from Chronicles of Danvers: Old Salem Village by Harriet Sylvester Tapley (A copy of this book is available through the Cullen Library. Refer to the book to compile a citation.)
Gen. Israel Putnam
A Revolutionary hero of whom Danvers will always be proud was Gen. Israel Putnam, whose biography is really a matter of national history. In the house now standing at the corner of Newbury and Maple streets, he first saw the light on January 7, 1718, in the back room which is still preserved with all its ancient furnishings. The old part of the house was built probably about 1641 by Lieut. Thomas Putnam, his grandfather, and came into possession of the General's father, Joseph Putnam. His boyhood was distinguished by strength and courage, and with hard work on the farm and plenty of athletic exercise he laid the foundation of a vigorous constitution. At the age of twenty-one he married Hannah Pope and soon removed to Pomfret, Conn. in the vicinity of which he made his home ever after. It was there that he had the famous encounter with the wolf in her den. The neighborhood had been greatly excited at the meanderings of a wolf, but no one had the courage to attack her. Putnam, with his usual fearlessness, came to their rescue, entered the cave and shot the wolf, much to the relief of the people.
His first service for his country was in the French and Indian war. He commanded a company at Ticonderoga, where he attracted much attention on account of his undaunted courage. When the Revolution broke out he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Upon receiving the news of the Battle of Lexington, in his Connecticut home, he left his plough in the furrow, and seizing his coat from a tree where it hung, turned his horse loose, and hastened to the scene of the conflict.
Commissioned as a Major-General by George Washington, who had been appointed Commander-in-chief of the armies, Putnam commanded the American forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Here, as elsewhere, he displayed the utmost bravery and calmness. It was at this time that he gave the famous command to his men: "Don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes," the wisdom of which was realized when it was seen how great had been the destruction of the enemy. Through all the years of the war he distinguished himself. "He dared to lead where any dared to follow." His courage was sometimes of a reckless type, as when (1778) on horseback he plunged down the hundred stone steps at Horseneck, Conn. to escape death at the hands of the British, a feat which would have been sure death to anyone but Putnam. He was not a man of learning; his education had been such as could be obtained occasionally winters in the district school, but he had a large amount of good judgment, common-sense and love of country that completely eclipsed all consideration of his ignorance of books. Washington was his friend, and all the great generals and leaders of his time were loud in their praise of "Old Put" as his devoted soldiers loved to call him. George Washington wrote General Putnam, June 2, 1783:
"Your favor of the 20th of May I received with much pleasure. For I can assure you that among the many the happiness to be connected in service through the course of this war, and from whose cheerful assistance in the various and trying vicissitudes of a complicated contest, the name of a 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 rights, liberties and independence of our country. Your congratulations on the happy prospects of peace and independent security, with their attendant blessings to the United States, I receive with great satisfaction, and beg that you will accept a return of my gratulations to you on this auspicious event, an event in which you have a right to participate largely, from the distinguished part you have contributed toward its attainment."
In that famous painting, "The Battle of Bunker Hill," the form of Putnam is distinctly seen. It was copied from a portrait painted from life by John Trumbull.
General Putnam died on May 19, 1790, at his home in Brooklyn, Conn., and was buried with military honors.
His monument bears this inscription:
"Passenger - If 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 services rendered they country by the patriot who sleeps beneath this marble. If thou art honest, generous, and worthy, render a cheerful tribute of respect to a man whose generosity was singular, whose honest was proverbial, who raised himself to universal esteem and offices of eminent distinction by personal worth and a useful life."