tructure
that stands to-day near the site of the first meeting-house, which was
erected in 1734. It was in the year 1771 that the new church was
erected, opposite the house that Putnam turned into a tavern, and the
old tree that bore the sign of Wolfe. Church and trees remain to-day,
separated only by the public road; but the tavern itself no longer
exists, the building having been torn down some time ago.

In 1772, it was voted by the parish that "Colonel Putnam take care of ye
new meeting-house and ring ye bell," for which service he was to receive
three pounds a year. Thus the duties of sexton and bell-ringer were
assumed by this many-sided man; but he had not performed them long
before he was called to go on a strange voyage in quest of lands in
West Florida, which were reported to have been granted to the survivors
of the French-and-Indian wars. The claims of the survivors were just
enough; but their quest was fruitless, for they were not given the
lands. However, a band of "military adventurers" set out, under the
leadership of General Phineas Lyman, who had been in command of
Connecticut's troops all through the wars, and Landlord Putnam was one
of them.

Urged, perhaps, by his admirers to preserve some chronicle of his doings
this time (having been so neglectful in this respect in the past) our
hero actually began a journal, writing on the blank leaves of the
"orderly book" which he used in his Havana campaign. This book, doubly
interesting to the present generation, is still preserved by a lineal
descendant of Putnam, and attests to the fact that the soldier of many
wars was not equal to the intellectual effort of writing even a legible
diary of his doings. He soon gave it up, in fact; but the few entries
he made are exceedingly quaint and simple, as for example:

"friday ye forst of jenauary, 1773--this Day no work don--went to
Church.... satorday ye 2--this day taking in goods for ye
voige--good weathor. thorsday ye 7--this was a varey good Day and
had almost all completed. Satorday ye 9 of Jenauary--had all things
on bord and ready for sailing But the wind was so much to ye south
it would not Do."

At last the "military adventurers" got away. On the 30th of January they
touched in at Mole San Nicolas, island of Haiti, and a week later made
port at Montego Bay, Jamaica, where, according to the veracious diarist,
"we waited on ye mannegor of the plantation who treted us very