Rufus Putnam
Rufus Putnam | |
|---|---|
Portrait by James Sharples (Independence National Historical Park) | |
| Born | April 9, 1738 Sutton, Massachusetts |
| Died | May 4, 1824 (aged 86) Marietta, Ohio |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | British America United States |
| Branch | Massachusetts Colonial Militia Continental Army United States Army |
| Years of service | 1757–1760 1775–1783, 1792–1793 |
| Rank | Brigadier-General |
| Battles / wars | French and Indian War American Revolutionary War Northwest Indian War |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ayers, Persis Rice |
| Signature | |
Rufus Putnam (April 9, 1738 – May 4, 1824) was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. As an organizer of the Ohio Company of Associates, he was instrumental in the initial colonization by the United States of former Native American, English, and French lands in the Northwest Territory in present-day Ohio following the war.
Ultimately attaining the rank of brigadier general during the Ohio campaign of 1792–1793, he became known as "Father of the Northwest Territory".