Brooklyn Green - SR 169 - Brooklyn, CT
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 41° 47.186 W 071° 56.982
19T E 254885 N 4630270
Brooklyn Green is listed as stop #3 on the Connecticut Route 169 Tour. It is listed because of its historical significance and the historic monuments on the green.
Waymark Code: WMFXNW
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 12/13/2012
Views: 2
The most important monument on Brooklyn Green honors General Israel Putnam. An impressive equestrian statue of Major General Israel Putnam not only commemorated the General but also marks the grave of the Revolutionary War hero. Israel Putnam was born in Salem Village (now Danvers), MA on January 7, 1718. He moved to the northeastern Connecticut town of Mortlake (now Brooklyn) when he was 22 to establish a farm.
During the French and Indian War, Putnam was a member of Rogers' Rangers. He was became a captain in 1756 and a major in 1758. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, legend says he left his plow in the field and road on horseback 100 miles in eight hours to reach Cambridge, MA. Putnam was made a major general and second in rank to General Artemas Ward in the Army of Observation, the forerunner of the Continental Army.
He was a major planner and participant in the the Battle of Bunker Hill. Subsequently he fought in the Battle of Long Island and later assumed command of the troops in the Hudson Highland. He suffered a stroke in 1779 which ended his military career.
Israel Putnam died in Brooklyn, CT on May 29, 1790. He is buried a sarcophagus built into the foundation of this monument near the Brooklyn town green.
A 12' by 8' by 4' bronze equestrian statue, by Karl Gerhardt, sculptor, and cast at the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, foundry, of General Israel Putnam stands on top of a 13' by x 21' by 12.5' gray granite base. The general is looking over his left shoulder while holding the reins of his horse in his left hand and pointing forward with his right arm and hand with an extended index finger. He is wearing a Revolutionary War uniform with a tri-cornered hat, boots, knee breeches, and a jacket with fringed epaulets. A sword hangs from his left side. His horse appears to be walking with left its front leg raised.
The sculpture rests on an oval base which has a garland of oak leaves encircling it near the top. A wolf head sticks out from the front of the base. This is a reference the the legend that as a young man Israel Putnam killed the last wolf in Connecticut. The symbol became the identified with the Putnam family. On the north and south sides of the base are large polished granite plaques.
The plaque on the north side of the monument is inscribed:
Sacred be this Monument
to the memory of
ISRAEL PUTNAM, Esq.
Senior Major General in the Armies
of the United States of America,
who was born in Salem,
in the Province of Massachusetts
on the 7th day of January,
A.S. 1718
and died on the 29th of May
A.D. 1790
Passenger,
if thou art a soldier,
drop a tear over the dust of a Hero,
who ever attentive
to the lives and happiness of his men
dared to lead
where any dared to follow.
The plaque on the south side of the monument is inscribed:
If a Patriot,
remember the distinguished
and
gallant services
rendered thy country
by the Patriot who sleeps
beneath this marble;
if thou art honest, generous and worthy,
render a cheerful tribute of respect
to a man
whose generosity was singular,
whose honesty was proverbial;
who raised himself
to universal esteem and offices of
eminent distinction
by personal worth and a useful life.
Other places of interest include a plaque on a boulder which indicates the site of the General Wolfe Tavern which was operated by Israel Putnam and his wife, an historical marker that recounts the history of Brooklyn, and the Congregational/Unitarian Meeting House. Many other monuments honor the veterans of America's wars, including an impressive Civil War monument.