Autographs
1795 Autograph Letter Signed “Rufus Putnam”
RUFUS PUTNAM (1738-1824). Colonial Military Officer during the French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War Continental Army General, Organizer of the Ohio Company, in the initial settling of the Northwest Territory in present-day Ohio.
June 5, 1795-Dated Federal Period, Autograph Letter Signed, “Rufus Putnam,” measuring 7.25” x 12”, 4 pages, at Worcester (MA.), Choice Very Fine. Boldly written and easy to read crisp and sharp, folds, left edge has been reinforced. Putnam was a Colonel during the Revolutionary War and the engineer responsible for the defensive works at Dorchester Heights and New York. Here, he pens two True Copies of correspondence sent to him and adds a long letter at the end to attorney Dwight Foster. This rarely encountered Putnam Letter reads, in part:

“...I have taken this method to let you know Capt. Stone’s Complaint, and have to request that you will by letter explain the business to Capt. Stone or me... I supposed that I paid you as well as them for your whole Service... if it was otherwise I wish to be informed that I may do justice to Capt. Stone... I am extremely sorry that I have been prevented enjoying more of your Company before my return to the Ohio.”
Putnam's advocacy for land grants led him, with partners, to establish the Ohio Company of Associates for the purchase and settlement of Western lands. He established the Company in Boston on March 3, 1786 together with Benjamin Tupper, Samuel Holden Parsons, and Manasseh Cutler. Its primary purpose was to settle the Northwest Territory, roughly the lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, which was ceded to the US by Great Britain under the Treaty of Paris (1783).

After the battle of Lexington, Putnam enlisted the same day, on April 19, 1775, in one of Massachusett's First Revolutionary Regiments. Putnam later was commissioned in the Continental Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, under the command of David Brewer. Brewer's regiment first engaged with the British Army in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Drawing from his knowledge and skill as a millwright, Putnam constructed the fortifications necessary to obtain victory. His fortifications provided an advantage to the Continental Army, which secured victories at Sewall's Point, Providence, New Port, Dorchester Heights, Long Island, and West Point.

General Washington appointed Putnam to be the Chief of Engineers of the Works of New York. He was soon promoted to engineer with the rank of colonel. When in December 1776 the Continental Congress rejected his proposition to establish a national corps of engineers, Putnam resigned.

He reenlisted in the Northern Army and served under Major General Horatio Gates. Putnam commanded two regiments in the battle of Saratoga. He continued to work on critical fortifications, including Fort Putnam at West Point in 1778. In 1779 Putnam served under Major General Anthony Wayne in the Corps of Light Infantry following the capture of Stony Point, commanding the 4th Regiment. Putnam's remaining military career was less eventful. In January 1783 he was commissioned as Brigadier General.

After passage of the Northwest Ordinance to organize the territory, the Company bought about 1,000,000 acres of land north of the Ohio River, between the present day sites of Marietta, Ohio, and Huntington, West Virginia. Cutler had tried to purchase all the land between the Ohio and Scioto rivers, but the western half was optioned by the Scioto Company. It later failed without having purchased any of the land.