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Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790) was an American army general officer 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 became known far beyond Connecticut's borders through the circulation of folk legends in the American colonies and states celebrating his exploits. He had previously served notably as an officer with Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War, when he was captured by Mohawk warriors. He was saved from the ritual burning given to enemies by intervention of a French officer, with whom the Mohawk were allied. ==Early life== Israel Putnam was born in 1718 in Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts, to Joseph and Elizabeth (Porter) Putnam, a prosperous farming Puritan family. His parents opposed the Salem witch trials. With his father-in-law Israel Porter, Joseph Putnam signed the petition on the behalf of the elderly Rebecca Nurse, accused of witchcraft, but the jury overturned its first verdict of innocent, convicting her and sentencing her to death. One of her sisters was also executed in the hysteria of the time. In 1740, at the age of 22, the young Putnam moved west to Mortlake (now Pomfret) in northeastern Connecticut, where land was cheaper and easier for young men to buy. According to oral tradition, in 1743 Putnam 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 including the 'den' in modern-day Pomfret, is named "Wolf Den". The name "Wolf Den Road" in Brooklyn, Connecticut also attests to the days of wolves.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Isreal Putnam - Sons of the American Revolution, Connecticut | Bragg, Fanny Greye )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Israel Putnam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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