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was broken from Massachusetts to Georgia.
[Footnote: Israel Putnam, familiarly known as "Old Put," was born in Salem, Mass., 1718. Many stories are
told of his great courage and presence of mind. His descent into the wolf's den, shooting the animal by the
light of her own glaring eyes, showed his love of bold adventure; his noble generosity was displayed in the
rescue of a comrade scout at Crown Point, at the imminent peril of his own life. He came out of one encounter
with fourteen bullet-holes in his blanket. In 1756, a party of Indians took him prisoner, bound him to a stake,
and made ready to torture him with fire. The flames were already scorching his limbs, and death seemed
certain, when a French officer burst through the crowd and saved his life. At Fort Edward, when all others
fled, he alone fought back the fire from a magazine in which were stored three hundred barrels of gunpowder,
protected only by a thin partition. "His face, his hands, and almost his whole body, were blistered; and in
removing the mittens from his hands, the skin was torn off with them." The British offered him money and the
rank of major-general if he would desert the American cause; but he could neither be daunted by toil and
danger, nor bribed by gold and honors.]
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL (June 17).--The patriot leader, Gen. Ward, having learned that the British
intended to fortify Bunker Hill, determined to anticipate them. A body of men, under Col. Prescott, were
accordingly assembled at Cambridge, and, after prayer by the president of Harvard University, marched to
Charlestown Neck. Breed's Hill was then chosen as a more commanding site than Bunker Hill. It was bright
moonlight, and they were so near Boston that the sentinel's "All's well," was distinctly heard. Yet so quietly
did they work that there was no alarm. At daylight the British officers were startled by seeing the redoubt
Brief History of the United States 53
which had been constructed. Resolved to drive the Americans from their position, Howe crossed the river with
three thousand men, and formed them at the landing. The roofs and steeples of Boston were crowded with
spectators, intently watching the troops as they slowly ascended the hill. The patriot ranks lay quietly behind
their earthworks until the red-coats were within ten rods, when Prescott shouted "Fire!" A blaze of light shot
from the redoubt, and whole platoons of the British fell. The survivors, unable to endure the terrible slaughter,
broke and fled. They were rallied under cover of the smoke of Charlestown, which had been wantonly fired by
Gage.
[Illustration: THE PRAYER BEFORE THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL.]
Again they were met by that deadly discharge, and again they fled. Reinforcements being received, the third
time they advanced. Only one volley smote them, and then the firing ceased. The American ammunition was
exhausted. The British charged over the ramparts with fixed bayonets. The patriots gallantly resisted with
clubbed muskets, but were soon driven from the field.
[Footnote: General Warren was among the last to leave. As he was trying to rally the troops, a British officer,
who knew him, seized a musket and shot him. Warren had just received his commission as major-general, but
had crossed Charlestown Neel in the midst of flying balls, reached the redoubt, and offered himself as a
volunteer. He was buried near the spot where he fell. By his death America lost one of her truest sons. Gage is
reported to have said that his fall was worth that of five hundred ordinary rebels.]
The effect upon the Americans of this first regular battle was that of a victory. Their untrained farmer soldiers
had put to flight the British veterans. All felt encouraged, and the determination to fight for liberty was
intensified.
CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA (May 10).--Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold led a small company of
volunteers to surprise this fortress. As Allen rushed into the sally-port, a sentinel snapped his gun at him and
fled. Making his way to the commander's quarters, Allen, in a voice of thunder, ordered him to surrender. "By
whose authority?" exclaimed the frightened officer. "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental
Congress!" shouted Allen. No resistance was attempted. Large stores of cannon and ammunition, just then so
much needed by the troops at Boston, fell into the hands of the Americans, without the loss of a single man.
Crown Point was soon after as easily taken. (Map opp p. 120.)
[Footnote: Ethan Allen was a native of Connecticut. With several of his brothers he emigrated to what is now
known as Vermont. At that time a dispute had arisen between the colony of New York, on the one hand, and
the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, on the other, with reference to the territory.
The governor of New Hampshire, regardless of the claims of New York, issued grants of land so extensively
that the region became known as the New Hampshire grants. New York having obtained a favorable decision
of the courts, endeavored to eject the occupants of the land. Ethan Allen became conspicuous in the resistance
that ensued. The "Green Mountain Boys" made him their colonel, and he kept a watchful eye on the officers
from New York, who sought by form of law to dispossess the settlers of farms which had been bought and
made valuable by their own labor. The Revolutionary War caused a lull in these hostilities, and the Green
Mountain Boys turned their arms upon the common enemy. Allen afterward aided Montgomery in his
Canadian expedition, but, in a fool-hardy attempt upon Montreal, was taken prisoner and sent to England.
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