"
That was Putnam: one of the first in the field, the last to leave it. We
have seen (as all his biographers and many historians have agreed in
stating) that he took a most active part throughout, exposing himself
continually to the shots of the enemy, guiding, directing, leading; and
that no man's commands were so eagerly received and so promptly obeyed
as his. And yet there are cavilers who have raised the question as to
whether he or Prescott commanded at the battle of Bunker Hill--as though
it mattered much. Both were sons of Massachusetts, and Putnam an
adoptive son of Connecticut, fighting on Massachusetts soil.
It is certain that neither he nor Prescott gave a thought to this
matter, especially at the time the balls flew thickest.[2] They may have
had differences of opinion, as, for instance, when Putnam attempted to
take away some of Prescott's men from the redoubt to throw up earthworks
on Bunker Hill. Subsequent events proved that Putnam's scheme of defense
was the right one, and only lack of time and men prevented its being
carried out.
[Footnote 2: "Putnam," says Irving, in his Life of Washington, "also was
a leading spirit throughout the affair; one of the first to prompt and
the last to maintain it.
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