Israel Putnam

Ambuscade Slaughter: The 1758 Half-Way Brook Massacre

October 4, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In the aftermath of his stunning defeat of Maj. Gen. James Abercrombie‘s much larger army at the Battle of Carillon, French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm sent several scouting parties from Ticonderoga to attack and harass the soldiers and convoys along the road between the head of Lake George and Fort Edward.

On July 20th, 1758 one of these groups fell upon the Massachusetts provincial militia, led by Colonel Ebenezer Nichols (1703–1777) who were quartered at the Half-Way Brook block house, which had been constructed shortly after Sir William Johnson had the road built in 1755. [Read more…] about Ambuscade Slaughter: The 1758 Half-Way Brook Massacre

Half-Way Brook & The French & Indian War

September 30, 2026 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

In choosing as its first subject for a memorial marker “The Half-Way Brook,” the (now defunct) New York State Historical Association made a dignified and wise selection.

For it may be truly said that no stream in Northern New York is more noted in history and the annals of the border, than this, whose appellation “Half-Way” comes from the fact that it was nearly equidistant from Fort Edward on the south (on the Hudson River] and Fort William Henry on the north (on Lake George). [Read more…] about Half-Way Brook & The French & Indian War

Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered

June 18, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

June 17, 2025, marked the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. New England militiamen inflicted 1,054 casualties on the British, 50 percent of the British force.

The Bostonians and their allies sustained 411 casualties that day, including the man who stood at the heart of the battle, Dr. Joseph Warren, the namesake of Warren County, NY, who was brutally killed and mutilated by the British at the end of the battle. [Read more…] about Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered

That ‘Other’ Massacre: Blood and Chocolate at Half-Way Brook

January 5, 2026 by Bruce M. Venter 1 Comment

The dramatic massacre at Fort William Henry on August 10, 1757 has been told in 18th century newspaper accounts, witness diaries, by historians, movie makers, and of course the famed novelist James Fenimore Cooper.

Another attack at Half-Way Brook a year later has been overshadowed by the carnage at Lake George. The events of July 28, 1758 were every bit as horrendous, bloody and gut-wrenching. That story has been largely overlooked. [Read more…] about That ‘Other’ Massacre: Blood and Chocolate at Half-Way Brook

Heritage Profile: Fort Edward & Rogers Island in the Hudson River

January 15, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Native Americans began hunting and fishing on Rogers Island and along the Hudson River in what would later become the town of Fort Edward in Washington County, NY, at least 6,000 years ago.

Archaeologists working there have unearthed thousands of stone tools, pottery sherds and other artifacts as well as features like hearths from the Late Archaic, Transitional, Middle Woodland and Late Woodland Periods. These first indigenous inhabitants left behind their hearths, trash pits, stone tools, and pottery as they hunted, fished and traveled in the area. [Read more…] about Heritage Profile: Fort Edward & Rogers Island in the Hudson River

Robert Rogers: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

December 16, 2024 by Editorial Staff 4 Comments

Robert Rogers, commander of Rogers’ Rangers during the French and Indian War (1754-1763), was the war’s best-known colonial military hero and, in the ensuing peace, one of the best-known Americans of any description, rivaling Benjamin Franklin in popularity.

He was revered in the colonies as an example of the self-made man based on merit, in contrast to the hide-bound, hierarchical British military establishment. Yet this American icon ultimately alienated his peers, fought as a loyalist in the Revolutionary War, ruined himself financially, and died in obscurity in London, estranged from the country of his birth. [Read more…] about Robert Rogers: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Israel Putnam

November 26, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

“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.

Putnam’s renown as a battlefield commander and his colorful military service far and wide are explored in The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Revolutionary Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers Rangers to Bunker Hill (Stackpole Books, 2023) by Michael E. Shay. [Read more…] about The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Israel Putnam

Israel Putnam: Veteran of the French & Indian, Revolution Wars

May 30, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A colorful figure of 18th-century America, Israel Putnam, “Old Put,” played a key role in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. In 1758, while serving with Rogers’ Rangers in New York, he barely escaped being burned alive by Mohawk warriors. He later commanded a force of 500 men who were shipwrecked off the coast of Cuba. He reportedly, and famously, gave the command “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” at the Battle of Bunker Hill. [Read more…] about Israel Putnam: Veteran of the French & Indian, Revolution Wars

Israel Putnam: Hero of the Revolution

January 7, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Robert Hubbard is set to speak on his book Major General Israel Putnam: Hero of the American Revolution, on January 24th at 6:30 pm at the The Fraunces Tavern Museum in the City of New York.

A colorful figure of 18th century America, Israel Putnam (1718-1790) was an important leader in both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Hubbard’s lecture will include a discussion of Putnam’s role in the Battle of Brooklyn, the Landing at Kip’s Bay and the Battle of Harlem Heights. [Read more…] about Israel Putnam: Hero of the Revolution

Israel Putnam

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