The Epitaph of Israel Putnam
The General was buried in the Brooklyn cemetery. A tomb two or three
feet high was built of brick, and across the top was placed a marble
slab with this epitaph by the Rev. Timothy Dwight, who, five years later,
became the President of Yale College, and who had been intimately
acquainted with the hero in private and public life :
To the memory
Of
Israel Putnam, Esquire,
Senior Major General in the Armies
Of
The United States of America
Who
Was born at Salem
In the Province of Massachusetts
On the seventh day of January
A.D. 1718:
And died
On the twenty ninth day 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;
If a Patriot
Remember the distinguished and gallant services
Rendered thy Country
By the Patriot who sleeps beneath this Monument;
If thou art Honest, generous & 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
In 1888, General Putnam's remains were removed and reburied under the
new bronze equestrian statue in Brooklyn, Connecticut. The above
epitaph was placed on the new monument, a picture of which follows:
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