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RUFUS PUTNAM
GENERAL RUFUS
PUTNAM, the subject of this historical memoir, was a
descendant in the fifth generation from John Putnam, who
emigrated from Buckinghamshire, England, and settled at Salem,
in the province of Massachusetts, in the year 1834. He
brought over with him three sons, who were born in England,
viz.: Thomas, Nathaniel and John.
The father died quite suddenly, when about eighty years old.
He ate his supper as usual, performed family worship, and died
directly after getting into his bed.
Edward Putnam, the son of Thomas,
and grandfather of Rufus Putnam, in the year
1733, made the following record: "From those three proceeded
twelve males, and from these twelve forty males, and from the
forty eighty-two males;" so that in 1733, there were eighty-two
males by the name of Putnam, besides the
females. All of that name in New England were the
descendants of John.
With respect to their condition in life, he observes, "I have
been young, I now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread; except from God, who
provides for all; for he hath given to the generation of my
fathers Agur's petition, neither poverty nor
riches; but hath fed us with food convenient for us, and their
children have been able to help others in their need."
When this was written, he was seventy-nine years old. He
lived after that fourteen years, and died when he was in his
ninety-fourth year. This Edward was the
grandson of John, the patriarch of the
Putnams in New England. The males of this family
were for many ages famous for longevity, numbers of them living
to be over eighty years old, and several over ninety. The
descendants of this good old man still inherit the promise and
the blessing of the righteous; all of that name have had, and
still continue to have, not only an abundance of bread for
themselves, but also to spare to the poor and needy.
Elisha Putnam, the father of Gen. Rufus,
was the third son of Edward Putnam, and his
wife, Mary Hall, was born in Salem,
Massachusetts, in 1685. Here he continued to live until
manhood, and married Susannah Fuller, the
daughter of Jonathan Fuller, of Danvers.
About the year 1725, when forty years old, he moved, with his
wife and family of three children, to the town of Sutton,
Worcester county, Massachusetts, where he purchased a fine farm,
and pursued the occupation of a tiller of the earth, as all his
fathers had done. After his removal to Sutton, three other
sons were born to him; of these Rufus was the
youngest, and born the 9th of April, 1738.
The Rev. Dr. Hall, in his diary, says, that "Deacon
Elisha Putnam was a very useful man in the civil and
ecclesiastical concerns of the place. He was for several
years deacon of the church, town clerk, town treasurer, and
representative in the General Court, or Colonial Assembly of
Massachusetts. He died in June, 1745, in the joyful hope
of the glory of God."
Maj.
Gen. Israel Putnam was also a descendant of
Thomas, the oldest son of John, in the
fourth generation, by Joseph, the third son of Thomas.
Joseph had three sons, William, Daniel
and Israel. The latter was born in 1717,
and was the cousin of Elisha Putnam, the father of Gen.
Rufus. At the death of his father, Mr.
Putnam was seven years old. He was now sent to
live with his maternal grandfather in Danvers, and remained in
his family until September, 1747. During this period he
was sent to school a portion of the time, and made some progress
in reading. In the course of this year, his mother married
Capt. John Sadler, of Upton, Massachusetts, and
he went to live with him, and remained under his roof until his
death, in 1753. His mother was now again a widow.
In 1752, when fourteen years of age, Rufus made
choice of the brother-in-law, Jonathan Dudley,
of Sutton, as his guardian, and the certificate is signed by the
Hon. Joseph Wilder, judge of probate for Worcester
county. During the time of his residence with his
step-father, all opportunities for instruction were denied him.
Capt. Sadler was very illiterate himself, and
thought books and learning of very little use, and not worth the
time bestowed on their acquirement. The world is not
destitute of such men to this day; they think and act as if they
believed that the body was the only part to be provided for, and
that the mind need no instruction, or food for its growth,
except what is acquired by natural observation and instinct.
But young Putnam felt that he had another
appetite to supply, besides that of the body; that his mind
craved food and instruction, and would not be appeased without
it. Nothwithstanding the ridicule and obstructions thrown
in his way by his step-father, he sought every opportunity for
study, and examination of the books that fell in his way.
Having no school books of his own, and this parsimonious man
refusing to buy them, he soon fell upon a plan to get them
himself. Capt. Sadler kept a kind of
public house, at which travelers sometimes called for
refreshment. By waiting diligently upon them, they
sometimes gave him a few pence. These he carefully laid
by, until he could purchase some powder and shot; with this
ammunition and an old shot gun, he killed partridges, or
pheasants, and sold form time to time until the proceeds bought
him a spelling book and an arithmetic. With these two
invaluable articles, the foundation of all, even the most
profound learning, he soon made considerable progress in the
rudiments of education, without any teacher but his own patient
ingenuity. In the same way he learned to write, and make
figures in a legible manner, progressing in a short time to the
rule of three, guided only by the directions laid down in the
book. How delightful must have been his sensations when he
could put his own thoughts into tangible sentences on paper, and
understand the rules of calculation, so important in all the
concerns of life.
In March, 1754,
when nearly sixteen years old, he was bound as an apprentice to
the mill-wright trade, under Daniel Mathews, of
Brookfield. He was a man who had nearly the same opinion
of the inutility of learning, as Mr. Sadler,
and entirely neglected to send his apprentice to school.
He, however, was more favorable in one respect, as he did not
refuse him the use of candles for light, when pursuing his
studies in the long winter evenings. His attention was
chiefly directed to the acquisition of arithmetic, geography and
history; while orthography, etymology, and the rules of grammar
were neglected. Having no books in these branches and no
one to teach him, his attention was chiefly directed to that
which would be more immediately useful in the common affairs of
life. In penmanship he had no aid from these nice
copperplate engravings, published in after years, nor any one to
guide him in the art of neat handwriting, so that those two
important branches, spelling correctly, and writing handsomely,
did not receive that attention they otherwise would have done,
and left him during all his future life to regret his
deficiencies in these respects. Could he have looked into
futurity, or had the least intimation of the public stations of
trust and honor which he was destined by Providence to fill in
manhood, he would doubtless have been better prepared for their
arduous duties. The greatest wonder of all is, that with
the discouragements and privations which environed him, he had
the fortitude and perseverance to overcome these obstacles, and
acquire so much really useful learning as he did.
Ninety-nine boys in a hundred would never have made the attempt,
but have lived and died in ignorance.
During this portion of his life, from sixteen to nineteen years,
he was busily occupied under Daniel Mathews, in
acquiring the practical art of the mill-wright, and in working
on his farm. It required some knowledge of geometry, to
form perfect circles, divide them into numerous equal portions,
and lay out the exact angles necessary in the framework of the
mill; thus gradually enlarging his knowledge of mathematics for
which he had naturally an ardent attachment, and a mind well
fitted to comprehend. During this time his physical frame
grew full as rapidly as his mind, so that when he was eighteen
years old, he possessed the brawny limbs, the muscular power,
and the full stature of a man six feet high. In all
athletic exercises, he was renowned for his great strength and
activity; and thus eminently fitted for the fatigues and
privations of the military life he was destined so early to
enter.
The war between Great Britain
and France, in which the colonies were much more deeply
interested than the mother country, commenced in the year 1754,
when he entered on his apprenticeship. The accounts of the
several battles, the defeat of Gen. Braddock,
and the exploits of his marital relative, Capt. Israel
Putnam, no doubt filled his youthful mind with ardor,
and led him while yet only in his nineteenth year to enlist as a
private soldier, in the company of Capt. Ebenezer
Learned, consisting of one hundred men, many of whom
must have been his acquaintances or associates. The term
of service was a little short of a year, commencing the 15th of
March, 1857, and ending the 2d day of February, 1758. By
the 30th of April the detachment was ready for marching, and
that day left Brookfield, on their route for Kinderhook, on the
Hudson river, about eighteen miles below Albany, which place
they reached on the 5th of May.
In this and his subsequent campaign, he turned the art of
writing, which he had with so much difficulty acquired, to a
useful purpose, by keeping a regular journal of the events which
took place; and without this precaution would have been lost or
forgotten. He remarks that Capt. Learned
prayed regularly, night and morning, with his men, and on the
Sabbath read a sermon in addition - a proof of the general
prevalence of piety amongst the New England people, and which if
more common in this day, would suppress much of the profanity
and wickedness so universal amongst the soldiery of modern
times. On the 18th of May, they left Kinderhook, and
marched the same day to Greenbush, opposite the town of Albany.
On the 21st of May, the company moved to Seaghticoke, a Dutch
settlement on the banks of the Hoosack river, three miles from
Hudson. It was deserted by the inhabitants on account of
the Indians, and now lies in the north-westerly corner of
Rennsellaer county.
On the 9th of
June, the detachment joined Col. Fry's
regiment, at Stillwater, a spot subsequently famous for the
battles at Bemis' Heights, which turned the tide of
Burgoyne's success, and finally led to his surrender.
On the 11th they marched to Saratoga, a place still more
celebrated in military history, for the conquest of his army,
thirty years after this time, in which Mr. Putnam
acted a conspicuous part.
On the 14th of this month, Fry's regiment,
composed of seventeen companies of provincials, decamped, and on
the following day reached Fort Edward. This celebrated
military post, so often noticed in the events of the old French
war, was built two years before this time, and was now in the
pride of its strength. It stood on the east of left bank
of the Hudson river, about, about fifty-two miles above Albany,
and was constructed by a body of colonial troops under
Gen. Lyman, and named after Edward, Duke of
York, the eldest son of King George the Second,
of England. It is thus described in Mr.
Putnam's journal: "The river washed one side of its
walls. The form was somewhat irregular; having two
bastions and two half bastions. The walls were high and
thick, composed of hewed timber - a broad rampart, with
casements, or bomb-proofs - a deep ditch with a draw-bridge - a
covered way, glacis, &c." In an after note, he says, "I
have been particular in this description, because in 1777, there
was by no means so great an appearance of there having been a
fortification here as we find in the ancient works at Marietta
and other parts of the Ohio country." It stood at the head
of the carrying place, between the Hudson and Lake George, and
also Wood creek, a tributary of Lake Champlain. The
village of Fort Edward stands near the site of the old fort, and
serves to perpetuate its name. The tragical fate of
Miss McCrea happened in this vicinity in 1777.
What Hall, at teh head of the Lake, the port from which
steamboats now run to St. John, in Canada, was, in the
Revolutionary war, called Skenesborough; and was named after
Maj. Skene, presently noticed by Mr.
Putnam in his journal.
Being
determined to see as much as possible of the adventures and
hardships of a military life, he joined the corps of Rangers as
a volunteer, and on the 8th of July marched on a scout under
Lieut. Collins, with twenty-two men, to
reconnoitre South Bay, the southerly extremity of Lake
Champlain, distant about twenty-five miles from Fort Edward.
On the 9th, having approached, as they thought, near the bay,
the main party was halted, and three men, of whom Mr.
Putnam was one, sent forward to learn its situation.
supposing it would occupy but a few hours, they left their
blankets and provisions with the men that remained in camp.
It proved to be much further than they had anticipated, and
after fulfilling their orders, it was nearly night when they got
back to the encampment. Much to their vexation and
disappointment, they found that the lieutenant and his men, had
left the ground, carrying with them their blankets and
provisions. It seems that the leader had taken alarm at
their long absence, supposing them either killed or captured by
the Indians, and has hastily retreated in confusion. The
deserted Rangers fired their guns, to give notice of their
return, but no answering signal was heard. Two nights were thus
spent in the woods exposed, without their blankets, to the
annoyance of gnats and musquitoes,
which swarmed in vast numbers over this humid region. The
dress of the Rangers was similar to that of the Indians, leaving
their thighs bare, and exposed to their attacks. They
reached Fort Edward on the 11th, having been forty-eight hours
without food, thus realizing a little foretaste of a ranger's
life. Lieut. Collins did not get in until
the following day, and confessed that he heard their signal
guns, but supposed them fired by the Indians. He, however,
by various excuses, pacified Mr. Putnam and his
comrades; yet he remarks on the transaction, "It was extremely
unsoldierlike to leave us in the woods in the manner he did.
If our long absence gave cause of alarm, he out to have
withdrawn but a short distance, placed himself in ambush, and
posted two men under cover to watch for our return, or give
notice of the approach of the enemy."
On the 23d of July, about eight o'clock in the morning, a large
party of Indians fired on the Carpenters', or Mechanics' Guard,
within half a mile of the fort, and killed thirteen men, with
one missing. This was the first view he had of Indian
butchery; and says, "It was not very agreeable to the feelings
of a young soldier, and I think there are few who can look on
such scenes with indifference." In the afternoon, two
hundred and fifty men, under Capt. Israel
Putnam, were sent out in pursuit. They
followed the trail until sunset, when the main body was halted,
and three men, of whom Mr. Putnam was one, sent
forward a mile or more, with orders to secrete themselves near
the trail until after dark, watching closely for any scout that
might be sent back, "for," said the captain of the Rangers, "if
they do not embark to-night in their boats, they will send a
party back to see if they are pursued." They went as
ordered, but made no discovery. He remarks, "It was a
maxim I treasured up in my mind, as applicable, especially in
the woods, whether you are pursuing, or are pursued by the
enemy," and was the beginning of his military knowledge.
CAPTURE AT FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
The Marquis de Montcalm, who commanded the French forces in
Canada, was a man of intelligence and vast enterprise.
After one or two ineffectual attempts to surprise the fort
without the trouble of a regular siege, he finally concluded to
collect all the troops in his power and set about the work by
regular approaches. This fort stood near the head of Lake
George, distant fourteen miles form Fort Edward, and seventy
from Albany, and was built by Gen. Johnson in
1755, who named it after one of the princes of the reigning
family. It was a square work, with four bastions.
The walls were made of timber, filled in with earth
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