He appears to have been active and efficient at
every point, sometimes fortifying, sometimes hurrying up reenforcements;
inspiriting the men by his presence while they were able to maintain
their ground, and fighting gallantly at the outpost to cover their
retreat."]
As soon as once assured that the defeat of the Provincials was
overwhelming, Putnam lost no time in entrenching at Prospect Hill, the
first spot at which he could halt his fleeing troops. Here he stayed,
working like a beaver and digging like a badger, and this strategic
position, which he had seized and selected almost intuitively, he
continued to occupy until appointed to the command of the center
division of the army at Cambridge, where, on July 2, 1775, he for the
first time met General Washington, who had come with his appointment as
Commander-in-Chief recently received from the Continental Congress.
Not long after formally taking command of the army, beneath the historic
elm at Cambridge, Washington made a tour of the fortifications and was
astonished at the progress Putnam had made at Prospect Hill, as well as
at the military skill he had shown in taking and fortifying it.
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