ASHFORD PRESS

     A biography of Major-General Israel Putnam, hero of the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars, including a Travel Guide to locations of importance in his life.

     Israel Putnam is the perfect example of the forgotten hero. During his lifetime and for many years afterwards, he was one of the best-known Americans in the world. A fearless hero, who fought as a ranger in the French and Indian War, led a division in the attack on Havana, guided a force to Detroit and back in Pontiac’s Rebellion, was prominent in the Battle of Bunkers Hill, often credited as being the one to order, “Don’t shoot ‘til you see the whites of their eyes.” He was beloved by soldiers as the common man who had risen purely by his own merit from private to Major-General, second in seniority to George Washington. He was also the only person, other than Washington, whose commission was unanimously approved by Congress.

     Despite all of this, Putnam has almost entirely faded from the consciousness of Americans, even in his home state of Connecticut. The purpose of this book, therefore, is to help restore our first folk hero to his rightful place as the archetype of the “citizen soldier” upon whom much of the story of America’s foundation is based.

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