Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Rufus Putnam (April 9, 1738 – May 4, 1824) was an American military officer who fought during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

and the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

. As an organizer of the

Ohio Company of Associates The Ohio Company of Associates, also known as the Ohio Company, was a land company whose members are today credited with becoming the first non- Native American group to permanently settle west of the Allegheny mountains. In 1788 they establis ...

, he was instrumental in the initial colonization of the Northwest Territory in present-day Ohio following the war. He was known as "Father of the Northwest Territory".Benedict, William A. and Tracy, Hiram A. ''History of the Town of Sutton, Massachusetts from 1704 to 1876,'' pp. 244-6, Sanford & Company, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1878.

Early life and career

Putnam was born in Sutton, Massachusetts. Rufus's father Elisha Putnem died when Rufus was 1 or 2, and Rufus temporarily lived with his paternal grandfather in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

. Elisha Putnam and

Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...

, who became a renowned

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

were cousins.

Ann Putnam Annie Putnam (October 18, 1679 – 1716) was an important witness at the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts during the later portion of 17th-century Colonial America. Born 1679 in Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, she was t ...

, accuser of the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...

, was a first cousin once removed. After Rufus Putnam's mother married John Sadler, Rufus lived with his mother and stepfather in Sutton, where the family ran an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

. Putnam served with a

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

from 1757 to 1760, during the

. During the war, Putnam saw action in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

region, and near

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

Migration and work

After the war, Putnam relocated to New Braintree,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. There, he worked as a

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

from 1761 to 1768. He was very famous after the War.

Marriage and family

Established at work, in April 1761 Putnam married Elizabeth Ayers, the daughter of William Ayers,

esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

of the Second Precinct of

Brookfield Brookfield may refer to: Australia *Brookfield, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Brookfield, Victoria Canada * Brookfield, Manitoba, on Manitoba Highway 11 *Brookfield, Newfoundland and Labrador *Brookfield, Nova Scotia *Brookfield, Ontario ...

(now

North Brookfield North Brookfield is the name of some places in the United States: * North Brookfield, Massachusetts, a New England town **North Brookfield (CDP), Massachusetts, the main village in the town *North Brookfield, New York North Brookfield is a hamlet ...

. Elizabeth died in 1762, possibly in childbirth.Hubbard, Robert Ernest. ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' p. 29, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2020. . On January 10, 1765, Putnam married again, to Persis Rice (1737-1820), the daughter of Zebulon Rice and Abigail Forbush Rice of Westborough, Massachusetts.

Farmer and surveyor

While Putnam worked as a millwright, he devoted his free time to self-education, studying

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

, mathematics, and

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...

. In 1769, Putnam became a farmer and surveyor. Rufus Putnam, along with his cousin

and two others, traveled in 1773 to survey near present-day

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. There, Putnam surveyed and chartered lands along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

, which the Crown was going to grant to

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s of the French and Indian War in lieu of payment for their service.

Revolutionary War

SurrenderGenBurgoyne cropped ColPrescott ColMorgan GenPutnam ColBrooks RevHitchcock

After the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Putnam enlisted the same day, on April 19, 1775, in one of Massachusett's first revolutionary regiments. Putnam later was commissioned in the Continental Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, under the command of David Brewer. Brewer's regiment first engaged with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...

, Massachusetts. After the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

, the Americans laid siege against the British in Boston. The long siege lasted for many months with neither side able to make any progress. At the urging of

William Heath William Heath (March 2, 1737 – January 24, 1814) was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Life and career Heath ...

, Putnam used his experience working with British military engineers during the French and Indian war to build fortifications in

and other locations that were critical to the siege. After his initial success, he borrowed from Heath the book ''Attack and Defense of Fortified Places'', by

John Müller John Muller (1699 – June 1784) was a mathematician and engineer from the Holy Roman Empire. Life Born Johann Müller in the Holy Roman Empire, he moved to London in 1736. In 1741 he was appointed deputy head of the Royal Military Academy, ...

that showed him additional techniques for building defensive fortifications. Using Muller's ideas, Putnam devised a system for fortifying Dorchester Heights, overlooking

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Sinc ...

. Despite the frozen ground in early March, 1776, Putnam's plan of using timbers and

fascine A fascine is a rough bundle of brushwood or other material used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Typical uses are protecting the banks of streams from erosion, covering marshy ground and s ...

s allowed the colonial troops to put up the defenses overnight allowing for the subsequent emplacement of artillery, brought from

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French mi ...

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

weeks earlier, the next day. Putnam's success in establishing a fort in a matter of just hours took the British by surprise and left them in an untenable position, resulting in their evacuation of Boston by sea in the following weeks. West Point, from Fort Putnam

General Washington appointed Putnam to be the Chief of Engineers of the Works of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was soon promoted to engineer with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

where he directed the building of fortifications which secured victories at Sewall's Point, Providence, Newport, Long Island, and

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. In December, 1776, when the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

rejected his proposition to establish a national corps of engineers, Putnam resigned his commission. His resignation was short-lived and he eventually joined the Continental Army and served under

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles ...

. Putnam commanded two regiments in the

battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

. He continued to work on critical fortifications, including Fort Putnam at

in 1778. In 1779 Putnam served under Major General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mi ...

in the

Corps of Light Infantry Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

following the capture of Stony Point, commanding the 4th Regiment. Putnam's remaining military career was less eventful. In January 1783 he was commissioned as

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

Post-war activities

After the war was over, Putnam returned to Rutland, Massachusetts. In 1780 he had bought a farm confiscated from a Loyalist, and he settled there. He returned to working as a surveyor, inspecting lands in

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

(then part of Massachusetts). Putnam was a strong advocate of granting lands to veterans of the Revolution. He was one of the authors of the army's Newburgh Petition, which was submitted to Congress requesting land disbursements. There was pent-up land hunger among younger men in New England, where topography and long settlement restricted buying land. Putnam was an original member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

, and one of the principal benefactors of the Leicester Academy in Leicester, Massachusetts, and served on its board of trustees. RutlandMA RufusPutnamHouse

The Ohio Company

Putnam's advocacy for land grants led him, with partners, to establish the

for the purchase and settlement of Western lands. He established the Company in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

on March 3, 1786, together with

Benjamin Tupper Benjamin Tupper (March 11, 1738 – June 7, 1792) was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, achieving the rank of brevet brigadier general. Subsequently, he served ...

, Samuel Holden Parsons, and Manasseh Cutler. Its primary purpose was to settle the Northwest Territory, roughly the lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, which was ceded to the US by Great Britain under the

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and overall state of conflict ...

. After passage of the Northwest Ordinance to organize the territory, the Company bought about of land north of the Ohio River, between the present day sites of

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, M ...

, and Huntington, West Virginia. Cutler had tried to purchase all the land between the Ohio and Scioto rivers, but the western half was optioned by the Scioto Company. It later failed without having purchased any of the land.

Later life

In 1788 Putnam led a group of Revolutionary veterans to settle the land in what became Ohio. These pioneers arrived at the confluence of the

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

and Muskingum rivers on April 7, 1788, where they established

, as the first European-American permanent United States settlement in the Northwest Territory. Putnam was appointed to serve as one of three judges of the Northwest Territory after Samuel Holden Parsons died. The territory had been historically occupied by Native American tribes, and more were driven west by colonial encroachment before the Revolution. As they had not ceded any land, they came into conflict with the arriving pioneers. They organized a coalition of tribes to try to expel the Americans from their territory. From 1792 to 1793, Putnam served as a

's Ohio campaign against these Native American tribes, including

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

and Seneca, who were ultimately defeated. In 1796, Putnam was appointed by the President as the first Surveyor General of the United States, a position he held until 1803. As Ohio residents organized to write a constitution and be admitted as a state, in 1802 Putnam was elected a Washington county delegate to the Ohio Constitutional Convention.Hildreth, S. P. ''Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio,'' p. 82, Badgley Publishing Company, 2011. . He was appointed as a Trustee of

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subsequ ...

, where he served for two decades, from 1804 to 1824. It was constructed on public lands, under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Long participating in the Masons, a fraternal organization that expanded in the early nineteenth century, in 1808 Putnam was elected the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio. RufusPutnamMarker

Putnam died on May 4, 1824. He was buried at Mound Cemetery in

Legacy and honors

Rufus Putnam is depicted on a commemorative stamp issued on July 13, 1937, by the U.S. Post Office which commemorated the 150th anniversary of the North West Ordinance of 1787. The engraving on the stamp depicts a map of the United States at the time with the North West Territory between the figures of Putnam (right) and Manasseh Cutler. Putnam's home in Marietta has been designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in his honor. His home in Rutland, Massachusetts (the

General Rufus Putnam House The General Rufus Putnam House (also Bliss–Murray–Putnam House) is a National Historic Landmark at 344 Main Street in Rutland, Worcester County, Massachusetts, US. History The two-story wood-frame house was built between 1760 and 1765 by J ...

) is on the National Register of Historic Homes and is currently being operated as a B&B. The town of Putnam, Ohio (now a part of Zanesville, Ohio) was named for him. Fort Putnam (built by Rufus Putnam) is part of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. One of his grandsons, Catharinus Putnam Buckingham, served as a brigadier general in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

.Hubbard, Robert Ernest. ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' pp. 178-90, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2020. .

References

Bibliography

* Barker, Joseph: ''Recollections of the First Settlement of Ohio'', Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio (1958); original manuscript written late in Joseph Barker's life, prior to his death in 1843. * Buell, Rowena, ed.: ''The Memoirs of Rufus Putnam and Certain Official Papers and Correspondence'', Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1903). Available online as part of the California Digital Library a
The memoirs of Rufus Putnam and certain official papers and correspondence
* Dawes, E. C.: ''Journal of Gen. Rufus Putnam kept in Northern New York during Four Campaigns of the old French and Indian War'', Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, New York (1886). * Heitman, Francis B.: ''Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution'', Rare Book Shop Publishing Co., Washington, D.C. (1914). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1852). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley, and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1848). This historical book is available online via the Google Books Library Project a
Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory
* Hubbard, Robert Ernest. ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and "Father of Ohio"'', McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2020. . * Hubbard, Robert Ernest. ''Major General Israel Putnam: Hero of the American Revolution,'' McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2017. . * Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume I'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917). This historical book is available online via the Google Books Library Project a
Ohio Company, Volume I
* Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume II'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917). This historical book is available online via the Google Books Library Project a
Ohio Company, Volume II
* Leiter, M. T.: ''Biographical Sketches of the Generals of the Continental Army of the Revolution'', University Press: John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1889). * Summers, Thomas J.: ''History of Marietta'', The Leader Publishing Co., Marietta, Ohio (1903). This historical book is available online via the Google Books Library Project a
History of Marietta
* Randall, Emilius Oviatt (1850–1919): ''Rufus Putnam Memorial Association'', Ohio Archæological and Historical Society Publications: Volume 20 911 pp. 123–33.

External links

The Society of the CincinnatiThe American Revolution InstituteU.S. Army Corps of Engineers History: Commanders
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Rufus 1738 births 1824 deaths Masonic Grand Masters American people of the Northwest Indian War American people of English descent American pioneers American surveyors Burials at Mound Cemetery (Marietta, Ohio) United States Army Corps of Engineers Chiefs of Engineers Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from Massachusetts Northwest Territory House of Representatives Northwest Territory judges Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802) Ohio University trustees People from Marietta, Ohio People of Massachusetts in the French and Indian War People from Sutton, Massachusetts People from Danvers, Massachusetts People from New Braintree, Massachusetts Surveyors General of the Northwest Territory Rufus