Details
PUTNAM, ISRAEL, 1718-1790, Brigadier General, Continental Army. Document signed ("Israel Putnam") countersigned by Azel and Eleazar Fitch and David Holmes, Hartford, Connecticut, 11 April 1760. 1 page, folio, 309 x 190mm. (12 1/8 x 7 1/2 in.), edges reinforced from back and slightly discolored, weak at folds, several small holes. Putnam witnesses a contract which certifies the Fitches owe L200 to the State of Connecticut, since Azel Fitch "has undertaken to act as paymaster for a certain Company of Foot soldiers to be raised for his Majesty's Service in ensuing Campaign"; Fitch shall pay the soldiers promptly "making only such stoppages and deductions for Arms not returned or accounted for."
THE OFFICER ALLEGED TO HAVE GIVEN THE FAMOUS ORDER AT BUNKER HILL: "DON'T FIRE UNTIL YOU SEE THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES"
Putnam, affectionately known as "Old Put," was "already an American hero when the Revolution broke out" (Boatner, p. 902). Virtually illiterate, he entered the Connecticut militia during the French and Indian War and served in the legendary Rodgers Rangers. Captured by the Indians in 1758, he was rescued moments before he was to be burned at the stake by Indians allied to the French. In 1760, the year of this document, he led his regiment of Connecticut volunteers to Montreal under Lord Amherst, and in 1762, on the English expedition to Havana, he survived a shipwreck. He returned to his farm but became a member of the Sons of Liberty and in April 1776, when he heard news of Lexington and Concord, he is said to have abandoned his plow in the field, unhitched the horse and ridden 100 miles in 18 hours to Concord. He fought at Bunker Hill and is reputed to have given the famous order "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Later serving in the New York campaign and the Battle of Long Island, he was incapacitated by a severe stroke in December 1779 and forced to retire.
THE OFFICER ALLEGED TO HAVE GIVEN THE FAMOUS ORDER AT BUNKER HILL: "DON'T FIRE UNTIL YOU SEE THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES"
Putnam, affectionately known as "Old Put," was "already an American hero when the Revolution broke out" (Boatner, p. 902). Virtually illiterate, he entered the Connecticut militia during the French and Indian War and served in the legendary Rodgers Rangers. Captured by the Indians in 1758, he was rescued moments before he was to be burned at the stake by Indians allied to the French. In 1760, the year of this document, he led his regiment of Connecticut volunteers to Montreal under Lord Amherst, and in 1762, on the English expedition to Havana, he survived a shipwreck. He returned to his farm but became a member of the Sons of Liberty and in April 1776, when he heard news of Lexington and Concord, he is said to have abandoned his plow in the field, unhitched the horse and ridden 100 miles in 18 hours to Concord. He fought at Bunker Hill and is reputed to have given the famous order "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Later serving in the New York campaign and the Battle of Long Island, he was incapacitated by a severe stroke in December 1779 and forced to retire.