Israel Putnam Israel Putnam ( January 7 , 1718 – May 29 , 1790 ) was an American army general and Freemason , popularly known as " Old Put , " who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill ( 1775 ) during the American Revolutionary War ( 1775 – 1783 ) . His reckless courage and fighting spirit were known far beyond Connecticut ' s borders through the circulation of folk legends celebrating his exploits . He had notable service as an officer with Roger ' s Rangers during the French and Indian War , when he was captured but saved from ritual burning by Mohawk warriors by intervention of a French officer . Early life . Putnam was born in Salem Village ( now Danvers ) , Massachusetts , to Joseph and Elizabeth ( Porter ) Putnam , a prosperous farming family . His parents were in opposition to the Salem witch trials . Joseph signed , with Israel Porter ( his father - in - law ) , the petition on the behalf of Rebecca Nurse . Israel ' s birthplace , Putnam House , has been preserved as an historic structure . In 1740 , at the age of 22 , he moved west to Mortlake ( now Pomfret ) in northeastern Connecticut , where land was cheaper and easier for young men to buy . According to oral tradition , Putnam in his youth killed the last wolf in Connecticut with the help of a group of farmers from Mortlake . The tradition describes Putnam crawling into a den with a torch , a musket , and his feet secured with rope , in order to be quickly pulled out . While in the den , he allegedly killed the she - wolf . The farmers thought killing all the wolves was necessary to safeguard their sheep and early settlements typically offered bounties on such predators . A section of the Mashamoquet Brook State Park in modern - day Pomfret is named " Wolf Den " ( which includes the ' den ' ) . The name " Wolf Den Road " in Brooklyn , Connecticut also attests to the days of wolves . Military service . Putnam took part in the French and Indian War as a member of Rogers ' Rangers , and later led a similar company of rangers from Connecticut . He was promoted to captain in 1756 and to major in 1758 . Captured on August 8 , 1758 by the Kahnawake ( Mohawk Indians ) during a military campaign near Crown Point in New York , he was saved from being ritually burned alive by a rain storm and the last - minute intervention of a French officer . In 1759 , Putnam led a regiment into the valley of death the attack on Fort Carillon ; and in 1760 he was with the British army that marched on Montreal . In 1762 , he survived a shipwreck during the British expedition against Cuba that led to the capture of Havana . Major Putnam is believed to have brought back Cuban tobacco seeds to New England , which he planted in the Hartford area . This reportedly resulted in the development of the renowned Connecticut Wrapper ( shade tobacco ) . In 1763 during Pontiac ' s Rebellion , Putnam was sent with reinforcements to relieve Pontiac ' s siege of Fort Detroit . Following the war , in 1765 Putnam publicly professed his Christian faith and joined the Congregational Church in Brooklyn . Putnam was among those who objected to British taxation policies . For instance , around the time of the Stamp Act crisis in 1766 , he was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly and was one of the founders of the state ' s chapter of the Sons of Liberty . In the fall of 1765 , Putnam threatened Thomas Fitch , the popularly elected Connecticut Governor , over this issue . He said that Fitch ' s house " will be leveled with the dust in five minutes " if Fitch did not turn over the stamp tax paper to the Sons of Liberty . The American Revolution . Battle of Bunker Hill . By the eve of the Revolution , Putnam had become a relatively prosperous farmer and tavern keeper , with more than a local reputation for his previous exploits . On April 20 , 1775 , when Putnam received news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that started the war the day before , he left his plow in the field and rode in eight hours , reaching Cambridge the next day and offering his services to the patriot cause . Putnam was named major general , making him second in rank to General Artemas Ward in the Army of Observation that preceded the founding of the Continental Army . He was one of the primary figures at the Battle of Bunker Hill , both in its planning and on the battlefield . During that battle Putnam may have ordered William Prescott to tell his troops " Don ' t fire until you see the whites of their eyes " ( It is debated exactly who said these words first ; they are attributed to a number of officers ) . This command has since become one of the American Revolution ' s more memorable quotes . The order was important , because the New England troops entrenched on the hill were low on ammunition . Putnam joined the Continental Army when it was organized in July 1775 , he was commissioned as colonel of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment , and later became brigadier of the Connecticut militia . Long Island and later service . After Bunker Hill , Putnam progressed to temporary command of the American forces in New York , while waiting for the arrival on April 13 , 1776 of the commander - in - chief , Lieutenant General George Washington . The Battle of Bunker Hill must count as the greatest achievement in Putnam ' s life ; afterward , his fortunes took a downturn at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 , where he was forced to effect a hasty retreat . Washington did not blame Putnam for this failure as some in the Second Continental Congress did . However , Washington reassessed the abilities of his general and assigned him to recruiting activities . In 1777 Putnam received another , though lesser , military command in the Hudson Highlands and his headquarters was at the Bush - Lyon Homestead . With future Vice - President Aaron Burr in his charge , Putnam was fooled in October 1777 by a feint executed by British troops under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton , making way for Clinton ' s capture of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton . Putnam was brought before a court of inquiry for those actions , where he was exonerated of any wrongdoing . On Feb . 26 , 1779 , Putnam did his famed escape from the British , riding down a steep slope in Greenwich . A statue commemorating this escape was erected at Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding , Connecticut . Anna Hyatt Huntington , a local sculptor , created the bronze statue in 1969 . During the winter of 1778 - 1779 , Putnam and his troops were encamped at the site now preserved as the Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding , Connecticut . In December 1779 , Putnam suffered a paralyzing stroke , which ended his military service . Putnam Tomb . Putnam died in Brooklyn , Connecticut in 1790 , and was buried in an above - ground tomb in Brooklyn ' s South Cemetery . He is honored with an equestrian monument at his burial site on Canterbury Road ( Route 169 ) in Brooklyn , CT . Upon his death in 1790 , Putnam was buried in an above ground tomb . Over the years , souvenir hunters had removed fragments of the headstone and the overall condition of the tomb was deemed unsuitable for General Putnam . Sculptor Karl Gerhardt , also responsible for the nearby Soldiers ’ and Sailors ’ Monument as well as Civil War monuments in New York and New Jersey , was chosen to create a monument that would provide a new home for Putnam ’ s remains . Putnam was placed in a sarcophagus in the base , and the original headstone inscription was recreated on the monument . Legacy . Within a few years , so many people visited Putnam ' s tomb that the marble marker became badly mutilated ; it was removed for safe keeping to the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford . In 1888 , Putnam ' s remains were removed from the Brooklyn cemetery and reinterred in a sarcophagus built into the foundation of a monument in his memory , newly erected on a plot of ground near the Brooklyn town green . In the early days of the war , Putnam was regarded by Washington as one of America ' s most valuable military assets . During the Revolution , however , Putnam , as did many American generals , led more strategic defeats than offensive victories , and was known chiefly for his reckless courage . Numerous places were named for him , including eight Putnam counties in various states , starting with New York . Towns in New York and Connecticut were named for him . Other namesakes include : Putnam has been featured in numerous biographies and works of fiction , including an 1876 book by Increase N . Tarbox , acclaimed historian , theologian , and author . General Putnam is an ancestor to the famed 20th - century newsman and former Marine Corps Officer George Putnam . Putnam also appears as a supporting character in the video game , Assassin ' s Creed III .