, haye increased my jealousies about him. The business which he informs me he has with Congress, is a secret offer of his services, to the end that, in case it should be rejected, he might have his way left open to an employment in the East Indies, to which he is assigned ; and in that case, he flatters himself he will obtain leave of Congress to go to Great Britain. " As he had been put upon his parole by Congress, I thought it would be improper to stay his progress to Philadelphia, should he Ix; in fact destined thither. I, therefore, send him forward, but, to pre- vent imposition, under the care of an officer, with letters found upon him, which, from their tenor, seem calculated to recommend him to Congress. I submit it to their consideration, whether it would not be dangerous to accept the offer of his services." Note by Dr. Sparks. — " Congress directed, that Major Rogers should be sent to New Hampshire, to be disposed of as the govern- ment of that Province should judge best. He soon afterwards went over to the British." — Vol. Hi., p. 439. In September following, Major Rogers was found actively employ- ed in the British service, and against the American interests, not- withstanding his parole, and his love of America. He had aban- doned his position in the East Indies, if he ever had any, and waa engaged in drumming up British recruits, from among the American lories on Long Island. The following, from a letter of Washington to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, establishes this fact. " Haerlem, 3Qth September, 1776. " Having received authentic advices from Long Island, that the enemy are recruiting a great number of men * * * I have directed ♦ ♦ an expedition to the island, to check and suppress, if possible, 3 practice so injurious to our cause. * * * The influence of their money and their artifices, has already passed the Sound, and several persons have been detected of late, who have enlisted to serve under Qieir banner, and the particular command of Major Rogers." Governor Trumbull, in writing to Colonel Livingston on the sub- ject, says : '• I have received intelligence, which I believe may be depended on, that Major Rogers, now employed by General Howe, and who you know was a famous partisan, or ranger, in the last war, is collecting a battalion of torics on Long Island and from the main, many of whom have joinw:l him at Huntington, and that he 373 p P E N D I X :Suedt waylaying, ambuscade, and sudden attae..»-r„. ^v., page 128! , . , ,^ .1,^ -Rritkh camn was immediately ^ay be useful in the course of the campaign." The followm, ?opy of enlisting orders, sent out by him : . » Valentine's Hill, 30 December, 177G. « Whereas his Majesty's service makes it absolutely necessary that any ome » number he or they shall bring in for the Q°'";-s'lteriLn Rangers NO more than forty shillings bounty is Srgr:"rymrn:whichistobe applied — purcha.„g Pessaries; to serve ,^-ing t^ p-esent ^^-'^'J^Vpririte^es ud-es in what manner they will get their men in. « *« J^^ P^ 'f ^ "^^^' . "ROBERT ROGERS, .' Lieutenani.Ca.onel Commandant of the Queen's Rangers. u Strang who had the above paper in his possession, was taken .^ ntge of hoidlng eo-spondenee^.i-^^^^^^^^^ « lit tutToLuLta^Cnrrtr-^thedang^ofthe ser.. Vrreirth^irsrrti^^^^^^^^^^^^ W Genera Howe Recruits for the British provincial regiment, by uenera no Dutchess county, rr^rigsCrMtofT^^ 374 APPENDIX. ten Island, and a large part of Westchester county, were wholly sub ject to tlie power of the enemy ; and, as these were populous districts, they doubtless afforded the chief portion of the provincial troops, en- listed into the king's service, while General Howe's head-quarters were in New York." — Vol. iv., page 521. Near the end of October, Colonel Haslet was despatched, with seven hundred and fifty men, by order of Lord Stirling, " to attack the enemy's outposts at Mamaroneck ; which was done, and their guards forced. We brought in thirty-six prisoners, a pair of colors, sixty stand of arms, and a variety of other plunder besides. The party we fell in with was Colonel Rogers, the late worthless Major. On the first fire, he skulked off in the dark. His lieutenant, and a number of others, were left dead on the spot. Had not our guards deserted on the first outset, he and his whole party must have been ta.ken:'—Page 526. In November, General Lee formed a plan for attacking and carry- ing off Rogers, at a moment when he was ordered by General Wash- ington to move in another direction. It was while aiming to accom- plish this object, that he was surprised by Colonel Harcourt, and carried to Brunswick, a prisoner of war. NUMBER H. THK BATTLE OP BUNKER HILL. Colonel Swett's admirable, and ably fortified sketch of this great battle, which, to use the language of the Christian Examiner, " is now classical authority on the subject" — which Bradford refers to, as " the most correct and perfect account which has been given" — and which the Boston Courier cites, as " one of the most valuable and au- thentic records connected with the History of the Revolution" — would seem to have put for ever at rest, the question of the presence and active services of General Putnam, on that memorable occasion. The ample notes appended to the third edition of that sketch, furnish an amount and variety of testimony that is absolutely overwhelming. Referring to them, I take leave to add, in this place, a few more of the same character, which have been kindly furnished by several friendly correspondents — not because they are necessary to establish the point in dispute, but just to preserve them from oblivion. " I, Sylvanus Con ant, of Mansfield, in the County of Tolland ana State of Connecticut, testify and say, that I am now in my ninety- second year ; that I was a soldier in the Revolutionary War ; that I was in the battle of Bunker's Hill, on the seventeenth day of June, 1775 ; that I was acquainted with General Israel Putnam, of Con- necticut, and know that he was in the battle. Saw him at the com- mencement of the battle, riding about the hill, and giving orders to the troops, and heard him sharply reproving a soldier for cowardice, or neglect of duty ; and was told by others, though this 1 did not see myself, that near the close of the battle, General Putnam, seeing a field-piece deserted by the company, dismounted from his horse and tired the piece once or twice with his own hands, and then remount- •dliis horse, and rode off the hill with the retreating troops. " Subscribed and sworn to this 5th day of January, 1813. - SYLVAN as CONANT. " State of Connecticut, > " Mansfield, Jan. 5, 1 8J3." " Tolland County." \ ^*- 376 APPENDIX. [1^^0771 the Mercantile Journal, Boston.\ " Mr. Sleeper, Dear Sir : I understand from the public papers^ that Mr. Bancroft stated in a late lecture before the Charlestown Lyceum, that he found no evidence to prove that General Putnam had the chief command in the battle of Bunker Hill, or even took any part in the engagement. For his information and that of the public, please give currency, through your journal, to the following facts, which I lately obtained from Major John Burnham, of this town. Major Burnham, I would remark, is a Revolutionary soldier and officer ; is in his ninety-fourth year, and yet retains his mental facul- ties in a wonderful manner. He is a very worthy man, and a hmnble disciple of Christ. I assure you the most implicit coniidence can be placed in his statements. " I paid him a visit the other day, and he informed me that he took an active part in that ever memorable engagement of the 17th of June ; that he was lieutenant of a company from Gloucester, com- manded by Captain Warner ; that he arrived on the battle-ground a few minutes before the firing commenced; that his Captain was met by General Putnam and directed where to go; that he fre- quently saw the General, riding among the troops and giving orders : that he never knew or heard, at the time of the battle, of any other individual taking the chief command but General Putnam ; and that ne has no more doubt of the fact than he has of his own existence. Such is the testimony of one who had the best possible means of knowing the truth of his statements, "A. F. H. " Uernj, January 21th, 1&43." Letter of H. Burbeck, now upwards of ninety years old, to C. S. Davies, Esq., of Portland, Me. : "Figiu'e to yourself a man of sixty — six feet high and somewhat round-shouldered; sun-burnt from exposure; with coarse leather shoes, and blue stockings; coarse homespun small-clothes, a red A^aistcoat, and calico ' Banian ' (answering to the sack worn at the present day), a three-cornered hat, with a red cockade, and a bande- lier, or belt, with a sword hung 'high up under the left arm. You will ^ay that it is a complete caricature — but such was the fact, and such the dress of the Heroes, who fought at the Battle of Bmiker Hill. "On that day, General Putnam rode between Charlestown ant* Cambridge without a coat, in his shirt sleeps, and an old white ieU APPENDIX. 377 hat on, to report to General Ward, and to consult upon further 0])era- tions. I never understood that he was in the engagement, but was very active in forwarding troops, ammunition, &c. In short, he was the great gun of the day. Colonels Prescott and Stark were warmly engaged in the battle ; but General Putnam forwarded the materials to them, to support the action. For that reason he is justly entitled tc equal praise and honor on that eventful day, for without his assist- ance nothing would have been done. "H. BURBECK." It is not surprising that there should be differences of opinion, in relation to the nature of Putnam's command, among the multitude of irregular troops collected on that day. The greater part of them were ready to obey the orders of any one in whom they had confi- dence, and did not stoop to ask if he was regularly invested with the command by the proper authorities. The officers were equally ready to take command, where they could render good service by doing so. The only matter of surprise is, that any should have been found, who were willing to deny that Putnam was on the field at all, because they did not happen to see him, at particular times and places. It is probable that most of the soldiers, if they were true to their own duty, had other and more absorbing employment, than taking notes of the proceedings of their commanders, with a view to calling them to account for their conduct. The field was an irregular one. The action was in all parts of it, and it was impossible for any one to say who was, or was not, present at any particular time, except in the immediate vicinity of his own post. And even then, amid the smoke, and din, and confusion of battle, an officer might have pass- ed and repassed many times, and ordered some of the most important movements of the day, without being noticed, or even seen, by one in ten of the soldiers. In all such cases as this, it is manifest, that testimony of a merely negative character can have no weight at all against that which is positive. The evidence of one competent witness, testifying that he saw General Putnam in the heat of the engagement, discharging the duty of a brave and able commander, would be allowed, in any court of justice, to overbalance that of any number, who could only say they did not see him. The amount and character of positive testi- mony to this point, furnished by Colonel Swell's notes, is such as should satisfy the most determined skeptic. With leference to the same point. Dr. D wight says : " It is not so 378 APPENDIX extensively known, as it ought to be, that Generax Putnam command- ed the American forces at the Battle of Breed's Hill ; and that, t© his courag-e and conduct, the United States are particularly indebted for the advantages of that day ; one of the most brilliant in the annals Of ihis country." The following is a note tc Rev. Dr. Whitney's sermon on the death of General Putnam. " The friends of the late General Putnam feel themselves not a little obliged to his worthy and respectable biographer, for giving to the public the distinguishing features in the General's character, and the memorable actions of his life ; yet wish that a more perfect and just account had been given of the Battle of Bunker's Hill, so far as General Putnam was concerned in it. In page 107 of his life, are the following words : * The provincial Generals having received advice that the British Commander-in-chief designed to take posses- sion of the heights on the peninsula of Charlestowm, detached a thou- sand men, in the night of the 16th of June, under the orders of Gene- ral V/arren, to intrench themselves upon one of those eminences :* and on page 110 : 'In this battle, the presence and example of Gene- ral Putnam, who arrived with the reinforcements, were not less con- spicuous than useful,' " From the first of these passages, the reader is led to conclude, that the detachment was first put under the orders of General "War- ren ; from the second, that General Putnam came to General War- ren's aid, with a reinforcement. The true state of the case was this. — The detachment at first was put under the command- of General Putnam. With it he took possession of the hill, and ordered the battle from the beginning to the end. General Warren (one of the most illustrious patriots) arrived alone on the hill, and as a volun- teer joined the Americans just as the action commenced ; and within half an hour, received a mortal wound, while he was waxing valiant in battle, and soon expired. These facts General Putnam himself gave me, soon after the battle, and also repeated them to me after his life was printed. Colonel Humphreys, page 109, justly observes : 'Few instances can be produced, in the annals of mankind, where soldiers who have never before faced an enemy, or heard the whis- tling of a ball, behaved with such deliberate ana persevering valor,' The General who encouraged and animated them bv his words and APPENDIX 379 example to prodigies of bravery, is highly to be honored, and the praise not given to another, however meritorious in other respects. Other evidence to confirm what I have said here, I am able to pro- duce, if any should call for it." Extract from a letter, written by an officer in the British army, at Boston, to his friend in England, dated 25 June, 1775 : " After the skirmish of the 17th, we even commended the troops of Putnam, who fought so gallantly pro aris etfocis. When we marched to attack their redoubt, they called out, " General Abercrombie, are the Yankees cowards V nor did they discharge a gun until we were within fifteen yards. The fire on our left wing was so hot, that cur ti-oops broke. * * * So very secretly was the action conducted, that Generals Clinton and Burgoyne knew nothing of it till the morn- ing. The town did in general, and Putnam in particular. This man served under Prussia, and does honor to his master. He is 63, and brave to the h^ck-hone:'—A7n. Archives, it/i Series, vol. it., page Putnam was at this time in his fifty-eighth year, and had never seen Prussia. It is possible that one of the distinguished men, under whom he served in the French war, may have been familiarly desig- nated by this title. None of the American officers, of that penod, had seen foreign service. General Lee was not then with the army, nor was he known by the English to have accepted a contmental commission. These inaccuracies, however they maybe explamed, do not invalidate the evidence here furnished, that Putnam was active and prominent in that engagement, and that his military character was held in the highest estimation by his old commanders and com- rades of the British aimy. Sandford, who published his history within a year after the fi.st appearance of the article, in which Putnam's position and conduct in this battle were called in question, has the following remarks, at page 291 et seq. : "It has been recently discovered, that 'Old Put ' was a cow?.rd. So stupid a calumny could only have found place in the page^ of a stupid journal; and a short review of that soldier's life during the period in which this new trait is said to have displayed itself, will show at least, that, if he was a coward, he was a coward to some purpose. The news from Lexington found him workmg at stone. 380 APPENDIX. fencp, in his leathern frock and apron. He immediately mounted his horse, to spread the intelligence through the adjoining towns; and, when he returned to make a little preparation for the march, a body of several hundred of persons, already under arms, appointed him their commander. He ordered them to march with a quick step ; and, setting oif himself, in his check-shirt, arrived at Concord by sun-rise next morning. " Men, who were stationed at one particular spot, in the battle of Bunker's Hill, pretend to trace the movements of General Putnam; and have charged him with a fear of powder and ball, for being seen once in a particular situation, when, in fact, he was at different times in every part of the field. It may be true, that the army was not under any general, who had been regularly commissioned; but it is equally true, that Putnam discharged the duties, though he might not have held the diploma, of a commander-in-chief. ' General Warren joins the Massachusetts forces in one place,' says Hubley ; • and General Pomeroy in another, whilst General Putnam was bu- sily engaged in aiding and encouraging here and there as required.' Since he was the most experienced, and had not yet shown himself i coward, it was natural that the other two generals should give hin the precedence; and we know not that the historian could have chosen language more pointedly expressive of the conduct which a brave commander is always found to adopt. That Putnam was, at one time, seen with entrenching tools before him, we would rather admit than deny. It might have been necessary to carry them from one part of the works to another : the length of the redoubt was eighty rods : a man, who had come from making stone-fence, was not likely to shrink from a spade or a pick-axe ; and, since the sooner they were carried the better, we think nothing more probable than that Putnam, being on horseback, took a part of them him- self. " It was not Colonel Gerrish alone, who was tried for covv^ardice at the battle of Bunker's Hill. The colonists had not yet been sepa- rated from England long enough to distinguish, with certainty, the friends from the foes : the conduct of every individual was watched with the strictest scrutiny ; and court martials continued to be held upon officers and men, from the 7th of July to the 5th of October. Tlie same rigor was extended to the camp. Offences, which. would now be overlooked, were then punished with severity. One captain was fined eight shillings for two oaths ; and a private received twenty V-. -iios for abusing Colonel Gridley, and forging Putnam's order for APPENDIX. 381 » quart of rum. If Putnam himself was a coward, he was certainly a most conspicuous coward. Had he dodged, or turned pale, there was not an otiicer or a man in the army, who would not have been a witness to the fact. " On the 22d of July, 1775, the army was marshalled into three divisions ; and it is a remarkable instance of successful cowardice, that the left wing was given to Major-General Putnam. Indeed, so little waa his character known, at this time, that, when General Washinjrton, early in 1776, had formed a bold and hazardous plan of taking Boston by storm, he designated Putnam for his leader, though he was youngest, in rank, of four major-generals. ' In ex- pectation,' says Marshal, * that the flower of the British troops would be employed against the heights of Dorchester, General Washington had concerted a plan for availing himself of that occasion, to attack the town of Boston itself. Four thousand chosen men were held in readiness to embark at the mouth of Cambridge river, on a signal to be given, if the garrison should appear to be so weakened by the detachment from it, as to justify an assault. These troops were to embark in two divisions ; the first to be led by Brigadier-General Sullivan ; the second, by Brigadier-General Green ; and the whole to be under the command of Major-General Putnam.' In fine, a lack of courage was the last accusation which could be expected to succeed against General Putnam ; and, until a man has voluntarily descended to fight a wolf in her own den, let him never think him- self entitled to call the hero of Pomfret a coward. NUMBER III. PREJUDICES OP THE PEOPiE OP NEW YORK AGAINST GENERAL PUTNAM. On this subject Dr. Sparks has the following note, appended to the letier in which Washington announces to General Putnam his removal from the command in the Highlands, and the causes of that removal. " General Putnam's advanced age, his good nature, and easy tem- perament, were among the chief causes of the ill success of his com- mand on the North River. His proceedings" were not marked with ihe promptness, decision, and energy, nor even with the military address which had characterized his early years. If all these had been combined, it is probable there would still have been dissatisfac- tion, after the enemy had forced their way up the river, and laid waste its borders. Not only were complaints uttered by the popular voice, but the political leaders of the State expressed discontent. Ro- bert R. Livingston, then Chancellor of New York, wrote to General Washington on the subject in a pointed manner. " ' Your Excellency,' said he, ' is not ignorant of the extent of General Putnam's capacity and diligence ; and how well soever these may qualify him for this most important command, the prejudices to which his imprudent lenity to the disaffected, and too great inter- course with the enemy, have given rise, have greatly injured his influence. How far the loss of Fort Montgomery and the subsequent ravages of the enemy are to be attributed to him, I will not venture to say ; as this will necessarily be determined by a court of inquiry, whose determinations I would not anticipate. Unfoi^nately for him, the current of popular opinion in this and the neighboring States, and, as far as I can learn, in the troops under his command, runs strongly against him. For my owr^jjart, 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.' — 3TS. Letter, Jim. litk. " It must be remembered, that at this station there were innuraem* APPENDIX. 383 ble applications for passports to go into New York, under the pre- tence of urgent business, and various matters of a private concern; and it was thought General Putnam's good nature was too pliant on tliese occasions, and that too many opportunities were aiforded for an improper intercourse between the disaffected and the enemy. A t any rate, the symptoms of uneasiness appeared from such high sources, and were so decidedly manifested, that General Washington deemed it necessary to take notice of them, and change the ccm- mand.'' The case of General Schuyler, and many others, afford easy proof how readily such prejudices arise among the masses of the people, •without any good foundation ; and how the best and ablest officers, and most devoted patriots, may be temporarily involved in the sha- dows of public censure, and even removed from the sphere of their useful efforts, without in the least diminishing their claims to the gratitude and respect of posterity. The history of General Washing- ton is not wanting in lessons of this kind ; and, if some distinguished and talented officers in his own army, and others who stood high in the confidence of the American people, could have prevailed in theii designs, even he would have been superseded in that lofty command, of which it is difficult to say, whether the station conferred dignity apon the man, or the man upon the station. l^rA. ,. ., »:::^ ^ '^ r ^ ca * rf^ V» v ^ ^ '^ ?;^ .#' =^^0^ ^^^ £^ %, ';p.<^^-. %, "^i ,*^ .N^ -•i-^ -i^ "'^\^' %> #--. ,^ <- *;^ .# -7/ "%../ : ■=%/■ V:^'^^^. si ■ ^^0^ :^ :■ ' '. '^(^ : '■■■■■ ' \ "^1 ^ ' "/ !?., 1' "s ^ 3^ ='r;- r. '^f^ 6< "*#i)' "^^0^ : ; V< 9.. :\:--^^>^-^V'-'''/f^- r^^^-'":-^ ^ ^ ^ ^i; ^d* :*/■:: • -'. "^ao^ :' '-^ • '; ^^^ 9.> %.s^: ;. .•'^,-. -•^^ 5^ .°. "^A d< ^f^o^ : \ ^^^, ^^s?^>/ ^ ;%^ ^"""v^x^ ^: 0^ 5<> .^ ^. .