During the American Revolutionary War, Rufus Putnam served as the Continental Army's chief military engineer. As designer and supervisor of the construction of major fortifications--including the most indispensable, West Point--his contribution was key to helping American forces drive the British Army from Boston. Several years after the War, Putnam personally founded the first American settlement in the Northwest Territory, which was ceded to the new American nation by Britain. Putnam saw to it that slavery would not be permitted in the State of Ohio, leading the way for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin to enter the U.S. as free states. This first full-length biography of Putnam in more than 130 years covers his wartime service and his efforts to prevent the expansion of slavery.

As one of the most colorful characters of 18th Century America, Israel Putnam played a key role in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. A man whose seniority in the Continental Army was second only to Washington himself, Putnam was hailed by many colonists as the most courageous living American. This first full-scale biography of Israel Putnam in over 100 years will appeal to both the curious reader and the serious historian. While serving with the French and Indian War's fabled Rogers Rangers, Putnam was tied to a tree and barely escaped being burned alive by Mohawk warriors, later he commanded 500 men who were shipwrecked off the coast of Cuba, and at the American Revolutionary War's Battle of Bunker Hill, he reportedly spoke the most famous line of the war, ""Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."" It has been said that when Israel Putnam died, he had 15 bullet and tomahawk wounds on his body. Israel Putnam's story involves his close relations with many of the key people of the early days of the American nation, including George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton.