

The Whites of Their Eyes : The Life of Revolutionary War Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers' Rangers to Bunker Hill (Hardcover)
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- Publication date
- October, 2023
- Era
- Revolutionary War
- Count
- 1
- Edition
- 1
- Author
- Stackpole Books Gpq
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The Whites of Their Eyes recounts the life and times of Israel Putnam, a larger-than-life general, a gregarious tavern keeper and farmer, who was a folk hero in Connecticut and the probable source of legendary words during the Revolutionary War—and whose exploits make him one of the most interesting officers in American military history.
Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” remains one of the enduring, and most stirring, quotations of the Revolutionary War, and it was very likely uttered at the Battle of Bunker Hill by General Israel Putnam. Despite this, and Putnam’s renown as a battlefield commander and his colorful military service far and wide, Putnam has never received his due from modern historians. In The Whites of Their Eyes, Michael E. Shay tells the exciting life of Israel Putnam.
Born near Salem, Massachusetts, in 1718, Putnam relocated in 1740 to northeastern Connecticut, where he was a slaveowner and, according to folk legend, killed Connecticut’s last wolf, in a cave known as Israel Putnam Wolf Den, which is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
During the French and Indian War, Putnam enlisted as a private and rose to the rank of colonel. He served with Robert Rogers, famous Ranger founder and leader, and a popular phrase of the time said, “Rogers always sent, but Putnam led his men to action.” In 1759, Putnam led an assault on French Fort Carillon (later Ticonderoga); in 1760, he marched against Montreal; in 1762, he survived a shipwreck and yellow fever during an expedition against Cuba; and in 1763, he was sent to defend Detroit during Pontiac’s rebellion.
When the Revolutionary War broke out, Putnam—who had been radicalized by the Stamp Act—was among those immediately considered for high command. Named one of the Continental Army’s first four major generals, he helped plan and lead at the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he gave the order about “the whites of their eyes” and argued in favor of fortifying Breed’s Hill, in addition to Bunker Hill. Most of the battle would take place on Breed’s. During the battles for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island during the summer of 1776, Putnam proved himself a capable and courageous battlefield commander with a special eye for fortifications, but he sometimes faltered in tactical and strategic decision-making. In the fall of 1777, the British outmanned Putnam, resulting in the loss of several key forts in the Hudson Highlands near West Point. Putnam was exonerated by a court of inquiry, but—nearly sixty and opposed by powerful political elements from New York, including Alexander Hamilton—he spent many of the following months recruiting in Connecticut. In December 1779 he was returning to Washington’s Army to rejoin his division when he suffered a stroke and was paralyzed.
The Whites of Their Eyes recounts the life and times of Israel Putnam, a larger-than-life general, a gregarious tavern keeper and farmer, who was a folk hero in Connecticut and the probable source of legendary words during the Revolutionary War—and whose exploits make him one of the most interesting officers in American military history.
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| Publication date | October, 2023The Whites of Their Eyes : The Life of Revolutionary War Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers' Rangers to Bunker Hill (Hardcover) | December, 2015The 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster, (Paperback) | February, 2021Cambridge Military Histories War's Logic, (Paperback) | July, 2021Texas South Plains War Stories: Interviews with Veterans from World War II to Afghanistan, (Paperback) | May, 2021Association of the United States Army Chief of Staff, Vol. 1: The Principal Officers Behind History's Great Commanders, Napoleonic Wars to World War I, (Hardcover) | September, 2020Dear Mum and Dad, (Paperback) | May, 2021The Red Baron (Hardcover) | February, 2024Confederate Agent: A Discovery in History, (Paperback) | January, 1866The soldier of Indiana in the war for the union. Volume 2 of 2 (Paperback) |
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| Era | Revolutionary WarThe Whites of Their Eyes : The Life of Revolutionary War Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers' Rangers to Bunker Hill (Hardcover) | Civil WarThe 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster, (Paperback) | 20th CenturyCambridge Military Histories War's Logic, (Paperback) | World War IITexas South Plains War Stories: Interviews with Veterans from World War II to Afghanistan, (Paperback) | -Association of the United States Army Chief of Staff, Vol. 1: The Principal Officers Behind History's Great Commanders, Napoleonic Wars to World War I, (Hardcover) | -Dear Mum and Dad, (Paperback) | First World WarThe Red Baron (Hardcover) | Civil WarConfederate Agent: A Discovery in History, (Paperback) | -The soldier of Indiana in the war for the union. Volume 2 of 2 (Paperback) |
| Count | 1The Whites of Their Eyes : The Life of Revolutionary War Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers' Rangers to Bunker Hill (Hardcover) | 1The 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster, (Paperback) | 1Cambridge Military Histories War's Logic, (Paperback) | 1Texas South Plains War Stories: Interviews with Veterans from World War II to Afghanistan, (Paperback) | 1Association of the United States Army Chief of Staff, Vol. 1: The Principal Officers Behind History's Great Commanders, Napoleonic Wars to World War I, (Hardcover) | 1Dear Mum and Dad, (Paperback) | 1The Red Baron (Hardcover) | 1Confederate Agent: A Discovery in History, (Paperback) | 1The soldier of Indiana in the war for the union. Volume 2 of 2 (Paperback) |
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