Picture Book About the Revolution

Paul Pryor (pseudonym of E.T. Taggard), Putnam. New York: McLoughlin Brothers, ca. 1873.

Revolutionary War general Israel Putnam (1718-1790) was extolled as a hero in nineteenth-century children’s picture books and textbooks. A Connecticut farmer and seasoned soldier, Putnam had served in the French and Indian War before joining George Washington to fight for the Patriot cause. This illustration depicts the moment he hears of the outbreak of fighting in Lexington and leaves the field he was plowing to rush toward “the scene of battle.”