"Old Put" the patriotOber, Frederick A. (Frederick Albion)
History
"Old Put" the patriot
Ober, Frederick A. (Frederick Albion)
Putnam, Israel, 1718-1790
"We shall expect you to give us the key of the room in which it is
deposited, and if you think fit, in order to screen yourself, you may
forewarn us not to enter that room upon our peril."
"And then what will you do?"
"Send the paper safely back again."
"But if I should refuse you admission?"
"In that case, your house will be leveled to the ground in five
minutes!"
The Governor, who desired to be loyal, and was inclined to receive the
paper, was not called upon to act, the determined attitude of the Sons
of Liberty, preventing any from being sent into the State. Elected a
representative in 1766, Putnam was prepared to do all in his power to
frustrate the intent of the Act; but, in common with his fellow
citizens, was made happy by the news of its repeal. As this was then
the only bone of contention between the Colonials and the King, the
former hastened to send the latter a loyal address of thanks, assuring
him of their continued devotion, etc., etc.
It would seem that farming, in colonial days, was almost as hazardous an
employment as fighting in the wilds, for Putnam was the victim of two
different accidents, by one of which he lost the first joint of his
right thumb, and by the other he received a compound fracture of his
right thigh. The latter being imperfectly attended to, rendered that leg
an inch shorter than the other, "which occasioned him ever after to limp
in his walk." Notwithstanding these injuries, he faithfully attended to
his duties as representative at Hartford. In June, 1767, two years and
two months after the death of his wife, Hannah, he was married to Mrs.
Deborah Lothrop, widow of John Gardiner, of Gardiner's Island, New York.
As his second wife had a fine property on Brooklyn Green, in the center
of the town, and as the entertainment of his numerous admirers (who
came from all over the country to see him) was becoming burdensome,
Farmer Putnam concluded to convert the newly acquired mansion into an
inn. So he moved himself and most of his belongings (including his stock
of war relics and anecdotes) from the farmhouse to the "Green," nearly
two miles distant, and there set up as "mine host" Putnam, putting out a
sign of the Wolfe--not of the beast he had slain in early life, but the
gallant general of that name who fell at Quebec. This veritable sign may
now be seen in Hartford, at the rooms of the Connecticut Historical
Society, where also are several other precious relics of Putnam and his
time, including some autograph letters by the hero himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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