Putnam, Israel, 1718–90, American Revolutionary general, b. Salem (now Danvers), Mass. A farmer at Pomfret, Conn., he fought in the French and Indian Wars French and Indian Wars, 1689–1763, the name given by American historians to the North American colonial wars between Great Britain and France in the late 17th and the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , seeing action at Montreal (1760) and at Havana (1762). In 1764, he was commander of the Connecticut force sent to relieve Pontiac's siege of Detroit. At the outbreak of the American Revolution American Revolution, 1775–83, struggle by which the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America won independence from Great Britain and became the United States. It is also called the American War of Independence.
..... Click the link for more information. he joined the Continental army and was prominent in the battle of Bunker Hill. Putnam was in command at the unhappy battle of Long Island (1776) and in 1777 lost forts Montgomery and Clinton in the Hudson Highlands to the British. A paralytic stroke (1779) ended his military career.

Bibliography

See biographies by W. Cutter (1847, repr. 1970) and I. N. Tarbox (1876, repr. 1970).

Putnam, Israel

(born Jan. 7, 1718, Salem Village, Mass.—died May 29, 1790, Pomfret, Conn., U.S.) American Revolutionary army officer. He was a prosperous farmer in Connecticut from 1740. He served throughout the French and Indian War and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1759. Appointed a major general in the Continental Army in 1775, he fought with distinction at Bunker Hill, but his troops were defeated at the Battle of Long Island. He was charged with the defense of the Hudson highlands but abandoned Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton to the British. He served in lesser commands until suffering a stroke in 1779.

Putnam, Israel (1718–90) soldier; born in Salem Village (now Danvers), Mass. A veteran of service with Connecticut militia during the French and Indian War, he became an early opponent of British rule. Appointed major general of Continental forces (1775), Putnam fought at Bunker Hill but proved unequal to subsequent command responsibilities. A paralytic stroke forced his retirement from the army in 1779.