Ohio History Journal


Editorialana

Editorialana.                       295

 

 

THE MEMOIRS OF RUFUS PUTNAM.

Compiled and annotated by Miss Rowena Buell, Marietta, Ohio.

Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston and New York.

This is a work of rare historical value, and one which every

student of history, and particularly of Ohio history, will covet and

consult with great satisfaction. It consists mainly of the official papers

and correspondence connected with the life and deeds of General Rufus

Putnam, who was the leader in the little band of pilgrims who came

from New England, and in the later Mayflower sailed down the Ohio

and landed, on that memorable 9th of April, 1788, at the present site

of Marietta. Next to the settlement of Plymouth by the passengers

of the first Mayflower, this second voyage was fraught with greatest

results to American history. The "Adventure," as the Mayflower was

first called, was to the great northwest empire what that little ship,

which landed upon the bleak shores of Cape Cod, in December, 1620,

was to the American colonies of the new-born American republic.

The material comprising this book is historical, and admirably ar-

ranged and edited by Miss Buell. The first part is autobiographical,

giving the family history and descent of Rufus Putnam, beginning with

his first American ancestor, John Putnam, who came to Salem in

1634. The second part covers General Putnam's military and public ser-

vices until 1804. General Putnam was a distinguished participant in the

Revolutionary War, enjoying the personal friendship and esteem of

Washington; he was an engineer of superior attainment and superin-

tended all the defenses of New York in 1776, and aided in construct-

ing the fortifications at West Point. The War of the Revolution over,

he began the second period of his career, perhaps more distinguished,

certainly more romantic and not less courageous, by his services in direct-

ing the first settlement in the Northwest Territory.

Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, and President Perry, of Marietta

College, contribute introductory pages to this volume, which is pub-

lished under the auspices of The Society of Colonial Dames of America

in the State of Ohio.

It is a volume which should be in every Ohio library, and which

will be of value to all students of early American history, and particularly

of the foundation and development of the Northwest Territory and the

state of Ohio. Miss Buell has contributed a most valuable volume to Ohio

literature.

 

THE VANISHED EMPIRE.

"The Vanished Empire," by Waldo H. Dunn; published by The

Robert Clark Co., Cincinnati.