" And as Putnam's record
had long since proved that he always led, and asked no man to approach
nearer the foe than he himself was willing to go, the soldiers were
enthusiastic for "Old Wolf Put," the fighter, though lukewarm in their
feelings toward the commander.
They did not admire the methods Putnam employed to keep them out of
mischief--these raw and undisciplined militia, accustomed to do as they
liked and to take orders from no man--for he kept them actively employed
all the time. "It is better to dig a ditch every morning, and fill it up
at evening, than to have the men idle," said Old Put, and though the men
grumbled the results soon showed that he was right.
What they also needed more than anything else was confidence, and, in
order to inspire that, he paraded some two thousand of them through
Charlestown over the hills soon to become world-famous, and right in
sight of the enemy. He did this several times, and on one occasion took
with him his son Daniel, who wrote of it afterward: "I felt proud to be
numbered among what I then thought to be a mighty host destined for some
great enterprise.
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